Monthly Archives: June 2009

Terrace soul took form under a beautiful evening sky with sailboats in the near distance and smiley firework displays overhead….The music was rich in nature and presented to us by the Chicago Afrobeat Project, who tears up the stage breathing the intensity of Chicago’s rich music scene into the infectious sounds of afrobeat. Afrobeat’s range of influences — funk, rock, jazz, afro-cuban, high life and juju music – settle into a hypnotic, dance-compelling pulse at the core of CAbP. The group layers a fiery originality around this core through high-energy rock and experimental jazz. Their live act is all together rockin’ and danceable, communicating the opportunity to share experience thru body movements and positive vibrations…The individual players, coming from diverse backgrounds, each hold their own as soloists that ultimately characterize the live shows. Melodic and hard-hitting horn lines create a lyrical flow to the music, delivered by a cutting, driven rhythm section dynamic. Complex call-and-response percussion songs are dispersed throughout the nights gig….making the music as beautiful as the surroundings…..

Before I started my Waterfront Festival adventures, I made the short trip to Middleton to the Club Tavern to see the one and only Mr. Dale Watson. Dale seemed to know just about everyone in town never mind the folks at the show…it was quite warming to see a gentleman of country music being more than that….and then the Honky Tonk began. As we spoke of in our recent on air conversation, true country and western songs were treated kindly and requests were easily achieved…Dale’s good that way for sure. I sure enjoy honky tonk and hard edged country music for before my time really, and this music on this day and any other day finding this band on stage sure did hit the spot. I appreciate the energy put into working to assist the independant truckers develop some kind of health care that doesn’t sink them, if they can get any at all…Oh there is a lot to like about Dale Watson and I hope I point you in the right direction with my honesty. His new album the Truckin’ Session Volume 2, as I mentioned a few posts back is exciting, rebellious and just in its causes…I am proud to have it in my music collection and the ability to share it with others is appreciated. (Thanks Dale/Kevin/Hawk/Moose)

Mon Aime Vieux Farka Toure made things seem like the should for me….The sound of his guitar transcends music and clears a journey out of once was a pathless landscape. And on this journey I was happy to be able to spend some time catching up with Tim and Vieux before and after the show as it is always nice to spend time with people from past moments…..The music that Vieux and his band put out at this festival had the crowd in an amazement whirl~there were new dances being born right before my eyes…the African Jam Blues rock and roll deeply rooted in traditional Malian Blues music has gone in its own direction and it just GOES. The charm and charisma is a part of Vieux that flows off onto the crowd easily and kept a “connection” with the listeners~people became more than festival goers…I run out of words for my experiences with sounds and people that deeply affect me and Vieux and his music keep me pretty quiet at times….I managed to pick up the new cd FONDO to do the talking for me in the upcoming weeks.

Bonsoir, Catin was on before Vieux and featured authentic cajun music that is energetic, passionate and heart-felt, leading the Madison crowd to cut a, well… cut a festival lawn into a dusty dance square filled with couples embraced in a Cajun swing. Bonsoir, Catin is an all-woman Cajun band. Their music is an expression of what it is to be a Cajun woman–feminine, classy, smart, brave, take-charge, and no-nonsense, and has emerged as one of South Louisiana’s most exciting new Cajun bands.

This year for the Marquette Neighborhood Association’s Waterfront Festival brought entertainment from around the globe, local fare and goods and a LOT of people for a real good gathering of spirit and sound. This year was the 20th anniversary of the event and the music was joyous and raucous and sweat-inducing danceable so many people came to bask both days in the seductive lakeshore breeze. The community celebrated in Yahara Place Park on June 13th and 14th at the confluence of the Yahara River and Lake Monona where the cottonwoods provided the ideal canopy for this rite of spring. On Saturday I saw Taj Weekes and Adowa bring the gentle conscious voice of today thru Island sounds delight the audience with vibes and grooves of a folk reggae, words to hear and rhythms to move your body to…this hours after Taj called in to do another phoner on the program where we discuss his music and his beliefs of giving back (see early post here). I always enjoy giving artist who give back time to share on the airwaves.

After the show I chilled with Taj and the band for a bit, keeping it real with hula hoops and kindness…..we watched as Rupa and the April Fishes prepared backstage before an amazing set of eminently eclectic, genre bending and body moving music from this San Francisco based group creating lively, romantic and instantaneously appealing music with influences from many areas of the globe….there is too much going on within this groups on identity to write but I do suggest you check them out.

Had the chance to do a live on air phone interview with Eddie Roberts, guitarist and producer of the soulful entity known as the New Mastersounds. Hailing from Leeds, UK these guys know how to funk the lights out of it from top to bottom and start to finish. This one was special to me as I just absolutely dig the sound they produce, a Meters twist with a splash of dirty moss covered rock and groove~(from bone crushing drum beats to mind melting organ fingertromping bass defying bass flaps and the righteous-NESS of funky git-tar riffs). With a new album out and a Mid-west tour to support it, one of my favorite bands (been spinning them since I first started radio) made their way to a city that appreciates solid soul-felt funk. During the conversation, I asked Eddie to play a track for the ladies , The Minx and not only did the band rip it out and twist it up with a funky-ass know, the MisterG introduction was one for the books. Thanks Eddie. Matter of fact…here is the evenings set list:
Flimsy
102%
Pinky & Perky
M.R.G.
Minx
Six Under
In the Middle
All I Want
33 (Pete Start)
Colorado Sun
San Frantico
Bus Stop
One Note
Encore:IDRIS/BB/Can’t Hold Me

Opening the night was Moon Taxi, a jammin’ rock outfit from Nashville, Tennessee with some funky riffs that warmed it up just right.

the New Mastersounds

David Sanchez weaves the multi-cultural threads of North and Latin American cultures into a colorful musical tapestry, the common ground being the spirit of the drum. Sanchez’ robust sound, taut melodic focus and stirring rhythmic articulation reflect a talent wise beyond his years. His sense of originality transcends mere technical concerns. Sanchez is searching for fresh ways to enrich the jazz vocabulary. “I wanted to be in touch with my roots,” says Sanchez, “which come from Latin America. I believe that Latin jazz was born in the U.S., but I also believe that we are really one: North America, South America, the Caribbean. There are native people in these places who are related to each other. I’m trying to put that together in my music, trying to get in touch with the unity of it all while I integrate the stylistic elements from the different regions.” In late 1991, Dizzy Gillespie spoke glowingly of his latest protege, “There’s a young tenor player from Puerto Rico – the youngest member of the United Nation Orchestra – … David Sanchez, good, very reserved mind, very old mind, knows his changes, knows where he’s going and knows where he’s coming from.” Unarguably one of the most important and exciting young artists to emerge on the jazz scene in recent years, Sanchez’ uncommon talent, dedication and personal charisma will assuredly place him among the giants of jazz in the coming years….oh and by the way, he has since been awarded a Grammy….and on this night the room felt what mentor and student work so hard to achieve–oneness. This was the headline event for the Isthmus Jazz Fest and spirits were uplifted thrrough Mr. Sanchez’ saxophone and tight tight band…man were they tight.
Before the David Sanchez show I caught a set from the Tim Whalen Nonet, which totally made Coltrane’s Alabama come out to play while dazzling a filled up room at der Rathskeller at the UW with improvised spirit and soul.