Concerts at the Cadillac: Wilbur Rehmann Quartet


Last Friday, I joined one of the "Deans of Montana jazz", saxophonist Wilbur Rehmann, and two of my UFQ bandmates, Sam Peoples on piano, and bassist Ariane Cap at the Cadillac Hotel for their monthly “Concerts at the Cadillac” series. Bought in 1977 by the late Leroy Looper, the Cadillac became the first non-profit “supportive housing” SRO on the West Coast – a national model, and which shaped Leroy’s contribution to San Francisco. Since 2007, the Cadillac has also been home to the Patricia Walkup Memorial Piano – a fully restored, 1884 Steinway Concert Grand. Leroy, who passed away last month, greatly enjoyed these concerts – and I'll always miss not seeing him in the front row each Friday, tapping his feet along to the music.

It's been awhile since I trotted out the beloved Gretsch kit for live jazz, however having recently obtained a brand new 8"x 8" Rosewood tom, I decided it was time go all acoustic, especially with Wilbur back in town for what would be our 6th annual gig, and Sam playing the gorgeous Walkup Steinway. Goodness, Ariane even brought her acoustic bass out for this one!

My earlier experimentations with Bruford's symmetrical, timpani set-up was fun, however, the extra tom now gave me an opportunity to go back to my roots with Paul Sears, and reacquaint myself with the music of Billy Cobham, Lenny White and Rayford Griffin; like Sears, all masters of left-handed drumming technique. It also didn't hurt recall the melodic drumming of another mentor, Jack DeJohnette and his recordings with Sonny Rollins.

It's no secret that Wilbur is also a huge Sonny Rollins fan and longtime friend, (we both love playing Sonny's "St. Thomas"). Combined with his knowledge of some of the greatest tunes ever written for jazz, and his rich history with longtime guitarist Blackie Nelson, Wilbur has also become a very good composer as well. His latest album, "Old Friends and New", is among his best ever.

On a personal note, this was my first performance at the Cadillac since Leroy's passing, so we wanted to do something special. Wilbur also dedicated our performance of "Sunny", to the late Bobby Hebb, the composer of that famed tune who also passed away recently.

This was also the first concert at the Cadillac to employ their new multi-track, digital recorder, so we were also something akin to musical "guinea pigs". Here is a flip video of the Wilbur Rehmann Quartet, performing an excerpt from Bobby Hebb's "Sunny"...

"While steeped in jazz, San Francisco seven-string bass master Edo Castro is a versatile player whose lyrical lines have graced a vast array of settings. He joins forces with electronic percussion explorer E. Doctor Smith and special guests for an evening of ambient soundscapes inspired by Brian Eno (shaped partly by Eno's generative software). Smith recorded with Eno in the early 1980s, one of many illustrious artists he's collaborated with, including Madonna, Warren Zevon, Mickey Hart and Jimmy Cliff..."

Nice to come across this little piece by Andrew Gilbert in the SF Chronicle's "Essentials" section promoting my recent Royce Gallery show with Edo Castro...

Edo played beautifully as he so often does... Here we come up with an improvisational segue into "Blue Moon", a song from my old Feat of Clay days that found its way onto our live CD on Edgetone.

Return to Forever, one the best jazz fusion bands ever, were spectacular back in 2008, when they performed at the Regency on Van Ness. That exciting tour celebrated a 30 year reunion of the most popular incarnation, featuring co-founders Chick Corea on keyboards, and Stanley Clarke on bass, with drummer Lenny White and guitarist Al DiMeola. An amazing show and subsequent albums, DVDs and live recordings would soon follow. This time RTF re-emerges sans DiMeola, and his stead is guitarist Frank Gambale and an unexpected bonus: France's incomparable jazz violinist, Jean-Luc Ponty. Ponty is no stranger to either RTF, or young Dweezil Zappa, having performed on some of the late Frank Zappa's greatest albums.

The Warfield performance opened with Dweezil Zappa, who had an amazing command of his father's repertoire. Zappa had killer musicians in those days, like the aforementioned Ponty, George Duke, Chester Thompson, Ruth Underwood (she was amazing on marimba & xylophone), Napoleon Murphy Brock, Terry Bozzio, Patrick O'Hearn, Eddie Jobson, just to name a few. That group and the others that followed would go on to play Zappa's most challenging compositions. I'll confess, I'd gotten my first Zappa album, "Freak Out", when I was 12, so I'm no stranger to Zappa's music. That being said, Dweezil and his group performed them with the same mind-bending musicianship, as well as the humor that was part of the Zappa genius. The crowd loved them, and they closed the set with "Hot Rats", featuring Dweezil and joined by Gambale on guitar.

Return to Forever IV started off in Canada before heading to Europe and Zappa Plays Zappa joined them for the beginning of this latest leg. Like Zappa, I'd first seen RTF in the days before DiMeola with guitarist Bill Connors. The addition of Ponty and Gambale has added a unique, new flavor to the group. A leader in his own right, Ponty, still possesses that grace and his gorgeous touch on violin rarely heard in jazz. My favorite part of the show perhaps, was RTF IV's version of Ponty's "Renaissance"; beautifully re-imagined by Corea, Gambale and Clarke, with Ponty easing out of the shadows with his awe inspiring melodies, accented by White's rhythmic prestidigitations.

Watching the quintet, I couldn't help thinking about the other late 70's jazz rock "offsprings" of Miles Davis; Weather Report, and John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra. Of them all, only Return to Forever still remains. Although the members of the Mahavishnu Orchestra still survive, it is unlikely that their line up of guitar, violin, keyboards, bass and drums will every reunite beyond a studio track or two. Last week, I saw the 68 year old Diana Ross still belt it out with the best of them. At 70, Chick Corea is still every bit as amazing.

Perhaps it is only fitting that Ponty, who also once performed with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Gambale joined RTF for this outing, re-imagining their music. Corea, Clarke and White looked particularly happy, clearly enjoying and appreciating the music and the audience. White let the crowd know that he was particularly grateful to be back in San Francisco, (many of his albums were recorded at Different Fur Studios), and recognized them "People who know good music, music that isn't played on radio & MTV, or wherever they play it these days!"

Well, I'll confess. I've always been something of a Silver Age comic book fan. Those classic Marvel comics of the '60s and '70s will always be among my favorites. Captain America had already been around when my Dad was a lad, so I can understand his wry smile when I told him about the return of Captain America with the Avengers in the early '60s. He thought I was talking about John Steed and Emma Peel of course. Today, Cap gets a reboot again, this time on the big screen, after two made-for-TV versions that are among the worst ever made. With Marvel's successful X-Men 1,2,3 and 4, Iron Man 1 &2, Thor, Hulk 1&2, Spiderman 1,2,3 and soon 4, as well as the marginal Fantastic Four 1 & 2, Daredevil and soon Conan, it was only a matter of time before the Star Spangled Avenger would be added to the Marvel/Disney mix. In the original comics, Cap re-emerged in the 1960s from the 1940's. How did this latest reboot of Cap fare, re-emerging in 2010s?

Virtually all of the recent Marvel comics films have grappled with translating those stories and motifs of the Vietnam/Cold War/Counter Culture era of the 60's. Some of those aforementioned films handled that well; Thor, Hulk, Spiderman and yes, now Captain America. In the '60s, Marvel explained that Cap, (very well portrayed by Chris Evans in the film) and his partner Bucky, (also seen in the film and portrayed by Sebastian Stan), were lost in a battle during World War II; in the comic book version, the villain was Baron Zemo, in the film, it's the Red Skull (played by Hugo Weaving). Cap seemingly falls to his doom, Bucky is blown to bits and Cap, (scientifically and genetically enhanced), hits the frigid waters of the North Atlantic, unconscious and frozen in suspended animation for over twenty years. Yeah right? Miraculous...

The real miracle was the late, legendary Jack Kirby (1921-1994), Marvel was fortunate to have the incredible Kirby, artist of the original Captain America comics, draw the reboot along with writer Stan Lee. Kirby was one of the greatest comic artists of all time and it would be he and Lee, who would bring titles like the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Avengers, Hulk, Thor and so many others to life.

In the comics, Cap is initially found in a block of ice by another Golden Age/Silver Age Marvel hero, Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Namor promptly hurls the ice back into the drink, unaware that his fellow hero is inside. Enter the Avengers, Marvel's newest comic heroes featuring Thor, Iron Man, Giant Man and the Wasp, who find the drifting Captain America. Needless to say, a startled Cap revives in a world he never made, however the Avengers would soon make him one of their own after he saves them, and the rest is comic book history. The new film has no Namor unfortunately, and the Avengers are only revealed in the closing credit teaser, with cameos of Samuel L. Jackson as Col. Fury, Robert Downey as Iron Man and Chris Hemsworth as Thor.

There were a few other additions from the comics; Peggy Carter/Agent 13, (portrayed by Hayley Atwell), and "Dum-Dum" Dugan & Gabe Jones, (Neal McDonough & Derek Luke, respectively), were characters from "Nick Fury and His Howling Commandos". Nick Fury is played by Samuel L. Jackson in the Marvel films, however the original Nick Fury in the comics was white. In Marvel's "alternate universes", this is apparently just another 'reality". I keep telling myself that whenever I watch these films, in the hope the stories still work. Some do, some don't. Captain America does.

The biggest challenge for Captain America for me however, is not his story; very well told and acted by Evans and his mentor, Dr. Erskine, delightfully played by Stanley Tucci, (Tommy Lee Jones as Col. Hollips was also well cast), it was how to handle the star-spangled, propoganda, the cartoonish-military machine of the comic book era, without losing Cap's humility, humanity and morality by making it look stupid.

Fortunately, director Joe Johnston does well, given Marvel's "out-of-this-world"-plot. The screen writers also did a good job of putting the struggle of 1940s New York, Cap'/Steve Rogers heroism, and the need to become than just a symbol of democracy for the USO and "the boys over there". These folks could have made this campy and a little hollow. Johnston films it with the right touch of gritty irony emblematic of those Cap stories from "Tales of Suspense"

There's plenty of action too; the evil Hydra, 3-D special effects, pyrotechnics and yes, Cap throws his mighty shield. Marvel's "The Avengers" due out in 2012, is the piece that will unite "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" for a big time throwdown. I'm not going to say "to big to fail", but any film with Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and some of Marvel's nastiest villians would be impossible to screw up. That being, said, I'm really glad that Captain America will also be there to keep them honest. Just like the comics.

Every summer since 2002, the New Music Summit spends a week in July showcasing some of the most innovative and pioneering new music that is happening in California and beyond. At first a celebration of the eclectic vanguard artists on the DIY Edgetone Records Label, the Summit now features a broad range of artists from across the US, Europe, Australia and Japan. It features world premieres and exclusive debuts, raging free improvisers to microtonal composition to experimental electronics to harsh noise, reflecting an incredible range of genre busting exploration and sonic creativity. The Summit promotes intermedia, fostering cross-pollination between disciplines of music, sound art, visual and media arts. It is committed to bringing highly innovative music and art to a growing audience seeking a new experience. The festival concludes this Friday and Saturday.

The Outsound New Music Summit marked its 10th anniversary in 2011 with a night of wildly imaginative vocals backed by experimental electronic musician bran…(pos); a performance by East Bay improvisatory ensemble Grosse Abfahrt accompanied by German multimedia artist, Alfred 23 Harth (or A23H); a night of new compositions, featuring Gino Robair’s Aguascalientes Ensemble; and a second edition of “Sonic Foundry,” a true “summit” of some of the most inventive new instrument builders, performing five original collaborative pieces.

The festival kicked off last Sunday, July 17th, with its always popular Touch the Gear tm night, a free hands-on expo where attendees can experience new and exotic instruments and electronic gear and make some of their own unique sounds. Over the past nine years, The Outsound New Music Summit, presented by Outsound Presents, the Bay Area organization of independent and experimental music and sound artists, has showcased over 300 artists and groups from the U.S., Europe, Japan and Australia, many of them performing in the Bay Area for the first time.

Past performances have included the legendary Richard Waters, inventor of the water phone, the instrument you’ve heard in movies, TV, and music CDs but probably can’t name; a 2005 collaboration with the Illuminated Corridor collective, which brings music and film into pubic spaces; and Tom Nunn, musician, composer and designer and builder of over 200 new instruments, who returns this year as part of the second edition of Outsound’s “Sonic Foundry” program.

There is more art and sensation to be discovered in music than is contained in hit charts, sound alike trends, or snappy tunes. Or so say a diverse and intrepid band of musicians and sonic artists who improvise performances, make their own instruments, freely cross genres (jazz with classical, say) and media (sound with film or poetry or both), push electronic soundscapes to the edge, and regularly break out in head-banging noise fests. John Cage would approve.

10th Anniversary Outsound New Music Summit
July 17-18 & July 20 – July 23, 2011
Free events start at 7pm; Q&A w/the artists start at 7:30 pm, performances at 8:15 pm
San Francisco Community Music Center, 544 Capp Street (bet. 20th & 21st Streets), S.F. Price: All Ages | Wheelchair Accessible
July 20-23: $12 General ($10 advance) / $10 Student; Festival Pass $45 ($38 advance)
Advance general tickets at Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/174366

Tonight, Friday July 22: ~The Art of Composition~ A night of performances infused with new and exciting compositions with Gino Robair’s Aguascalientes Ensemble performing a musical suite based on scenes captured by Jose Guadalupe Posada in his politically charged engravings of late19th -and early 20th-century life in Mexico, Andrew Raffo Dewer’s Interactions Quartet performing “Strata (2011)”, dedicated to Eduardo Serón, graphic scores by Kanoko Nishi featuring bassist Tony Dryer and Krys Bobrowski’s “Lift, Loft and Lull” a series of short pieces exploring the sonic properties of metal pipes and plates and the use of balloons as resonators, with percussion and objects by Gino Robair.

Saturday July 23: ~Sonic Foundry Too!~ Outsound has teamed up with Thingamajigs to produce the sequel to the first Sonic Foundry held in 2006. To celebrate ten years of innovative programming Outsound Presents 10 Inventors in 5 collaborations! Featuring Tom Nunn, Steven Baker, Bob Marsh, Dan Ake, Sung Kim, Brenda Hutchinson, Sasha Leitman, Bart Hopkins, Terry Berlier, Walter Funk. In these masters of the innovative just the visual alone of metal, wood, strings, plastic, rubber, and paper is bound to inspire. Each duo set will enhance these specialized inventions and the inventors that perform on them.