Displaying items by tag: Live Music

I heard about Forq, watched a video and decided to go. It was a Friday night and Martyr’s is always an interesting place. It has some of the vibe of the old Rock Clubs but you can bring a date there. This however was Jazz Fusion night, not the 1970’s version exactly.

Spare Parts is a Chicago band. After a look at their website, they describe themselves as a Funk band. This category thing is tricky. One thing the listener will find is that there is indeed Jazz fused into the Funk of Spare Parts.

This is a trio that is keys, bass and drums. Kevin Kozol is on keyboards. That’s where the 70’s funk sounds are really strong with this band. He had two vintage keyboards. It looked like a Wurlitzer ala Ray Charles in the Blues Brothers and something that had that old clavinet sound at times. Run a delay pedal and the sounds were very reminiscent of early Pink Floyd. Kozol has chops, no doubt. There were some nice chord voicings and soloing flowing through the sound system at Martryr’s. How ‘bout that rhythm section? Colin Scott on bass and Mike Bruno on drums. They were solid, funky and more than a good compliment to the keys. Scott’s approach was somewhat unique. He used a variety of effects and techniques to fill ups space without a guitar player. They had a sax player sit in on one song. A melody instrument might be a nice addition to the lineup.

Forq is a band that also seem to be somewhat led by the keyboards but this time, there is guitar added to the mix. Henry Hey is on keys. He sets up right in front with a small keyboard rack. It looked like he had one regular, utility board and one hooked up to a lap top. If Keith Emerson were starting out today, he could use a lap top instead of the giant Moog, but the visuals wouldn’t be the same. The concept is exactly the same. The role of mad scientist takes shape in Hey the same way as it did with Emerson.

Chris McQueen sits in the guitar seat. Chris is a former member of Snarky Puppy. He played a Fender guitar with Gibson style pickups through a Supro if you are a guitar geek keeping score. Pedals and gadgets were tastefully used. He got a great tone and played some tasty stuff. McQueen even snuck a little slide in there in one song.

If you left the other players out, the rhythm sections could have competed for the most solid. Jason “JT” Thomas is a pocket owning drummer. He and bassist Kevin Scott built a very strong foundation for Hey and McQueen. These guys were tight.

Here’s an observation for both bands. You can often say too much in the first song. I would say the same thing to a lot of Jazz influenced bands. Chops are impressive, but in both bands there could have been more melody. I am not claiming to be familiar with either band’s specific music. I just know what I like to hear. Even though I love improvisation and jamming, I am a sucker for a good melody. That’s the song really. It was there but a little more would be nice.

June 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and the New York City funeral for Judy Garland. Some suggest that the emotional intensity of the day lead to the patrons of the Greenwich Village bar resisting the police thus starting what we know as “Pride” today. As we head into Pride season in Chicago, fewer cabarets would be more fitting than ‘Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland’.

Some may remember Ingersoll’s excellent performance as Judy in Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of ‘End of the Rainbow’ in 2016. She bears uncanny likeness to Judy Garland in both appearance and voice. This is the closest to seeing the real Judy Garland perform as any of us will get.

Not only does Angela Ingersoll do Judy’s songbook justice, but she’s a real Judy Garland historian. In the two rousing sets, she relays the story of Judy’s life as well as many interesting bits of Garland trivia. This is a show for fans. Interestingly enough, she worked with Judy Garland’s surviving son, Joey Luft, on this act which has now toured the country and has been recorded for PBS.

For those who are well versed in Garland’s work, each song will be a delight. Watching her move to the band with Judy’s signature mannerisms is almost eerie. As she goes through the medleys from the famed Carnegie Hall album, it would be impossible not to smile.

But it’s not just a Judy tribute concert. Angela is very charming as herself. She keeps an informal attitude throughout, while telling her own stories of how she relates to Judy. Some are funny and some are very authentic, creating a bond with the audience the way Judy had with hers. It’s as if she’s holding every patron in the intimate cabaret space in her arms to say I’m happy you’re here.

Angela Ingersoll has made a name for herself as the Judy Garland impersonator. As Judy’s life and death fade further into history, it’s important someone with as much enthusiasm is out there keeping her memory warm. It’s startling how many people from younger generations don’t even know who Judy was or that she’s Liza Minnelli’s mother. Ingersoll is keeping a star alive and doing a first-rate job. This cabaret is a pleasing way to celebrate Pride this year.

Through June 30th at Venus Cabaret. 3745 North Southport Avenue. 773-325-1700. 

Arlington Heights has a new music venue, Hey Nonny, and it is located at 10 S. Vail right in the heart of a hopping downtown area that has been bustling with excitement over the past few years. Unlike difficult parking scenarios that you might find at Chicago venues, a parking garage is conveniently located about a half block down from the front door. Last week the new music club held their grand opening with only club members and press attending. An impressive venue with all the bells and whistles would be an understatement.

Club owner, Chip Brooks, was making the rounds introducing himself to everyone. The entire staff was helpful and friendly, and the place had a good vibe to it. A nice buffet was offered to the guests, which I believe were all essentially samples of what will appear on the menu. And having said that, the food was delicious, the chef also making his way out to make sure everything was going well and that his culinary creations were being enjoyed.

The night’s entertainment was Eric Lindell and his band, which proved to be the perfect choice for the club’s opening night. Sitting in on guitar was Anson Funderburgh who is currently in town playing shows at Fitzgerald’s and SPACE. Lindell and friends put forth a solid straight-ahead blend of roots influences. They took a little blues, some rock and country and rolled it into one fun-filled performance. At times they reminded me of the early 70’s version of the Grateful Dead. Fender guitars sautéed in reverb was the flavor of the night.

All in all, it was a great introduction to a new venue. I looked at the upcoming line up and it sure looked good. You can check out the upcoming performers by clicking here. The ambiance, stage, sound and kitchen all receive high praise. No doubt about it - Hey Nonny is going to be a fantastic place to see some great music. If I had to nitpick about anything at all I would request that they consider easier return access from the restrooms. To use the washroom, one leaves the suite that the club is in and returns to a locked door. Meaning, I had to go back outside and re-enter through the front door. There might need to be a better system involved at some point. A bit inconvenient, but not at all a deal breaker. The venue is top-notch and the owner really put a lot of thought into the place to provide a unique concert and dining experience.

Hey Nonny is in a great location, the food is excellent, and the music line up looks promising. I thought the acoustics in the room was very good, which is a must for any venue that offers live music. And the sound wasn’t overpowering, so friends could talk to each other while the music was playing without shouting back and forth, which is nice. Live club sound engineers have a tendency to peel the paint off the walls, which is unpleasant at times. Not the case here.

If you are in the area and looking for a night out with some good music and yummy food, keep an eye on the music schedule at Hey Nonny. 

When I heard the Charlie Hunter Trio was playing Chicago’s City Winery over this past weekend, I expected something quite different. I was thinking I’d hear the usual fare of guitar, bass and drums – standard trio stuff. Meanwhile, I was sitting with someone that told me to expect guitar, sax and drums. Okay, sounds good. But what we got was guitar, VOCALS and drums. Interesting. I was also expecting something more in the Jazz vein, but I was wrong on that, too. I know what you’re thinking...Jazz has many forms. The Charlie Hunter Trio was a bit more like R&B - and heavily Blues flavored at times.

Hunter does a good job of making you not missing the fact there is no bass player. The first thing I noticed was he had bass notes coming out the guitar. It was a seven-string, but it seemed to get notes lower than that, so perhaps the bass string was tuned down a bit. Then I noticed he was running through two amps. One is a bass amp and one is for guitar. This made me look up his rig rundown today and I discovered that the bottom three strings on his guitar are bass strings, and the top four are guitar strings. There are two pickups on the instrument that allow splitting the bass and guitar strings into separate amps.

This allows a player to do different things. The first and most obvious is playing bass and guitar at the same time. The second is it allows someone to think like a piano player on the guitar. I have had the notion for quite some time that guitar represents the right hand of the piano and the bass the left. This allows a guitar player to do both. You don’t just pick a guitar like this up and start strumming chords on it. This is a bit of a hybrid machine and requires the technical facility to pull the whole thing off. Hunter did an amazing job in doing this. I can imagine at times he wished he had more fingers.

Dara Tucker was the vocalist and she really brought a lot of life to the show. In many ways, Hunter was her support act. Her voice was nothing less than amazing and was a perfect fit with the trio. I later found out she has music available on her own. Damon Grant was Hunter’s rhythmic accomplice on percussion. A very unconventional drummer. He used all different types of percussion to keep the beat alive.

This was not the band I was expecting to see, which taught me a few things. First, keep an open mind about how bands are constructed. Second, that the guitar can be more than just a guitar. In the hands of Hunter, it was much more. I was not disappointed last night one bit. Great show, and it is one I highly recommend, and should they come back – no better place to check them out than City Winery Chicago.

Wow…one more time…WOW! This is one gifted trio and is such a pleasure to watch live. Harold is one of the younger generation Cuban Jazz pianists on the scene. Cuba has had a reputation for delivering some fine Jazz musicians, even though they are less known here in the states. We can thank the Cold War for that. Thankfully that is over. The doors are open again and we need to realize that the best things coming from Cuba are not cigars and rum. Those are nice too, but man…the music is incredible!

Harold is a piano player who has the chops of a Classical player. He also has the rhythmic sense of salsa in his soul. He took this rather student-model looking upright piano and made it dance, baby. A while back I envisioned the piano as a drum set. It is by far, the best harmony instrument out there…but there is a reason why it is often described as a percussion instrument. Rhythm is infectious. It makes you dance, move, scream, etc. The pulse should affect the listeners heart rate. Rhythm controls you. Harold Lopez-Nussa was in command of this, but he did have some serious help.

Younger brother Ruy Adrian was on drums. This young man is one of the finest drummers I think I have ever seen in my life. I am by no means exaggerating. You could isolate the drums and it would be a show. His playing was never overstated either. He played exactly what was needed, which at times was a lot. The music demanded a lot of rhythmic interpretation. Harold’s piano playing already has a ton of rhythmic diversity, the drums added another layer. Watching him play the cajon made my hands hurt. He really put everything into his playing.

Gaston Jova played upright bass. He was described as a “brother from a different mother.” That is a cliché, but I feel that is how the group functions. They are very much a musical family. Gaston is the laid back, jovial kid brother. His playing was very relaxed but very commanding.

Old Town School of Folk Music is such a great resource in the city of Chicago. Not only do they provide education, but entertainment as well. This was in the smaller hall on the east side of Lincoln Ave. This provided a warm, intimate setting. It was general admission and since I was there early…guess who sat in the front row? If you guessed me, put yourself down for a shiny gold star! I was less than 20 feet from someone many consider truly on top of his game. This young man has a serious musical future ahead of him. Take note.

What a fun band! Carl Finch has been leading this band since 1979 and they have achieved a cult status to some people. This is the band that played David Byrne’s wedding. I would describe them as a polka hybrid with a great sense of humor. Having said that, they are no joke...they are a very serious band.

It is time for Oktoberfest so why not celebrate with a polka band, right? Seems appropriate. The band, Brave Combo, hails from Denton, Texas. They are actually not really just a polka band. They blend a lot of genres into a melting pot of entertainment.

Carl Finch leads the band, but they don’t really have a front person, per se. Rather, it is truly a group effort. Finch plays keys, accordion and guitar as well as handling a chunk of the vocals. He also wore a rather festive red hat and looked like he was the time of his life on stage.

Bubba Hernandez is the bass player. He is a long-time member but has actually been in and out of the band. He is one half of a very strong rhythm section. He also handles vocals in both English and Spanish. The other half of the rhythm section is drummer Alan Emert Mansfield. Very solid and dynamic is how I would describe his playing. Finch couldn’t ask for better support.

Jeffrey Barnes was on sax, clarinet and flute and helped out with some vocals too. I heard some vintage licks of all types from Barnes. I think his strongest voice was the clarinet, followed by the tenor. Funny how I always thought clarinets were always these squeaky instruments of torture. They just need to be played in the right hands.

Danny O’Brien on all things brass related rounds out the lineup. He looked the part of an Oktoberfest celebrant. He also played some nice horn licks. He also had a great hat.

Beer mug holding contests were also part of the show, Bubba clearly the winner (Finch cheated a bit). Great show, but the crowd was small and the sound also could have been better. The vocals were buried in typical Chicago Metal Club fashion. Here’s a clue for soundmen in Chicago…let’s hear the vocals! Ugh…this seems to go way back in history of clubs here. When you are not mixing a Metal band, and the singer isn’t screaming…turn him or her up! Part of the reason they are screaming is the fact that you have the drums and bass too loud!

Rant over. It was great show that should have had been better advertised. This is a band that has a strong cult following and should have packed the room. So, keep an eye on the local music calendar and go see Brave Combo. And don’t forget to support live music whenever you can.

I am new to Guy King. But I caught him at Blues Fest doing a solo set and was knocked out. He is all about the Blues with a heavy dose of Jazz and Soul. Wanted to hear more, I got a chance to check out him with his band at SPACE in Evanston Monday night. I was very impressed.

King was born in Israel but made his way to Chicago. His repertoire seems pretty broadly based. I hear so many varied influences in his playing and song choices. King is a multi-talented individual. I am not sure what is actually better, his voice or his guitar playing.

King’s voice seems to run the range of the deep Blues to Ray Charles. His style is very polished. I can’t believe I never really heard of him before seeing him at Blues Fest. Maybe I did but dismissed the name because it sounds like he just combined the names of two Blues legends. Perhaps his name could possibly serve against his success. What’s in a name? Well, first impressions are everything and sometimes that works for or against you. Having said that, I think he will do well in this business.

His guitar playing is top notch, and man, can he phrase! I never found him to repeat himself all that much, as he displayed a great vocabulary of chords. I hear a lot of Wes Montgomery voicings in his music. King also uses his thumb instead of a pick ala Montgomery. That may seem like a limitation, but the tone you get by doing that is much warmer than using a pick.

King’s band was great, and they had to be keeping up with a such a gifted performer. One very solid drummer, one adventurous bass player and a great keys player kept the music flowing. Nobody stepped on anyone else’s toes. It was clearly King’s show. A very nice balance of dynamics kept his fans reeled in. I plan on seeing his act again when I can. It would be interesting to see him with his Little Big Band. King turned out to be a really nice guy, too. I said hello to him after the show and he was quite approachable. That is always a good thing. Like I always say, go support live music whenever you can. It is much better in person.

All five piano concertos on one bill? Gulp…Yes. This is a rare treat. For those of you do not know what a piano concerto is exactly, I will tell you. First, you have the piano. But you probably guessed that. Second, is a medium sized orchestra. You may not have known that. What basically occurs in such an event is the exchange of virtuosic piano player and the majestic power of an orchestra. I heard some describe it as a battle between the two forces. I did not see it as that at all.

Wael Farouk is the talented pianist featured in the three-hour event, “Beethoven: Five Concertos – One Pianist”. In addition to his remarkable piano skills, he is an assistant music professor at Carthage College. The Egyptian-American Farouk has performed on five continents with venues that include Carnegie Hall. His resume is amazing to say the least and taking on a task such as this gives some serious padding to his already spectacular credentials.

While Farouk impressed The McAninch Arts Center audience with his talents as a classical pianist, the New Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Kirk Muspratt and was nearly as remarkable. Muspratt conducts several orchestras in the area and also has an impressive resume. With the stage presence of a classic concert master, his sense of humor adds a touch of lightheartedness to the evening’s entertainment.

The music was essentially flawless and the playing top notch. One couldn’t help but be very awestruck with Farouk. There are only a handful of players with the chops and stamina to tackle all five concertos in one performance – and he’s one of them. It’s a lot of work playing the piano, as it can be a very physical instrument. The amount of practice and rehearsal time exhibited in Farouk’s playing must have been what would equate to a lifetime of devotion to the instrument. The orchestra was the perfect foil to the Farouk’s piano.

The concertos were played in the order that they were written. That being the case, you could hear how Beethoven matured in his harmonic sense with each piece. The forms of all five concertos were very similar. Going back to the thought of this being some type of battle, I found it more like a musical conversation. The interplay between piano and orchestra was more playful than attacking. I personally prefer conversations to word battles myself. This extends to musical ideas as well.

The pieces performed went as follows:

Piano Concerto No. 1 op. 15 in C major, written in 1795, revised in 1800. Although Beethoven performed at many private occasions during his first few years in Vienna, his official Viennese debut did not
occur until April 1800, when he was the featured soloist and composer in an afternoon concert featuring this Concerto. Running time: 36 minutes.

Piano Concerto No. 2 op. 19 in B-flat major, composed primarily between 1787 and 1789. The concerto was first performed by Beethoven in Vienna March 25, 1795 and was dedicated to Carl Nicklas Edler von
Nickelsberg. Beethoven often referred to this as “not one of the best,” however the work was quite successful. Running time: 28 minutes.

Piano Concerto No. 3 op. 37 in C minor, composed in the 1800’s, was the first of Beethoven’s concertos to use a minor key and features the dynamic tone and the turbulent emotions for which he was become
known for. Running time: 34 minutes.

Piano Concerto No. 4 op. 58 in G major, composed in 1805-1806. With this concerto, Beethoven began to create concertos that were considered genuine solo instrumental symphonies. Running time: 34
minutes.

Piano Concerto No. 5 op. 73 in E-flat major, “Emperor” written between 1809 and 1811. The powerful themes and heroic note of the composition inspired the name for this concerto. It is commonly believed the name was not given by Beethoven but by one of his friends. Running time: 38 minutes.

Over three hours of music can make one really feel for the performers, and the audience was there to meet the challenge as well. With so much music crammed into three hours, it was a lot to digest, but as a musician, I found it very educational. It was a great way to see the evolution of the mind of someone considered to be one of the greatest composers. Ludwig von Beethoven was a compositional genius. It was nice to witness how his musical mind grew, despite the fact that he was almost deaf. It was simply amazing.

The Dixie Dregs reunited for a tour recently their latest stop being The Vic Theater in Chicago. For those of you who don’t know who they are, they were one of the finer instrumental groups of the late 70’s/early 80’s. Some may put them in the category of Fusion, but they are more of an instrumental Rock band with influences that suggest sources from Jazz, Classical and Country. Essentially, the band has always been led by guitarist Steve Morse.

Morse has won Guitar Player Magazine’s best all-around guitar player award five consecutive years in a row, and even though that may have been thirty years ago, his playing is still right where it always was. Morse also kept himself busy in between touring with Deep Purple for twenty or so years and has released several solo albums throughout his long and brilliant career.

The Dregs current tour features the band’s original line up – something you don’t see that often today with bands from their era. Accompanying Morse, was Andy West on bass, Rod Morgenstein on drums, Allen Sloan on electric violin and Steve Davidowski on keys. The band gave the crowd exactly what they had hoped for, playing material from their first six albums. The Dregs’ music live is even more intense and just as technically-minded. Most of the band’s material is penned by Morse, who has a degree from Miami University in Jazz Guitar. In fact, it was while at Miami University when the band originated, then known as The Dixie Grits. Many of the members of the band also are degree-holding musicians.

The Dregs played two sets of impressive material. As concert goer and fellow guitar player, seeing the band play live was a stark reminder as to why Morse is so highly regarded in the guitar circle. In fact, I probably wouldn’t be far off in saying that more than half the people in the audience were guitar players. I had the luck (with a bit of well-planned timing) of getting there early enough so that I was able to stand right in front of Steve and his loud amplification set up. In retrospect, I should have worn ear plugs but that is my own fault. No matter - I got one of the best guitar lessons of my life.

The style of the band’s music is very distinct – truly unlike any other. It is comprised of a highly recognizable mixture that blows you away so much, it almost overwhelming. Often over the top most of the time, subtlety is not the band’s forte. Every song is overstated, as the music is so tightly constructed, it leaves very little breathing room. I would best describe their music as an adrenaline rush of sonic energy.

I really did enjoy seeing one of my idols in action. To me, Steve Morse was a superhero and am sure the same is true to an entire generation of guitar players. I would bet most of the audience went home and instantly started practicing their guitar, maybe attempting to play something they stole from Morse that night. I know I did. That’s how influential he is. I can remember trying to copy Morse over thirty years ago and can say with certainty his licks are still worth learning. No question about it, decades after they made strides in the music world as the new musical prodigy upstarts, the band still holds up to their legacy today - audience responded with nothing but admiration to that legacy. They don’t make bands like The Dixie Dregs anymore. I feel a lot of the appreciation for this type of music is gone. I am fifty-years-old and I was probably on the younger side of the age bracket of the crowd…but so what….old people rock, too!

Set 1:
Divided We Stand
Free Fall
Holiday
Assembly Line
Twiggs Approved
Take It Off the Top
What If
Country House Shuffle
Moe Down
Odyssey
Set 2:
Rachel
(violin solo)
Northern Lights (Steve & Allen duet)
Go for Baroque (without Rod)
Day 444
Refried Funky Chicken
Leprechaun Promenade
Wages of Weirdness
The Bash
Cruise Control
(with drum solo)

Encore:
Bloodsucking Leeches

I was 16 years old, digging through a used record bin at a flea market. I came across an album by a Fusion band named Return to Forever. I had heard of the guitar player, Al DiMeola, so I bought the used LP for a dollar. It was money well spent. At that time, I was a relatively new guitar player and I was already getting onto Progressive bands like Yes. At first that is how I saw Fusion. It was kinda like “Prog Rock” sans vocals. It was at that time I first heard Stanley Clarke. The man’s name translates to the word bass in some language. I am sure of that. I know of very few players that have the kind of command over the instrument the Clarke does.

Stanley Clarke just hit Chicago on his latest tour and his performance at City Winery was top notch from beginning to end. His lineup included two keyboardists, drums, electric violin and Clarke on electric and upright bass. What, no guitar player? Blasphemy! I was devastated. Not exactly. There was no void in the music by the lack of having a guitar player that evening. With such a large ensemble of musicians, I’m not sure that there would have been room on the stage anyway. Needless to say, Clarke was already playing through one of the largest bass rigs I have seen in a venue of that size. It really wasn’t even all about that bass either, all the musicians were of the highest caliber.

Beka Gochiasvill and Cameron Graves were the two keyboardists, and both were outstanding. Beka is from Georgia, not the state, the nation that formerly belonged to the USSR. Only 22 years old, his playing reflected someone with much more maturity. Graves is a West Coast cat who has a reputation of his own and is also known for a lot of his own music.

Drummer Mike Mitchell was a solid groove machine, really holding down the fort with Stanley’s melodic monster bass lines. I love jazz drummers, they are never boring, and Mitchell was no exception. The art of being creative without showing off is another level of performance that takes time to achieve. There is an old joke: “A drummer is a person who follows musicians around”. When the drummer is really a musician, it makes all the difference in the world. It really does.

Last but not least in the lineup was the electric violinist. I feel terrible that I cannot recall his name and was unable to find out at the time of this writing! Ugh! I’ll just say that his performance was fantastic and that he was a very animated person. He gave the music a serious melodic boost, and almost upstaged Clarke yet his name is not listed in the band line up.

I say this in all my reviews, but go see live music! I am especially adamant about this when it comes to jazz. Clarke at age 66, is one of the younger players from back in the day. The newer generation does have the talent, no doubt about it, but it’s very educational to see the legends that were so influential in the genre. Thanks to venues like City Winery, this is still a tangible thing that is greatly available for people to seek out. City Winery also gets a great review from me, once again. They have a great staff and the sound there is always amazing. The wine is also fine.

Cheers!