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Memorial Day weekend served as a prime example of why the San Francisco Bay Area is the musical Mecca we have all grown to love (or at least envy). With several shows to pick from, I decided on two very different avenues to get my groove on.
Jerry Joseph and The Jackmormons | Last Day Saloon | San Francisco, CA | 05.23.03
By The Kayceman |
On Friday, May 23rd I was dustin' off the whiskey bottle a bit early, as Jerry Joseph and The Jackmormons made their way back to my fair city, stopping off at the Last Day Saloon. As the show got under way, the opening notes to Widespread Panic (and more specifically Michael Houser's) "Airplane" came as a bit of a shock, even though I was aware Jerry had begun to cover some of the Mikey songs that Panic has not played since his untimely death close to a year ago. "Airplane" was a marvelous way to start the show, and the fair sized crowd began to dig in on cue. Jerry's version took on a different ending, featuring some nice harmonization between Jerry and his bass player Junior Ruppel.
Coming out off the back end of "Airplane" was "Brother Michael." At this point I pretty much stopped caring that I was in a bar and not a stadium as I began to scream and jump around like a nine year old kid who just had his first Pepsi. From "Airplane" (a Mikey song) into "Brother Michael"! The message seemed clear to me, and I was all for it. Next up was "Gloryland" and "Climb to Safety." It was as if Jerry was fixing this one up special for The Kayceman. I definitely scared a few people out of my area as I screamed the middle section of "Climb To Safety" with Jerry:
Local train detective
Calling out my name
There were dragons in the sky
Calling out my name
And all gods little angels
They were calling out my name
Baby can you hear them
Calling out your name
By N. Evans |
The show couldn't have started any better for yours truly, and was one of the best Jerry Joseph segments I'd ever had the pleasure of rockin' out to. A Panic song ("Airplane") into "Brother Michael" into another strong Jerry number, ("Gloryland"), into one of the better songs ever written (in my very biased opinion), "Climb to Safety," which also served as another nod to Mikey as it's a song WSP has popularized.
The remainder of the one-very-long-set show kept up the pace with "Fastest Horse" rising to the top along with the hot encore of: "Spanish Bombs, Lick The Tears > Doors of My Heart > Lick The Tears."
Jerry and his three-piece band, rounded off by drummer Brad Rosen, manage to open songs up and spin them around from the inside. Not to mention Jerry blistering his guitar with somewhat simple but very poignant solos which seem to be crafted for thousands as opposed to the handful of heads in the small bar. In considering the band, but more specifically Jerry alone, what seems to be the glue for all of this is his approach to the entire event. It's his vocals layered over his guitar. It's the blending of imagery with his stage presence. It's the way he sings it, not just what he sings. And above all, it's the fact that you receiving a genuine experience. And this can be both good and bad. Jerry doesn't sugarcoat it, or have an agenda or preconceived idea of what he's going to do to you. It's all coming from the heart, and it's all real. I suppose that's the most refreshing and special thing about Mr. Jerry Joseph: his candor, his emotion, and his respect for giving people the absolute best he can every single night.
Nicholas Payton & Sonic Trance | Yoshi's | Oakland, CA | 05.25.03
By Barron Claiborne |
Sunday, May 25th found me trading whiskey and T-shirts for red wine and a tucked in fancy black shirt! If I've got my shirt tucked in that can only mean a few things, and I wasn't in any trouble, and didn't have major dining plans (except for some mouth-watering sushi). So yes indeed, I was heading to my all time favorite jazz club, Yoshi's, across the bridge in Oakland.
Closing out his five night run was New Orleans' own Nicholas Payton & Sonic Trance. It's safe to say that I've never seen a bad show at Yoshi's, and I guess I should have realized no one is playing a five night stint over Memorial Day weekend at Yoshi's (two shows a night) without being a serious, serious musician. But hot damn if I didn't walk out of Yoshi's again remarking how amazing the music I just saw was.
While Jerry Joseph had the dirty grit and nasty growl I so often require, Payton and company were slick, smooth, cool and collected. From the super dope, pinstriped, designer suites to the funked out soulful jazz vamps, this band was MONEY!
Payton on trumpet was clearly the leader as he wowed all in attendance with his skills and style. Moving from hints of Bird to full-on fusion Miles, I had a hard time believing I didn't really know anything about this guy. And that MONEY band, yikes - each one of these cats could absolutely tear into it.
Tim Warfield on saxophones was out of hand, and his facial appreciation for the others in the band made me long for my camera lens. Warfield was incredibly intense, weaving air-darts on his soprano and blending harmonies with percussive angles in a fashion that again had me shaking my head. Having two "voices" (horns) like Payton and Warfield leading this band made for non-stop excitement. Although the two men in front blowing hard did assume the lead role, there is no way that any body could leave the other players in the shadows; they were just too good themselves.
Percussive guru Danny Sadownick looked more like a lumberjack than jazz cat, but that was certainly part of his appeal as he had perhaps more toys than anyone I've ever seen. The only guy who might have more at his disposal is Airto Moriera. But with everything from air whistles and squeaky dog toys to congas and cymbals, I think Sadownick might take the toy prize. Now there are those who gather up a bunch of items for show, but Danny doesn't strike me as that kinda guy. He even used those squeaky toys during his solo, and if he wasn't as nasty as they come, he never could have gotten away with his little "dog/mouse" conversation. But when you have to tape up your fingers because you wail so hard I think you immediately gain a certain level of leeway to do what ever the hell you want.
Moving from percussion to drums… Adonis Rose had me thinking Mike Clark more than once. His rock steady beats and subtle drops were the driving force behind this grooving machine. Rounding off the rhythm was Vicente Archer on acoustic bass. While he could have been a bit louder in the mix, his reserved play was spot on and helped lock down the foundation necessary for Payton and Warfield to freak out.
Finally on piano, Fender Rhodes, and Apple iBook (that's right, they had a computer on stage at Yoshi's) was Kevin Hays. Kevin took soaring leads as well as bleeding sounds together, helping epitomize the name "Sonic Trance."
The band was incredible. They are clearly ace musicians and obviously love playing together. With a few familiar phrases thrown in and that NOLA jazz showman quality, they kept everyone in the packed room attentive.
One of the more impressive feats of the night came at the end when Payton stepped up alone with his trumpet and effects. Initially he laid down a "bass" loop (of course with his trumpet running through some type of effect), got it dialed in and then moved on to the higher range loop. Now with a bass and higher sound both looping Payton took to his wah-pedal. Stepping in and blowing away, we now had three loops going at once. Finally Payton stepped away from his machines and soloed over all of this, bringing to mind the one-man band antics of Keller Williams.
Covering a wide range of styles and mixing them impeccably, this band stands as a truly wonderful unit. Proving to be just as capable of futuristic wahed-out trumpet leads as early "Davis/Coltrane" counter-punch techniques (Patyon/Warfield) and ragtime romping in their own "Cannabis Leaf Rag," these hip-cats truly have something for everyone.
Listen to Payton's “Fela 1” (WinMedia)
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