Among the more attractive performances scheduled in the near future in the Boston
area are the ones listed below.
With the exception of some gigs that feature Magazine Cover (MC) groups (which can range
in quality from very good to terrible), the gigs listed below are ones that I
wish I could attend.
And—if time and
circumstances permit—I will be there.
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For now some locations indoors are open for music performances. Distancing and mask restrictions apply. If people exhibit safe behaviors, such gigs may not be shut down. Let's hope things improve soon.
The season of national and local primaries and elections has
begun. It may well be the most important
voter decision-making year since the Civil War.
Various types of media are flooded with lies, voices of hate, and much
confusion coming from both the right and the left. I recently finished reading a book about our
current political situation that is both factual (something refreshing) and
funny. It will make both liberals and
centrists laugh--and think. I am unaware
of such a book that would appeal to MAGAs, although I often see clever and
funny right-wing cartoons, as in the case of one titled “Bumps in the Road” in
which Biden is driving his election campaign bus and thinking, “I should have
taken Air Force One” as he encounters a road filled with large bumps, each with
a label identifying troubles he’s carrying during his time in office, such as
“Inflation,” “Age,” “Israel-Hamas War,” “Third Party,” and so forth. But, of course, the book is longer and
funnier for those whose politics are of the center or left. The title of the book pretty much defines the
nature of its contents: Profiles in
Ignorance--How America’s
Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber.
It’s probably available at your local public library, if you live in a
town in which book banning is not a popular pastime. The author is Andy Borowitz. The book is organized roughly
chronologically, and I recommend reading it in that order. Whether you know who Dan Quayle is or not,
reading about his “exploits” in the early Dumb period in U.S. politics will set the stage
for you for all that follows. Also, to
my surprise, Quayle plays a significant role on January 6, when Dumbest almost
prevailed. The book is not flawless. Sometimes Borowitz wastes his arrows
targeting low-hanging fruit (when there are plenty of substantial examples of
ignorance and stupidity to go around).
But hardly a paragraph goes by without reader laughter. And the laughter is needed because of the
bitter pill of the impending demise of democracy. In the book’s “Conclusion” the author does
describe a plan for preventing doom. Not
surprising, his plan requires more than donations to good causes and the
wringing of hands. It requires serious
and relentless work.
3/21 – “Third Thursdays” with Dave Bryant and Friends at 8 p.m. (PA) – Once again Dave brings a killer group to Cambridge: Ken Field, Jeff Song, Jacob William, and Curt Newton. The music happens at Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Waterhouse Street, Cambridge, MA ($10)...
3/22 – The Upstairs@POSTunderground continues at 7:30 p.m. (MP) – This gig brings you three groups and free admission, free food, and fine live jazz. The early evening set begins at 7:30 with Epistrophy and continues at 8:30 with Fenno Street Jazz. The last set at 9:30 features the House Band hosted by alto saxophonist John Purcell. The music takes place at Rutledge VFW Hall (downstairs), 386 Washington Street in Brookline. For details go to postunderground.com…
Every Monday – Monday night at the Lily Pad returns with Jerry Bergonzi, Phil Grenadier, guest bassist, and Luther Gray. Then The Fringe Duo, John Lockwood and George continuing the fire no doubt inspired by the memory of Bob Gullotti. It begins around 8:30 pm and continues forever ($15 per group; $10 students)…
Ongoing – Non-Event online Music – Performances at various times plus an archive of music (PA) – Non-Event is offering music via online audio files and video files plus real-time performances. The emphasis is on new music, some of which is improvised music. For example, Matt Samolis (who unfortunately for us moved from Boston to central Massachusetts) is presenting his bowed cymbal meditation recorded on May 1, 2020. Keep in mind, money helps support these events. The URL is: http://www.nonevent.org/
If you would like to read Science News’ fine coverage of the pandemic and its implications (including dozens of articles so far), go to the site’s page of coronavirus feature articles. On that page also is information about how to receive that publication's coronavirus update newsletter twice each week. Science News will try to answer your questions at feedback@sciencenews.org. …
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Key codes: The abbreviation in parentheses following the name of the event or
band/musician performing indicates roughly the type of music that you can
expect if you go to the gig.
MC=
Magazine Covers. These musicians/bands
are popular with jazz fans and therefore often find their photos on the covers
of jazz magazines. This type of band may
or may not be any good qualitatively.
However, many fans like to know “what’s hot.”
MP=Mainstream/Post-Bop. This is the music that most people think of
today when they think of jazz. It runs
the gamut from Parkeresque bebop and Websterish ballads to the post-bop work of
people such as Bergonzi and Lovano.
PA=Post-Ayler. This is Anthony Braxton’s term for all the
adventure that came out of Ayler, Ornette, Cecil and others (including Mr. Braxton,
of course). In some ways it is the most
diverse jazz and jazz-rooted music being performed today, including everything
from near zero dB whispers (e.g., undr, John Tilbury) to eardrum demolishing
walls of sound (Keith Rowe, a ton of stuff from Japan) to performances built on
combinations of composed and improvised material (Liberation Orchestra, Charlie
Kohlhase’s ensembles) to completely improvised offerings
(Evan Parker, Laurence Cook).
S=Swing. It don’t mean a thing… Maybe “nothing” means “anything” if you are a
fan of swing. Sadly, fine swing music
seems to be approaching extinction, at least in the Boston area clubs. The reasons are obvious and elusive. The great names of Swing (such as Lunceford
and Barnet) have passed on and taken almost all of their band mates with
them. In addition, in spite of the fact
that some of the finest music of the swing era was produced by the combos
of Goodman and Basie (among others), people continue to think of swing in terms
of large (and therefore economically untenable) ensembles. You can find it happening in some dance
halls, but mostly at weddings and Bar Mitzvahs.
For years such names as Whitney, Winniker, and Hershman have held the
fort in the Boston
area. But you’ve got to keep your eyes
peeled.
T=Two-beat/Trad. Some of the finest contemporary two-beat jazz
anywhere has been nurtured and grown in Eastern
Massachusetts since the 1970s.
Everyone knows about the New Black Eagles, and a host of other musicians
are held in equally high esteem around here.
Some of the better-known are Jimmy Mazzy, Stan McDonald, Jeff Hughes,
and Guy Van Duser. Unfortunately for
city dwellers, two-beat jazz (and, to a lesser extent, the blues) has moved to
the suburbs. But the best of it is worth
the drive.