REVIEW: Nellie McKay @ Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA – 10/20/09)

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
So, I had tickets to see Ben Folds with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra at Benaroya Hall last night.  I hemmed and hawed and finally decided to sell my ticket on craigslist to go see Nellie McKay instead.  I dig both of them as artists, and the main reason [...]

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REVIEW: Wynton Marsalis & LCJO @ Hult (Eugene, OR – 9/17/09)

Well, I got into Wynton Marsalis from Ken Burns’ (long ass) JAZZ documentary.  I had heard of him, but never really heard him, and he was featured heavily in the movie.  I came to find out that he was the artistic director & co-producer of the documentary series.  Anyway, I love trumpet (Dave Douglas & [...]

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REVIEW: Porcupine Tree w/ That1Guy @ Roseland (Portland, OR – 9/16/09)

Rarely do two bands you like happen to tour together.  Porcupine Tree is touring with King’s X on this U.S. Leg… well… ok, starting in a week in Ohio.  This West Coast leg, though gets That1Guy (another musician I like a lot).  I’m bummed I’m missing a KXC/PT show, but That1Guy is a fun live [...]

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REVIEW: Erik Friedlander @ Winningstad Theatre (Portland, OR – 9/12/09)

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Erik Friedlander grew up spending many of his summers on the road with his family due to his photographer father, Lee Friedlander.  I knew his dad was a photographer with some notoriety, but I hadn’t known about the long, cross-country summer road trips – which were the basis [...]

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REVIEW: Skerik & McTuff @ Sam Bond’s (Eugene, OR – 7/8/09)

The Joe Doria led McTuff hit the stage at Sam Bond’s last night around 10pm.  While Joe is the bandleader (and quite awesome), a large part of the draw seems to be for tenor saxophonist Skerik.  The entire band is fantastic, and really put out a great groove last night.  We stayed for a little [...]

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REVIEW: Hiromi’s Sonicbloom @ Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA – 6/16/09)

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Well, I’d never been to Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley.  It’s an amazing little room (maybe 200 seats) with dinner served if you show up early.  Plus, in downtown Seattle, it offers free parking.  Yeah, you read that correctly – free parking.   Anyway, I showed up shortly after [...]

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REVIEW: Holy Fuck @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – 6/4/09)

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I love my job.  I get to be in towns that quite often host artists I like to see… so I don’t have to drive up to make a special trip.  Well, this time, it was for my second time seeing the instrumental, avant-groove, live electronic band from [...]

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REVIEW: Steven Bernstein’s Sex Mob @ Goodfoot Lounge (Portland, OR – 5/23/09)

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Sex Mob is a downtown NYC jazz band made up of bandleader Steven Bernstein on slide trumpet, Briggan Krauss on saxophone, Tony Scherr on bass, and Kenny Wolleson on drums.  For those keeping score, Steven Bernstein is one of my top 3 favorite (living) trumpet players [Dave Douglas [...]

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REVIEW: Swing Shift Big Band @ Wildish Theater (Springfield, OR – - 4/10/09)

Ok, I’m totally gonna “phone this in”… the snippet from the invite email I got covers what they played:
While Swing Shift has always based much of its style on the inspiration of Count Basie, this is the first time that we have offered a full evening of music in the classic Basie tradition. The band [...]

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REVIEW: Madeleine Peyroux @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – - 3/25/09)

Great show last night… Madeleine Peyroux and her jazzy quartet played a smooth hour and half set at the Shedd.  I’m really coming to love the early start time, no opener, and home at a reasonable time shows at the Shedd.  No pictures or (accurate) set list from me for this show… I was in [...]

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REVIEW: SFJazz Collective @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – - 3/19/09)

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

This is my second time seeing the SF Jazz Collective.  Last time (Feb 2008) was a tour dedicated to Wayne Shorter.  This time, it was a McCoy Tyner-focused tour.  The same line-up as last year, except for this show we were missing Stefon Harris’ vibraphone playing.  Perhaps he [...]

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John Zorn in San Fran 2009

First off… Happy Pi Day…

Also, tomorrow (Sunday the 15th) marks the end of the run of special John Zorn’s Masada at Yoshi’s in San Francisco.  Here’s a YouTube clip of the Secret Chiefs 3 performance of “Omael” from Xaphan on Tuesday night (pardon the video quality, the taper had to keep it “on the down [...]

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REVIEW: Oregon Percussion Ensemble’s FRANK ZAPPA Tribute @ UO’s Beall Hall (Eugene, OR – - 3/7/09)

My wife and I went to the University of Oregon’s Beall Concert Hall yesterday afternoon for a wonderful tribute to Frank Zappa put on by the UO College of Music’s Oregon Percussion Ensemble, conducted by W. Sean Wagoner.  It was a show that I found out about in the Eugene Weekly… yay for the local [...]

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REVIEW: That1Guy @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – - 2/11/09)

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Well, this was my 5th time seeing That1Guy and the Magic Pipe.  He is a truly mesmerizing performer… the inclusion of the Magic Saw and Magic Boot are also great, but the true show is seeing Mr. 1Guy put a crazy go nuts university seminar on the [...]

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REVIEW: Jeremy Pelt Quintet @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – - 1/16/09)

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Brilliant show last night at the John G. Shedd Institute… I literally walked in at 7:30pm, just as the Shedd was announcing the Jeremy Pelt Quintet to come out and play.  Whew… barely made it.  Jeremy Pelt and crew came out and played 7 pieces over 90 straight [...]

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REVIEW: Jason Schimmel’s Orange Tulip Conspiracy @ Samurai Duck (Eugene, OR – - 11/17/08)

FYI… my PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM
Samurai Duck on a Monday night… ugh… but it was for a good cause.  It was to see Jason Schimmel’s Orange Tulip Conspiracy (hereafter “OTC”).  I’d seen Jason thrice prior (with Estradasphere once and with Secret Chiefs 3 twice).  I fought the late night start to [...]

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REVIEW: Medeski Martin & Wood @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – - 11/15/08)

FYI… my PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM
Keys player John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood make up one of my favorite groove and experimental jazz trios on the scene today.  I’ve seen them twice prior (once only casually, once as a hardcore fan), and this third time was again in [...]

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REVIEW: Skerik’s McTuff @ Sam Bond’s (Eugene, OR – - 10/26/08)

I saw Skerik and his Maelstrom Trio for the first time back in May (review here – Skerik’s Maelstrom Trio & Stebmo).  Since Skerik’s from Seattle, it seems like he comes through Eugene more than occasionally, which is more than a-OK with me.  This time was with a groovier, organ-and-sax infused jazz project, McTuff, led [...]

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REVIEW: Trio Subtonic @ Lewis & Clark College (Portland, OR – - 10/9/08)

Quick review… I didn’t make it to Jo Fed’s in Eugene a few weeks ago to see Portland jazz group, Trio Subtonic.  Alas, they were playing in Portland last night, and I was in town for work.

(camera phones are kinda pointless)
Trio Subtonic are a piano/bass/drums jazz trio… in the same vein as Medeski Martin & [...]

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REVIEW: Branford Marsalis & Philarmonia Brasileira @ Hult Center (Eugene, OR – - 10/2/08)

I first got into (Grammy Award-winning saxophonist) Branford Marsalis when I sat through the 10-disc (20 hour) Ken Burns JAZZ documentary that I got from the University of Oregon Library.  Let’s just say that I spent a lot of rainy spring weekends watching these discs and getting more into the roots of jazz when there [...]

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