From: wildman@athena.mit.edu (Timothy Worsley)
Subject: Sharp/Previte/Hofstra play the blues + other things
Keywords: blues Hendrix Collins Zorn Eye NYC DMG Novick Bley
Reply-To: eprice@sybase.com
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 23:57:04 GMT

Hey folks, sorry to distract all of you from babbling about heroin and
smoking and cough-syrup and stuff, but I saw some *music* the other
day which was kinda interesting I thought...

It was Elliot Sharp (guitar, sax), Bobby Previte (drums) and Dave
Hofstra (bass) playing at a bar called Nick & Eddie's I think, last
Thursday (New Year's Eve).  As something of a fan of Elliot Sharp, it
was very bizarre to see him in this setting -- playing straight-ahead
traditional R&B/jazz/rock/blues or whatever.  Strangely enough, before
heading down to SoHo to check them out, my brother was giving me a
history lesson.  He played some cuts from an Albert Collins album,
including a tune called "Kool Aid".  Then he played some Hendrix.
There's a tune Hendrix does which is essentially "Kool Aid" but Curtis
Knight wrote lyrics to it -- "Drivin' South".  After midnight
"occured" and the second set started, the *first* thing Elliot and co.
played was ... "Drivin' South"!  Or was it "Kool Aid"??  Well,
whatever...  Anyway, they had a great feeling for this kind of music.
Sharp seemed to me to remain entirely in the idiom, without diverging
into any of his two handed attacks on the guitar or anything like
that.  His playing was reminiscent of what we had been listening to
shortly before -- Collins and Hendrix.  According to Bruce Galanter of
the Downtown Music Gallery, he tried to get a gig for this group to
open for some relatively big-name blues act at the Lonestar in NYC,
but it didn't work out.  He also thinks (and I agree) that they should
cut an album of this stuff.

Other news:

* A new Japanese Zorn release is due in at the Downtown Music Gallery
sometime this week.  Apparently it's Zorn with Yamatsuka Eye
(Boredoms, Naked City) and some guy called Otomo or something?

* I finally got the book "Sonic Transports", by Cole Gragne.  If you
are a fan of Fred Frith, the Residents, Glen Branca, or Blue Gene
Tyranny or have any interest in improvisation, "new music", or
whatever, YOU NEED THIS BOOK!!!  It's fantastic, with interviews and
essays and lists of works and discographies...  The section on Branca
was superb.  In fact, I realized that I didn't really "get" Branca
when I had listened to his music before.  After reading "Sonic
Transports", I took my CD of Symphony No. 1, turned off the speakers,
got a good pair of headphones, *cranked* the volume to about 5 (which
is *loud* on this stereo...) and listened to the whole thing.  *Now* I
*understand*!  (Interestingly enough, it seems that Branca has fully
realized some ideas that I had only started thinking about recently
while fooling around with a piano, muting strings and using the
harmonics and stuff...)  Now I desperately need to see live
performances of this stuff!  Branca's music poses particularly
difficult problems for recording technology.  The current digital
recording and playback standards (ie, CDs) are fundamentally incapable
of reproducing some of this music, at least that is my impression,
based on what I have read in "Sonic Transports" and on some articles
by Philip Greenspun that have appeared in the "Computer Music Journal"
(MIT Press).

* Hey, I've been accepted as a jazz piano student at the New School in
NYC!  I was even a little suprised they accepted me -- I haven't
really played in four or five years and the tape I made wasn't too
great, but hey, if I was already any good I wouldn't need to go to a
school, right?  (Just need to get a good heroin connection there and
I'm on my way to jazz superstardom, I'm sure.)

* I finally found some Paul Bley I like.  This one with Ron McClure
and Altschul (I think?), live, playing fairly normal straight-ahead
jazz tunes.  Quite good.  Another weird experience with this: Bley's
style sounds quite similar to my own, moreso than, say, Jarrett's (my
pianistic hero -- I *wish* I played like him!).  At least it sounds
what I am *trying* to sound like -- no-one would possibly mistake me
for any of these people, don't get me wrong!!  Anyway, I also heard
"Japan Suite" with Gary Peacock and Altschul.  This is more "free", ie
no tunes.  But it's good.  Peacock's playing is particularly nice on
this one I thought.  But I haven't even listened to the whole thing
yet.  Anyway, further recommendations or whatever are welcome.

Speaking of great bass playing, I forgot to mention Mark Dresser in
connection with Kristallnacht (I think, or did I??) -- anyway, I was
listening to a tape of it again, and of course I was reminded of this,
because there's a section where it's almost the bass alone playing
this extremely soulful bluesy line, and he just keeps playing the same
line but with more and more intensity.  One of the best moments in the
piece actually!  Anyway, since there are so many Mark Dresser fanatics
around here I thought I'd mention that.


Enough for now, I'm outta here.  I'm going to check out "Rhythm
Method" at Ryles tonight, here in Cambrdige, MA -- this band includes
Billy Novick, best known perhaps for his work with swing/folk
guitarist Guy Van Duser, but who happens to be a wonderful musician
and human being with considerable skill in other areas as well (BTW,
if any of you watch John Sayles' movie "Brother from another Planet"
check out the tenor saxophone solo at the end during the credits --
that's Bill!)  They're playing a few other times too, as well as at
the Knitting Factory (on Wedenesday I believe).  Film at 11.

Ciao,

-Ed (not Tim), eprice@sybase.com (not wildman@...)
[soon to get a new account of my very own when I move to NYC...]
Xref: sparky rec.music.bluenote:9580 rec.music.makers:11602