The Latest
by Staff
1/6/09
Out of The Jam Room and on Cruise Control: Jam Cruise Day 2
Jam Cruise's first two days at sea flowed seamlessly into one thanks in
part to the traveling festival's trademark Jam Room. Brock Butler served
as the open performance space's unofficial master of ceremonies, sitting
in with a variety of musicians until the entertainment reached a climax
around 6 AM Tuesday morning with the unlikely combo of Butler, Ivan
Neville and Les Claypool (the latter of whom used the opportunity to show
of his considerable skills behind the drum kit). Numerous other musicians
and passengers took their turn in the Jam Room between the hours of
Midnight and 6 AM as well, including the members of The Dynamites and a
rock-based trio featuring guitarist Scott Metzger (RANA), bassist Dave
Dreiwitz (Ween) and drummer Stanton Moore (Galactic).
With the ship at sea all day, musicians and fans alike busied themselves
with a number of unique activities ranging from a game of Are You Smarter
Than a Rockstar? featuring Butler and the members of Tea Leaf Green to a
treasure hunt led by artist Lebo to an unaffiliated Jam Cruise wedding
featuring the music of the Lee Boys. Meanwhile, Cyro Baptista hosted a
percussion workshop, where the members of Medeski, Martin & Wood and
their families participated along with the passengers.
Earlier in the afternoon Relix's Cold Turkey podcast team of Mike
Greenhaus and Benjy Eisen introduced Cruise Control, Jam Cruise's official
talk show. The program was held in the ship's Convent Garden Theater
featuring performances by both the ship's magician and dance troupe, an
interview with Les Claypool and a live podcast with Leftover Salmon's Drew
Emmitt and Vince Herman. The New Deal served as the program's Max Weinberg
7-style house band, performing between segments and, at the end of the
show, offering an impromptu three-song performance with Herman and Emmittt in
a group dubbed the Blue Deal. Despite having never talked before the
program, the five musicians gelled and, at the end of Cruise Control,
Herman joked that America has been trying to "dismantle the New Deal since
Reagan."
On stage, the day's offering felt akin to a late night set at New Orleans
Jazz Fest, with many musicians making good use of their wah-wah peddle and
most musicians inviting out at least few special guests. English funk
exports the New Mastersounds opened the afternoon's set on Jam Cruise's
trademark Pool Deck Stage, before handing over the stage to ALO. Later in the afternoon,
Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk took home the day's collaboration award, cycling no
less than Les Claypool, Eric Krasno, Karl Denson, Skerik, Sam Kininger, Ryan
Zoidis and the entire Bonerama horn section onstage throughout its 90-minute poolside
performance. Elsewhere, DJ Rekha gave fans grooving in the ship's pool a
Bollywood dance lesson, while Brock Butler offered a cover-heavy solo set
that opened with an acoustic rendition of Talking Heads' "This Must Be the
Place (Naïve Melody)." John Medeski also treated fans to an unannounced
30-minute solo performance on a glass grand piano located in the ship's lobby.
The evening's festivities were more eclectic. Les Claypool headlined Jam
Cruise's pool performance space with his latest solo band and, for the
second night in a row, invited out longtime collaborator Skerik to sit in
for a few songs mid-show. Percussionist Mike Dillon remained onstage
after Claypool and the rest of their band left, to perform with Skerik,
Stanton Moore and Marco Benevento as Garage a Benevento. In addition to a
handful of Garage a Trois favorites, the group ran through some newer
Benevento originals like "The Real Morning Party." Meanwhile, Bill Nershi
and Drew Emmitt expanded their Emmitt-Nershi Band to include String Cheese
Incident's Keith Moseley, Jeff Sipe, Andy Stone and, for their encore,
singer/songwriter Martin Sexton, while Porter Batiste Stoltz invited out
Dumpstaphunk bassist Nick Daniels during their performance in the Savannah Bar.
Two all-star cover bands also took the stage late in the afternoon. First,
Bustle in Your Hedgerow---the instrumental Led Zeppelin cover band
featuring Scott Metzger, Dave Dreiwitz and Scott Metzger---performed to a
packed-housed in the Covent Garden Theater and then Umphrey's McGee's Kris
Myers, Ryan Stasik and Joel Cummins teamed up with ALO's Dan Lebowitz and
the Neal Deal keyboardist Jamie Shields and New Deal drummer Darren Shearer
for a set of Yacht Rock covers. Perhaps the cruise's most unique performance
thus far, the six musicians offered soft FM favorite from the years
1976-1984 from the likes of Hall & Oates, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan
(Karl Denson, Ron Johnson and ALO's Zach Gill also participated at
various points throughout the outdoor set).
The evening's offerings continued as the night segued into morning with
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals performing in the Covent Garden Theater, DJ
Rekha spinning in the Disco and the Lee Boys anchoring a jam session in
the Savannah Bar that drew in Big Sam and Trombone Shorty, among others.
Meanwhile, the unlikely duo of Karl Denson and Jackie Greene appeared in
the Jam Room, one of many combos likely to take the stage until the wee
hours of the morning.
Orchard Lounge To Open Tempo Tour
Later this week, Orchard Lounge will begin an extended winter 2009 tour with a show in Boulder. The Chicago-based DJ Trio will appear at the B.Side Lounge on Thursday for the first of three area dates before heading down to Texas. Spencer Lokken, Bethany Lokken and Ben Silver will then head East and travel up the coast to complete the 14 date January leg of their Tempo Tour. Looking ahead to February, Orchard Lounge will open dates for both The Disco Biscuits and Lotus, while participating in the 5th Annual Tucson Gem and Jam.
The Travelin McCourys and The Lee Boys
The Del McCoury Band is only slated to make one appearance this month, on January 28 in Norfolk, VA at the NorVa. However, while the group's namesake won't be touring, his sons Ron and Rob will pick up a a series of gigs with their fellow members of the Del McCoury Band. The Travelin McCourys will feature Ron McCoury on mandolin, Rob McCoury on banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle, and Alan Bartram on bass. This quartet will be joined by The Lee Boys for a series of Southern shows, including stops in Athens, Boone, Atlanta, Hilton Head, Birmingham and Chattanooga. The Travelin McCourys pledge to draw in guest musicians on guitar and vocals so it is likely that members of The Lee Boys will join them.
Honkytonk Homeslice Goes Electric with Moseley and Teele
Honkytonk Homeslice will resurface in Colorado for three shows in mid-January. The band will expand to an electric quintet during these gigs, with Scottt Law, Jilian Nershi and Billy Nershi joined by Nershi's String Cheese Incident bandmate Keith Moseley on electric bass and Christian Teele (ETown) on drums. The five musicians will open up their run on January 15 at the Fox Theatre in Boulder. From there they will travel to Ft. Collins for a show at Hodi's Half Note, followed by a co-bill with the Sam Bush Band on Saturday January 17, which will celebrate the 6 Year Anniversary of Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver.
Benevento Barr and Mathis
Back in November, Marco Benevento had been scheduled to perform four Northeast dates with The Slip's Andrew Barr and Tea Leaf Green bassist Reed Mathis. However, due to commitments with the group Land Of Talk, Barr stepped aside and was replaced by Jon Fishman. In February the original trio will come together for a series of West Coast dates. Benevento Barr and Mathis will open up their tour on February 2nd at Don Quixote's in Felton, CA and perform through the 7th, with stops in Oakland (Yoshi's, 2/3), Seattle (The Triple Door, 2/5), Bend, OR (Old Stone Church, 2/6) and Portland (GoodFoot Lounge, 2/7).
Jeff Austin and Brendan Bayliss In Colorado
Back in 2005, Umphrey’s McGee and Yonder Mountain String Band toured together with the Big Summer Classic. Ever since then, Brendan Bayliss and Jeff Austin have maintained a musical relationship, offering up occasional performances, including an acoustic duo set on Jam Cruise 5 (since we have Jam Cruise on the brain- look for Mike Greenhaus' current report later today). In late January, Bayliss and Austin, who have been working on a studio recording on and off for some time now, will perform two Colorado dates. On January 25, the pair will appear in Denver at the Walnut Room and then on the 26th will move to Boulder for a show at the B.Side Lounge. These gigs likely will draw on their band's respective catalogs but some new material is promised as well.
1/5/09
ALO and TLG Hop Venues on NYE
On December 31 both ALO and Tea Leaf Green performed in their home base of San Francisco. TLG delivered three sets at Mezzanine, while ALO did the same at The Independent. Early in the night, Tea Leaf Green's Trevor Garrod made it over to The Independent, where he sat in with ALO during "The Gardner." A few hours later, well into the morning of 2009, ALO's Steve Adams and Dan Lebowitz returned the favor. Adams, who had appeared with TLG on occasion over the course of 2008, while Reed Mathis gigged with JFJO, joined in for "Freedom" and "Zoom Zoom" near the close of the third set before Lebowitz stepped out for a version of "Franz Hanzerbeak." Other guests at the ALO show included New Monsoon's Bo Carper who appeared on "Waiting For Jaden," and the SF Horns, who took the stage throughout the second set for covers of such songs as "In the Midnight Hour," "Baby I Love You," "Girl I Wanna Lay You Down" and "Oh What A Night." Meanwhile at the Independent, Keyboard player Pete Sears, from opener Moonalice, joined Tea Leaf Green on "Let Us Go." Both groups are currently on Jam Cruise.
Free Matisyahu in NYC Tonight
Fresh off his Festival of Light Hanukah celebration, Matisyahu will perform a free show this evening in New York City. The performance will take place at Rockwood Music Hall from 9-10 PM, with Matisyahu appearing on a bill that also includes: Aaron Dugan, Aunt Martha, Analogue Transit and Andy Mac. This will be of only two scheduled appearances by the singer this month, with the other being a January 22 show at the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival. That event will take place at Montego Bay, Jamaica and also will feature Lionel Richie, Robin Thicke, Atlantic Starr Maxi Priest, among others.
Femi Kuti To Reschedule Boston Tour Opener and First Week of Dates
Femi Kuti had been slated to begin his U.S. tour on Wednesday in Boston at the Paradise Rock Club. However, the Nigerian musician will instead will kick things off in Montreal at Club Soda on January 14. Kuti, who released Day By Day late last year, also has opted to reschedule the New York, Washington, DC and Philadelphia dates due to illness. The Afrobeat artist's big band will travel from Montreal through the Midwest and on to California, with an appearance on January 24 at the San Diego House of Blues currently the last confirmed show. While the Paradise is offering refunds at point of purchase, the venue does indicate that a new date will be announced.
Reed Mathis Departs JFJO
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey has announced that founding member Reed Mathis will leave the group. Mathis, who joined Tea Leaf Green in December 2007, will focus his energies on that endeavor. JFJO will move forward as a quartet with Brian Haas on keys, Josh Raymer on drums, Chris Combs on guitar and Matt Hayes on bass. The group will return to the stage on Saturday January 10 in New York City at Kenny's Castaways as part of the 2009 NYC Winter Jazzfest before embarking on a West Coast tour later this month.
Jam Cruise Night One
The sixth annual Jam Cruise set sail last night from Ft.
Lauderdale, FL. As in years past, the multi-day cruise recruited an
intriguing number of musicians primarily from the jam-scene's New Orleans,
San Francisco, New York and Boulder hubs---some with their full band, many
others as free agent roving musicians. This year, however, Jam Cruise
expanded its capacity considerably to welcome passengers aboard the brand
new MSC Orchestra. While the new ship offers far more luxurious
accommodations, the cruise's increased volume combined with some minor
technical problems caused some passengers to wait in line for up to a few hours before they were allowed to board the ship.
But, even just an evening in, the afternoon's organizational blemishes
seem all but forgotten. After the Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
kicked off the cruise's entertainment during the festival's sail away
party, the extended-weekend's collaborations kicked in fast and furious:
Medeski, Martin and Wood recruited longtime collaborator Cyro Baptista to
play percussionist throughout its pool side set, Tea Leaf Green brought out
both Zach Gill (ALO) and Tim Bluhm (Mother Hips) to sing backup vocals on
a cover of the Beatles' "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" and
Lettuce invited out Robert Walter, Karl Denson and Tony Hall
to play on a cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up." With regular
keyboardist Neil Evans at home working on a score for an HBO series, Ivan
Neville performed with Lettuce throughout its entire set and, at one
point, the group also expanded its horn section to include fellow New
Orleans staples Trombone Shorty and Big Sam.
Elsewhere, Leftover Salmon christened the cruise's main Covent Garden
Theater and the New Deal played a packed outdoor set that started sometime
past 1:15 AM and stretched until near dawn. Les Claypool served as the
evening's official headliner, leading a slim three-person backing band
through both solo chestnuts and material from his forthcoming studio
project (which he described from the stage as a "sort of film score"). He
also reminded fans "to pace themselves and the debauchery will flow."
Countless additional musicians have also been spotted wandering around and
boat (and buffet), giving the traveling event the relaxed feel of a "rock
and roll" fantasy camp.
Jam Cruise has become known for its bonus entertainment as well, and this
year is no exception. Return customers dubbed "repeat offenders" were
invited to a special welcome party featuring a new combo featuring Stanton
Moore, Robert Walter, Reed Mathis and Karl Denson. In addition, Sound
Tribe Sector 9's David Murphy offered a DJ set with Colorado DJ Rootz in
the silent disco from 1-3 AM, before plugging in for a traditional
late-night DJ set that stretched until 5 AM.
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Exclusive:
December/January ‘09 Digital Issue.
