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Garaj Mahal
Live
Volume I | The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA, August 23, 2002
Volume II | The Boulevard Café, Chicago, IL, August 13, 2002
Volume III | Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO, May 11, 2002
Garaj Mahal is not your every-day super-group. But they are a super-group. Sort of.
The band’s guitarist (Fareed Haque) is a Classical and Jazz guitar professor at Northern Illinois University who has built an impeccable resume during his storied career. The keyboardist (Eric Levy) is his former student. The bass player (Kai Eckhardt) is a Berklee College of Music grad with a who’s-who-of-jazz resume. And the crackerjack drummer (Alan Hertz) is a founding member of another quasi-super-group (he’s the H in KVHW).
At the risk of sounding cheesy and contrived, I think it’s safe to say that Garaj Mahal is super.
With this heady background, Garaj Mahal needed to make a splash with their first official releases on Harmonized Records (an offshoot of the Home Grown Music Network). So, they smartly flooded the ever-growing fan-base with music representative of what they do best – playing live. An even wiser move was making each one a separate document of their schizophrenic styles and tastes.
Volume I exploits the Eastern/Mahal feel with guest tabla player Zakir Hussain spicing up the already mutt-like group (Haque’s parents are from Chile and Pakistan and Eckhardt’s from Liberia and Germany). This unique, worldly flair proves to be both a blessing and a curse.
Case in point is the opening “Gulam Sabri.” An unfortunate way to hook the audience, the rambling instrumental was disconnected, methodical, and just too damn long. And it’s a pity because I doubt most listeners will stick around to get to its delectable midsection. But thankfully, “Semos” follows it up. Forged by a clean and quick funk-line laid down by Haque, Levy is left with some elbowroom to dance all over the others with his nifty keyboard work. The other notable selection on I is an insanely tight version of Haque’s “Of A Simple Mind,” finishing the set with a mighty verve. Hertz gets some room here to prove that his versatility is peerless with drum bursts reminiscent of stop-and-go traffic: one second pumping ferociously, the next making a soft foundation for Eckhardt to wrap around tightly. Even with its moments of grandeur, I is my least favorite of the three. But repeat listenings have provided intriguing backdrops for dinner and casual conversation – an obvious boon.
The first two jams on Volume II are incredibly promising, showcasing the band’s propensity for funk. But, oh man! Those lyrics... what are they doing?! The best way for an impressive instrumental group to ruin its songs is through singing. I should have seen it coming back on Volume I’s unimpressive “Ivory Tower.” But, to Eckhardt’s credit, II’s “Cosmic Elevator” is such a strong, rubbery workout that it succeeds; and might even excel without words (“cosmic elevator/ride it to the top.” Yeesh.). In fact, as it rolled on, the whole thing reminded me of a Bootsy Collins romp – including the after-thought lyrics – so it can be forgiven. But Hertz’s unfortunate “Poodle Vamp” is so unfunny that it cannot be excused. And the high-energy funk’n’groove jammed behind it isn’t even strong enough to save it. I realize this may be one of the Garaj’s most popular tunes (it’s danceable and they even hawk a T-shirt of it), but the whole thing comes off as an overblown clunker of a bad joke. Ugh.
“The Paladin,” an original Levy groove, amiably jumps into the fray and shows why Garaj Mahal has made a good, solid name for itself, and ultimate sets up a rescue effort. Punchy and smooth, it kicks off a string of greatness that made this reviewer forget all about canned poodle served with various sauces. Levy’s spotlight on Alfred James Ellis’ “The Chicken” sounds so much like Jimmy Smith that my wife couldn’t help but shake her ass. And while a tune like “Make a Hippy Happy” could come off as unnecessary pandering, the simple little jazz ditty stands up well here. Closing out with one of the most unique versions of the “National Anthem” you’ll ever hear II is a much better hang than I... but skip “Poodle Vamp” altogether.
Volume III is where all the goodness they’ve been simmering starts to bubble and pop with each and every note. Launching into a slinky “7-UP,” the quartet locks into Eckhardt’s fat pocket, and rides it all the way out with no one musician lacking for creativity. And just as soon as Eckhardt snaps off the beginning to “Never Give Up,” Haque takes over. It’s no wonder Haque has performed on some of the world’s biggest stages. He adroitly runs “Never” right on down into the ground, cleanly slicing through the entire nine-minute gambol. And, hallelujah! They figured out a way to make some lyrics work – repeat the title over and over, in unison, with harmonized feeling. A splash of soul was poured all over “Thursday” by Levy’s electric-piano bop. The hyper-charged “Stoked on Razaki” featured special guest Jamie Janover and the windfall of perfect timing. The blinding, fast-paced groove swelled with each measure and made the start-stop break-beats even more impressive.
The closer, Madonna’s “Material Girl,” was the real kicker for a lot of reasons. It seems to say so much about this band. Slow and saccharine, I almost wanted to laugh that it was even chosen to play. But I couldn’t. Because 1) it’s a really fucking cool cover that took some balls to play, 2) it’s masterfully played for almost eighteen minutes, and 3) it’s really fucking good. Volume III is almost entirely flawless and the clear-cut winner. In fact, I haven’t been able to take this disc out of my stereo yet.
As much as I admire Garaj Mahal’s confidence to pull this off, the three discs could have been better edited into one impressive live disc. The tail ends to some monster jams were faded out for one reason or another across all three Volumes. So, if they’re going to take the time to make these glaring cuts, why not go the “traditional” first-live-album route and release the best of what you got, regardless of when and where you played it. And it’s popular trend to provide a setting for live releases, complete with date and locale. Even still, if Garaj Mahal is anything, it is unconventional. And in the end, these three discs are very fine documents from one of the scene’s most agile and creative bands. All three are worth checking out.
Scott Caffrey
JamBase | East Coast
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