AprilCadence2013

Short Takes USA: Philadelphia
Eskelin (ts), Rob Sudduth (ts), and Ches Smith (d) making just its third live
performance. Goldberg's vision for the band centered around his use of the
rarely heard contra alto clarinet holding down the bass line to allow the others
space to stretch. The leader's richly composed charts of beautiful music
touched on country blues, South African township jazz, rockish elements and
some shredded havoc, usually delivered by Cline and Smith. Goldberg gave
some detailed backstory to his compositions including “I Miss the SLA,” a
nod to the left-wing revolutionary group the Symbionese Liberation Army
which kidnapped Patty Hearst in 1974 and demanded that her rich father give
away truckloads of groceries in poor neighborhoods. “I was thinking a lot
about terrorism,” Goldberg announced, “And I realized that terrorism is not
what it used to be.”…Ars Nova Workshop concluded its season with a double
helping of Norwegian delight at International House Phila. on 12/14.
Ingebrigt Haker Flaten's The Young Mothers included Jawaad Taylor (tpt,
elec, vcl), Jason Jackson (sax), Jonathan Horne (el g), Stefan Gonzalez (vib,
d) and Frank Rosaly (d). The odd mix of musicians - drawn from Austin,
where Haker Flaten lives, Houston, Dallas and Chicago - partially explained
their chameleonic musical shifts. Just when you thought you'd figured out
just what the band was about - nope - the music would completely change.
An early take on the Xmas goodie “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman” made for
a great start, especially with Jackson's raw tenor sax rendition. Soon they hit
into Ayler-esque areas, some Jimi Hendrixian guitar by Horne, some hip-hop
raunchiness with vocals by Taylor, and then some driving vibes by Gonzalez,
the son of noted free Jazz trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez. Unfortunately,
Gonzalez was having big problems with the vibes kit which fell apart as he
played it. Black washers tumbled to the ground and the keys dislodged. After
moving to the drums and pounding motorhead style to lead the metal rock
assault down the throats of the listeners, Gonzalez sang in his best devil
voice, “Can you spare some change.” It's unknown how much change he collected
but we can only hope that it is spent repairing that God-awful vibes
set. The leader impressively guided the sextet with a pummeling bass effect,
usually on double bass but also some electric axe. They ended with “Virgoing
Ways,” a pulsating Jazz tune energized by Rosaly's drums and Jackson's bari
sax that started the tune off so sensitively. Gonzalez said the band had rented
space in a New York recording studio before their tour and right next store
was Paul Simon and Billy Joel, whose band kept running into their room to
enjoy the wild sounds. Frode Gjerstad's trio with Jon Rune Strom (b) and
Paal Nilssen-Love (d) followed with a much more predictable set of expressionistic,
splintered alto sax offerings and an incredibly tangled rhythm section
that spun webs of thick sounds. Gjerstad, who plays town every couple
years, was noticeably slimmer and played less caustically than past hits,
owing to last year's heart attack he admitted. He said his playing can be just
as ferocious but his playing is rethought and the 9 hour car ride up from
46 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013