Posts Tagged ‘Dizzy’s Club’
Terrell Stafford Sextet: This Side of Strayhorn @ Dizzy’s
Terrell Stafford Sextet: This Side of Strayhorn
The same lineup as on their last CD This Side Of Strayhorn: Terell Stafford (trumpet), Tim Warfield (tenor and soprano saxophone), Bruce Barth (piano + he had done all the arrangements), Peter Washington (bass), Dana Hall (drums). + Joanna Pascale on vocals.
I heard the 11:30 set. They were having a very poorly organized night at Dizzy’s – we got there by 11 PM (when the doors were supposed to open), but albeit having a reservation, everybody still had to stand in line for 45 minutes! The actual set started at midnight and lasted for 60 minutes (rather on the short side for $35, luckily $15 with student discount. Maybe not such an issue for the average Dizzy’s-goer, but I felt cheated, especially when considering the late start, standing in lines and extremely poor service).
They started as a 5tet with a blues from the album called Multicolored Blue. Then vocalist Joanna Pascale joined them for 2 ballads (didn’t catch the names of the tunes, they weren’t that well known and not included in the album…). Then Blood Count as a 5tet again. Ended with Johnny Come Lately (another tune from the album). What I found strange was how almost all the tunes were ballads, in very difficult slow tempos (even for the listener). And just 5 tunes… The playing itself was high leveled and I liked Bruce Barth’s tasteful arrangements (having space and depth in them). But the service at Dizzy’s was awful, with everything lagging big time, and didn’t help in setting the mood for this kind of set of music. Strange experience, especially considering that just a couple of days ago everything seemed to be running so smoothly…
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- The Clayton Brothers @ Dizzy’s (ineskuusik.wordpress.com)
The Clayton Brothers @ Dizzy’s
The Clayton Brothers @ Dizzy's
John Clayton (bass), Jeff Clayton (alto), Gerald Clayton (piano), Obed Calvaire (drums), Terrell Stafford (trumpet). I caught the early set @ 7.30. It was completely sold out! Some of it might have been in relation to the NEA Jazz Masters 2012 ceremony (many of the jazz masters and guests seemed to have dinner and listen to the music there).
The Clayton Brothers‘ band sounded great. Stylistically, it was especially refreshing as a contrast to Winter Jazzfest’s musical offering. They played tunes from their latest album The New Song And Dance and the previous one Brother To Brother.
Great musicians… How John’s and Terrell’s sounds blended on the melodies was just beautiful (to feature some of those sound qualities, John Clayton had even specifically wrote the tune Terrell’s Song). Gerald Clayton’s piano comping and musical inventiveness was pretty impressive. Also, his father John Clayton displayed spectacular skill in using the bow when performing Where is Love (tune from the musical Oliver). I think very few bass players sound that good with the bow…
To hear this kind of music, in such a faboulous setting overlooking the New York skyline for $10 (with student discount) was almost a bargain :D. The only thing that bothered me was that people were walking around incessantly (with all the plates, full and empty, going back and forth…).
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- Picks of the Week: Jan 10 – 15 (irom.wordpress.com)
- Jazz Listings for Jan. 6-12 (nytimes.com)
- The Gerald Clayton Trio LIVE at the Vanguard… (jazznpop.wordpress.com)
Kari Ikonen’s Karikko @ Dizzy’s Club and Ari Hoenig’s trio @ Smalls
Kari Ikonen @ Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
My first time to see a show @ Dizzy’s – went to hear the famous Finnish band, Kari Ikonen’s Karikko. Really enjoyed freaking out Mika Kallio, the drummer, who knows me from Viljandi, Estonia – he probably didn’t expect me to show up at a gig at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, New York :D. The music was just beautiful and it was great to hear good old Finnish accent in between songs… 😀 On contrary to it’s reputation that night @ Dizzy’s wasn’t all that expensive. The cover charge for students was just $10 and the cheapest beer to take care of the drink minimum was $4 – which beats most other venues in NY. Yeah, but Dizzy’s club still has the atmosphere of being a jazz club for the rich people. There was quite a lot of eating and talking going on during the concert. But what a great view :D. Not a bad place to hang out if one can afford it.
Gilad Hekselman, Orlando Le Fleming, Ari Hoenig @ Smalls
For some reason I had a fixation on going to hear Ari Hoenig @ Smalls that night, even though I didn’t have money for the $20 cover charge. But I’ve been hearing so much music for free lately that I kind of forget about paying already. So me and my companion for the night, Douglas, just walked in to Smalls, just like that, and heard a whole set of the great drum artistry of Ari Hoenig, who had Orlando Le Fleming on bass and Gilad Hekselman on guitar in the group that night. It was such a great playful concert. Those guys have the best sense of humor, musically. One of the highlights of the night was certainly when Ari played “Moanin'” on the drums. It was just so laid-back and bluesy that it was
Smalls
almost hard to take. And Gilad Hekselman really won some hearts over when playing the ballad “Embraceable You” painfully beautifully and yet with a sense of humor. It was also my first time to hear Orlando Le Fleming – he is so enjoyable to watch, I’ve never seen anyone look so comfortable playing the bass, he almost looks as if he’s just chilling out – yet plays with such amazing energy. What a great example of effortless mastery 😀
Kari Ikonen's Karikko @ Dizzy's Club and Ari Hoenig's trio @ Smalls
Kari Ikonen @ Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
My first time to see a show @ Dizzy’s – went to hear the famous Finnish band, Kari Ikonen’s Karikko. Really enjoyed freaking out Mika Kallio, the drummer, who knows me from Viljandi, Estonia – he probably didn’t expect me to show up at a gig at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, New York :D. The music was just beautiful and it was great to hear good old Finnish accent in between songs… 😀 On contrary to it’s reputation that night @ Dizzy’s wasn’t all that expensive. The cover charge for students was just $10 and the cheapest beer to take care of the drink minimum was $4 – which beats most other venues in NY. Yeah, but Dizzy’s club still has the atmosphere of being a jazz club for the rich people. There was quite a lot of eating and talking going on during the concert. But what a great view :D. Not a bad place to hang out if one can afford it.
Gilad Hekselman, Orlando Le Fleming, Ari Hoenig @ Smalls
For some reason I had a fixation on going to hear Ari Hoenig @ Smalls that night, even though I didn’t have money for the $20 cover charge. But I’ve been hearing so much music for free lately that I kind of forget about paying already. So me and my companion for the night, Douglas, just walked in to Smalls, just like that, and heard a whole set of the great drum artistry of Ari Hoenig, who had Orlando Le Fleming on bass and Gilad Hekselman on guitar in the group that night. It was such a great playful concert. Those guys have the best sense of humor, musically. One of the highlights of the night was certainly when Ari played “Moanin'” on the drums. It was just so laid-back and bluesy that it was
Smalls
almost hard to take. And Gilad Hekselman really won some hearts over when playing the ballad “Embraceable You” painfully beautifully and yet with a sense of humor. It was also my first time to hear Orlando Le Fleming – he is so enjoyable to watch, I’ve never seen anyone look so comfortable playing the bass, he almost looks as if he’s just chilling out – yet plays with such amazing energy. What a great example of effortless mastery 😀
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