It feels just like yesterday that Terrace Martin released his last album, the sublime “3ChordFold”. But ever the relentless, working musician, you knew that he had more up his sleeve, ready to share with the world. His latest release, “3ChordFold Pulse” is a follow up worthy of some serious attention.
Not only does he once again call upon the help of some of the highest caliber musicians around (Robert Glasper, James Fauntleroy, Thundercat, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, 9th Wonder and Ethan Farmer, just to name a few), but the album is a musical offering that, at least upon my initial listen, seamlessly covers the musical spectrum.
From the jazz elements in the title track “Pulse” (ft. Preston Harris) and “Its Yours” (ft. Robert Glasper, James Fauntleroy and Thundercat), to the soulful R&B vibes in “You and Me” (ft Preston Harris), “Come and Get Me” (ft. Wyann Vaughn) and All The Things (ft. Don Dolla), to the surprising blues offering in “Lets Go Get Stoned” (ft. Snoop Dogg and Tone Trezure) to the jazz infused hip-hop of “Poetic Justice [Live in New York] (with Kendrick Lamar) and “Never Have To Worry” [Live in New York] (with Snoop Dogg) … this album has a little bit of everything.
Perhaps my favorite track on this release is Terrace’s live rendition of Herbie Hancock’s “Butterfly” which was recorded at the Del Monte Speakeasy, a show I was privileged to have been at, and features otherworldly performances from not only Terrace, but also Robert Glasper, Ethan Farmer, Marlon Williams and Ronald Bruner. It’s an amazing recording. I’m lucky that I’ll be able to purchase it to have in my collection for life.
Hey, Terrace? When are you dropping your albums on WAX?!?!? I NEED!
In honor of Black History Month, Terrace decided to gather a few friends to join him at the Del Monte Speakeasy to celebrate the music of some of the great, black musicians/composers. The musicians who turned up to share the stage with Terrace were, to put it simply, legend … wait for it … ary.
Ethan “Ebassman” Farmer, Ronald Bruner, Marlon Williams and Robert Glasper formed the “house band” and throughout the night others jumped on stage to jam. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who is a very talented spoken word artist, and Myka 9, a member of Freestyle Fellowship (whose album “Innercity Griots” is still, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest, and the first, jazz infused hip-hop albums ever produced) free-styled a song. Kamasi Washington, who Terrace acknowledged was one of the main reasons why Jazz was alive in Los Angeles, joined for a song. Grammy nominated jazz saxophonist, Ben Wendel, and the incomparable, modern day drumming legend Chris Dave stepped onto the stage to play.
I’m not going to wax poetic about the musicality of each of the players, and the amazing music that I witnessed that evening (you can see and hear it in the video highlights below), but I will say the experience that night was something special.
Being up at the front of the stage for the gig, I could overhear the playful banter and ribbing among the players that made the performance that much more engaging. Ron and Robert kept going at each other about their Grammy wins, with Ron jokingly telling Robert that he was going to make him sound better. After Marlon played a quick lick of a theme from “What You Won’t Do For Love”, Terrace and Robert goaded him, albeit reluctantly, into the spotlight for a solo moment to demonstrate his playing chops. While praising his sound man, Terrace honestly told the audience the band hadn’t sound checked earlier in the evening because they were eating, drinking and watching the NBA all-star game. Ron Bruner stepped up to the mic to freestyle sing, after which he told Robert, “See, I told you I’d make you sound better.”. The lighthearted atmosphere of the session kept the evening fresh. When other musicians took over the reigns on certain instruments, or took breaks, they stepped into the crowd with a drink to watch the magic that was happening on stage as well.
With extraordinarily skilled musicians taking turns to play on themes throughout the evening, I imagined that the atmosphere that night was something like the New York jazz scene during World War II where and when legends likeBen Webster,Lester Young, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie outdid each other on a nightly basis. In the packed and humid venue, with music swirling and dancing in my ears, I lost myself to the genius that was present and playing in the room. A terrific evening of music with an incredible, and practically unbelievable, roster of talent. Something that I wish happened more often. Especially in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK to get redirected to the set of photos.
Girl In A Coma. I love this band. Since I first saw them featured on an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly back in November of 2011 , I’ve seen this San Antonio, TX based Indie Rock band, or their lead singer, perform live four times . This year I saw the group perform at the Ink-N-Iron Festival and their lead singer, Nina Diaz, perform a solo set at the Hotel Café the day after. Their performance at the Echoplex on September 12, 2013 makes the cumulative number of times I’ve seen them perform live five.
I got to the venue early enough to catch the girls hanging out and spent a few minutes chatting with Phanie (the drummer). She told me about the band’s plans to start recording tracks for their next album after they wrap up their current tour and our mutual, and random (she’s the only friend of mine on Facebook who “likes” them), interest in the indie rock band, Screaming Females.
There was a lot going on in Los Angeles on September 12, 2013 (ie. Pixies playing the El Rey, Dave Stewart & Friends at the Troubadour, Jimmy Cliff’s free concert on the Santa Monica Pier, and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon playing in her new band Body/Head right upstairs in the Echo, etc.) but GIAC’s dedicated fans still showed up in numbers. I met up with another die-hard GIAC fan (who brought his daughter to the show) and he pointed out a fan who was in the military and was to ship out the next day to the middle east. GIAC’s fan loyalty has no bounds.
The girls rocked their set. Rather than go on in this entry about how awesome their performance was (which I’ve written about before here and here), just know that they deliver live, and if you are into their music, you will not be disappointed with their live show.
My autographed LP amongst the band’s merchandise.
After they finished their set, I lingered a bit to get them to sign my 2013 Record Store Day, limited edition, blue vinyl copy of their first album “Both Before I’m Gone”. Apparently, I must have been the last person who left the venue since the valet mysteriously disappeared with my keys. While waiting for my keys, I waited outside while the girls were loading up their van. Being as cool as they are, and after I had retrieved my keys, they snapped a picture with me before I took off.
Girl in a Coma are performing throughout the west and midwest through November. Follow them on Facebook or Twitter to know when they are in your neck of the woods. In the meantime, you can check out the pictures and video highlights I took at the gig I went to. Unfortunately, from where I was standing I couldn’t get many decent shots of Jenn (bassist) or Phanie performing, but I doubt people are going to mind the excess number of pictures of Nina. Enjoy!
Setlist, as provided by the drummer, Phanie Diaz:
Say
One Eyed Fool
Control
Adjust
Slaughter Ln
Si Una Vez
She Had A Plan
Ven Cerca
El Monte
Sly
Smart
Little Red Riding Hood (cover of Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs version)
Here is Now
Invisible
Encore: Their Cell (acoustic)
Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13Girl in a Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13.Nina Diaz of Girl in a Comat at the Echoplex 9/12/13Nina Diaz of Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13Jenn Alva of Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13Nina and Phanie Diaz of Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13Nina Diaz of Girl in a Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13.Nina Diaz of Girl in a Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13.Jenn Alva Girl In A Coma hanging with fans after their at the Echoplex 9/12/13Phanie Diaz of Girl In A Coma autographing a fan’s LP (FYI, this fan used to drum for the Beastie Boys back in the day) after their at the Echoplex 9/12/13Me and the gals of Girl in a Coma after their set at the Echoplex 9/12/13
On Saturday night (3/23/13), I experienced what may very well have been an out-of-body, musical experience.
I’ve been to a lot of great shows in my lifetime, and each show was memorable in it’s own right. But sometimes, a concert going experience is so complete … a perfect storm of events … that it leaves you overwhelmed while adrenaline is pumping through your body after it is all said and done.
I’d only been following Hiatus Kaiyote for a few weeks, but I had been anxiously anticipating their show at the Del Monte Speakeasy ever since I clicked “accept” to purchase tickets to their show. I had a sense of how stellar their live performance would be as I had perused many of their live performance clips on Youtube, but what I experienced surpassed my imagination.
I had recently been to the venue for a show earlier in the month, so I knew two things: (i) don’t wear layers as the venue gets sweltering warm and (ii) get there early (as in, as close to the time the doors open for the venue) if you want to get the best view. Tickets for the show had sold out, so a friend of mine and I essentially got there when the doors opened, and we staked a spot, up front, stage left.
I had read an article/interview earlier in the week of the band, and Nai Palm mentioned that she was “practically breast-fed on Stevie Wonder” (you’ll note that I named my blog after one of Stevie’s albums, because I, myself, am a huge Stevie Wonder fan) so I decided to burn her a couple of discs of Stevie material: (i) two compilations of Stevie covers put together by DJ Spinna and Bobbito called The Wonder of Stevie: Essential Compositions, Covers & Cookies and The Wonder of Stevie: Melody Man: Further Forays Into The Stevie Songbook and (ii) a mix of some of my favorite, lesser known Stevie Tracks. In between the DJ set by Aaron Byrd of KCRW and the opening act, I saw Nai Palm sitting at a table on the side stage. I briefly introduced myself and gave her the CDs. Hopefully, there was something on those discs she hadn’t heard before.
Following the opening act, the band took the stage and Aaron Byrd introduced them to audience. Really though, the band didn’t need an introduction. Nai Palm approached the microphone stand when she noticed some flowers attached to the stand’s base. “This is jasmine,” she said as she leaned in to smell them. “This is my favorite flower. They just magically appeared,” she said with a giddy smile. And with that the band started into their set.
Nai Palm. Note the jasmine on the mic stand.
This band knows how to play live. Each band member’s musicality was, throughout the set, put on full individual display, but they way in which the band plays their music as one, is truly mesmerizing. If you’ve take any kind of music lessons or studied music theory, you know how complex their arrangements are. Standing in my spot, I was amazed by how seamless the band would jump back and forth between chord progressions and rhythms. Music phrasings, though I had heard them on recordings, came to life and jumped around in my ears. And it was all spot on. Paul Bender on bass, Perrin Moss on drums and Simon Mavin on keys, played impeccably, and their training/experience in jazz and soul music was fully realized. And even more than that, you could tell that they were all loving their time on stage. Nai Palm surely recognizes the caliber of musicians that make up the bad. In her humble way throughout the set, she would give each member individual, deserved, props. “Simon Mavin getting magical on the keys,” She said as his fingers intricately maneuvered the keys.
Nai Palm. Oh my lord. She could very well be my new favorite female vocalist. At 23 years old, she seems to have already mastered two instruments: her guitar and her voice. Watching her perform live, up close and personal, I was entranced by the joy in her voice, and the passion with which she played. She truly fed off the audience, even taking a moment to tell the audience that she loved hearing us sing along.
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson killing it.
And if that weren’t enough, they Miguel Atwood-Ferguson join in on a couple songs on his viola. Like Hiatus Kaiyote, he played with such intensity and passion, it was a privilege just to be in the same room as him. He’s a tall man, and the ceiling of the venue was low, and watching him play as the sweat dripped from his brow, and as the strings on his bow started fraying, I was nervous for him as I thought his intense playing would cause him to break his bow on the ceiling. Who am I kidding? He’s a master at his craft. Even the setting couldn’t hold him back.
Being that close to the stage, able to watch each musician play with such skill, took me to a concert going place I haven’t been to in a while. It must have been at least a good hour and a half before I turn to my side to check in on my friend to make sure that she was hanging in there. I had gotten lost in the music. I was zoned in on watching the band play. It was truly an out-of-body experience. I was immersed in the music. Immersed in the performance.
Towards the end of the show, Paul Bender gives a shout-out to his brother who had apparently just recently moved to Los Angeles, and who also taught him to play the bass. At that point of the show, I had really lost track of time. Though I was drenched in my own perspiration, and weary from standing in the same spot all night, I was sad that the music had come to an end.
The bud of jasmine Nai Palm gave me.
I noticed the set list on the floor that Nai was using, but the guy in front of me asked for it before I had the chance. I saw that Paul had a set list, so I asked him for his, and he passed it on to me. I took a picture of it, but it has somehow mysteriously disappeared …. hmm … I told Nai how much I was impressed with her show, and she gave me a little bud of the jasmine that was on the mic stand. I think I’ll keep that safe for a while.
Hiatus Kaiyote was kind enough to take a picture with me.
I went outside to decompress with a cigarette, when Perrin and Simon came up and asked for one as well. Simon was thankful that I had extras to spare, and he mentioned that not only had it been a while, but they were all tired from their recent travel itinerary (they had just flown in from New York that morning). I once again reiterated how much I had enjoyed their performance, and by that time, I went to find my friend to leave for home.
When I got home, I lay in bed for at least 45 minutes watching the snippets of that evening’s performance on my cell phone. I had so much adrenaline in my body from the show that I had just witnessed, that it was hard for me to sleep. Hopefully, this band will be around for a while, and hopefully, they come back to Los Angeles to give me another musical, out-of-body experience.
Signed album artwork. Treasure.
Below are some video clips I took of the show. Enjoy them the best you can, but honestly, you need to see this band live to truly appreciate what they are about. Hopefully, they’ll be back in Los Angeles to perform in no time.
Note: In the next video you’ll see how happy Nai Palm gets when the audience sings along. Love it.
Note: At the start of the following video Miguel (at about the 8 second mark) takes note of the low ceiling. Great musicians take note of everything in their surroundings.
Earlier this year, a friend of mine posted a video clip on Facebook of a performance by a singer named Jose James. I liked what I heard, and started googling him and his music. When I stumbled upon his amazing cover of Freestyle Fellowship’s “Park Bench People”, I nearly lost my mind. I mean, I grew up with “Innercity Griots”, and I have always preached how that that album is in my top 10 list of best and most influential hip-hop albums of all time. What made that album so groundbreaking was how it pushed the limits of hip-hop (at the time), thematically and musically, especially using live jazz instrumentation, courtesy of members from The Underground Railroad (I even got to meet Onaje Murray– who kills it on Freestyle Fellowship’s version of “Park Bench People” in high school once, but that’s another story). Needless to say, I was feeling what Jose James was doing with his music and the fact that he picked one of my favorite hip-hop songs to cover earned him some mad respect.
While I was watching some of the video clips on Youtube, I noticed that Youtube had a tiny little caption in the video description that showed where he would be performing in Los Angeles next. I clicked through the link trying to see how much the tickets were, but apparently the show had sold out. Apparently, it was a KCRW promoted concert, and to my dismay, they had just featured Jose the day before, and tickets for the show sold out immediately. Slightly disheartened, I simply “liked” Jose’s Facebook page for updates on when he’d be in town in the future.
Facebook. Some people can’t stand it. I can’t live without it. About a week after trying to get tickets, I get a notice on FB that a second show had been added. I logged on and purchased tickets. FYI, the ticket for this second show also sold out. Thank you, Facebook.
It had been a tough couple weeks leading up to the show. Work had been overwhelming, and it seemed that everybody I was working with was heading to South By Southwest to work on various projects. I’ve never been to SXSW, so I was a bit envious. But since everyone was in Austin, TX for the music festival, I got a little reprieve from phone calls and emails to enjoy myself for the evening.
When I got to the venue, I picked up my wristband and got stamped at the door. The performance venue was downstairs in a dark basement with low a ceiling. My guest and I roamed the venue looking for a good place to stand, and we ended up basically where we started off, by the entrance, close to the stage right. The show was scheduled to start at 10pm, but the bouncer at the top of the stairs told me that he started around 11 the night before.
The later it got, the smaller our little space got. People kept filing in, and the temperature of the room started rising. You could feel it. Note to self: bring a small handheld fan for the next show I attend there. The air-conditioning was on (so says the venue), but you couldn’t tell.
A blurry shot of Jose and Takuya.
Close to 11:00pm, the band the took the stage. One by one, the band members took the stage. Kris Bowers (keyboards), Solomon Dorsey (bass), Takuya Kuroda (trumpet) and Richard Spaven (drums). Each member introduced themselves to the audience through solos, and after a good 10 minutes of jazz instrumentals, Jose joined them on stage to sing “It’s All Over Your Body”, the first track of off his latest album . That song is about 5 and a half minutes long, but they jammed out for at least 10 minutes. It seemed to me that the audience truly understood the musicality of the gentlemen on stage. Each of them was truly skilled at their respective craft.
The room was getting hotter and hotter, and if you came in wearing a jacket or a sweater, you weren’t wearing it anymore. You could feel the the body heat coming off of the person standing next to you. You would think that the temperature would be unbearable, but no. Girls were shouting out Jose’s name with each line he sang, and bodies were swaying to the rhythm. If anything, people were sneakily pushing their way towards the stage, immersing themselves in the sweltering heat. The music was that good. No one wanted too leave their spot (at least where I was standing).
Another blurry shot of Takuya.
Jose has preached his musical root as being set in Jazz. He’s a tremendous “classic” jazz vocalist, as his duet album with Jef Neve, titled “For All We Know”, clearly showcases, but his talent and stylings are so much more that traditional jazz. Like Freestyle Fellowship, he takes a genre and stretches its boundaries.
People have compared vocals to D’Angelo and Bill Withers. People say that he evokes the 70’s soul of Gil Scott Heron. As cliched as it sounds, he’s Jose James. His performance showed me that he is his own style … meaning, if you heard his voice on the radio, you’d probably be able to tell that it’s him and not some other singer.
I usually try to take video clips of a handful of songs of the concert I go to, but after the show I realized that I had only taken clips of three songs. It was the kind of show where you didn’t want to watch it from the tiny screen of a cell phone. I was no more than 15 feet from the stage. I was going to soak it all in with my own eyes. Luckily, the three videos that I did take were of some of the highlight I took away from the show.
I had seen Robert Glasper earlier this year, and it just so happened that the music of “Vanguard”, one of my favorite songs off the album, was written by him. Jose wrote the lyrics. Great song.
Jose covered Bill Wither’s “Ain’t No Sunshine”. A great song. A great voice.
It was 1am when Jose closed his set with “Do You Feel”, and people started to leave. It’s almost understandable. Almost. After all, it was a Wednesday, and people have 9-5 jobs. The show was already over 2 hours. I, technically, have a 9-5 job. BUT he hadn’t played “Park Bench People” yet.
After a bit of cajoling from the faithful who moved forward to take up the space from those who couldn’t hang, Jose came on stage and started to sing a cappella a Marvin Gaye medley of “What’s Going On” and “Mercy Mercy Me”. What he did with the medley blew my mind. The voice is an instrument, but what he did with his instrument left me amazed. He became the human record player, scatting lines making it sound like a DJ was spinning records.
“What’s Going On” and “Mercy Mercy Me”, with their strong social commentary, segued brilliantly into “Park Bench People”, a song about the ravages of homelessness. He continued the scat passages of “Park Bench People” like he did with the medley and made those songs … for lack of more poetic words … his bitch. He took a song that I already loved, and left me amazed with his performance. Close to 1:30am, Jose and the band wrapped it up.
I was able to tell Jose before I left that I was amazed by his set, and that there was nothing I appreciated more in the world than good music, but upon retrospect the concert itself was a one of a kind experience. To experience that kind of musicianship, in that venue, with the heat, and skin, and vibe, excitement, and movement … Before I left him and his band alone, I was able to get Jose and Takuya autograph my 12” single of “Park Bench People”.
They say that listening to good music is like having sex. On March 13, 2013, in the crowded, sweltering basement of the Del Monte Speakeasy in Venice Beach, I left a concert drenched in my own sweat (and probably the sweat of others), my feet and legs aching from the physical exertion of standing for over two hours. I was physically and emotionally spent, but absolutely in awe of the performance that I was lucky enough to catch. When I got to my car, I sat there smoking a cigarette just to relax for a moment.
It feels just like yesterday that Terrace Martin released his last album, the sublime “3ChordFold”. But ever the relentless, working musician, you knew that he had more up his sleeve, ready to share with the world. His latest release, “3ChordFold Pulse” is a follow up worthy of some serious attention.
I was able to tell Jose before I left that I was amazed by his set, and that there was nothing I appreciated more in the world than good music, but upon retrospect the concert itself was a one of a kind experience. To experience that kind of musicianship, in that venue, with the heat, and skin, and vibe, excitement, and movement … Before I left him and his band alone, I was able to get Jose and Takuya autograph my 12” single of “Park Bench People”. 
#DKLPHOTOS 