chessmith

drummers Ches Smith & Weasel Walter have a lot of shows coming up (dates)

by Andrew Frisicano

Ches w/ Good for Cows; Weasel Walter
Ches Smith
Weasel Walter

We mentioned Rose Live Music’s drummer-led series, which continues through March, but we’d be remiss not to mention two other stunning drummers who will be working like crazy this March. Ches Smith and Weasel Walter both have a mad amount of shows planned throughout the month, playing almost nightly with a number of different bands and collaborators (some of which even overlap).

Both compose and improvise; Weasel Walter (who recently moved to New York) walks the metal/free jazz divide, having headed Flying Luttenbachers, and Ches‘s credits include current work with eclectic combos Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog and Secret Chiefs 3 (both with multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily) and past work with Xiu Xiu.

Ches plays tonight Wednesday, March 17th at the Stone with Good for Cows, a duo with bassist Devin Hoff that just released a new record, Audumla, in January. And Thursday he plays with Mary Halvorson Quintet at Roulette. Those are just of a few of the shows in NYC before Ches leaves in late April for a European tour with Secret Chiefs 3. His solo project Congs for Brums opens on the trip..

Weasel Walter played two gigs last night (3/16) – his compositions were performed at (Le) Poisson Rouge by International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and he played with Aurora Josephson Group (doing the music of Ayler, Mingus, Sun Ra, Feldman and improvising) at The Stone. He also joins Aram Shelton (alto saxophone), Damon Smith (bass) at Silent Barn tonight (March 17th) and has shows at Zebulon and Goodbye Blue Monday (both pass-the-hat venues) in March.

On March, 19 at the Stone, Weasel Walter plays drums with Quok, a trio with Ava Mendoza on guitar and Devin Hoff (of Good for Cows) on bass. The second set that night is Fig – Nels Cline (guitar) & Yuka Honda (keyboards). Hoff plays with Nels Cline Singers, whose two-disc set of guitar & electronic led tunes, Initiate, comes out April 13th on Cryptogramophone. The Singers will be at LPR for two sets on July 6th. Tickets are on sale.

Full dates for both drummers and videos of some of their projects are below…

Weasel Walter Quintet @ Silent Barn, Part I, Brooklyn, NY Jan. 23, 2010

Marc Edwards Weasel Walter Group @Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY Jan 31, 2010

Weasel Walter – 2010 Tour Dates
Mar 16 ICE “ON and OFF the page” @ Le Poisson Rouge, Manhattan, NY New York, New York
Mar 16 Aurora Josephson Group @ The Stone, Manhattan Manhattan, New York
Mar 17 Shelton/Smith/Walter @ Silent Barn, Queens Queens, New York
Mar 19 QUOK – The Stone, Manhattan, NY New York, New York
Mar 21 Radding/Carter/Walter @ Goodbye Blue Monday, Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn, New York
Mar 22 Ava Mendoza Group @ Death By Audio, Brooklyn NY Brooklyn, New York
Mar 24 Weasel Walter Quintet @ Zebulon, Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn, New York
Mar 25 Vinny Golia/Adam Lane/WW – Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY brooklyn, New York
Apr 04 Toy Killers @ The Stone, Manhattan Manhattan, New York
Apr 14 Sheik Anorak/Mario Rechtern/WW – European Tour Lyon, Rhône-Alpes
More info on the bands playing HERE

Ches Smith’s These Arches: April 2008

Good For Cows @ Unlimited Festival 2007

Ches Smith – 2010 Tour Dates
Mar 16 BROOKLYN: THESE ARCHES AT ZEBULON Brooklyn, New York
Mar 17 THE STONE W/ GOOD FOR COWS New York, New York
Mar 18 ROULETTE W/ MARY HALVORSON QUINTET New York, New York
Mar 21 THE STONE W/ JOHN RASKIN New York, New York
Mar 22 BOWERY POETRY CLUB W/ JON RASKIN New York, New York
Mar 26 KNOXVILLE, TN W/ TERRY RILEY Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 29 LOCAL 269 W/ BRIAN DRYE New York, New York
Mar 30 THE STONE W/ WILL BERNARD New York, New York
Apr 15 THE JAZZ GALLERY W/ MARY HALVORSON TRIO New York, New York
Apr 17 IBEAM W/ CURTIS HASSELBRING Brooklyn, New York
Apr 24 IBEAM W/ BRIAN DRYE Brooklyn, New York
Apr 28 SECRET CHIEFS 3 EU TOUR WITH FAT 32 AND CHES SMITH’S CONGS FOR BRUMS/APRIL 28–JUNE 6 all over EU