Archive for June, 2011

• Circus Circus (Circus)!

  Date: 2011.06.28 | Category: Gigs | Response: 0

  

  Ah, summertime by the Bay–the cold, the rain, the rock-hard peaches. Hope you’re all making the most of it. I wanted to drop a line to let you know about some exciting shows coming up in the next month–many of them free!

  As you may know, and as my wife likes to say, “Ian ran off and joined the circus!” Specifically, I’m playing with the Circus Bella All-Star Band, which accompanies the local independent circus of the same name as they go about their Death-Defying feats of Derring-Do. The band is led by composer/accordionist extraordinaire Rob Reich, and features a fine cast of Bay Area perennials (including the amazing multi-instrumentalist wizard Ralph Carney). The music is an eclectic (I know, but in this case it’s true) mix of early jazz, brass band, Balkan, Gypsy, and indie rock influences, chock full of improvisation and surprises.

  You can catch Circus Bella (& yours truly) at the following dates & places during their 2011 Circus in the Parks series, beginning THIS WEEK! (All free, unless otherwise noted.)

  • Thurs 6/30, 5:30pm: Outside Revolution Cafe, West Oakland (preview show)
  • Fri 7/1, 12pm: Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco
  • Sat 7/2, 12pm & 2pm: Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco
  • Sat 7/9, 2pm: Pickleweed Park & Community Center, San Rafael
  • Sun 7/10, 12:30pm: SF Sunday Streets, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
  • Fri, 7/15, 6pm: Studio One Art Center, Oakland
  • Sun 7/24, 12pm: Dimond Park, Oakland
  • Sun 7/24, 8pm: CD RELEASE SHOW–SEE BELOW
  • Sun 7/31, 2pm: Napa Valley Opera House, Napa ($15)

  The band has also recorded a fine new album (click here to sample or purchase) featuring an expanded version of the group, and will be having a CD release show on July 24th (Happy Birthday to me!) at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage at 8pm. There may even be assorted juggling and other unexpected circusness!

  Finally, with the assistance of my lawyers, I will close by saying, Come one, Come all, one of you should come, all of you should come, to the Greatest Show on Earth! to a very good show on this planet!

• Jazz According to G

  Date: 2011.06.09 | Category: Thoughts | Response: 1

  Ted Panken (who I used to listen to on WKCR all the time) has a great new blog, which has already featured some gems–among them, this classic interview with Kenny G, in which Mr. G advances the curious claim that Charlie Parker was nicknamed “Bird” because his reed squeaked. The jazz Twitterverse jumped on this with a vengeance, and has since been abuzz with hundreds of other surprising #kennygjazzfacts. Arcane jazz-nerdery meets humorous lists? I’m there!

  My contributions (so far) to the fact-fiesta:

  • They called Louis Armstrong “Pops” because he founded the Boston Pops, and ate Corn Pops, and had so many children.
  • They called the album “Kind of Blue” because Miles was suffering from hypothermia.
  • “Birdland” was actually named after the movie “The Birds” and Harold Land.
  • They call it the saxophone because the first one was actually made out of a phone.
  • “Take The A Train” was supposed to be either “Take The Train” or “Take A Train,” not both!
  • Few people know that “Songbird” was actually a reharmonization of “Ascension.”
  • Who knew that jazz would grow from its beginnings in David Lee Roth’s “Just a Gigolo” to become a worldwide phenomenon?
  • No family has done more for jazz than the Jones brothers–Elvin, Thad, Hank, Tom, James Earl, and Barnaby.
  • Coltrane called his tune “Giant Steps” in honor of Wilt Chamberlain’s feet.
  • Chick Webb was an inspiration to every chick with with webbed feet who dreamed of playing jazz.
  • Few people know that Herbie Hancock got his nickname because he Goes Bananas.
  • Jazz evolved in the late 1800s when rustic field hollers began to incorporate synth bass, DX-7s, and QuadraVerb.
  • WC Handy was such a big sports fan that he named his most famous composition after his favorite hockey team.
  • The word “jazz” was a common American slang term meaning “as exciting as basketball in Utah.
  • I used to think Charlie Parker was great, until I found out he was just reading all those solos out of the Omnibook.
  • Jelly Roll Morton changed his name because “Croissant Morton” sounded too fancy.
  • Coltrane took such long solos because he had lockjaw, which is how he got the nickname Eddie “Lockjaw” Coltrane.
  • King Oliver’s nickname came from his favorite movie, “Oliver!”
  • Joe Henderson wrote “Inner Urge” after waiting in an especially long line for the mens’ room.
  • Everyone knows Kenny G invented jazz, but few remember Wynton Marsalis invented classical music.

  More of my questionable attempts at internet humor can be found here.

  UPDATE: Some of my favorites from other folks:

  • Is that the “Jazz Masters Cemetery” up ahead? Good–pull-over. I gotta pee. (@AtmosTrio)
  • Tina Brooks is a huge influence on me, both as a saxophone player and as someone who constantly gets mistaken for a woman. (@keithflentge)
  • Trumpeter Booker Little was not only a librarian but a dwarf as well. His real name remains a mystery. (@peterhum)

  And I’m grateful to WBGO for giving a shout out to this list! (I’d be even more grateful if they’d give my CD a spin.)*

  *No really, why have I had more luck getting attention on the web by being funny than by playing jazz? Is the universe trying to tell me something?