Blog Archives
FAITU#59
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#59)
2022-09-17
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MMW @2022-09-17 Brooklyn Comes Alive
Source info:
2022-09-17.akg393.143438.flac16 [TSP2022#1]
– ONE SET (tracks 1-13) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#59)
Ahh … fresh/new MMW! Welcome to the sounds!
enjoy the grooves,
dug
THE SHACK STREAM
LISTEN/DOWNLOAD ANOTHER SHOW!
FAITU#44+#45+#46+#47+#48
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#44) ~ 1999-01-13
(FAITU#45) ~ 1999-01-14
(FAITU#46) ~ 1999-01-15
(FAITU#47) ~ 1999-01-16
(FAITU#48) ~ 1999-01-17
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1999-01-13
Chris Wood c.1999
Source info:
1999-01-13.unknown.22.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-8) –
– SET II (tracks 9-16) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#44 + #45+ #46 + #47 + #48)
MMW @the Bowery Ballroom, Jan 13-17, 1999. What can I say? LOTS! Read below – HA! But honestly, *listen*. Just do yourself a favour and soak up EVERY NIGHT OF THIS RUN. Then, *YOU* tell me which is the best of the run – huh? I can’t decide! I’ve listened to all these gigs, so many times … and just did again, a number of times over the past few weeks. Again, was blown away, heard some sounds I hadn’t noticed before or had forgotten about, and simply had a VERY rewarding time listening through these 5 nights. We get a taste of so much different MMW, and the guys have gotten nothing but stronger as a trio by ’99 so bringing in the guests finds them wielding their trio power underneath with perhaps a little more control than we hear, by comparison, in the edgy sounds of the ’96 SHACK PARTIES — not that one run is “better” than the other, just different. Listen to both! But for now, let’s dig into these ’99 MMW sounds, and the audible space they shared so joyously with their musical guests on this 5 night Bowery Ballroom run in mid-January ’99 …
MMW c.1999
** WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1999 **
– Wig Wise to start is a nice way to get the 5-night Bowery Ballroom run underway as it echoes back to an earlier time in jazz history, and thus Blue Note history — the run’s impetus being a celebration of Blue Note’s 60th anniversary. It’s a Duke Ellington tune from the album MONEY JUNGLE, played by a trio of Ellington on piano, Charles Mingus on bass, and Max Roach on drums — it’s not a Blue Note album, but it is an old school jazz album we know the trio loves, is in some sense modeled after, and Billy has professed his love from the stage for the album — CHECK IT OUT if you haven’t! But here’s the Ellington trio playing Wig Wise:
– Then we jump ahead to the late ’90s and the full electric MMW sound with a darkly sinister improvisation — these next 10min or so are insanely tight and groovy with the trio just locked right in, leading to a Bass’n’Drums breakdown that takes us into the first known performance of Note Bleu — really cool to hear, and they play it each night of the run along with a few other tunes they focus on, but which is also a perfect example of how the band can play the same song each night and really make something new of it, for real.
– Latin Shuffle, followed by some Drum work that opens into another Improv section, with again the trio riding high together and taking us to the sweet sounds of Brigas Nunca Mais, a short percussion Improv, and then a KILLER Start/Stop to close the set — they really know how to work this tune by this time, and Logic adds a nice layer.
– 2nd set opens with some very loose open space exploration — I always wonder what’s going through the musicians’ heads in these sections? Especially some of the guests … ? I love following through these open improvisations into the more solid grooves and spontaneous compositions the band creates, but if they didn’t *lead* somewhere, I’m not sure I’d be as big of a fan … like, if this is all the band came out and did … well, maybe once in a while, but if this was there main “thang”, I couldn’t dig in as much, I don’t think. The beauty and fun in the grooves is what I love those open spaces helping to find.
Daniel Carter
– Toy Dancing comes out of the opening improvisations, and is another tune that’s featured each of these 5 nights, and we should be glad it is because EACH VERSION of this tune over the run is INCREDIBLE. Start with this one and move forward … Daniel Carter on sax is extra cool on this one …
– More Open Improvisation follows, along with some more groovy vibes, before we get what I’ve labelled as a Whatever Happened To Gus Improv because it’s not quite the tune, and it doesn’t utilize the alternate melody that the other versions do over the course of this run. Love that bassline …
– Buster Rides Again moves us into a Drums’n’DJ jam, which stops and then Psychedelic Sally (another run staple) launches out in groovy form (what happened to this tune? They don’t play it beyond spring ’99 … ?), another short Improv, leading to some further Drum and Bass work, and finishing us on a gospel vibe, as they do each night of the run (although with a different tune for the other 4 nights), we get treated to a lovely cover of Sly’s Everyday People.
~ JANUARY 14, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 15, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 16, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 17, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
A legendary historic run by some of the greatest improvisers to hit the live stage. MMW were helping Blue Note celebrate its anniversary, but now we can use these recordings — THANK YOU TAPERS!!! — to celebrate MMW any time with 5 outstanding shows, 10 sets of music, splattered with musical guests who all seem to be of like mind … yeah, a good way to start your Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
1999-01-14
Billy Martin @Seaport Atrium, New York, NY
1999-06-07
Source info:
1999-01-14.mg3000.112708.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-5) –
– SET II (tracks 6-9) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#44 + #45+ #46 + #47 + #48)
MMW @the Bowery Ballroom, Jan 13-17, 1999. What can I say? LOTS! Read below – HA! But honestly, *listen*. Just do yourself a favour and soak up EVERY NIGHT OF THIS RUN. Then, *YOU* tell me which is the best of the run – huh? I can’t decide! I’ve listened to all these gigs, so many times … and just did again, a number of times over the past few weeks. Again, was blown away, heard some sounds I hadn’t noticed before or had forgotten about, and simply had a VERY rewarding time listening through these 5 nights. We get a taste of so much different MMW, and the guys have gotten nothing but stronger as a trio by ’99 so bringing in the guests finds them wielding their trio power underneath with perhaps a little more control than we hear, by comparison, in the edgy sounds of the ’96 SHACK PARTIES — not that one run is “better” than the other, just different. Listen to both! But for now, let’s dig into these ’99 MMW sounds, and the audible space they shared so joyously with their musical guests on this 5 night Bowery Ballroom run in mid-January ’99 …
MMW c.1999
~ JANUARY 13, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
** THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 1999 **
– Exploration of Open space by the trio gets the 2nd night going at the Bowery Ballroom run celebrating Blue Note’s 60th Anniversary, which moves into some great Improv from the trio, beginning this night in fine form and setting the vibe for what will be an experimental evening of music — arguably the best of the run, but honestly *EACH NIGHT* can make that case for different reasons.
– Note Bleu follows, making its 2nd appearance of both its life and the run, indicating the guys are digging this new groove, which opens into a short Drum Solo leading to an Improv featuring Jay Rodriguez on sax and he KILLS it! This Improv dissolves into a Bass’n’Drums jam, then Bass Solo, into yet another appearance by Brigas Nunca Mais — it too making its 2nd appearance of both its life and the run, having debuted the night before. The super groovy Psychedelic Sally closes the set with Logic joining the trio, allowing he and illyB to get down a bit mid-tune, with Charlie Hunter filling into the groove with his super sweet guitar sounds (if you like Charlie on this gig, be sure to check out his sit-in during MMW’s 2002 Montreal Jazz Fest performance.
Billy Martin @Seaport Atrium, New York, NY 1999-06-07
– A Percussion Improv > Improv begins the 2nd set, a further exploration into the wild vibes of this night, and this is a weird borderline-Open-groove that explodes into a HEAVY Combustication Improv — SO GOOD! — and then Whatever Happened to Gus saunters in, accompanied by an UNKNOWN MELODY that appears in live versions of Gus … if anyone recognizes this, I’d love to know what it is! (The band does a similar treatment with live versions of Your Name Is Snake Anthony which they couple with the melody from Creole Love Call.)
– A Drum Solo follows Gus and serves as an intro to the Seven Deadlies (Bridge), a piece MMW seemed to debut over the course of the end of the fall ’98 tour, it was like it appeared in an improvisation on 11/19/98 and then later developed into what we labelled Seven Deadlies (Bridge), an incomplete composition that will eventually be more fleshed out to become the full tune we know as Seven Deadlies. Anyway, it’s at this point that Jay Rodriguez and Charlie Hunter return to the stage, and the two jump right into this wacked groove.
Charlie Hunter
– Another Toy Dancing comes next, 2nd of the run (there will be 3 more), and again VERY cool to hear them twist this tune around and open up so much room to the guests. Super nice flute sounds from Rodriguez during this one and Hunter adds lots of little flavours throughout, so the trio and Logic dig in and rock this tune hard. The dancing then blurts out to just some Open exploration and tinkering before we feel the power from the Church of Logic — LOVE that tune, its groove, and this version is HOT with what the guests add … then things cool down nicely as we slide into the gospel-zone of Hey Joe, with this being the first known performance of the Hendrix cover … a nice finish to the evening, showcasing the guests, and setting a precedent for the closing of the next 3 nights … Hey Joe gospelized will be their final notes …
~ JANUARY 15, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 16, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 17, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
A legendary historic run by some of the greatest improvisers to hit the live stage. MMW were helping Blue Note celebrate its anniversary, but now we can use these recordings — THANK YOU TAPERS!!! — to celebrate MMW any time with 5 outstanding shows, 10 sets of music, splattered with musical guests who all seem to be of like mind … yeah, a good way to start your Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
1999-01-15
MMW @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC, NY 1999-01-15
Source info:
1999-01-15.akg-c100.984.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-7) –
– SET II (tracks 8-17) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#44 + #45+ #46 + #47 + #48)
MMW @the Bowery Ballroom, Jan 13-17, 1999. What can I say? LOTS! Read below – HA! But honestly, *listen*. Just do yourself a favour and soak up EVERY NIGHT OF THIS RUN. Then, *YOU* tell me which is the best of the run – huh? I can’t decide! I’ve listened to all these gigs, so many times … and just did again, a number of times over the past few weeks. Again, was blown away, heard some sounds I hadn’t noticed before or had forgotten about, and simply had a VERY rewarding time listening through these 5 nights. We get a taste of so much different MMW, and the guys have gotten nothing but stronger as a trio by ’99 so bringing in the guests finds them wielding their trio power underneath with perhaps a little more control than we hear, by comparison, in the edgy sounds of the ’96 SHACK PARTIES — not that one run is “better” than the other, just different. Listen to both! But for now, let’s dig into these ’99 MMW sounds, and the audible space they shared so joyously with their musical guests on this 5 night Bowery Ballroom run in mid-January ’99 …
MMW c.1999
~ JANUARY 13, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 14, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
** FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 1999 **
– Sounds begin slow and exploratory, seeking comforts of other sounds … illyB adding metal, John organ swirls, and then Chris comes in with a steady quiet plunk on the acoustic. The sounds separate and converge in various forms over the next few minutes, creating a beautiful soundscape of sorts … with that wacky MMW edge … with that harsher edge creeping a bit more a few minutes into this journey. Then the edge drops off a bit, things get a bit more open and chaos builds as John swirls on the piano, illyB is now on the kit and Chris is following right along, until we land in the sounds of Note Bleu, as noted clearly a favourite of the band’s being brand new, and opens interestingly into a Bass Solo — they kind of toy with how to surround this groove over the course of the run and later spring tour.
MMW @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC, NY 1999-01-15
– A groove begins from nothing and they are ready to groove begins things solidify pretty quickly into a REALLY nice bouncing Improv. John working the clav and organ together, tweaking cool sounds among his melody, while Chris and Billy propel the beat along. John is really leading this here and the other guys are happy to follow his lead, adding their responses to his shifts. Then close to 5min or so the groove downshifts a bit to something more intimate and less celebratory. The 3 working as 1 — this is the MMW improvisations we all love, me thinks. VERY much a group mind at work, tension builds with a heavier vibe taking root and pushing out until it deflates to a metronomic lullaby feel, then an open feel, and the improvisation finishes up as a stand alone piece.
Josh Roseman
– Josh Roseman is invited to the stage after Billy’s welcome to night #3, and the players kick into Horace Silver’s classic Cape Verdean Blues
… and this is just great jazzy fun. A cool treat in the MMW repertoire as they’ve never played this much — just during HOT gigs! (Yes, this night could also be the *best* of the run … depending on what you’re listening for!)
– Roseman leaves the stage, the trio jives through the beautiful Brigas Nunca Mais, one of the regular tunes on this run, and then Chris Whitley hits the stage for a rockin’ Home Is Where You Get Across.
– Some Percussive sounds get the 2nd set going, moving into some Open Improv exploration, before we start hearing some piano tinkering and suddenly Buster Rides Again! Buster is always a hoppin’ tune, never disappoints. Check out the original by Bud Powell if you haven’t:
– The band rides Buster out into the slinky groove of Start/Stop — oh, the Stops! Oh, the Starts! DIG IT!
– Sounds emerge from the end of S/S, and once again Toy Dancing shakes its ass, with Josh Roseman’s trombone and Vernon Reid’s guitar blowing this version WIDE OPEN! This is a great tune for guests!
Vernon Reid
– Toy Dancing spills into the start of the subsequent Improv with Roseman and Reid remaining on stage. The slide into improvisation takes on a bit of an ambient open feel as the players search for where to go. The sounds remain pretty open until around 4min when a quirky groove emerges, seemingly with everyone morphing at the same time — good listeners on stage! This is a very weird thing that’s growing here, cool playful back and forth between the trombone and guitar, and eventually turns into something you can REALLY DANCE to — I just sat down, myself! Slows down into a walking bassline with Logic mixing against it, then the trombone takes lead as things wind down into yet another SMOKIN’ Psychedelic Sally, again Roseman and Reid adding super nice flavours.
Danny Blume
– Roseman and Reid leave the stage, and trio + Logic strike into the beauty of No Ke Ano Ahiahi, which drifts into the always welcome Church of Logic groove! Danny Blume has hit the stage for Church and he is KILLING it! This moves into an Open Improv, before once again the gospelized Hey Joe takes us to the end of the evening …
~ JANUARY 16, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 17, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
A legendary historic run by some of the greatest improvisers to hit the live stage. MMW were helping Blue Note celebrate its anniversary, but now we can use these recordings — THANK YOU TAPERS!!! — to celebrate MMW any time with 5 outstanding shows, 10 sets of music, splattered with musical guests who all seem to be of like mind … yeah, a good way to start your Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
1999-01-16
Chris Wood, DJ Logic & Billy Martin c.1999
Source info:
1999-01-16.akg391.112712.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-7) –
– SET II (tracks 8-17) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#44 + #45+ #46 + #47 + #48)
MMW @the Bowery Ballroom, Jan 13-17, 1999. What can I say? LOTS! Read below – HA! But honestly, *listen*. Just do yourself a favour and soak up EVERY NIGHT OF THIS RUN. Then, *YOU* tell me which is the best of the run – huh? I can’t decide! I’ve listened to all these gigs, so many times … and just did again, a number of times over the past few weeks. Again, was blown away, heard some sounds I hadn’t noticed before or had forgotten about, and simply had a VERY rewarding time listening through these 5 nights. We get a taste of so much different MMW, and the guys have gotten nothing but stronger as a trio by ’99 so bringing in the guests finds them wielding their trio power underneath with perhaps a little more control than we hear, by comparison, in the edgy sounds of the ’96 SHACK PARTIES — not that one run is “better” than the other, just different. Listen to both! But for now, let’s dig into these ’99 MMW sounds, and the audible space they shared so joyously with their musical guests on this 5 night Bowery Ballroom run in mid-January ’99 …
MMW c.1999
~ JANUARY 13, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 14, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 15, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
** SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1999 **
– A stand alone Open Improv gets this 4th night underway on a wacky note …
– The Scrontch Meister rises and gets the groove portion of the evening going, and the Meister nails it!
Chris Wood, DJ Logic & Billy Martin c.1999
– Next up a dark distorted keys chord begins things with a fuzzy bassline and weighted drum beat — the trio is NOT messing around with the time they’re allotting to improvisation during these nights. This Improv cooks along in super groovy mode for about 6min, some cool funking by Chris in here, takes a darker turn just before that 6min mark (Chris is just thumping his bass!) lasting about a minute, and then the space Opens up, led by Billy, and the sounds of the room are explored for a few minutes before coming to a stop.
– Brigas Nunca Mais, boppin’ out again on this run, is a beat the band loves.
– Sugar Crafts itself down into an illyB groove, with Chris adding a cool sound, Logic sampling, and John’s murky keys, as Oren Bloedow hits the stage, and this turns into a nice raucous bluesy jam. Set closes with one of Oren’s tunes, The Love Bug, which is a fun bluesy rock tune.
– 2nd set = best of the run? Maybe … ? Again, not the lone contender for the title … but we’ve just got the trio and Logic for this set and lots of room to move! Psychedelic Sally > Hey-Hee-Hi-Ho begins the set in a SUPER GROOVY vibe that permeates what follows, giving us some stellar improvisations as a result.
– Logic sounds out a siren (that’s him, right?), and some watery percussion begins, more murky keys from John, and I think Chris is doing some bow work before switching to some plucking — which is a sweet sound to emerge from this dark-ish vibe. Billy picks up the pace with his percussive shell work, John adds some odd quick piano, while Chris continues to plunk along and Logic adds atmosphere. Things are pretty loose, but something is brewing … the band is tinkering a bit, sounding a bit open, and perhaps these last few minutes are better heard as an introduction of sorts as Chris slides into the bassline after about 5min, Billy starts that familiar beat on the toms, and John brings in the piano melody I’m sure we all love: Caravan moves across our ears. The trio doesn’t play this often, clearly an homage to the Money Jungle trio of Ellington/Mingus/Roach, which I’m sure was a bit of a model for the MMW trio.
John Medeski c.1999
– We get some hilarious stage replies from Billy to what I’m sure sounds like nonsense as some of the audience shouts/demands requests — love it! HA!
– Suddenly another dark groove begins with John on some unique key sounds compared to what we’ve been hearing; Chris on some bowing; Billy tinkering and Logic inserting some scratches, until Billy moves to the kit and this picks up a bit but then takes a bit of a sudden shift between 4-5min, getting almost Worms-like — oh yeah, this is cool! The tempo picks up more and more, pulsing, until it crashes a bit, and then (just like Worms) it re-starts and we’re swirling again. I’ve found this behaviour to be something the band uses at times, where an improvisation is modelled after a song’s structure … but maybe that’s me listening in too much? Nah, I think they do this at times … which is fine by me, and has created lots of cool grooves … not a crutch, just another improvisation tool, I think; they’re also completely original in at times in their improvisation, so I think the modelling is just a mode. Anyhoo, this boils down to some percussive sounds leading into a Percussion Improv to finish out the moment.
– A Drum Solo > Whatever Happened To Gus (w/?? melody) follows, and it’s cool to hear the guys toy with this tune but WHAT IS THAT MELODY John plays along with an instrumental Gus!? Anyone?! Bueller? Man, I wish I could place that … I’m sure it has to be something we know, a melody from an old jazz tune or …
– Toy Dancing is up next, no real guest solos on this one, just the trio and Logic tearing up the Dancing groove — yep, they dig this and I love the Toy Dancings from ’99 … I guess the tune got off on a good foot happening every night of this year’s opening run … good vibes! Bass Solo bumps out the end, with a soothing Note Bleu > Hey Joe to settle down the grooves a bit, with no less intensity, and close out the night …
~ JANUARY 17, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
A legendary historic run by some of the greatest improvisers to hit the live stage. MMW were helping Blue Note celebrate its anniversary, but now we can use these recordings — THANK YOU TAPERS!!! — to celebrate MMW any time with 5 outstanding shows, 10 sets of music, splattered with musical guests who all seem to be of like mind … yeah, a good way to start your Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
1999-01-17
Bowery Ballroom
Source info:
1999-01-17.akg-c3000.986.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-8) –
– SET II (tracks 9-16) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#44 + #45+ #46 + #47 + #48)
MMW @the Bowery Ballroom, Jan 13-17, 1999. What can I say? LOTS! Read below – HA! But honestly, *listen*. Just do yourself a favour and soak up EVERY NIGHT OF THIS RUN. Then, *YOU* tell me which is the best of the run – huh? I can’t decide! I’ve listened to all these gigs, so many times … and just did again, a number of times over the past few weeks. Again, was blown away, heard some sounds I hadn’t noticed before or had forgotten about, and simply had a VERY rewarding time listening through these 5 nights. We get a taste of so much different MMW, and the guys have gotten nothing but stronger as a trio by ’99 so bringing in the guests finds them wielding their trio power underneath with perhaps a little more control than we hear, by comparison, in the edgy sounds of the ’96 SHACK PARTIES — not that one run is “better” than the other, just different. Listen to both! But for now, let’s dig into these ’99 MMW sounds, and the audible space they shared so joyously with their musical guests on this 5 night Bowery Ballroom run in mid-January ’99 …
MMW c.1999
~ JANUARY 13, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 14, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 15, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
~ JANUARY 16, 1999 ~ SHACK page >>>
** SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 1999 **
– Another performance of Psychedelic Sally begins this 5th and final night at the Bowery, featuring Mr. Marc Ribot on guitar — need I say more. DIG IT!
– A GROOVIN’ Improv is up next with Ribot once again adding that Ribot-esque touch — LOVE IT! Seems like a basic bluesy jam, but super fun to hear these 4 cats get down. Cool interplay over the jam and some nice patience over the last couple minutes as it winds down.
Marc Ribot c.2001
– Then the band invites up Steve Cannon for a wicked fun full version of Whatever Happened To Gus — love the spoken word! Cannon is clearly having a ball, as are the guys themselves.
– The trio then invites up Doug Yates on bass clarinet and start off into some Open Improv, giving Doug some room to explore before they hit into the Seven Deadlies (Bridge), and Doug’s deep sounds add a very cool vibe.
Doug Yates
– Another run through the new-at-the-time Note Bleu finds the trio jiving with the tune’s groove more and more, followed by another fun Oren Bloedow tune with Have Mercy NJ, and then one of the run’s popular tunes, Brigas Nunca Mais, finishes out the set with Logic joining for the groove.
– The gig’s 2nd set, the final of the run, may well be the best — who can say for sure?! I’ve said that about much of this run because it is ALL SO GOOD! This last set isn’t the most fluid, as there are plenty of pauses as the guests switch up throughout, but when the ensembles are playing they are creating OUTSTANDING sounds. The opening Percussion/Violin Improv with Eyvind Kang on violin, and Logic on stage as well, is a percussive journey moving nicely into the more full Improv to follow, Kang still on stage, but this is still very loose and gets even looser as it moves into even more Open space.
Bowery Ballroom
– The trio takes a moment to treat our ears to the sounds of Sand, so beautiful, then just the three of them groove out to Scrontch Meister one more time on this run, allowing Billy a Drum Solo mid-tune, which is a really fun tune that only stays in the repertoire briefly, unfortunately.
Jay Rodriguez
– The rest of this set is tops! Jay Rodriguez, back again with his sax on this night, and John Dirac on guitar hit the stage and BLOW UP Toy Dancing! Seriously, check out these cats! Dirac has a sweet tone and is nice to hear … but he and Rodriguez leave the stage, and Eric Hipp enters on tenor sax for a take on the wild Sun Ra composition, Love In Outer Space — check out Sun Ra’s version for some fun comparison — so many players, so thick and layered:
– Hipp remains on stage for the first portion of this show/run closing sequence of Angel Race (I’ll Wait for You) > Open Improv > Hey Joe, joined by Marc Ribot, but Hipp leaves for the final number leaving just Ribot with Logic and MMW. Wow. Both Hipp and Ribot are on fire in Angel Race, another crazy and incredible Sun Ra tune — first known performance, I believe. I had the pleasure of catching an Angel Race in May of ’99 and loved it, before it gets mashed up in the medley with Nostalgia For Times Square, which is cool too … but hearing MMW bust this open with the guests on stage is really nice, and of course leads to some more Open Improv, carrying us over to the final gospelized closing of Hey Joe, with Ribot laying it out in fine fashion intermixing so well as he does with MMW …
A legendary historic run by some of the greatest improvisers to hit the live stage. MMW were helping Blue Note celebrate its anniversary, but now we can use these recordings — THANK YOU TAPERS!!! — to celebrate MMW any time with 5 outstanding shows, 10 sets of music, splattered with musical guests who all seem to be of like mind … yeah, a good way to start your Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
THE SHACK STREAM
LISTEN/DOWNLOAD ANOTHER SHOW!
FAITU#38
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#38)
2005-03-07
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| Trouble playing tunes? | ||||
MMW @Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland 2005-07-08
Source info:
2005-03-07.schoeps-cmc64.29932.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-10) –
– SET II (tracks 11-20) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#38)
This show is SUPER cool! MMW@Tonic=GOOD VIBES!
Throw in Logic and Brahim, and the stakes raise a little higher with the quintet delivering incredible sets of exploration. This really is an AMAZING show. There’s groove in here, but there’s also a considerable amount of out-playing even in the tracks I’ve left noted as Improv, not Open Improv — it’s a spacey show at times. But, the band certainly grounds you in groove at other times, with each set landing in an End Of The World Party (Just In Case) tune.
Medeski @Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland 2005-07-08
– EARLY SHOW –
The set has a pretty dark overtone throughout, at least to my ears …
A smattering of sounds starts us off on the fileset’s track #2: John banging the piano keys and Chris plunking, as well as Brahim, I think, while illyB colours with some percussive shakes and tinkles (maybe that’s all bass though and Brahim is on percussion?), and Billy eventually moving to the kit initiating some more focused drive towards something more with John on organ now … but the group is staying pretty abstract until just after 3min as that boils down to a little light groove on this opening track with John back on piano (is that Logic colouring the background a bit?). Billy has a nice open beat working, and yeah, there’s Logic in there now for sure — I think that is just Chris on the bass, but the sound is weird to my ears … this all breaks down again into an Open Improv exploring the space in the room for a couple of minutes. Whereas the opening exploration seemed to lead to that melodic section of the track, this latter exploration at the track’s end seems like the musicians are searching …
The search is over when we roll to track #3 which develops very nicely from a sparse groove, where the sums of the parts strangely add up to the groove and by half way we’re in a full on composition with all those parts having jived and shaken to morph into a really solid musical conversation speaking right to me …
The Improv on track #4 breaks back down to a heavy percussive feel, John’s on piano hitting it with some force — tinkering a cool 3rd Stone tease c.1:40min into this groove. The interplay between illyB and Brahim with the beats is hoppin’! By the time we get to around 3:45min Billy moves to the kit and John starts playing a little more fluidly, less harshness, Logic is sratching — which is oddly fitting in well — and Chris has been holding it altogether, as he often does. Oh, this is a real nice tune/improvisation … John is taking us for quite a ride on the piano … eventually this simmers low with a sliding muddy line from Chris, more Logic scratches with some samples, and the illyB/Brahim shaking us down to quiet …
DJ Logic c.2005
Some further space explorations start track #5, John staying on piano but fairly abstract and somebody is on the talking drum (illyB?) … John’s ivories get a little more fluttery, almost pretty, but then a harshness comes in from other angles a bit, bordering on breaking apart, or perhaps introducing a new groove development … this goes on for a few minutes, more shots of sounds that are perhaps not so welcoming mixed with other more soothing sounds … this all pulls together just after 5min into moving together more after the open playing … it’s a slow build, but very nice … cool keys from Mr. Medeski … Billy moves back to the kit c.11min and Chris is plunking out a groovy foundation, Brahim helping the beat and Logic is filling in some of the gaps — gotta give him credit for good listening, that’s for sure; I’m not a big DJ guy, but Logic is by far my favourite. Anyway, this all builds up into a super solid groove/composition with excellent interplay across the stage.
A Bass’n’Drums jam emerges on track #6 from the aftermath of the previous groove, and leads us once again into very cool build as a unit — everyone is really listening, and that’s something I really dig about MMW and who they generally pick to sit-in.
Then a gospel groove begins track #7, and in retrospect it has the same feel as the cover of Suspicious Minds the band busted out in 2012. Anyway, this is a welcome sunshine feel to an otherwise very-night-time-feeling set of music … again Logic is sneaking into some cool spaces and Medeski is moving from organ to piano, Chris is just boppin’ us along with Billy/Brahim — these two are working like one guy with four hands, which reminds me of how Billy and Cyro Baptista groove together. VERY nice! (Brahim has sat in w/MMW a few times over the years, to great effect.) When this groove closes with a bang …
Brahim Fribgane c.2005
We start to hear some more open space exploration at the start of track #8, led mainly by the percussion sounds … Medeski comes in with sssssome lasers from outer space … and we are heading into a FREAKIN’ KILLER TUNE! It’s like the vibe of the entire set has built to this moment (hindsight = 20/20). Just after 3min you hear the melody tinkering on the oud — oh, man, this is such a great tune! Just listen … the oud has such a cool sound! The tune, Hegaz, I think was written by Brahim and is also played in Club d’Elf, a band Brahim also plays in sometimes.
(Those of you who’ve been around a while might recall I was calling this song Ziphim back when these shows were happening because it really reminded me of a slightly altered version of that Zorn tune. Then I just changed it to “Brahim Boogie” after I was convinced it wasn’t Ziphim because I didn’t know the tune.)
Billy chats with the crowd a bit, trying to remember a song title, and then we get a set-closing Curtis which starts off in an unsuspecting manner for a tune that will blow up into a HEAVY GROOVE!
Martin @Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland 2005-07-08
– LATE SET –
Short intro from Billy as he waits for their guests to return to the stage, and then the sounds of outer space once again fill the air …
An oddly built groove establishes itself on track #1 — like, a random listener would not call this a “groove”, but it is! John moves from piano to clavinet, intermixing, while Billy/Brahim keep the percussive beats busy and Logic adds some bleeps and bloops … where’s Chris? Hard to hear him in this section, but close to 5min in you can hear his low end filling in the groove, Billy’s going crazy and so is John. The chaos subsides as we roll over …
To track #2 with some gentle methodic piano accompanied by some bowed bass and percussive tinkerings, along with Logic zaps. This turns into something hauntingly beautiful as John leads the melodic exploration here.
MMW @Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland 2005-07-08
Track #3 finds the ensemble falling off into open space … these 5 guys are really digging the open vibes this night! This playfulness reaches some frantically anxious energy by the end of the track …
So track #4’s improvisation has grown out of that previous open exploration, and it is sparse with Chris leading the melody using wacky electric plunking while John interjects with piano, and the percussion brothers keep it all moving. Chris starts digging into his groove a bit more after 2min in but this subsides a bit and the sparse groove continues until Billy moves to the kit and picks up the tempo — everyone else responds. Close to 8min into this track the music splits apart again into more open exploration … yep, they are loving that … and you will love where this once again leads …
Wood @Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland 2005-07-08
HEGAZ! Track #5 finds the musicians resurrecting Hegaz from the earlier set – SWEET! MMW will go onto play this song numerous times throughout the spring tour, but these performances with Brahim on oud are MUST HEAR! It’s Brahim’s tune, we think, and he leads the ensemble brilliantly through it … love this TUNE! Never disappoints … and the version with MMW’s bus driver, Dominic Placo, on trumpet from April ’05 is outstanding!
Next up we get a Bass Solo intermingled with some open improvisation that lands us in a nice bluesy number — in a similar vein, the EARLY SET offered a nice gospel groove near the end as a ray of sunshine in an otherwise darkly-vibed set of music, and so the LATE SET likewise offers a sunny vibe at this point.
Martin @Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland 2005-07-08
illyB then introduces the band, and we’ve got time for “one more” … unfortunately, only one more tune, not set.
Queen Bee closes out the gig in fine form — the guys really dug this tune at the time, with lots of stellar performances and variations on it from late ’03-’05 … this one is exceptionally no exception …
A quick break, and the guys come out to lead us down Swamp Road for the encore … and if you haven’t listened to the duet take on that tune which Medeski and Logic recorded years ago, check it out too:
And of course, after hearing this gig I’ve always wanted to hear the next night, 3/8/2005, but alas, it’s never circulated … at least, not that I’ve seen …
Tonic seemed to allow the band to feel some good vibes with nothing but stellar gigs from that space. Never had the opportunity to attend, myself, but all the gigs for which we have recordings are many of my favourite MMW shows, and many involve HUGE DOSES OF IMPROVISATION — like this week’s pick — so soak up this Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
THE SHACK STREAM
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FAITU#35
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#35)
2017-01-17
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mmw @(le) poisson rouge, NYC, NY 2017-01-18
Source info:
2017-01-17.akg-ck93.137864.t-flac16 [TSP2017#2]
– SET I (tracks 1-11) –
– SET II (tracks 12-23) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
The Shack Project celebrates MMW @25 years!
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#35)
Instead of reading this time, check out my notes quickly via this 2min YouTube vid:
Martin & Wood @(le) poisson rouge, NYC, NY
2017-01-18
enjoy the grooves,
dug
THE SHACK STREAM
LISTEN/DOWNLOAD ANOTHER SHOW!
MMW Halloween History
– KNOWN/CIRCULATING RECORDINGS FROM HALLOWEEN (2000-2008) –
Trouble playing/downloading tunes?
| ~ HALLOWEEN Shows ~ ~ FLAC & MP3 filesets ~ ~ Download and/or Stream ~ |
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| 2000-10-31.schoeps-m222-mk41.96277.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #1] Beacon Theater, New York, NY Tuesday, October 31, 2000 # with Whirligig Percussion Ensemble (Paula Potocki, Arno Buzack & Gregg Burrows with Billy Martin & Cyro Baptista) * with Robert Randolph on pedal steel with Marc Ribot + Cyro Baptista on entire second set + encore |
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| 2001-10-31.fob.schoeps-cmc64.6158.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #2] The Beacon Theatre, New York, NY Wednesday, October 31, 2001 w/ Marc Ribot w/ Kid Koala and DJ P-Love # w/ Whirligig Percussion ensemble |
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 MMW – Halloween 2000 |
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| 2002-10-31.fob.neumann-tlm170.13067.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #3] Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY Thursday, October 31, 2002 # “Stridulations” are a series of independent percussion compositions written by illy B (aka Billy Martin), of which two were performed on this date, one leading right into the other. The five performers were: MMW, Steven Bernstein, and percussionist Carl Nilsen. * w/ DJ Spooky + w/ Mauro Refosco ^ w/ Smokey Hormel % w/ Uninvisible Horns of NYC: Steven Bernstein – trumpet, slide trumpet, director Briggan Krauss – alto sax Howard Johnson – tuba Curtis Hasselbring – trombone |
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| 2002-10-31.mbho603.13050.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #4] Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY Thursday, October 31, 2002 # “Stridulations” are a series of independent percussion compositions written by illy B (aka Billy Martin), of which two were performed on this date, one leading right into the other. The five performers were: MMW, Steven Bernstein, and percussionist Carl Nilsen. * w/ DJ Spooky + w/ Mauro Refosco ^ w/ Smokey Hormel % w/ Uninvisible Horns of NYC: Steven Bernstein – trumpet, slide trumpet, director Briggan Krauss – alto sax Howard Johnson – tuba Curtis Hasselbring – trombone |
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| 2002-10-31.mg210.112715.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #5] Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY Thursday, October 31, 2002 # “Stridulations” are a series of independent percussion compositions written by illy B (aka Billy Martin), of which two were performed on this date, one leading right into the other. The five performers were: MMW, Steven Bernstein, and percussionist Carl Nilsen. * w/ DJ Spooky + w/ Mauro Refosco ^ w/ Smokey Hormel % w/ Uninvisible Horns of NYC: Steven Bernstein – trumpet, slide trumpet, director Briggan Krauss – alto sax Howard Johnson – tuba Curtis Hasselbring – trombone |
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| 2003-10-31.akg393.retracked.122619.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #6] Beacon Theater, New York, NY Friday, October 31, 2003 One Set Most of show w/ DJ Le Spam * w/ Marc Ribot + w/ Spam Allstars horn section: –Mercedes Abal on flute –AJ Hill on Alto Sax –John Speck on trombone –Steve Welsh on Baritone Sax |
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| 2003-10-31.mg200.112716.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #7] Beacon Theater, New York, NY Friday, October 31, 2003 One Set Most of show w/ DJ Le Spam * w/ Marc Ribot + w/ Spam Allstars horn section: –Mercedes Abal on flute –AJ Hill on Alto Sax –John Speck on trombone –Steve Welsh on Baritone Sax |
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 MMW w/ Ribot – Halloween 2001 |
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| 2004-10-31.cad-equitek-e200(d1+d2)+mg200(d3).27302.t-flac [TSP-Halloween #8] Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY Sunday, October 31, 2004 One Set # with Antibalas Horn Section * cover of a song by Ethiopian keyboardist/composer Mulatu Astatqe, from the album “Liberty” (1974) ^ with Cyro Baptista (exact performance tunes unconfirmed, but sounds like these are the tracks) |
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| 2004-10-31.mg200.112717.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #9] Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY Sunday, October 31, 2004 One Set # with Antibalas Horn Section * cover of a song by Ethiopian keyboardist/composer Mulatu Astatqe, from the album “Liberty” (1974) ^ with Cyro Baptista (exact performance tunes unconfirmed, but sounds like these are the tracks) |
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| 2005-10-31.audix-1290-hc.31643.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #10] Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY Monday, October 31, 2005 One Set Entire show w/ Cyro Baptista + w/ SLAM (50+ piece band fronted by Kenny Wolleson & Jonathon Haffner) |
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 MMW – Halloween 2004 |
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| 2006-10-31.akg393.80135.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #11] Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY Tuesday, October 31, 2006 One Set # with Flora Purim (vocals) * with Sharon Jones (vocals) with Dave Tronzo (guitar) & Airto Moreira (percussion) for the entire show |
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| 2006-10-31.audix1290.79797.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #12] Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY Tuesday, October 31, 2006 One Set # with Flora Purim (vocals) * with Sharon Jones (vocals) with Dave Tronzo (guitar) & Airto Moreira (percussion) for the entire show |
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| 2006-10-31.schoeps-mk41.79897.t-flac16 [TSP-Halloween #13] Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY Tuesday, October 31, 2006 One Set # with Flora Purim (vocals) * with Sharon Jones (vocals) with Dave Tronzo (guitar) & Airto Moreira (percussion) for the entire show |
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| 2008-10-31.senn-k6.95827.t-flac [TSP-Halloween #14] Yebisu The Garden Hall, Tokyo, Japan Friday, October 31, 2008 One Set # with Cyro Baptista * with Jamie Cullum + WISM? Super Session with Shacho/Motoharu/tabu zombie/Midorin of Soil & “Pimp” Sessions |
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THE SHACK STREAM
LISTEN/DOWNLOAD ANOTHER SHOW!
The Shack Project 