Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard passed away yesterday, December 29th, at the age of 70. In his heyday in the 60’s and 70’s, both as a sideman and a leader (his 1962 album Hub-Tones
Posts Tagged Jazz
Ellis Marsalis Quartet at Yoshi’s San Francisco, October 25, 2008
The quartet was Ellis Marsalis (father of Wynton and Branford) on piano, son Jason Marsalis on drums, Jason Stewart on bass, and Derek Douget on saxophone. The show was actually advertised as being the Ellis Marsalis Trio, so we got 33% more jazz musician for no extra charge.
I didn’t really know a lot about Marsalis Sr. going in, and assumed that we’d see a set of fairly straightforward old-school jazz. As it turned out, the quartet was touring their new collection of Thelonious Monk songs, An Open Letter to Thelonious
The only downer of the night was the new seating policy at Yoshi’s, which went into effect recently. Previously, all seats were assigned, and you reserved a seat when you bought your ticket. Now, seating is open, unless you either pay a surcharge when buying the ticket, or you eat at the restaurant before the show. Presumably this was a business decision to get more people to eat at the restaurant, but the seating process was rather hectic and ill-tempered as a result. We heard a fair amount of grumbling while we were in line, and even some arguing over seats. It didn’t matter once the group came on stage and started playing, but the usual happy pre-show vibe that I expect at Yoshi’s was missing.
Anyway, none of that distracted from a great show.
Nicola Conte at Blue Note Tokyo, October 13th, 2008
My wife and I decided that we should catch a show at the Blue Note while we were in Tokyo last week, and after looking over the week’s schedule, settled on seeing the Nicola Conte Jazz Combo on October 13th. Neither of us really knew anything about him, but we listened to the MySpace pages of several of the acts and decided that his sounded the most promising. I actually like picking jazz shows to go to under fairly arbitrary circumstances like this, because my knowledge of current jazz is basically non-existent, and it forces me to give a shot to something new.
It was a bit of a walk from the Omotesandou metro stop to the venue, in a rather quiet corner of town that looks like it’s probably a lot busier during the business day (this particular Monday was a holiday). We got to the club perhaps 45 minutes before the show, and were surprised by how crowded it already was.
Basie’s At Night by Sadao Watanabe
Back in August I wrote about a concert by Japanese sax player Sadao Watanabe at Yoshi’s in San Francisco that my wife and I went to. At the show, we picked up a copy of his new album, Basie’s at Night
Obligatory Jazz Disclaimer: I like jazz, but I don’t know anything about it.
The Basie show seems to start off in a more straight-ahead jazz mode than the Yoshi’s set did, though this could be my imagination (certainly overall, the setlist shows the same eclecticism that was on display at Yoshi’s). When I saw the combo live, Watanabe often seemed willing to allow the band to dominate a song for several minutes at a time, but here his saxophone is definitely the dominant presence, and his playing is excellent – soulful and elegant, fiery on the fast tracks, and with a beautiful tone.
Highlights of the set include a ripping version of “I’m Old Fashioned” (probably my favorite song here); the percussive, jubilant “Tembea”, which features an extended percussion solo by N’diasse Niang and excellent playing by pianist Akira Onozuka; the laid back Watanabe composition “Life Is All Like That (For Snoopy & His Friends)”, which Watanabe dedicated to Charles Schultz when he played it at Yoshi’s; and the rollicking “Harambee”, whose carefree atmosphere is enhanced by the band chanting through the opening measures while the audience claps along. The record dips through a variety of jazz styles – bop, cool, latin, bossa nova – before closing with a delicate rendition of Pixinguinha’s “Carinhoso”.
The only real weak spot on the album is a traditional number called “Alalake”, one of Watanabe’s excursions into African music, which I found a bit dull (I believe they played the same song at Yoshi’s, and I found it rather dull there, as well) – not bad, but not my thing. But even there, things pick up midway through when the song morphs nicely into “Lopin’”, a percussion-heavy slow number.
All-in-all, an excellent record, perhaps not a classic, but sophisticated and rewarding. Recommended.
Sadao Watanabe @ Yoshi’s, Aug. 29 2008
My wife has been excited for months about Japanese saxophone player Sadao Watanabe’s three night stand at Yoshi’s in San Francisco. Exactly what her excitement means I couldn’t tell you – is he a household name in Japan? does my wife have a deep knowledge of Japanese jazz? – but I’m always up for a jazz show.
Truth be told, I don’t really know anything about jazz. And I went into the show knowing even less about Watanabe, other than the fact that … well, he’s a Japanese saxophone player. When his band took the stage, I was a little concerned by the line-up – keyboard, electric bass, electric guitar, drums, and percussion, in addition to Watanabe’s saxophone, not really my type of combo as I like horns and fear fusion. And when the set started with a wash of synthesizers and some pleasant soft tones from Watanabe, my stomach clenched up in fear that we were in for a night of smooth jazz. But then the band broke into a hard tight funk beat, Watanabe started playing away, and I knew everything was going to be alright.
Watanabe remarked that, due to sponsorship by Japanese airline ANA, he was able to bring his whole band over from Japan, instead of touring with L.A. session musicians. This was indeed a great thing, as the band was fantastic, highlighted by Senegalese percussion player N’diasse Niang – who had several showcases for his amazing playing (sabar drums, perhaps?) – and pianist Akira Onozuka. It was quite late in the set that I realized how great drummer Masaharu Ishikawa was, overshadowed by Niang but always keeping up with some hard-hitting playing of his own.
Watanabe himself occasionally was overshadowed by the band, but he seemed content to let them run off without him (perhaps it’s a sign of his 75 years, and he needed periodic breathers to get his wind back). But his tone was beautiful, and when he started playing he took control, with some impressive passages. The range of material was quite broad, as befitting an artist who had been playing professionally since the 1950’s (and had, according to the All Music Guide, been hopping between jazz and pop records for almost as long), which meant the occasional detour into areas that were less interesting to me. But the vast majority of the set list was great, and it ended on a high note, with a blazing full-band rendition of “Life Is All Like That” (the only song whose name I caught), followed, as an encore, with Watanabe and Onozukplaying a lovely ballad as a duet.
UPDATE: My wife and I picked up a copy of Basie’s at Night
