Fojazz

Jazz Observer returns!

Fo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:02:00 +0000

Well, it took a lot longer than I thought it would, but I finally got my other blog — my real blog — The Jazz Observer back up and running with a whole new look, a completely new backend and, finally, some fresh content. Please check it out at www.jazzobserver.com.

The Jazz Observer is where most of my jazz writing goes these days — mostly reviews now, but I intend to gradually expand it with more magazine-style features. Some of the stuff I’ve been playing around with over here will migrate there, and this site, Fojazz, will revert to a regular personal blog where I can rant about Republicans, post YouTube clips of Japanese commercials and kittens, and whine about my job… although hopefully I won’t be doing much of that anymore since I’ve ditched my old day gig in favor of a shiny new one.

So, to recap… you wanna talk about jazz? Go to www.jazzobserver.com. Wanna know about me me me? Stay tuned over here.

Oh, one more little thing: my apologies if Jazz Observer is a bit slow on the page loads. There’s a LOT going on behind the scenes, including (I suspect) a lot of unnecessary database calls I need to identify and streamline. The site should get zippier over time.

Tune of the Week: Leonard Cohen & Sonny Rollins

Fo — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:00:14 +0000

Here’s a cult classic from “Sunday Night,” the fearlessly eclectic TV show hosted by David Sanborn and Jools Holland in the late 1980s (better remembered by its second-season title, “Night Music”).

Dig Leonard Cohen and Sonny Rollins, paired on a haunting rendition of Cohen’s “Who By Fire,” joined by the backing singers from Was (not Was). It’s hard to tell who the leader is — is Rollins backing Cohen or is Cohen supporting Rollins? But that mystery is part of the beauty.

Also on the show that night were two other singers from Cohen’s orbit (Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen), word-jazz hipster Ken Nordine, and frequent guest George Duke.

Tune of the Week: Joe Lovano Us Five, “Big Ben”

Fo — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:00:54 +0000

Us 5 is a hot new two-drum quintet led by veteran saxophonist Joe Lovano. This live performance of “Big Ben” is more straightforward and beboppish than most of the tracks on the band’s new CD, Folk Art (Blue Note Records). But Lovano really goes to town on the Aulochrome, a unique double-soprano saxophone with an exotic, almost cartoonish tone. Also check out Esperanza Spalding’s aggressive bass solo in the second half.

The group also features drummers Francisco Mela and Otis Brown III, as well as pianist James Weidman. Enjoy!

Concert Picks: July 27-August 2

Fo — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:00:55 +0000

I don’t get out as much as I’d like, but if I could drag my butt to one music event in the San Francisco Bay Area every day this week, this is what I’d choose. Just sayin’…

Monday, July 27

Jaz Sawyer & Horace-Scope @ Stanford Jazz Festival – 7:30pm
or… Bill Bell @ Yoshi’s, Oakland – 8pm/10pm

Tuesday, July 28

Jeb Patton Trio w/Tootie Heath @ Stanford Jazz Festival – 7:30pm
or… Orquesta BaKan @ Yoshi’s, Oakland – 8pm

Wednesday, July 29

Leo Kottke @ Yoshi’s, SF – 8pm
or… “1959 Revisited” @ Stanford Jazz Festival – 7:30pm

Thursday, July 30

Broun Fellinis @ Yoshi’s, SF – 10pm
or… Alexa Weber Morales @ Café Claude, SF – 7:30pm

Friday, July 31

Tito Gonzalez y Su Quinteto Sonero @ Red Poppy Art House, SF – 9pm
or… Roy Rogers & Delta Rhythm Kings @ Yoshi’s, Oakland – 8pm/10pm

Saturday, August 1

Ernestine Anderson & Ed Reed @ Yoshis, SF – 7:30pm/10pm
or… Madeline Eastman & Terell Stafford @ Stanford Jazz Festival – 8pm

Sunday, August 2

The Heath Brothers @ Stanford Jazz Festival – 8pm
or… Noertker’s Moxie @ Musician’s Union Hall, SF – 7:30pm

This is a completely subjective list. For more options, try the Jazz Datebook, SF Bay Guardian or Bay Area Improviser.

Got a better suggestion for live music this week? Feel free to add a comment!

Proofin’ Palin

Fo — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:52:29 +0000

Sarah Palin’s recent speech announcing her resignation from the Alaska governorship was truly shocking, not just for its out-of-the-blue suddenness, but also for its long, rambling, sometimes incomprehensible content.

Vanity Fair magazine set literary editor Wayne Lawson loose on a transcript of Palin’s announcement, red pencil in hand, and the results are both hilarious and unsettling. Polls show a significant number of Republicans are actually OK with the notion of this woman becoming their party’s presidential nominee in 2012. They’d better hope Palin uses this time out to take some refresher courses in English…

See it at www.vanityfair.com

Tune of the Week: Logan Richardson, “Soundtrack”

Admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:00:04 +0000

Here’s a cool video alto saxophonist Logan Richardson shared via Facebook the other day. The tune is “Soundtrack,” which also appears on Richardson’s CD Ethos, out now on Greg Osby’s Inner Circle Music label. The framing focuses on vibraphonist Mike Pinto (it’s his YouTube clip), and the performance really shows off the nice interplay Pinto and Richardson have developed. Pinto also has a disc out on Inner Circle, and Richardson plays on that disc as well. Both young artists are very much worth checking out.

Also in the band are Christopher Tordini on bass and Tommy Crane, drums. Enjoy!

Concert Picks: July 20-26

Fo — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:00:13 +0000

I don’t get out as much as I’d like, but if I could drag my butt to one music event in the San Francisco Bay Area every day this week, this is what I’d choose. Just sayin’…

Monday, July 20

Frederick Harris & Friends @ Stanford Jazz Festival – 7:30pm
or… Amendola vs. Blades @ Main Street, Redwood City – 6pm

Tuesday, July 21

Julian Lage Group @ Stanford Jazz Festival – 7:30pm
or… Al Molina Quartet @ 7 Mile House, Brisbane – 7pm

Wednesday, July 22

Ruth Davies’ Blues Night with Elvin Bishop @ Stanford Jazz Festival – 7:30pm
or… Tribute to Buddy Montgomery @ Yoshi’s, SF – 8pm

Thursday, July 23

Linda Tillery & The Cultural Heritage Choir @ Yoshi’s, SF – 8pm/10pm
or… Tango No. 9 @ Yerba Buena Gardens, SF – 12:30pm

Friday, July 24

Issa Bagayogo + Novalima @ Yoshi’s, Oakland – 8pm/11pm
or… Stellamara @ Red Poppy Art House, SF – 9pm

Saturday, July 25

Matt Wilson’s Sonic Garden @ Stanford Jazz Festival – 8pm
or… Rebirth Brass Band @ Great American Music Hall, SF – 9pm

Sunday July 26

Taylor Eigsti & Free Agency @ Stanford Jazz Festival – 7:30pm
or… Le Jazz Hot @ Café Royale, SF – 7pm

This is a completely subjective list. For more options, try the Jazz Datebook, SF Bay Guardian or Bay Area Improviser.

Got a better suggestion for live music this week? Feel free to add a comment!

No radio show today…

Fo — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:38:38 +0000

I have a hellish project due for work at noon today, so Decca very graciously agreed to fill in for me this morning. “No Cover No Minimum” will return next Friday on KZSU 90.1 FM!

Song of the Week: Tigran Hamasyan, “Falling”

Fo — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:00:28 +0000

My favorite new tune at the moment is “Falling” by Tigran Hamasyan, a stunning young pianist originally from Armenia. You can find it on Tigran’s new CD, Red Hail (Plus Loin Music).

“Falling” is a pulse-quickening blend of hyperkinetic rhythm and dreamy exoticism. This live version from French television runs a bit long in the introduction, and you may need to avert your eyes from the seizure-inducing cross-cutting. But Tigran’s piano and vocal percussion are thrilling, and singer Areni Agbabian’s haunting rendition of the melody will stick with you. Enjoy!

Translate new the business news failure!

Fo — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:39:31 +0000

“Salaried employees threaten to make jump their factory”
“The revival, it is not simply the concrete and the motor”
“It is necessary to prepare the sector of the media to behavioral changes”
“Crispations with the National Assembly on Sunday work”

and my personal favorite:
“A carpaccio of sturgeon of dream to the “Coffee Plum tree”

Those are all actual headlines posted to the web by the French business newspaper La Tribune, which has launched global online editions translated by software without any human editing.

According to an article from AFP (also a French news-gathering organization, but one with actual humans doing some of the work), the four La Tribune translations are all being overseen by a single person. But the paper “plans to soon hire another person to tweak the English-language articles.”

Hopefully they’ll also hire someone to tweak the Japanese and Chinese articles when those sites go live later this year. Until the hiring spree begins, have yourself a chuckle at La Tribune’s website!