Of Mud & Music: Shakori Spring Fest, Friday Reviews

Dancing in mud boots, drinking from mason jars, running into old friends...these are classic memories of the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival in April, when threats of tornados are par for the course. Trudging around in a rain poncho through the persistent damp, I forgot all about the manhunt transfixing the nation Friday night. Instead, I was hanging out at the Farm, catching a bit of John Howie, Greg Humphreys, Lizzy Ross, Joan Soriano, Preston Frank and The Beast + Big Band.

HEADS UP:  Two more days of the festival remain, with music on 4 stages through Sunday (4/21), including headliner Oliver Mtukudzi; FULL SHAKORI HILLS FESTIVAL SCHEDULE HERE.


Lizzy Ross fans

FRIDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS: Lizzy Ross Band at Carson Grove Stage

Rocking singer-songwriter Lizzy Ross, that golden-haired dynamo, has one of the most expressive voices I've ever heard. She seems to favor badass electric guitarists as sidemen to her high-flying vocals and acoustic guitar, and I can't agree more.

Luis Rodriguez

I always enjoyed the work of Jock Pyle with her in the past, and nowadays, I am really digging the sound and fury of Graham guitarist Luis Rodriguez. Some worthy onlookers and myself think he deserves the stage handle "Rockriguez." But that's for cooler heads to decide. We were understandably caught up in the moment.



Here's what I'm talking about--Lizzy's version of Bill Withers' sexy tune "Use Me," with Tim Smith sitting in on saxophone and Rockriguez [sic] tearing up the guitar solo:




Waiting in the wings: Tim Smith

SABOR DOMINICANO: Joan Soriano in the Dance Tent


Joan Soriano

It got crazy in the Dance Tent with bachata guitarist and singer-songwriter Joan Soriano. There were brief power outtages (I counted at least three) which deterred no one. Caribbean percussion is transportable street music anyway, commanding attention without electricity. Welcome to my island.



Two new guys on tour with Joan since the Motorco appearance in Durham awhile back: one is bass player Junior "Zaa," I met the second guitarist as well but don't remember his name. I studied the güiro player again this time, but had a better view of his floor tom technique. Bum bum bum, accenting those hits in the solar plexus.


New bassist: Junior "Zaa"




Griselda's bling

Joan was whimsical in his lead guitar solos, still one cool dude with his playful, rustic charm. His brother didn't accompany this tour, but his dancing-and-singing sister Griselda poured gasolina all over it.


With an acquaintance in Joan's crew, I had the pleasure of dancing to my favorite of the tunes Griselda sings on the CD La Familia Soriano: "Hazme Tuya," a 90s pop hit for Mexican teenager Maricela. The undeniability of pop, in a punchy bachata wrapper: why resist?





WE DON'T WANT NO TROUBLE NOW: The Beast headlines Meadow Stage

The Beast + Big Band is an enjoyable, XL expansion of the jazz/hiphop quartet normally comprised of Stephen Coffman, Pierce Freelon, Eric Hirsh and Peter Kimosh.



With a string section borrowed from Lost in the Trees and a horn and added rhythm section borrowed largely from Orquesta GarDel, it felt like Earth Wind & Fire meets the Fania All Stars.


Al Strong, Andy Kleindienst (hidden), Tim Smith and Aaron Hill 



Among the special guests were trombonist Andy Kleindienst who drove in from New Jersey (where he's in music school at Rutgers), and Yomira John, a Panama City vocalist who flew in for this salsa-flavored collaboration:



The Beast "Plus" started even later than scheduled, but were still dominating the Meadow Stage when I left at 2 am.





This video capture was my favorite, a) because I am a sucker for Eric Hirsh's vocoder, and b) because it's one of those satirical songs about some crazy shit that happens on the way to a gig:



Enjoy!

Links:

SHAKORI HILLS GRASSROOTS FESTIVAL:  APRIL 18-21, 2013

Lost and Found: Sudanese Rapper Emmanuel Jal @ Duke TODAY

Emmanuel Jal. Photo (c) Mike Tsang.

Some of you may have heard in the news recently that the United States has sent 100 military advisors to Uganda to take on the Lord's Resistance Army, a notorious group that has massacred thousands and displaced millions in Eastern and Central Africa since the 1980s. Forcing children to commit heinous crimes as 'child soldiers' is among the LRA's most warped, and well-known atrocities.

Emmanuel Jal, one of these former "Lost Boys" of Southern Sudan, escaped the LRA and is now a musician/activist spreading a message of peace to the world. The rapper and spoken word artist will participate in a FREE performance and discussion today at Duke, in the Reynolds Theater in the Bryan Center: Tuesday, Nov. 1, 7:30-9:30 pm. Doors open at 6:30; free parking and dessert reception. This event is free and open to the public.

Jal has released ten hip hop albums, with tracks in Arabic, English, Swahili, Dinka and Nuer languages. Here's the video single from his upcoming See Me Mama album, introduced by Alicia Keyes:



The event is part of a Kenan Institute for Ethics series entitled, "Uprooted, Rerouted: Stories of African Refugees Losing and Finding Home."

LINKS:

Event page at Duke
Facebook event page
Emmanuel Jal artist myspace

BREAKING: La Bruja @ Duke TONIGHT (10/24)

BREAKING: Just learned that Nuyorican spoken word artist and rapper La Bruja, aka Caridad de la Luz, performs at a student-sponsored event on the Duke campus tonight. It's FREE and OPEN to the public, and there has been a last minute venue change. The following information was confirmed for me by the artist today at 3 pm:

La Bruja performs tonight, Monday (10/24) from 6-7 pm, followed by discussion until 8 pm, in the McLendon Tower, 5th floor media room. This building is part of the new Keohane Quad on Duke's West Campus (see map here).



Here's a 2009 article about La Bruja in the New York Times. She's performed at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and on HBO's Def Poetry Jam.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

La Bruja artist webpage
La Bruja on Facebook

Catching Up With The Beast (10/1)

The Beast and Chit Nasty played a birthday party at Kings last Saturday (10/1). Chit Nasty is loud and funky as hell, with a Rick James meets Little Richard vibe.



That must've set the tone, because The Beast was a little raunchier than usual. Here's one of their newer songs, "Just Do It":






Beast fans with The Bieb @ Kings


FLASHBACK

Remember the earthquake? That night (8/23), The Beast did this live improv with special guests, a biweekly affair that happens second and fourth Tuesdays at Jack Sprat in Chapel Hill. The next "aLive Tuesday" happens 10/10, with special guest TBA.

SAMPLE OF THE WEEK: Astor Piazzola meets an earthquake theme.


Sitting in: The Brand New Life's Seth Barden (bass) and Walter Fancourt (saxophone).

Stephen Coffman on drums, Pierce Freelon on the mic, Eric Hirsh on piano/ keyboard/ samples.

Shakori Memories: Part One

Take me back to Shakori Hills...



April showers resulted in the muddiest Shakori in recent memory, making one appreciate anew such modern inventions as the gravel road. I saw cars and SUVs do mudwheelies in the artists' parking lot, sliding downhill into rows of parked cars as they tried to get traction on the once-grassy lanes.

But the music goes on, and on and on, all day and long into the Shakori night. I arrived around 11 am Saturday morning, and caught half of a belly dance class in the Healing Arts area, before wandering over to the Meadow Stage where Greg Humphreys was playing a brunch set. Sol Roots, Pura Fe, Tim Smith, Eric Hirsh, Robert Cantrell and other pals helped out for a song or two.


Greg Humphreys




Tim Smith, Robert Cantrell and Sol Roots

The mix'n'match jam sessions and artist exchanges that evolve are always among the best Shakori moments.

The Beast was at the same stage soon after...


Stephen Coffman and Pierce Freelon of The Beast




shake that tambourine...The Beast's Eric Hirsh

Umalali, the Garifuna Women's Project, was way more folkloric than I expected. I don't know much about these specific musical styles they played except that they are Central American with a strong African component. Of note: the maracas technique (way different from the Caribbean/salsa thing), and these big skin-covered barrel drums. Sometimes they played a clave recognizable as "Latin," sometimes not.



What's wonderful about this clip is the dancing, including audience participation (!):




Umalali

My Shakori Saturday stretched out 14 hours in total, so I can't tell it all. But I did make it through killer sets in the Dance Tent by Kairaba, Diali Cissokho's exciting new African band out of Pittsboro, and Orquesta GarDel's midnight salsa excursion.


Jonathan Henderson and Diali Cissokho of Kairaba

More posts on those bands SOON TO COME, including footage of a neat little salsa workshop by members of GarDel, with old time fiddle players sitting in!

Only at Shakori Hills...

aLive Tuesdays: The Beast + Greg Humphreys 3.8.11

Chemistry, timing, and musical diversity have always contributed to the magic of The Beast, Durham's live hip hop/jazz dynamo. Now those qualities get showcased every other week at Jack Sprat, at a free live show from 9-11 pm called aLive Tuesdays with The Beast.



What makes these evenings so much more than a live rehearsal is the way the sets are structured: the two hours are subdivided into four, gem-like sets, covering three or more genres, and featuring one invited guest.

This week began with instrumental jazz by The Beast Trio (minus Pierce). Then singer/songwriter Greg Humphreys did a solo set of his originals. Greg really kills it on the mic in a warm, intimate setting like this, expertly modulating his tone from jazz to soul to country. The full Beast convened next, doing 2 or 3 new songs. (Pierce said they are getting ready to record again this month.)





This headliner set always leads off with The Beast's "Sample of the Week," a live-composed jam based on a sample chosen by a different member of the band. This time, pianist Eric Hirsh went with a classical riff from "Venus," from Gustav Holst's orchestral suite "The Planets." Here's the beautiful, spontaneous result:



Finally, Greg joined The Beast for a closing set. Greg did this classy, witty ballad, "Must Be The Moon," already recorded with The Beast Trio, to be released on Greg's next album in 2011. Here's part of it, with a nice little piano solo by Eric:


"Must be the Moon" (Greg Humphreys/Nancy Armstrong), (c) Phrex Music BMI.

The set (and show) ended with this slamming collaborative version of Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up," which Greg often performs with his band Hobex. It featured an added rap by Pierce and a guitar solo by Greg:



So many pretty, cross-pollinated performances in one night...can't think of the last time I got so many kicks in two hours, for the price of a beer.



The next aLive Tuesdays with The Beast will be March 22, featuring "ChamberSoul" cellist/vocalist Shana Tucker.


Photo Credit: Tiona Fuller

Shana's debut CD Shine was just released a few weeks ago, give a listen on her website.

Hobex Redux + Fat Tuesday Alert

Video of Hobex from Saturday night (3/5), at the Pittsboro Mardi Gras Festival at Chatham Mill:



Peter Holsapple (organ), Cyril Lance (guitar), Andy Ware (bass), Rob Ladd (drums), Tim Smith (sax), and frontman Greg Humphreys (vocals, guitar). Greg had his table steel standing by, but did not deploy. Still it was a grand and festive evening. Some of my favorite Hobex originals, a tune from Greg's recent solo release, and some zydeco and soul covers kept the costumed pirates and merrymakers of Chatham County dancing.



FAT TUESDAY ALERT:

See Greg Humphreys tonight (3/8) at 9-11 pm @ Jack Sprat as a special guest at The Beast's "aLive Tuesdays." Raaaawwwwr!

4 short sets:
1) jazz set with The Beast Trio (Eric Hirsh, Peter Kimosh, Stephen Coffman)
2) solo acoustic set with Greg Humphreys
3) hip hop set with full cast of The Beast
4) The Beast + Greg Humphreys as special guest.

Words in Motion: Mosadi Music

Shirlette Ammons and Mosadi Music @ The Pour House

I relished the opportunity to hear a full set of Mosadi Music, a live hip hop band featuring Raleigh poet/emcee Shirlette Ammons, at The Pour House last Thursday. The lineup included The Old Ceremony's Matt Brandau on bass, electric guitarist Chris Boerner and drummer Nick Baglio.

This funky tune had already caught my ear, when Chris turned out a nice guitar solo:



For Mosadi's encore, Elijah Vick aka Tyler Hipnosis came up to do a cameo on the mic:



Vick/Hipnosis produced Shirlette's debut single, "A Spring Anthem," which features Carlitta Durand and Median. For a limited time, you can buy "A Spring Anthem" cocktail at select area bars (Whiskey, Bowbarr, Zog's Pool, etc.) and get a free copy of the single.

UPCOMING LIVE GIGS for Mosadi include the free, June 4 opening concert at Raleigh's new amphitheatre THIS FRIDAY, and Saxapahaw on Saturday, June 12.


Links:

Follow Mosadi Music's gigs on Facebook
Listen/Buy Mosadi Music on CD baby

Video Shoot @ Cuban Revolution

It was a live Orquesta GarDel performance at one of the Cobos' parties that inspired The Beast's salsa-hip-hop song, "Translation." So it was fitting that the Cobo Brothers party at Cuban Revolution set the scene for the video shoot last Thursday night.










Here's a snippet of video during the live shoot, with dancers James Cobo and Jennifer Laurenceau:




Links:

Full photo set on Flickr

Grand, Open: NCMA Festival Highlights

After playing Shakori on Friday night, Orquesta GarDel was in Raleigh by 11 am Saturday morning to kick off the NC Museum of Art's Grand Opening Festival. The turnout of salsa dancers representing different styles for both Gardel, and again on Sunday for Charanga Carolina, was really awesome. It was a vibrant image of our salsa community. It was truly exciting to see how well-received "our Latin thing" was by visitors to the Grand Opening. A lot of people--including one 81-year-old woman from Garner--told me they hoped to see the Museum do this kind of thing again.


The Beast @ NCMA Grand Opening Festival on Saturday

If you haven't yet seen the new gallery upgrade, drop by sometime during visiting hours. Admission is FREE, and it belongs to you, the taxpayers of North Carolina. It's quite an ark.

Link: The Independent Weekly's cover story on the new NCMA

As stage manager at the Plaza Stage, I enjoyed working with the artists and an excellent, excellent sound and stage crew. The 21-piece NCCU Jazz Big Band never sounded better, and Appalachian duo David Holt and Josh Goforth were big crowdpleasers; their CDs sold like hotcakes at the merch table. Southern Sun Drum, the official drum of the Lumbee tribe from Pembroke, came with singers and dancers in regalia. They got the whole community (i.e. the audience) to circle and dance around the drum for the final songs. The diversity of the programming worked really well. Saturday on the plaza closed with The Beast, which energized one break dancer to emerge from the crowd (see video).



The Gospel Jubilators, an a capella group from Durham, had me join their prayer circle before they went on stage. They prayed for the spirit to move someone in the audience. Les Primitifs du Futur, a cabaret-jazz group from Paris, were on next, and sure enough, their saxophone player teared up listening to genuine article, African-American spirituals.


Les Primitifs du Futur Sunday @ NCMA

Les Primitifs are very serious musicians and yet very charming, playing a fantastic array of instruments from accordion to theremin to xylophone. Charanga was in the wings, ready to go on next, and we all enjoyed hearing Les Primitifs play a 1930s Cuban son in the French Musette style.



Inside the former East Building, crowds gathered to hear and observe Greensboro experimental musicians Invisible (aka Bart Trotman and Mark Dixon) play their analog drum machine, Rhythm 1001. Sunday afternoon, a complete performance of Mahler's 2nd Symphony, with 200 orchestral and choral musicians, took place inside, which was slightly mindblowing. Tift Merritt, The Monitors, and Carolina Brass played in the Park Theater Saturday night. The Museum posts a total visitor count of almost 15,000 for the entire grand opening weekend.

Summer events in the outdoor Museum Park Theater start soon, in May--see full schedules below.

Links:

NCMA Summer Concert Schedule
NCMA Summer Film Schedule

2010: Live and in Durham

Where to be on New Year's Eve? Some jive dj party just wouldn't cut it...it had to be live music. On any other night of the year, I would have hightailed it south on I-85 to check out this West End Mambo collaboration with the Greensboro Symphony. But on NYE, who wants to be on the highway between 10 and midnight?

It had to be live music...

The Beast. Together with Hammer No More The Fingers, at Broad Street Cafe, Durham's latest endangered nightspot bringing class and culture to the Bull City. Ambience: check. Reasonable: double check (a mere $10). Close to home: gravy.

I didn't think The Beast would have their GarDel-raided horn section, Andy Kleindienst being in Greensboro at the West End Mambo gig, so it was a happy surprise to find Tim Smith sitting at the bar when I came in. Gravy and biscuits.

This party was nice and mellow, teeming with Durham folks in their finery, from insulated flannel to Liberace-worthy fake fur, patent vinyl pumps to biker boots. It was a fashion trail mix. Nice change of pace from the sleek and sweaty salsa scene.

The Beast gave an awesome, intimate live set from about 10:30-11:30. Intimacy is one of Broad Street's virtues. There was at least one new joint, and Pierce also billed the Kwanzaa documentary soundtrack tune, "The Black Candle," (click on link to see video) as a New Year's Eve exclusive.



Tim Smith crooned "Let's Stay Together," as only Tim Smith can, and embellished a few other tunes with his saxophone. Here he is soloing on "More To Me" off The Beast's latest album Silence Fiction:



As The Beast got ready to close down their set with "Translation" (from Silence Fiction featuring Orquesta GarDel), I got another jump for my money. Brushing past me to get onstage in mid-mambo is Andy Kleindienst, fresh off the interstate, with his trombone out and blasting. It was great to catch the on-stage reunion for posterity:



Andy reports that West End and the Symphony was "solid," the Latin rhythm section was integrated into the symphony throughout, and that a lot of people were dancing. More eye-witness reports welcome!



Hammer No More was a good pairing. It was my first time seeing them, and I understand what the fuss is about. Nice sound, smart music. After the countdown, they rocked a still-willing crowd from about midnight to 1:00.

Happy New Year, everybody. 2010 will be a whole new ball game for Latin music on tour! More on this soon.

RADIO ALERT: Interview with THE BEAST Wed @ 6 PM

Today in the first hour of Azucar y Candela, I'll be interviewing some members of The Beast (guests TBA, but most likely Pierce Freelon and Eric Hirsh) about their new album and recent collaboration with Orquesta GarDel.

WHAT: Interview with THE BEAST
WHEN: 6 pm (First hour), Wednesday (10/14)
WHERE: AZUCAR y CANDELA, 6-8 pm ET 88.7 FM WXDU and www.wxdu.org

Shakori Highlights: The Beast

UPDATED! with CD review, see below...



Is anything hotter than The Beast these days? Advance copies of next week's CD release, Silence Fiction, can be snapped up now at their Shakori sets. Catch them again Saturday at 4:15 pm.


The Beast sings the gospel of "Interfaith Dialogue" at the Meadow Stage on Friday

The Beast's intensity is as taut yet agile as Pierce Freelon's physique, which was partially bared Friday night as he pounced around stage like Rilke's panther unleashed, and even sent a loaned hula hoop careening around his waist at one point.



But The Beast isn't driven by Pierce's undeniable physical charisma alone. Creativity is instrumental, pun intended: this band takes it to another level, complementing Pierce's unbounded thought universe with mood swings and tempo changes that open up these tunes like nested boxes, or turtles on top of turtles on top of more turtles. (Hint: It's turtles all the way down.)





More to come...

UPDATE 10/12...

Silence Fiction drops 10/16

This will make me sound crazy, but while listening to The Beast's new Silence Fiction CD on my way to the Farmer's Market today, I wept. I was walking around the produce stands, picking out apples and eggplants, with tear-streaked sunglasses. Had anyone asked me what was wrong, I would have said: "I just listened to a really great album."

Let's get to the bottom of this. The musicians of Orquesta GarDel are close to my heart, and hearing the amazing way they are integrated into this production was both moving and really satisfying.

Bringing the Triangle's premier salsa band in to the studio to record "Translation" was a natural extension for GarDel co-leader and Beast arranger Eric Hirsh. I love that song's point of view character, who isn't a cultural insider, but just stumbles into a club with his date on "salsa night." The authentic sound texture emerges like a memory and takes over the song, just as it shapes the couple's insouciant romance. The "translation" that matters isn't getting across a few phrases of Spanish, it's the message that love and culture are both border-jumpers. Once they surround you, they will transform you.

That brings us to another point. The Beast's music stirs emotions as well as thoughts, especially when I contemplate how Pierce's rhymes and Eric's arrangements complement each other. Pierce raps about freedom, and Eric freely alludes to all the different musical styles under his belt, from classical to Afro-Cuban. Beethoven or bembe, nobody cares the places we go.

This whole crazy tapestry of languages makes me wild. The Beast is speaking.

The core musicians in this combo know each other so well that the interaction is smooth and palpable, even through tricky gear shifts. Stephen Coffman's drumming is both powerful and shimmery. I also love the funky bass wisdom of Pete Kimosh, who has made so many of my nights danceable with his stylish tumbao (that's a Latin bassline, y'all) in GarDel.



At Shakori, two more Gardelites Andy Kleindienst and Tim Smith formed a horn section for the latter half of the Friday set, and Tim contributed vocals on an uplifting Al Green cover.



And speaking of Tim, when was the last time the Tim Smith Band played Shakori? (2 and half years ago, since you asked.) Seems he's always out there gigging with someone else; hope they invite him back with his own band one of these days.

I've heard Silence Fiction at least a half dozen times now, and The Beast is still speaking to me. How on earth are people supposed to wait until Friday's CD release party at Duke Coffeehouse?! If you must hear it before then, try WXDU 88.7 FM; my promo copy went into rotation tonight.