h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Music washes away the dust of everyday life."

Art Blakey

Well I chose the Art Blakey quote partially because in the past month (or roughly that)I've caught some great drummers at my little musical oasis, The Yardbird Suite. Of course the drummers were only part of the varied melodic mosaic that "The Suite" consistently delivers. Personifying some of the highlights were; talented Canadian saxophonist Christine Jensen (whose quartet also included Dave Restivo's keyboard mastery), the uncompromisingly delightful vocals of Norway's Marit Sandvik - & among her quintet skilled bassist Sigurd Ulveseth, then local saxophonist Kent Sangster (whose solid quintet was comprised of; Vancouver guitarist Mike Rud, Edmontonian Chris Andrew's skillfully played piano, Polish bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz's nimble melodic bass & L.A. drummer Joe LaBarbera's dynamic propulsion).

Then of course there were the energetic urban Blues of Rochester New York's Joe Beard, aided splendidly by Graham Guest's keyboards, Jim Guiboche's guitar & Dave "Crawdad" Cantera's high-octane harmonica. And New York trombonist Steve Swell, backed particularly by the superb rhythm section of bassist William Parker & drummer Hamid Drake. Canadian guitarist David Occhipinti deserves mention, backed by prominent saxophonist Mike Murley, bassist Andrew Downing & sought-after drummer Terry Clarke. From New York, the fine pairing of guitarist Dave Stryker & saxophonist Steve Slagle. Not surprizingly, they chose the rhythm section that had backed them up on their last appearance at "The Suite", premier local drummer Sandro Dominelli & equally adept bassist John Taylor.

And of course the Funk of local trio Shucker, whose Rob Thompson - keyboards & Steve Pady - guitar were anchored by drummer John Newton (whose percussive arsenal included electronics & hand percussion in addition to a standard drum kit.)

Good morning jaz,

to be honest, I don't know what exactly you are talking about, but if you like discussing music, you could perhaps get in touch with hstwrd,

<./>U1051800</.>, we are having a very interesting conversation about musical education and such

Ok, sounds good B'Elana...& you're forgiven! s to check the link...

- very relieved
You are welcome to read our convo, it's named 'Voyger fan', you'll find it on my PS or on that of hstwrd - I guess it's a woman, but I'm not sure yet

Ok, I'd looked at the page...'Voyager fan',s back...

Hope you'll not be bored

Hello Jaz, your quote there reminded me of seeing Art Blakey drumming on the "Giants of Jazz" tour in 1973 (?); even in that company (Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Stitt, Kai Winding and, I think, Ray Brown on bass) he was a real Giant. He seemed very old to me then (!) with his white hair but I was knocked out by how fast and athletic he was - he certainly blew the dust out of that theatre.

Chris

Hi Chris! Yes the man commands his drum kit/set very well indeed! Universal Music ( http://www.umucic.ca ) has released a whole series - a total of about 71 discs! - of Jazz recorded in Paris during the '50s. I've only picked up 2 so far, 1 being a live recording of Art & The Jazz Messengers@the Olympia, Very impressive! The other is a Lionel Hampton studio recording - actually even more impressive, Love the vibes!

Hmm, must've discontinued the site or something...

a Typo! http://umusic.ca The series is called "Jazz in Paris"

Thanks for posting the link - nice site

My wife's worst nightmare: 71 discs of cool 50s-type jazz!! so I won't be holding out too much hope of a present for this Christmas

Humphrey Lyttleton played a great Messengers track on his Radio2 show the other night, perhaps from the same series. I missed the link as I was in the car - I only get to listen to the radio when I'm driving!
I'll go and check his playlist...

Happy Midwinter festival, by the way
Chris

Yes the very same to you & the missus Chris!

This past Sat.(Feb.5th'05)I had the priviledge of attending the second night of The Yardbird Suite's first Blues show of the new year. A show I might add, indicative of the talent often found on the stage of "The Suite". Louisiana-born songstress Carol Fran captivated a "standing room only" audience with a solid musical background spanning roughly half a century! From her first recording in '57, Ms. Fran had gone on to tour both the U.S. & Europe extensively, garnering critical acclaim. In fact she had recently completed another tour of Europe & will have a documentary film focusing on her life released later this spring. Her band for the 2 shows was composed of; talented keyboard player & vocalist Graham Guest, equally seasoned young guitarist Jim Guiboche, adept bassist Chris Brzezicki, drummer Jeff Lisk & Edmonton Jazz saxophone stalwart Don Berner. Among others, songs in the first set included T-Bone Walker's Stormy Monday, Robert Johnson's Sweet Home Chicago & Fats Waller's Ain't Misbehavin'. Closing the first set was a rousing version of Rollin' On The River which ended with an extended instrumental segment featuring a sizzlingly-soulful solo by Berner! All in all, a veryevening!

Ok, that should've been Proud Mary not Rollin' On The River (you have to admit though, it is the most repeated phrase in the song - & personally I've always identified with the water imagery).

In any case I thought I'd best update & mention a couple impressive shows I'd caught recently. The first was by a quintet led by talented & personable young trombonist Audrey Ochoa. At twenty years of age she's previously played with; the Littlebirds Big Band, the Edmonton Wind Symphonia, as well as local Latin band Equiz. It was obvious Sat. March 12th that a noticeable talent had been nurtured during those tenures/sojourns. Sharing the stage with older as well as more experienced musicians she truly was able to hold her own very nicely as opposed to being dwarfed by the(level of)competence of her bandmates. Among the shows many highlights was an excellent version of Bali Ha'i from the musical South Pacific, for which skilled/accomplished guitarist Jamie Philp switched to steel guitar.
(Currently: http://www.yardbirdsuite.com/Performers/2005-03-12.htm )

And this past Saturday (March 19th) I saw/heard a great performance by a local favourite of mine, the Mobius Quartet. Fronted by music educators (flautist) Bill Damur & (guitarist Don Ehret the group is ably anchored by the rhythm section of (bassist) Don Bradshaw & (drummer) Dan Skakun. The creative melodicism of the evenings first set was perhaps typified by an excellent composition(Afternoon in the Garden of ?)inspired by the Atlantean legend. Contrasting somewhat-yet nonetheless melodic, the skilfully-crafted Spy Story ended the first set. A tribute to the late Henry Mancini, Bradshaw's bass & Ehret's guitar created a perfect backdrop, so to speak. This was underscored & accented perfectly by Skakun's drums as well as finished-off flawlessly(IMHO)by Damur's flute. Think The Ventures doing The Peter Gunn Theme, with perhaps a bit of Johnny River's Secret Agent Man & just-a-touch of Jethro Tull-esque icing on the cake". Some highlights of the 2nd set were; a jazz-ish yet recognizably Tull-esque composition entitled Release, Bradshaw's unadorned bass solo Beginning (from his recent CD with local vocalist Rhonda Withnell, Once Was) & Dan Skakun's homage to Heavy Metal bands-yes!, Furious. It was indeed a tribute to the group's maturity & musicianship that they could construct as well as tastefully-I thought-execute a piece of that nature. I eagerly await the upcoming CD that Damur mentioned. (Currently: http://www.yardbirdsuite.com/Performers/2005-03-19.htm )

Well, tonight(5/34/05) I truly witnessed a show that was All I expected it would be. However despite the prominent & illustrious career of the headliner, saxophonist Ernie Watts I was struck much more than usual by his accompanying local musicians. The obvious talents of drummer Sandro Dominelli (a longtime favourite)meshed seamlessly with & often complimented Mike Lent's fluid rhythmic bass. And Chris Andrew's piano served as the exquisite leather glove on the muscle, tendons & flesh of the rhythm section. Accomplished saxophonist Ernie Watts was largely the splendid butter icing on what the French would justifiably refer to as 'Un Bon Gateau Riche!' Continuing in the French vernacular 'Magnifique!'

1ityin' typo!! That was '5/14/05'*rolls eyes*