"NEVER STOP is the first album by The Bad Plus to consist entirely of originals. Recorded in Minnesota with a live, stripped-down sound, NEVER STOP showcases the band's range as well as its three distinct personalities. From gentle and melodic to fierce and abstract, from swing to 80's techno, NEVER STOP is tied together by a group sound that embraces diversity as strength. Ten years in, The Bad Plus is here to stay."- The Bad Plus

The Bad Plus play The Village Vanguard in NYC on December 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, January 1st and 2nd. They play two sets each day except New Years Eve. New Years Eve tickets are $150 each. All the other December shows are either sold out or not selling anymore advanced tickets, but you can still get $25 advanced tickets for 1/1 11pm and 1/2 11pm. Info on their latest CD is above. All Bad Plus tour dats below...

Continue reading "The Bad Plus are at Village Vanguard through 1/2 (New Years Eve included) ++ other dates"

"Recorded in Berkeley (Fantasy Studios) and San Francisco (Cafe Du Nord), this is a heapin' helpin' of The Singers: a studio and a 'live' disc. The studio disc sees us moving into some decidedly different terrain. I actually use my voice (wordlessly) on some tracks, Devin plays bass guitar... All hell has broken loose! There are special guests, even! The studio disc features David Witham and Yuka Honda on keyboards. The 'live' disc features Satomi Matsuzaki, Greg Saunier, and John Dieterich (AKA three fourths of Deerhoof) on percussion (on a blazing and/or totally indulgent version of Weather Report's "Boogie Woogie Waltz"). Produced by David Breskin and recorded and mixed by Ron Saint Germain, this is either the most friendly Singers recording to date or the most antisocial, depending on who you are and what you expect. The package features beautiful photographs of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN by Simon Norfolk throughout (as well as some 'live' shots from the Cafe Du Nord gig by Peak), so all in all you know this is another Cryptogramophone production of visionary packaging excellence. And you might like the music, too.

You can pre-order the CD online now at Indiejazz.com or check out the special BUNDLE offer (w/ CD, shirt & tote bag) here!" [Nels Cline] [

The Nels Cline Singers are on tour in support of the above-described double album, and they play two shows at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC tonight (7/6). From there they head to Philly and DC before Nels returns to NYC or a five-night stand at the Village Vanguard with Jenny Scheinman. On July 19th Nels will be speaking "about music, guitars and life" at The Stone. Also, not listed on Nels' tour dates, but I noticed he'll be sitting in with Jim Campilongo at the Living Room one day this month too.

Deerhoof, who you can see above contributed to the new live album, will be in NYC on Sunday, 7/11, as part of a collaboration with Xiu Xiu. All Nels' official dates below...

Continue reading "the Nels Cline Singers are on tour, Nels also appears soon @ Village Vanguard, the Stone, Living Room & more (dates)"

by Andrew Frisicano

The Bad Plus will be playing a six-show run at the Village Vanguard to end the year (and start the next). The band plays two sets a night from Tuesday, December 29th to Sunday, January 3rd. Their New Year's eve show is a bit different - a $125 ticket (which includes a $25 drink minimum) covers both sets. NYE will also be broadcast on WBGO (88.3 FM) on Toast of the Nation (as part of NPR's Live at the Village Vanguard series). Tickets are on sale.

TBP pianist Ethan Iverson checks in regularly on his Do the Math blog - his own year-end lists have included so far a rundown of Classic Crime Stories, "Recent Improvisations (and) In Praise of the Independent Label," and "11 Canonical AAM Performances".

It looks like the band will keep a fairly busy in 2010 too - they're scheduled into February with shows (including one on February 8th at Pomona, NJ's Stockton PAC). Videos and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Bad Plus playing New Year's run @ Village Vanguard & other dates"

Neil Diamond played the Bitter End in May 2008. Barbra Streisand will appear at the Village Vanguard on Saturday, September 26, 2009. More info below...

Continue reading "Barbra Streisand to perform at the Village Vanguard"

by Andrew Frisicano

Allen Toussaint @ Village Vanguard 5/20/09 (livingwithmusic)

The New Orleans pianist Allen Toussaint hinted at the scope of his musical lore in a whimsical solo montage halfway through his early set at the Village Vanguard on Tuesday [5/19] night. Fragments of old New Orleans songs (like "Big Chief"), classical pieces, boogie-woogie, "The Sound of Music" and other tunes interrupted one another and gradually mingled, giving barrelhouse flourishes to a Chopin prelude. After a few more segues Mr. Toussaint called Elvis Costello out of the audience to sing "Ascension Day," a song from the 2006 album they made together, "The River in Reverse." [NY Times]

Allen Toussaint has been at the Village Vanguard since that Tuesday, May 19th show. That run continues through Sunday, May 24th.

The pianist is playing with the Bright Mississippi Band, a group that recently cut an album of the same name for Nonesuch. That band (on record and live) includes clarinetist Don Byron, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, bassist David Piltch, percussionist Jay Bellerose and guitarist Marc Ribot. Ribot just ended his weeklong 55th-birthday retrospective on Sunday, May 16th.

Elvis Costello also recently made an appearance on 30 Rock, and has a show coming up at NYC's Beacon Theater.

Watch a video of Costello and Toussaint on Letterman, with all Allen Toussaint tour dates (including Bonnaroo), below...

Continue reading "Allen Toussaint @ Village Vanguard, other places - tour dates"

by Andrew Frisicano

Marc Ribot @ Maxwell's (more by Tim Griffin)

Marc Ribot is an American guitarist and composer. His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn. Ribot's earliest session work featured on Tom Waits' Rain Dogs (1985) and helped define Waits' new musical direction. Ribot worked with Waits on many of his following albums including Franks Wild Years (1987), Mule Variations (1999) and Real Gone (2004).

He currently performs and records with his group Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog with bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Ches Smith of the avant-garde band Secret Chiefs 3. [Wikipedia]

Ribot was also featured on Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' Raising Sand, named Album of the Year at the Grammys this year. Recently, Ribot was spotted playing in Marianne Faithfull's band on Letterman and at City Winery. In December he, along with John Zorn, was one of Yo La Tengo's secret Hanukkah openers.

In May, Ribot will celebrate his 55th birthday with a week of NYC shows from Saturday, May 9th to Saturday, May 16th. Those gigs will showcase Ribot in a variety of bands and settings...

Continue reading "Marc Ribot's birthday week & other upcoming shows "

By Andrew Frisicano

Avant-jazz cross-over act the Bad Plus will play a series of NYC shows as part of its neverending schedule of gigs. First, the trio - Ethan Iverson on piano, Reid Anderson on bass, Dave King on drums - hosts a special performance as part of French Institute Alliance Française's "Crossing the Line: FIAF Fall Festival 2008"

From the band's blog, Do the Math, (updated by pianist Iverson):

"Once in a while TBP gets a commission to arrange a well-known piece of music. So far, we have done Bernstein, Sedaka, Radiohead, and turned down a couple of others. This Saturday [9/20], thanks to FIAF, we will be unveiling our transfiguration of "La Ballade de Melody Nelson" by the great hero of French pop music, Serge Gainsbourg. ...[opening the show] Dave King will play duo with the fabulous Benoît Delbecq."

The piano-playing Delbecq will play a solo set to begin the night.

The following Tuesday (9/23), the Bad Plus will kick-off six nights of 9pm- and 11pm-set club gigs at New York's Village Vanguard. (Tix here.) The band, which recently left Columbia for indie label Heads Up, is most well-known for its free-form rock-song covers; their latest, Prog, features renditions of "Life on Mars," "Tom Sawyer," "This Guy's in Love with You," "Everybody Wants To Rule the World" and (as an iTunes-only bonus) Interpol's "Narc."

Pianist Iverson will perform and speak with jazz legend Lee Konitz on September 18 at Joe's Pub. (Tix here.) Iverson and Konitz, whose many notable appearences include alto sax on Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool and an extended stint with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, will engage in a "free-form combination of music and conversation." Among other things, the pair will discuss free-jazz progenitor Lennie Tristano, who Iverson recently wrote about at length on Do the Math.

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "FIAF Fall Festival 2008 & other Bad Plus shows, residencies"