Comments on: Seeing Live Jazz: Bird With Strings (Really)

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:01:20 +0000

I go see as much as I can, but the majority of what I see is very modern. In New Orleans, there is a pretty nice music scene although it was much bigger before Hurricane Katrina. Still, the Modern Jazz scene is very alive. There is some avant garde, and a lot of Jazz Funk fusion bands that play around and the city also attracts plenty of music but not really a ton of jazz from say the Hard Bop periods. Then you have the jazz fest which gets you a few big names a year, but this has dwindled down to just one or two big non-local names. Also, there is a arts group that attracts one big name a year. In previous years it’s been McCoy Tyner, and Ahmad Jamal both of whom can still play.
I think though that the amount of live Jazz you see depends on your taste. I’ve seen some great stuff in New York clubs, but it was more Modern artists like Kurt Rosenwinkel, Chris Potter, Joshua Redman, etc whom I love but are not a lot of people’s cup of tea.

By: don-lucky

don-lucky — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:29:45 +0000

Just a side note: Dave Brubeck coincidently is another artist that has taken to performing alongside orchestras a bit more frequently these days… Like ‘Bird with Strings’, it certainly adds another dimension to the old standards.

By: don-lucky

don-lucky — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:19:25 +0000

…Sounds like a great night on the town Al ! Lincoln Centre may not be the most historic of venues in NYC, but it certainly has it’s fair share of great shows these days. Besides, no matter who’s performing, there are always some great restaurants in the area to hit before the show. (Patsy’s Italian is not far off, just over on 236 W. 56th … That was one of Sinatra’s favorites apparently. Food’s not bad, but it’s a bit “touristy” on the weekends…)
At least once you are in town full time you will have the option to step out to the clubs if just on those rare nights when the few remaining Jazz legends drop in for a set or two… (As a matter of fact, I think Dave Brubeck is at the 92nd Street ‘Y’ tonight at 8pm, and then at the Blue Note in June and November) Enjoy it while we still can I say !
It’s certainly no secret on this forum that I am a huge advocate of the live experience. Especially in a club setting like the Vanguard, or the Lennox Lounge. You can really feel the history behind all those recordings that we collect & cherish. Seeing an artist improvise live on stage has a certain energy that can never really be duplicated in any recording. Although, truth be told, for me it was the live performances that made me want to explore and connect with this art form further through collecting LP’s. (Perhaps it is a way to “self-medicate” between sets, who knows !)
You certainly have a good point about how each year there are fewer and fewer guys still around from the Golden Age worth seeing that haven’t branched off from their Jazz roots or “retired” altogether. That being said, some of today’s “young lions” who were schooled by the greats are still worth checking out if you get the chance. Who knows, it might re-kindle that old flame with live Jazz…