Another-Dislike-Happy-Palmface Tuesday

I don't - must not - should not blog at work.

But i can not, not ,not resist posting this version of Giant Steps from Jeff Lorber, Will Kennedy, Eric Marienthal (whose solo I presume was cut short due to upload limitations), Chuck Loeb, and Konstantin Lonenko. One of the best takes, as far as I know, of the killing Coltrane classic.

And then.

4 dislikes.

Maybe it had something to do with Lorber's shoes, or Loeb's poker face, or the fact that one  had to dislike artists for playing so well, because they invested so much time honing their voices on their instruments - instead of roaming Youtube to click dislike buttons.

Now back to regular paperwork.

Give Thanks

Use me

You need a filler

You need a buffer

Here I am, most willing

To absorb the blows

And drink the

Cup of

other’s inadequacies

Give praise to the heavens

Give thanks to powers

That they remain there

Instead of being

Bestowed unto me

I might,

I may,

I can

obliterate.

11-15-2010

Orange

Orange

Is brighter than red

But sadder than yellow

Sweeter than lemon

More filled than hollow

Peeled when ripe

Cut with a knife

Sunny side up today

Scrambled tomorrow

Like a light bulb dying

From blinding

To mellow

Orange.

Freeform #1

Subjects lie to waste

For these are never worthy

To be called subjects

By the beholder

Gossip is juicier

They fill the lips

With nectars of hate

And sweetness which

Turns bitter inside out

It should be

Better

if they come

In tetra packs.

Superdogs

They fly

Paws lifted from the ground

Tongues dried 

By the wind

They scorch

In the sun

To cure the itch

Sleep in the ditch

And dig the hole

To uncover

Or cover

Whichever it may be

Whatever there is

And in doing so

Are rewarded

With a pat in the head

A bone

And called super

11-15-2010

COUNTDOWN: The February 2011 Bacolod Jazzfest

Countdown.

 

It’s the other deadly Coltrane track, alongside Giant Steps.

It's where the killing glam guitar solo from John Norum turns around and blasts our minds cosmic.

Simply put, its what we are doing as barely a month's left to the 2nd Bacolod Jazz Festival.

The acts coming over  are heavyweights of the game. Here's a rundown, and a brief description from my own point of veee-eeuuw:

SinosiKAT?

1. SinosiKAT? - A soul/jazz outfit bordering this side of acidfunk which just reeks of grooveness and is drowned with coolness. What does that exactly mean? Simply put, SinosiKAT? is that of highly urban and funky sound, with individual members highly skilled to drop a bebop line in the midst of a groovy track. Kat Agarrado is the female side of Jason Kay of Jamiroquai.  The stage persona takes over, and she careens the crowd into sexy one moment, trippy the other.  Who can be Erykah Badu on one number and suddenly channel the soul powers that be with a Tower of Power cover the next? That's SinosiKAT.  One word: SMOKIN' (Jim Carrey lipwork follows)

MISHKA ADAMS

2. Mishka Adams - If she brings the same rhythm section this February, its surely is going to be another  sultry and sizzling set. Not sizzling as you may think of, but think of it as N'awlins cookin'.  She is the  delicate side of Ella, closing her eyes, singing - no, she tells stories with the flair of someone who has had her heart broken for the umpteenth time, her man stolen by her best friend - In short, her heart beats with the rush of blood from the standards, which is the blues. Two words:  BEAUTIFULLY HAUNTING 

LOGIC

3. LOGIC -  The only glimpse I have had of this Australian fusion quartet is on Youtube, a footage from the Java Jazzfestival. I roughly call this contemporary aggressive fusion (separating it from  old school fusion). This has got to be one of the tightest units I've come across, and all that mondo technique.  Think  of UZEB , or even Yellowjackets type of fusion minus the keyboards.  Dangerous music for dangerous minds.  Three Words: WE ARE MORTALS.

Boy Katindig

4. BOY KATINDIG - Boy Katindig is one of the pillars of Pinoy Jazz as it is now . Elevated into international recognition, Boy has been instrumental in setting the standards for the genre not only in this country, but all over. If Mr. Katindig were to fly here just to play Midnight Lady, I'd still fall in line for that single number. His voice on the Rhodes, ARP and synths remains unique and identifiable, sticking like a sore thumb in the midst of the current rush for everything retro. Seeing the real deal on stage would be worth it. Four Words: WATCH. LEARN. WATCH AGAIN.
   

 

There you go. Four main acts packed with punches heavy enough to get you reeling for a year until the next Jazz Festival.

 And us? I always get this uneasy feeling  writing about us, NANCY BREW, or what we do, really. I may just be fearsome of hard selling the group, while some voice barks behind me and says "The Nerve!", but anyway - being the sole representative of Bacolod is a reason  enough to be humbled. It is also reason enough to pack extra loperamides for that squeaky feeling of opening for the senyors and senyoras of jazz.  Then again, kicking start the festival is an honor. We just hope we do sugar city, our families, our loved ones, the fans, and our Lord proud.  In a nutshell we'll be doing a little bit of everything - sort of a sushi-bar jazz set - just to whet appetites at that. We may do Benson, or Weather Report,an original - whatever we can rock our boats with  - and, whatever our rehearsals allow. 

Career, paternity, relationships, responsibilities and bills have definitely taken its share of the priority pie. Still, for a band working together for more than ten years, playing disco, retro and other stuff ad nauseaum, the view from the roof deck of the L'Fisher Hotel on the 19th of February will surely be a sight to behold - and a grace to be grateful for.

Nancy Brew

As for words, don't ask for any. Still speechless as of posting time.

Take Two (Guitar) Heroes

If you think this has something to do with plastic toys the size of a ukelele sporting colored buttons played while watching the TV, then it is strongly suggested you read on. 

A post new year evening found me with a good friend and guitar guru Gabe Ascalon, and a much loved drummer Hernan Mijares in a luxurious time talking about life, music and whatnots. I thought, then, that word on the guy from a fellow guitar player's point of view would be too enticing an idea to shy away from. In addition, conversation led us to a familiar name for some who are or were into the music scene for a while.  The guy is Robin Aristorenas, a former actor in the Philippines, now with the band The Groove Razors. Check the Youtube video below and dig his playing, from out lines worthy of Henderson to blues twists a la Robben Ford.

The two are among the best in country, if I may say. Common linkage leads them with their involvement in Boy Katindig's band, with Gabe as a temporary hired hand for three days.  Boy, who was also an accomplished guitar player (as Gabe recounted) had a penchant for having great players in his group. Predated by the late and amazing Tedy Vaño of Cebu, the guitar chair for Boy's band sported huge places to sit on.

Gabe Ascalon was the 1st player for the 1st Side A line up, and played in numerous fusion outfits in the 70s  - early 80s (Destiny, among others). Gabe literally culls through the Metheny songbook, but is equally at home with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

In this post I wanted to share both players, a little off center of the upcoming throng of six stringers.  In as much as we revere the current players, it always pays to get to the roots.  There are the amazing technical magicians and wizards of the guitar who coax effects and sounds, then there are the musicians who happen to be guitar players, playing real music.

Robin Aristorenas with The Groove Razors:

Gabe Ascalon:

(DISCLAIMER: These pictures were taken from the Internet and I do not own the copyrights whatsoever)

ROBIN ARISTORENAS

GABE ASCALON

Hungarian with a little Cosmic French, Please.

Barely having an hour for lunch, I was able to sneak in some time to be alone at the WIFI counter of a mall, after paying my phone bills.

I had a hungarian sausage sandwich, and as I was settling at the nearest high chair, the sudden feeling of being alone surges. I love this. I am not a mall/ crowd guy, and I always feel a wonderful isolated booth around me as I stroll around common public places flooded with citizens (or make that See-Tayh-Zens, for that Angry Beavers' flair). As folks enjoy watching each other and staring at their lunches, I enjoy watching them stare at each other and their lunches. 
     My headphones (the fifth pair I bought) are comfortably stuck in both ears, and a crowd's applause signals the six minutes of pure cosmic bliss - or alienation. NO STRINGS ATTACHED starts. The frenchman, m'sieur Jean Luc Ponty bows some serious stuff here. The track is from the album Jean Luc Ponty: LIVE, released in 1979. I heard this first in third grade or so, and have always found this short piece beautifully haunting. 

     Ponty used delay effects creatively, and swells, and swirls too.  As the cascade of notes decay into nothingness, one gets the drift behind titles like COSMIC MESSENGER, IMAGINARY VOYAGE, AURORA, and all that cosmic seep factor he's spun about. Technically, it is akin to the effect that Brian May (of Queen) constructs his solos with. Notes layer each other into a canon-like frenzy, which is of course totally different but equally mesmerizing effect to the current gallop-delay hype.
     What sets it apart though are Ponty's choice of notes. The minor (Em) key sets the ambient tone, preceding the drones and filtersweeps used in modern ambient and electronica stuff  by years. The notes are simply from the key - no altered scales, intricate intervals, no frills - but move, they do. He utilizes phrasings from quarter note patterns, long tones, and a triplet pattern played atempo that flutters into space -  just like driving the Enterprise or your X-Wing fighter into hyperspace.
     Ponty's tenure with Zappa obviously formed his approach to songwriting and inkling for jazz-rock, a little bit veering towards the jazz side though. It is not a surprise that fellow alumnus Alan Zavod on keyboard has provided the frenchman with chords, pads and solos to die for. 
     The track rolls eerily and steadily along - a perfect bed for a luxurious time with myself and a perfect antidote that pulverizes whatever poses as muzak on the mall loudspeakers.
     Here is a link of Ponty on a similar solo in the vein of No Strings Attached from the Rite of Strings Live DVD. However, he retitled the same into Eulogy for Oscar Romero.


Rite of Strings Ponty solo



     An hour for eternity and eternity for an hour. Not bad, really.