Branford Marsalis / Joshua Redman @Town Hall, June 20th

Every once in a while, I take a break from the indie rock 'n roll lifestyle and slow down for a nice evening with Mom, like I did last year when I took her to see Lang Lang at Carnegie Hall. Last night, met up with her after work for her delayed Mom's Day gift -- a fancy dinner at DB Bistro Moderne, followed by some jazz at Town Hall featuring two saxophone greats, Branford Marsalis and my long-term love, Joshua Redman.

I was obsessed with Joshua Redman back in my early twenties. I went through a real jazz phase during my college years during which I collected many of the dead greats, so it was refreshing to catch someone only a few years older than me playing with such a dynamic vibe, and not in that cheesy smooth jazz kind of way. And because of his collaborations, I've branched off and also followed the music of the likes of Christian McBride and Brad Mehldau.

I've seen him in a variety of venues over the years -- the most memorable being the teeny tiny Blues Alley in DC. I was so miserable in my first year of law school that Fall of 1996, I went solo to this spendy jazz club to cheer myself up, and ended up talking to Joshua after the set. He was really friendly and appreciated the drink I bought him at the bar. I dug him so much that I had him autograph my copy of his CD at the time. Yes, uber-dork!

Anyway, the last time I saw Joshua in concert was in Spring of 2001, again with Mom, and I pretty much stopped following him shortly thereafter for no good reason. Mom and I have occasionally ventured to a jazz gig together over the years, including a fun weekend at the Newport Jazz Festival in 2004, but we never caught up with Joshua again, till last night. When I saw a few months ago that Joshua Redman would be opening for Branford Marsalis as part of the JVC Jazz Fest, I pounced on tickets when they went on sale, and grabbed a very nice pair in the 4th row.

For this latest iteration of Joshua Redman, he is working as a trio, with the excellent Reuben Rogers on bass and Eric Harland on drums. It was wonderful seeing them nice and close and in a relaxed format, where I didn't have to worry about the elements or a waitress pestering me for a two drink minimum. His set lasted about 50 minutes, and focused on cuts from his latest release, Back East, including a beautiful eastern, almost gypsy-esque song called "Zarafah" dedicated to his mother. I particularly dug the Theolonius Monk cover "Trinkle Tinkle."

Next up, Branford Marsalis. Maybe because I've been spoiled by the last two times I went to Town Hall (for Bright Eyes and for Feist) during which I sat in the front row, I felt compelled to improve our seating. When I passed by the ticket scalpers before the show, I noticed they were hawking tons of front row seats. And surprise, surprise, many of them remained unoccupied, so I seized upon the opportunity and moved us up front. Mom was skeptical and afraid we'd be busted, but she doesn't know she's got Qbertplaya for a daughter.

Branford expanded upon Joshua's trio format with the addition of a piano, which lended itself quite nicely to the other Thelonius cover of the evening. He is a skillful bandleader, often dropping downstage to allow his bandmates to do their thang. I especially liked sitting in front of Jeff "Tain" Watts, who is a powerful drummer.

Branford and his mates finished after about 75 minutes. I still preferred Joshua's ability to let loose, but overall a great show. Mom appreciated the present, and I bet she understands now a little better about what it is to be a Qbertplaya.

J.A. Granelli & Mr. Lucky @The Bowery Poetry Club, March 20th

Last night, met up with the Mad Scientist after Kung Fu class for a gig he spotted in the NY Times Jazz listings, which come out every Friday. We arrived at The Bowery Poetry Club, which I didn't realize hosts non-poetry events in addition to the readings and slams one might normally expect. It is a great little venue -- holds about 50 seated, maybe 3/4 the size of the Mercury Lounge, and the sound system there is crisp. It also boasts a nice healthy foods cafe out front, and a decent bar with $7 pints of draught Guinness.

We were there for the release show for J.A. Granelli & Mr. Lucky's latest CD, Homing, which the band basically played from start to finish. Neither the Mad Scientist nor I knew anything about this band prior to the gig, but I suspect it was the fact this band features an organ that caught his eye. And we figured for an $8 admission, what the hell?

For the New York Times to have put this gig under jazz was not entirely accurate, although probably most appropriate, I guess. There were no vocals; Granelli plays the bass, and the band Mr. Lucky consists of guitar, drums, organ, and usually a pedal steel guitar. Consequently, with all those instruments at their disposal, they were able to perform compositions with sounds reminiscent of the alt-country of Wilco or Ryan Adams, to the funkiness of a good New Orleans quintet, to even the atmospheric trickling of Sigur Ros. I was reminded of Broken Social Scene as well in parts, but with a third of the personnel. It was basically a group of five white dudes who enjoyed making non-traditional music, without relying on lyrical song structure to carry them forth.

We listened to most of their set for about an hour, but then general tiredness was creeping in, so we left before the end/encore. A good evening. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for future excuses to visit The Bowery Poetry Club.

Paul Bollenback Trio @Smoke, March 7th

(Sorry for forgetting to post this in a more timely fashion. It only just occurred to me recently that it was music-related, and therefore, blog-worthy.)

Tina, my best friend from high school, was visiting from Seattle, so I decided to take her to a great little jazz bar on the UWS called Smoke, where we met up with the Mad Scientist. The Mad Scientist loves that Tuesdays and Wednesdays are Hammond B-3 organ nights at Smoke since he is teaching himself how to play.

We met up for the 8 o'clock set, for which there was no cover, which was nice -- just a $20 food/drink minimum. Though the food prices were a bit steep (but understandably so), the food was pretty tasty. I particularly enjoyed the French onion soup. The drink list was decent, too, despite an absence of Guinness.

The setting was nice and intimate. About 40 people sat in front of the stage at tables of two or three, and about another dozen at the bar. The trio -- a guitarist backed by the organ and drums -- played your typical jazz jamming -- solid, but meh. The Mad Scientist and I were hoping for something a little funkier, but it was a little too plain jane vanilla for our tastes. Not particularly memorable, which may be why I didn't feel compelled to run home and write about the experience.

Overall, however, I do recommend checking out Smoke if you're at all into jazz. It was a good first music stop for me and the Mad Scientist. I'm looking forward to catching much more jazz with him. :-)

Noir @Rose Live Music, July 21st

Last Friday met up with Hannah and John Sid at Rose Live Music, this great new bar in Williamsburg that features an eclectic concert calendar focused primarily on jazz and world music. Hannah invited a few of us from Temple to check out her friends, Noir, a jazz quartet lead by a trumpet backed by keyboard, electric bass and drums.

The venue was very intimate allowing us to see the band nicely, which I feel is important especially when it comes to jazz since there are generally no vocals or verbal communication. When I do catch jazz, I am always reminded of James Baldwin's excellent short story, "Sonny's Blues," which did a beautiful job of detailing the silent interactions during a jazz gig. There were about twenty people there to support this tight band, which played psychadelic/experimental/funk sounds for about an hour. All the band members were great, but I was particularly impressed by the guy on keys, who coaxed out so many interesting sounds. Between him and the trumpeter, they definitely more than made up for any absence of guitar.

Apparently Noir plays every Sunday at the Surf Bar in Williamsburg. Looks like I'll have to check them out again soon!

After Noir finished, John and I retired to the sidewalk in front of the bar. We chatted with one of the owners for a bit who mentioned that Meshell Ndegeocello stops in frequently. I'm thinking I'll be stopping in Williamsburg more frequently myself now, too.