Monday Night Jazz @ Spike Hill: Snafu

Snafu @ Spike Hill

Walked by from Spike Hill (Bedford Av at N7th) yesterday and discovered they have a good Monday night jazz program there – the band playing at the moment was called Snafu. The arrangements and compositions were really enjoyable and the lineup sounded kind of fresh -  alto (Loren Stillman), trombone, solidbody electric guitar, a really grooving electric bass, drums. Heard so many great ideas there. The band leader was Tim Ziesmer, the guitar player and composer. You could hear him being a composer in his playing – ideas were so well thought out and cultivated with care.
But New York really seems to need more jazz audiences. So often people don’t  even find their way to all the free shows that are happening all over the city. And these musicians here really care about music and are actually a joy to be heard.
In Estonia, I think many musicians can get away with playing almost anything and still get some recognition. Weird, here so many people play just ridiculously good, go almost unnoticed and hardly make any money at all. Another funny thing is that these musicians here seem to be on a way less of an ego trip as well .

John Ellis Group @ Solo Kitchen Bar

John Ellis Group @ Solo Kitchen Bar

Seems like Solo Kitchen Bar is a great place to hear jazz on Sundays – this time it was John Ellis Group playing, really amazing band, sounded great. Finally got to hear Tim Collins on vibraphone, loved it, especially his phrasing. . One of the highlights of the night was certainly when they played Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans. I got to thinking that laid back and bluesy vibes playing must be one of the sexiest things ever But the band was still missing Grant Green for that tune . Yeah, and besides being an amazing tenor player, John Ellis is a really brilliant composer as well, heard a lot of great original tunes that night.

BMI/Jazz Composers Workshop Annual Concert @ Christ & St. Stephen’s Church

Last night I checked out the annual BMI/Jazz Composers Workshop (for big band, performed by New York Jazz Orchestra) concert @ Christ & St.Stephen’s Church (W 69th St), which featured some of last season’s best work. It was nothing out of this world as I was hoping it to be. But the most interesting piece that was nominated, in my opinion also, Sara Jacovino’s Mental Block, won – the Charlie Parker Composition Competition. One of the judges couldn’t make it so they just took Rufus Reid from the audience to fill in.
As composers go, I think there are some really good ones in Estonia. I got reassured on that.

BMI/Jazz Composers Workshop Annual Concert @ Christ & St. Stephen's Church

Last night I checked out the annual BMI/Jazz Composers Workshop (for big band, performed by New York Jazz Orchestra) concert @ Christ & St.Stephen’s Church (W 69th St), which featured some of last season’s best work. It was nothing out of this world as I was hoping it to be. But the most interesting piece that was nominated, in my opinion also, Sara Jacovino’s Mental Block, won – the Charlie Parker Composition Competition. One of the judges couldn’t make it so they just took Rufus Reid from the audience to fill in.
As composers go, I think there are some really good ones in Estonia. I got reassured on that.

Sunday @ Solo Kitchen Bar: Douglas Bradford Group and Ben Monder Trio

Douglas Bradford Group

Went to Solo Kitchen Bar again (Flatbush, Brooklyn, Cortelyou Rd stop from the Q-train) they have great free shows on Sundays. This time I checked out the first one (starting 6:30) as well, because a friend was playing – and it was a great band, really – Douglas Bradford Group featuring John Beaty on alto, Greg Chudzik on bass, Nick Anderson on drums, Douglas Bradford on guitar and  compositions. I really enjoyed it! But seriously, why is the only audience in all these concerts other musicians??? Quoting a guy called Alabaster here: The only good thing about the times we’re living in is dentistry.

Ben Monder Trio @ Solo Kitchen Bar

But actually a lot more people showed up for Ben Monder trio concert later on (Ben Street was on bass, Mark Ferber on drums)  finally the place was quite packed, with no free seats. It was a great concert with a really appreciative audience (musicians again?). They played some standards such as What’s New, I’ll Remember April, original compositions and Hey Jude, the Beatles song. Didn’t hear everything because I actually went out to smoke something in between. Some of the things the drummer did made it feel like surf jazz at times – great tripping music .

Tööotsingud ja esimene jam

Bryant Park

Praegu olen jälle Bryant Park’is, siin on tasuta WIFI. Muru lõhnab  ja purskkaev vuliseb – ma olen looduses Täna otsisin päev otsa tööd (minu internship kahjuks raha sisse ei too…) ja jätsin terve hunniku CV-sid igasugustesse baaridesse ja kohvikutesse. Lõpuks ma midagi isegi leidsin, eks näis. Nüüd kui alles on ainult loetud dollarid, paistab elu hoopis teistes värvides – kui ma McDonaldsisse 1-dollarist soft ice‘i ostma läksin, mõtlesin, kas ma pmst suudaks seal töötada… Oeh. Ma üritan esialgu McDonalds’i peale veel mitte välja minna, ma ei oskaks nagunii seal neid sente -dimes, quarters, nickels jne lugeda… Muide, alguses ma otsisin tööd reaalselt enda CV-ga, aga siis ma sain aru, et ma lihtsalt pean sinna midagi juurde luuletama – nüüd uue versiooniga on hoopis lõbusam tööd otsida. Ma olen hakanud nüüd ise ka juba uskuma, et olen kohvikus töötanud . Jama on see, et Social Security Number’i saab alles juunis, ma ei teadnud, et see  J1 viisa juures nii on, see selgus alles SS Office’is – halb üllatus. Mitmetes kohtades jäigi tegelikult asi selle taha pidama.

Andy Arnold

Tutvusin pühapäeval Rose’is ühe kitarristiga – Andy. Eile käisin temaga jammimas. Väga tore oli, mängisime standardeid. Ta on sakslane, elanud enne seda Amsterdamis ja nüüd viimased paar aastat siin (Brooklynis). Oli inspireeriv mängida ja suhelda Ta on kusjuures Paul Bollenbacki õpilane, väga hästi mängib. Tore kuulda kellegi kogemusi, kes on siin juba aastaid elanud, võimalusi otsinud ja leidnud ka.

Märkan, et NYs on paljudel mingid väiksed sülekoerad (tuleb meelde, kuidas väike vend ütles paariaastasena väikeste koerte kohta “koeraniru” – päris tabav termin just selliste kohta). Üldse siin on koeri palju. Muidugi on siis olemas ka koerajalutajad, võib leida päris palju kuulutusi a la:  Professional dog-walker. Ükspäev ma leidsin craigslistist kuulutuse, et tüüp maksab tunnitasu sellele, kes teda trenni tegema meelitaks. Helistasin, aga ta kadus ära kuhugi. Vist ei viitsi ikka trenni teha.

Umbes sellised kaabud

Paljud mehed kannavad väikseid kaabusid.  Aga üldiselt…  on paljud ameerika mehed väga naiste moodi – parajad latataarad ja klatšimoorid, mingi relationship issues arutamine käib kohvitassi taga. Selline mulje on jäänud lihtsalt. Kindlasti mitte kõik pole sellised muidugi, aga kipub veitsa sinnapoole.

Esimest korda pesin pesu – laundromat’is. Viisin kõik oma riided korraga pessu – nii palju mul neid siis ongi. Pole veel uusi riideid ostnud ka, hetkel ei ole raha, kuigi päris ägedaid poode on siin tõesti.

Bill McHenry quartet @ Tea Lounge

Eile käisin Park Slope’is (Brooklynis, super lahe linnaosa minu meelest, tahaks seal ka kunagi elada!)  kuulamas Bill McHenry (saksofon) bändi, Duane Eubanks mängis trompetit, Kim Cass bassil ja Dan Rieser trummidel. Ilus poeetiline swingiv musa oli, ilma piletita kontsert jälle. Bill McHenry mängis muide pühapäeval Brad Shepikuga, sealt ma teda tunnengi, selgus, et  meil on ühine vaimustus – Kenny Dorham. Ta soovitas mulle mitmeid plaate. Väga hariv oli temaga muusikast rääkida, ta tunneb asja!

Täna ei lähe vist kontserdile, hoian raha kokku. Kuigi.. Peter Bernstein mängib ühes kohas, teises kohas Tom Harrell ja Eric Alexander. Ma ei tea, võibolla peaks ikka minema. Mul hakkab selline meeleolu tekkima, et aega küllalt, nad mängivad siin nagunii kogu aeg.

Brad Shepik Trio @ Rose, Williamsburg

Grand St

No need to go the expensive jazz clubs in the city, really – I found a great live music venue -  the Rose – on Grand St, Williamsburg,  just a couple of blocks from where I live. No cover charge! Considering that and what was going on yesterday, there should have been a bigger crowd, really. But most of the people present were other musicians. That’s how it tends to be with these things.

First set was NYU World Music Ensemble, I was a little late for it, but heard a tune by Dave Douglas, Brad Shepik and some world-music-based compositions. There was a really good female trumpeter called Jackie Coleman. The whole band played really good actually. The second set was Brad Shepik Trio -

Brad Shepik trio @ Rose

guitar (Brad Shepik), saxophone (Bill McHenry) and drums – might very well have been the best drummer  I’ve ever heard – Mark Guiliana. Very very musical! The trio actually had their first gig together, so I suspect the people present witnessed the birth of something great. Not only was the music (by Brad Shepik) exceptional but this was some incredibly beautiful trio playing. Perfect fresh and open sound (without a double bass)  lots of very enjoyable exploring, interplay, very nice counterpoint between sax and and guitar and so very inspired drumming! This was probably my favorite concert in NY so far… Really something! It’s weird that I had to walk just a couple of minutes to the place and pay no cover this time. Which is good, because I’m really running out of money soon.