The Manrilla Blog | Life. Art. Religion. Culture.

I feel oh-so behind the times. I just got around to checking out Dave Chapelle’s Block Party (on DVD). I keep having people calling and saying, “yo, yer brother’s in Dave Chapelle’s movie.” So, last night I checked it out and lo and behold, the boy’a all up on stage, doin’ his rock star thang. Lookin’ good akh. Proud of ya! Click on the images for full-sized shots. He’s the guitar player.

It’s barely been a week and I’ve seen two of my musical heroes; two geniuses. Billy Harper and now Allan Holdsworth. I have been listening to Holdsworth most of my life, being that my middle brother is a professional guitar player and Holdsworth is almost prophetic to guitar players. Metal Fatigue is the first album I heard him on so it was great that Chad Wackerman also happened to be there last night. Jimmy Johnson sat in on bass.

A small note: sound is so important to live, musical performances. I say this because for the first half of the gig, I could hear nothing but Wackerman’s drums. So, please, if you’re the sound people, do a real sound check and see if it sounds any good! Okay, on to the performance.

Wow!! I got to hear Allan Holdsworth! Yeah, it was kinda like that. His playing is truly difficult to describe (so listen to the video clips); at once fiery, enigmatic, and tranquil. His sound is haunting, filled with complex harmonics, and is a key component to Holdsworth. In terms of history, he’s in the jazz tradition, having played with Tony Williams (The Believe album is off the chain!) and other jazz artists but if I were to peg him he would most certainly fall in the realm of fusion (though personally I’ve always thought of Holdsworth sound as akin to that of Coltrane’s sheets of sound).

The band played through some great old standards off of Holdsworth’s previous albums as well as two from the Believe date with Williams (Fred and Proto Cosmos). You can tell that Wackerman has played with Holdsworth many, many times. They locked very well together and did a great job of setting and off-setting each other rhythmically. Johnson is a monster on the electric bass. If you can, see this group at the Iridium in NYC.

I am really happy that I met him and that I got to exchange a few words with him; a man who’s so quiet and unassuming (looks more like a chimney sweep than a monster musician). Enjoy the video clips as well: 1, 2, and 3.

Allan with Chad

At last, we meet

Thanks to Denise, my music career hit an all-time high last night - and I was just a listener! Malachi Thompson performed last night on Penn’s campus, in conjunction with Ars Nova, with tenor saxophonist, Billy Harper. I’ve been floored by Harper’s music and sound for many years. For me, he is one of the most important jazz musicians alive today. He is a direct link to some of jazz’s greatest players: two years with Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, a brief stint with Elvin Jones and also collaborated with Max Roach in the late 70’s. Harper also established a long working relationship with composer/arranger, Gil Evans. He also has a successful career as a jazz educator.

But enough of that! Man, he really blew the roof off the sucka’. Harper’s tone is so outrageous. But by no means was it Harper’s show. Thompson had some fine arrangements of new tunes. Malachi mostly played on his flügelhorn with some unmuted trumpet as well. The rhythm section held it down tight and all in all it was a great performance. The accoustics could have faired better, but for me, to have seen, spoken with and shaken hands with Billy Harper, I can just be thankful. Enjoy a few pics below. Here’s two Quicktime movies of the performance as well: 1 and 2.

I wished I had had more time to write earlier but school and work have taken a toll momentarily on my blogging. But I would like to share this bit about Jackie McLean’s passing. He is one of my musical heroes and I am deeply sadden by his passing. Read here.

I have been wanting to write something about Omar Ahmed Abdul Kariem, a.k.a., Jackie McLean, who passed away on March 30^th, at the age of 74. I have found few musicians who’s music is repeatedly listenable as McLean’s. My favorite album of his is Jacknife, originally a two-LP release that was tinged with Eastern rhythms and modal structures. On The Nile, the first track I heard off of Jacknife really transported me to a place. I cannot say if it was the Nile but it was a Nile that McLean had envisioned. That’s what I loved about him. His music could truly transport you somewhere. But McLean could also just flat out burn! Coming solidly out of the bop tradition, Jackie digested the entire be-bop language, internalized it and then fashioned it anew in his own sight and sound. Be it a ballad, a standard or one of his own out originals, Jackie could swing. My saddest regret with all of this is that I never had a chance to meet him or hear him live. When I was studying and playing jazz, McLean’s sound (along with Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane) was heavily influential. I respected him for his bold originality while still being tied to the jazz tradition. It seems I have been born at a time when many of the greats have already left us or are in such poor health, many are not playing. Jackie’s music becomes precious to me now. I hope that other people will discover the brilliant musician that was Jackie McLean - a.k.a., Omar Ahmed Abdul Kariem; may God have mercy on his soul.

I’ve been away much lately due to school and just plain old life but the music just keeps rockin’ on. For those not in the know, I’m a HUGE Allan Holdsworth and Tony Williams fan. So for me, Believe It, by the Tony Williams’ Life Time Band is like a dream come true of collaborations. With the aforementioned Williams and Holdsworth on drums and guitar, Believe It also show cases some great piano work by Alan Pasqua and Tony Newton tying things down and grooving on bass. Believe It shows what good fusion was really all about and that it was more than technology and gadgets. Believe It is charged with great song writing and playing. Proto-Cosmos, written by Pasqua, is one the gems of Believe It, which has a hard hitting rhythm which repeats itself through out. Red Alert sounds just like that. The players are well matched to one another and it’s not a chop-for-the-sake-of-chops fest. Believe It will make you a true believer of fusion. Highly recommended.

So in the same session as the post below, I was in Borders, in the internatinal section and also picked this one up. It features one of my favorite players of the oud, a Middle-Eastern lute, Simon Shaheen. He’s here with his group, Qantara and the two tenors, Wadi Al-Safi and Sabah Fakhri. If you’re into orchestral Arabic music, you’ll dig this disc. It’s not crappy Euro-Arab pop, but old-style, done in the vain of Umm Khaltoum or Fairuz. It’s put out on Ark21 so it should be easy to find. Also, here’s the iTunes link.

I was at Borders the other day, looking through the international section when I came across this disc: L. Subramaniam, Inde du Sud, Le Violon de l’Inde du Sud (The Violin of South India). It features Dr. L. Subramiam on the violin. I really, really love Indian music. Ragas. Kirvanis. You name it. It’s a quartet with violin, a mridangam and two tamburâs. I can say I highly recommend the disc. The sound quality’s good, too. Definitely one for low lights and a cup of chai. Here’s the Amazon link.