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Sten Sandell w/ John Butcher
Two of the key components of a good improv group are listening, and knowing when to lay out. Sten, drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, bassist Johan Berthling, and brit saxophonist John Butcher committed themselves to a fine balancing act. Sharing the sonic spectrum, and leaving each other space to strut their respective stuff, they never lost sight of the the fact they were were there to play as a group and support each other.

I wouldn’t mind hearing these guys sonically molest some traditional jazz or pop material. I’ve always enjoyed the tension created when an artist takes the listener expectations inherent in a well known tune and treats them to an aural taffy pull. Monk Re-Thunk, perhaps? Prince De-Throned?

This show featured great players doing great things, yet somehow left me feeling a little flat. I see two main reasons for this: 1) Coastal Jazz and Blues has an enviable knack for presenting impressive and daring acts, and 2) I keep going to see these acts. I think I have simply been spoiled by the Vancouver Jazz Festival to the point that music that was once remarkable and exciting has become joyously common place.

Cuong Vu Trio
With no shortage of technically innovative players these days, the trick seems to be creating a group that balances skills, aesthetics, and egos in pursuit of a common sound. This group succeeds, and in doing so brings the jazz trio into the 21st century. The subtle and well groomed electronic processing of Coung and his super-hero electric bass player Stomu Takeishi, hung admirably from the various and sundry rhythmic gestures of drummer Ted Poor.

Sans piano or guitar, the trio fleshes out it’s aural palette with looped phrases, delay, and a host of other appropriate and beautiful sonic manipulations. While some eschew melody for impact, this trio blends the two admirably. While not exactly hummable, there was ample form and melodic material to hang onto while careening through the arrangements.

I’ve always had a fondness for trios. It seems to me they work a little harder on arrangements, phrasing, and dynamics in lieu of the bombast and timbral palette of a larger group. The bar has been set for this years festival, and I am declaring this my fave festival gig. Granted, it’s only day three as I write this, and there is plenty more to come. Tune in again in a week and see if they have been bested….

Technorati Tags: music, Jazz, Festivals, Vancouver restaurant reveiw

So, I go link hopping looking for some comic book covers to mash-up, bastardize, and generally have fun with, and I got side tracked.
I came of age in the cassette era, and just narrowly missed the horror of some of these gems.

What was the meeting for this album like?

Management : “Look, we signed these guys for a tax write off, so it doesn’t matter how gay the cover is.”
Art Department: ” I know just the image…”
Obviously, these dudes are ManoWar fans.

Wow! roger is one DEEP cat -Plus he has sequins (just in case being deep doesn’t cut it on its own).

No, Freddie, they aren’t. They faked it because they sick and goddamn tired of your white tie with white shirt and white boots, uber-vanilla lifestyle.

So this is is where they come from…..

This anachronistic discomfort brought to you from the archives at coverbrowser.com.

Technorati Tags: advertising, comedy, cover art, graphic design nightmares, humour, music, parody, seemed like a good idea at the time.

A few years back my inbox was inundated with golf jokes and fwd: material by recently retired relatives. I put forth a theory, half jokingly, that with the looming boomer retirement wave, these folks would cripple the internet with their social spam. Looks like xkcd has my back on this one:

Technorati Tags: blogging, Cartoons, comedy, communication, computers, geek, humour

Dancers without bones
Digital disturbances -
Please offend often!

The Hard Rubber Orchestra has been described as the only ensemble of its kind on the planet. Under the direction of composer, conductor and trumpeter John Korsrud, the company has delighted local and international audiences. Previous large-scale works include 2005 Alcan Award-winning Enter/Exit; The Ice Age: In 2000, The World’s Worst New Music Ice Show, performed at Kerrisdale Arena and featuring the talents of hockey players, curlers and figure skaters and Zamboni choreography; White Hot Core, a collaboration with Kokoro Dance; and The Elvis Cantatas, which took an irreverent look at pop icons at St. Andrew’s Wesley Church.

Technorati Tags: haiku, Hard Drubber Orchestra, music, Canadian Music

About a week ago I finished the final book in the Baroque Trilogy, The System of the World, by Neal Stephenson. I enjoyed the books very much. I love the fact he didn’t shy away from complexity. A story involving pirates, economics, physics, cryptography, politics, and religion, and computing (17th century style) is a lot to take in. Somehow, he made it all make sense. Not only did it make sense, by the end, you get the feeling that if any of the mentioned topics had been dropped from the mix, it wouldn’t have made sense at all. Now, I am ready for something lighter - figuratively and literally.

I’m thinking it’s time to try Graphic Novels. Luckily, there has been a couple of posts by Cory Doctorow on boingboing, as well as a group I found on facebook. No shortage of interesting titles and authors.

I also found a couple online resources for us noobs: artbomb and electric sheep. Some dystopian black and white sci-fi can be had here. I appreciate the opportunity to check out genres and styles on line, but I still want paper in hand - something that can be read under a tree in the park. After all, it is summer.

Technorati Tags: books, Cartoons, Graphic Novels