#mezzrow’s

[theloniousbach]

FROM THE SMALLS ARCHIVE: MICAH THOMAS AT MEZZROW’S

Solo, 22 NOVEMBER 2024, 11:59 pm set

With Dean Torrey and Kayvon Gordon, 13 DECEMBER 2024, 10:30 pm set

I had hoped to see MICAH THOMAS with Immanuel Wilkins at Jazz St Louis at the end of October, but it was Paul Cornish who filled in on piano. They have pushed one another on Wilkins’ recordings and gigs, exciting young players to be sure. While he has struck me there as a bit edgy and free form, he also played with Joe Farnsworth and Sarah Hanahan where he just managed to keep up with their power. To be fair, Farnsworth imposes some structures while welcoming being pushed by these younger players.

Add a recent article in Paste that in raising the interesting notion that horn players innovate and pianists consolidate citing examples from King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton to Bird/Diz and Bud Powell and Coltrane and Tyner but also Andrew Hill, that we should keep our eyes on Wilkins and Thomas. Wellllll, exciting players, yes; reason to be optimistic about where the music will go, yes; the next big thing, doubt it.

But all this made me interested in what I would hear.

I was rather surprised that he was quite structured and lyrical at the solo gig. Sure he took on the changes inventively, but he and we always knew where we were in the tunes. With Dean Torrey and Kayvon Gordon as sympathetic launching pads on mostly original tunes, he was far more exploratory. The solo gig—and the work with Farnsworth—gave me a better sense of his approach so the out there was a little closer. Their take on Mel Torme’s Christmas Song with its roasting chestnuts was another touchstone whose sappy familiarity I actually appreciated. Still they were a sympathetic adventurous trio, but appreciated intellectually more than emotionally enjoyed.

But the solo set with tunes was just fun. There was plenty to appreciate in Thomas’ technique and invention, but Who Can I Turn To?, Someone To Watch Over Me, Monk’s In Walked Bud, What a Fool Believes (?!?), a gospel-y tune, a blues, a probably latter day pop song, the Sound of Music’s Somewhere in My Youth and Childhood with not quite embarrassing vocals, and a very short The Theme just made it easier to hear what he wants to say musically.

And that’s worthwhile.

[muchtoocoolforseventhgrade]

Spotted a goof - look at the back of Alice Kane's ear!

[peninsularian]

Small-band Swing, 1936

[incorrectpepperann]

Gwen: Milo, we’re being shipped! How cute!

Milo: We’re being shipped where? Can it be somewhere hot?

[evilhorse]

Nexus (Volume 2) #80

[tejedac]

Les harmonies vintage · Playlist

Cab Calloway & his Orchestra · Ted Lewis · Scott Joplin ·The Ink Spots · Muggsy Spanier · Sister Rosetta Tharpe · Jelly Roll Morton · Rose Murphy · Leo Monosson · Kid Ory · Vera Lynn · Comedian Harmonist · Al Bowlly · Mezz Mezzrow · Carroll Gibbons · Elizabeth Cotten · Barnabas von Geczy · The Mills Brothers · The Firehouse Five Plus Two · Mississippi Sheiks · Sippie Wallace · Walter Barnes & his Royal Creolians · Cannon's Jug Stompers · Savannah Churchill · Frank Stokes · The Andrews Sisters · Bunny Berigan · Blind Boy Fuller · Gus Viseur · Barbecue Bob · Harry Roy and his Bat Club Boys · Robert Wilkins · Marek Weber · Tino Rossi · Django Reinhardt · Coleman Hawkins · Red Nichols · Tiny Parham · Mamie Smith her Jazz Hounds · Paul Specht · Ma Rainey · Robert Pete Williams · Sam Morgan's Jazz Band · Bernie Moten · King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band · Sam Lanin and his Orchestra · Tony Murena · Original Dixieland Jazz Band · Helen Kane · Ray Ventura · etc,

[pepperannincorrect]

Gwen Mezzrow: Milo! I’m so happy, I could kiss you! Milo: Uh… thanks! *later* Milo, lying face down on Nicky's bed: I can't believe I thanked her, Nicky. Thanked her. She wanted to kiss me and I said "thanks". Why? Because I'm a huge moron. Nicky, patting him on the back: Don’t beat yourself up over it. Things like that happen. Remember when Stewart said he loved me? Milo: Didn’t you say “neat”? Nicky, staring into the distance: I said “neat”.

[metalshockfinland]

MEZZROW Unleash Brand New Song And Video 'As Fear Unfolds'

[photo: ©Evervision Art] Legendary Swedish cult act MEZZROW returns to the thrash metal scene with their new single, “As Fear Unfolds”! A music video for the first harbinger of a new album to follow in 2025, is now premiering below. The band comments: “Recorded during the Summon Thy Demons-sessions and one of the first songs we wrote back in early 2021 (The lyrics were actually written for…

[moaninmoonen]

Mezzrow - King Of The Infinite Void

MezzrowVEVO

[davidisen]

NYC Music Safari, Part 3

[Updated to include December 27, 28, 29, 30]

On Wednesday, December 27, I caught the early show at Birdland, David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band.

That's Ostwald on the tuba, Will Anderson on clarinet, Joe Boga on trumpet, Jim Fryer on trombone. Not visible in the back row, Vince Giordano (banjo) and Alex Raderman (percussion).

Will takes a solo, revealing Vince and Alex. I've seen the show several times. Same cheesy jokes, same over-learned moves and dialog, but great, spectacularly great, expertly executed music.

At Birdland I sat next to Anna, an impressive young lady. She didn't know anything about jazz, but clearly took huge delight in the music!

Got down to the Zinc Bar just in time to meet Neal and Peter for the Miss Maybell show.

Miss Maybell had an expert supporting cast of Brian Nalepka (bass), Dan Levinson (reeds) and Andy Stein (violin). And, it goes without saying (or showing), Andy Judkins was ragging the keys next to Miss Maybell's right elbow.

On December 29, Peter and I got to Mezzrow early, so we heard the last half of the early set from the back of the room, and then had a band-side table for the second set.

It was the Chuck Redd trio, with Chuck on vibraphone, Neal Miner on bass, and (not shown) John DiMartino (piano).

There's John DiMartino.

Chuck has total command of the vibes. When I first saw him in a combo at Dizzys, he was completely new to me and so impressive that I had to hear more.

One Sunday night at The Ear, Chuck sat at our band-side table and played a rhythm on the table with drum brushes. I held an empty glass for him, and occasionally he'd hit it.

The surprise of the evening was Janis Siegel, of the original Manhattan Transfer, who sang a couple. Ooh!

On Saturday, December 30, Neal and I went to see Les Chauds Lapins at Pangea.

Anybody who plays the banjolele like it's a serious instrument is crazy enough to be a friend of mine. Kurt Hoffman and Meg Reichardt play French swing from the 1900s with style and humor. The French I learned in school wasn't quite enough to keep up with them, but occasionally I'd catch one of their double entendres.

The band's name, for example. Les Chauds Lapins literally means hot rabbits, but the better French syntax would be "les lapins chauds." I looked it up. Chaud lapin is an idiom for horny guy, or ladies' man.

Kurt and Meg were charming performers and good musicians. They were backed up by a violist, a cellist and a bass player who stayed decidedly in a supporting role.

On Saturday, December 30, Garrett Manley (guitar), Shane Del Robles (percussion) and Ian Hutchinson (bass) played a delightful brunch gig at The Canary Club in Chinatown.

Typical NYC gig - take three world-class musicians, hire them for your 15-seat cafe, and stuff them in a corner by the closet. By the way, the food was excellent.

That's Shane's washboard "kit."

That evening I went to see Quince Marcum at Barbes. He's one of the bartenders there, but he has a quirky folksongy genius.

He plays Bouzouki, not guitar. And he sings in at least three languages.

So ... tonight is New Years Eve. The prospect is a little bit frightening.

[bobbybroomguitar]

In October 17th, join me as I take the bandstand with legendary guitarist Russell Malone at New York’s Mezzrow Jazz Club.

The show will be recorded by the SmallsLIVE Foundation for Jazz Art and Education, which archives every show performed at Mezzrow. Since the Archive’s inception in 2007, it has collected more than 17,000 recordings.

Russell Malone is a largely self-taught guitarist who has toured internationally with numerous jazz greats and is a member of Ron Carter’s famed Golden Striker Trio.

This will be a night of jazz guitar celebration in a “candle-lit jazz listening room featuring an elegant wine list and cocktail menu.”

I will also be performing with the Bobby Broom/Peter Bernstein Quartet at Zinc on the October 16th.

For tickets and more event information, see my Link In Bio. 🔝

📷: ? (Please let me know if you recognize the photographer for these shots.)

[theloniousbach]

TRIOS, OLD AND NEW

ARI HOENIG with Gadi Lehavi and Ben Tiberio, SMALLS JAZZ CLUB, 16 DECEMBER 2024, 9 pm set

CAMERON CAMPBELL with Conway Campbell and Anton Kat, MEZZROW’S, 29 NOVEMBER 2024, 10:30 pm set

ARI HOENIG was celebrating the release the previous Friday of Tea for Three, his latest recording. Several of those tunes are fixtures of their regular repertoire for their monthly gigs at on Mondays at Smalls. I don’t miss very many of them. So let me add two observations that made this time around notable. First, for all their dynamism and Hoenig’s complex rhythms, I was struck how they could pull it off at relatively low volumes. I had them turned down but I think they had themselves turned down. Second, I saw Gadi Lehavi over the weekend with Ravi Coltrane, so saw him with a different book. He handled it well, but, in testimony to Hoenig’s compositions, I like him better here with a run of rich harmonies and plaintive melodies. For this set, it was George Shearing’s Conception and then his own Condemnation, For Tracy with wobbly vulnerable vocals (ill advised), a piano exploration that the Israeli settled into an Xmas song, and a riffy/catchy familiar groove. Even at quiet volumes, Hoenig is fascinating to watch to try figure out how he hears the music in such complex ways.

CAMERON CAMPBELL was on the most recent Joe Farnsworth gig. It is not a moral flaw to be swamped by Sarah Hanahan and their drummer leader. Still he showed more than enough to want me to see him on one of his late night trio dates. He is subtle and understated and, befitting his youth, with a knack of drawing out the appealing melodies in recent Black popular music—Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Busta Rhymes, and his own similar tunes. The vamps were infectious, his solos dancing over the groove. Anton Kat’s cymbals and drums embellished and accented and brother Conway’s bass lines were insinuating. They were all able to convey a deep groove and fit in Mezzrow’s piano bar aesthetic. It’s a resilient place but they were respectful. Pop tunes are appealing and they took them for good rides, but they rely on simpler chord progressions. So I still want to see Campbell also play a jazz gig with standards. But he/they are young. It’s good for my ears to hear them on their own terms and good to know that they are adding new traditions to the music.

[muchtoocoolforseventhgrade]

[jpbjazz]

Mezz Mezzrow et Louis Armstrong

[incorrectpepperann]

Cissy: Trinket St. Blair is flawless. Nicky: She has two Fendi purses and her parents drive a silver Lexus. Milo: I hear her hair's ensured for $10,000. Gwen Mezzrow: I hear she does car commercials...in Japan. Constance: Her favorite movie is Clueless. Tessa: One time she met JTT on a plane... Vanessa: ...and he told her she was pretty. Dieter: One time she punched me in the face. It was AWESOME.

[evilhorse]

Mezz: Galactic Tour 2494 #1