Monday Night Merzbow

With all the semantic querulousness going on around town these days, I thought I'd post something of a different nature for everyone to ponder.

When's the last time you went to see a concert where the promoter handed out ear plugs at the door?

Love it. Hate it. Play it loud.

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Art Ensemble 40, Ars Nova 10

Saturday night's performance by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the fourth and final show in the Ars Nova Workshop's Anti-Jazz Series, proved to be fittingly climactic. Once through the first couple of minutes of tuning in and finding their rhythm, the band was on — and in a seriously powerful groove — for the duration of their gig, putting on what was for me by far the most completely enjoyable show of the series. Even though my photo (above) sucks from a technical perspective, I kind of like the way it captures the energy of the show — very circular and vibrational, with a hum that you could feel all the way through your body if you just closed your eyes and let it take you.

The show was a fitting finale to the series from a benchmark perspective, as well. As the Art Ensemble, founded in 1969, has just entered its fifth decade of active musical artistry, Philadelphia's Ars Nova Workshop is poised to celebrate its own ten-year anniversary. Ars Nova's official 10th anniversary show is coming up in just a little over a week. Whether or not you make it to that performance is a moot point. Ars Nova promotes an amazing array of shows, with a nearly non-stop schedule. I won't go so far as to say there's something there for everyone; however, if you live in the Philadelphia area (or plan to visit) and are into creative music and cutting-edge jazz, you need to keep a regular watch on the Ars Nova event schedule.

As for last Saturday's show, I wasn't quite sure what to expect but was obviously pleased. It had been the better part of 30 years since I'd last seen the Art Ensemble — an early '80s show at the Wax Museum in Washington, DC, just a year or two at most after the video you can watch and hear below. Though founding members Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors are no longer with us, Roscoe Mitchell, Famoudou Don Moyé and the newer additions to the group are still bringing it. If presented with the chance, catch them while you still can.

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A Post-Halloween Sun Ra Triptych

I predict a few jumps in the blogland timeline over the next few days. For now, think of it as space travel à la the Sun Ra Arkestra, which continues to thrive on the universal energy of music in Mr. Ra’s memory. Under the leadership of longtime member Marshall Allen, the Sun Ra Arkestra kicked off Saturday night’s first performance of “Anti-Jazz: The New Thing Revisited,” a four-part series being cross-promoted by Ars Nova Workshop and International House Philadelphia that continues through next spring. It’s hard to think of a show more appropriate for Halloween night. Funkadelic, perhaps… or Gwar might come close. But this was the real deal.

The first video of the trio below sets the Sun Ra stage. The second comes closest to capturing some of the more anarchic, freewheeling moments of the Halloween gig, with a 28-years younger Marshall Allen blowing his alto with wild abandon. The third… well, you’ll figure that one out.

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Tria, Ars Nova and Menetou-Salon

Update: Classes at Tria are now open for registration. Check out the entire February schedule or jump directly to my courses on sparkling wine or Italy on a budget. Both classes are now sold out.

The February 2009 schedule of classes at Tria Fermentation School is due to be announced later today. I’ll do my best to update this once the roster goes live but you can also keep an eye on it yourself. I’ll be leading two seminars in February. The first will be the ubiquitous seasonal sparkling wine class, just in time for Valentine’s Day, on Friday, February 13. I’ll return in quick fashion on Wednesday, February 18, with an overview of some exciting options in everyday wines from Italy. Think $18 and under – $15 doesn’t get you quite as far in Italy as it does in France – and you’ll be on the right track.

Another promoter of great cultural events available to all of my Philly-based readers is the Ars Nova Workshop. For those not already familiar, Ars Nova's driving force Mark Christman puts on a really adventurous series of musical performances at small venues all over the city. To over simplify, the focus is on jazz but his bookings encompass an incredibly wide range of musical talent, occasionally straight ahead but more often exploring the cutting edge of improvisational and experimental music.

Last Friday’s performance, the first in a three-part series paying tribute to the great, late saxophonist and composer Julius Hemphill, featured Baikida Carroll, trumpeter on Hemphill’s landmark 1972 recording, Dogon A.D., in what turned out to be a really eclectic, energized evening. Perhaps I’ll see some of you at the Thurston Moore/Mats Gustafsson performance on the 31st of this month. I trust it won’t be for the faint of heart…. Here’s a short clip, loaded on the aural assault front, of Mats and Thurston performing with Original Silence at an August 2008 performance in Oslo.



Finally, getting back to wine, I mentioned in yesterday’s post how a food pairing brought out something extra, something that wasn’t already in evidence, in an otherwise relatively unremarkable Chinon. Well, I finished off the same disc of Selles-sur-Cher last night, washed down with a couple of glasses of Jean-Max Roger’s 2005 Menetou-Salon “Cuvée Le Charnay.” The wine was showing very well on its own, having moved past the lactic tendencies it can show in youth to a more highly-charged expression of fruit, flowers and minerality. The combination, though, focused and magnified the experience of both the wine and the cheese, putting paid to the classic pairing of Loire Sauvignon with goat’s milk cheese from the same locale, adding layers and hitting new notes along the way. Good stuff all around.

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