I wrote a series of five concert summaries for Ethan Iverson‘s DoTheGigNYC site between December 2017 and June 2018, when that aspect of the site was discontinued. It continues here as a weekly gig listing. I am re-posting these here in chronological order. All of these concerts were presented at The Stone, and my summaries were all edited by Iverson.
Ned Rothenberg and Marc Ribot at The Stone 12/6/17
PERSONNEL: Ned Rothenberg (A Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone), Marc Ribot (Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar)
SET LIST: Improvisations #1-5 (Rothenberg/Ribot)
HIGHLIGHTS: In the midst of a particularly dense flurry of notes, Ribot went back to Bach with a quote from Bourrée in E minor.
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For the second night of his week-long residency at The Stone, Ned Rothenberg was joined by Marc Ribot for five improvised duets. Rothenberg’s approach is informed in part by Eric Dolphy and Jimmy Giuffre, woodwind specialists who synthesized free jazz and 20th-century classical music in the early 1960s. His choice of the bass clarinet and A clarinet for this set was a nod to Dolphy and Giuffre, respectively. Ribot is a musical omnivore who filters his diverse interests through a playing style influenced by Jimi Hendrix (electric blues guitar and use of electronics) and Derek Bailey (non-idiomatic improvisation that emphasizes idiomatic aspects of the guitar itself).
Beginning with the A clarinet and acoustic guitar, Rothenberg and Ribot chose a different pair of instruments for each of the first four improvisations. They have each integrated a personal vocabulary of extended techniques into their playing, allowing for a variety of timbral and expressive possibilities. For Rothenberg, these largely had to do with manipulation of overtone/harmonic content over time, sometimes creating multiple discernible pitches, and percussive slap-tonguing effects. Ribot created squeaky sounds from the body of his acoustic guitar, and used EBow, slide, and a volume pedal in various combinations to increase the sonic potential of his electric. Musically, any technique or reference was in play. Diatonic and blues tonalities, pulse and repetition were contrasted with atonality/noise, rubato and development. Ribot’s direct quote of J.S. Bach was an especially clear demonstration of postmodernism in a freely improvised context. While orchestration, timbre, and musical devices created sonic variety throughout the set, these four improvisations were formally consistent, juxtaposing several contrasting movements, each exploring a few of these sounds and ideas.
The fifth improvisation elegantly tied the entire set together by turning this strategy on its head. Instead of pursuing another unexplored instrumental pair, the duo returned to the A clarinet and acoustic guitar. Ribot offered a twist on his opening musical gesture, a patiently repeating dissonant guitar chord, with a similarly insistent sonority, in this case derived from E minor. With these elements back in play, the set closed with an extended meditation on a single idea in the form of a tonal, rubato ballad.
Dan Weiss at The Stone at the New School, 1/6/18
PERSONNEL: Dan Weiss (drums, compositions), Craig Taborn (synthesizer, electric piano, piano, electronics), Matt Mitchell (synthesizer, piano, electronics), Trevor Dunn (electric bass), Ben Monder (electric guitar)
SET LIST: Annica, Depredation, A Puncher’s Chance, Ennio and Angelo, Cry Box, The memory of my memory, Veiled, Episode 8 (all by Weiss)
HIGHLIGHTS: Trevor Dunn’s unaccompanied solo on “Cry Box.” While strumming endless consecutive eighth-notes, he expressed three key elements of the music: drone, melody, and a physical approach to rhythm.
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Starebaby, Dan Weiss’s new heavy metal-inspired quintet, extends the tradition of aggressive jazz-rock groups like The Tony Williams Lifetime, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Naked City. Ben Monder, Craig Taborn and Matt Mitchell all share Weiss’s interest in metal, and Trevor Dunn’s work with Mr. Bungle makes him an influential metal musician in his own right. A certain kind of cinematic ethos was also in play: “Ennio and Angelo” refers to Ennio Morricone and Angelo Badalamenti and “Episode 8” was a response to Twin Peaks.
The vamp that bookended the set served as a microcosm. Taborn and Dunn supplied an droning ostinato in 11/8, while Mitchell and Monder played a long, atonal melody. While these were straightforward on their own, together, the two parts created a complex composite rhythm. Formally, Weiss’s compositions featured multiple contrasting movements, allowing for a series of metallic styles as well as detours into free jazz and ambience. In addition to solos over vamp-based sections, every member of the band was featured in at least one unaccompanied solo, that could function as an introduction or a segue between sections or compositions. A sense of teamwork was on display as band members traded functions within the music, with no one voice dominating.
Sonically, the guitar section provided the extended low range and distorted tones typical of metal. Over this foundation, Taborn and Mitchell used a range of keyboard sounds and textures to fulfill their various tasks. At times these sounds enhanced the guitar section, adding low end or evoking additional distorted guitars. Alternately, they could compliment the guitars by using a string patch or an aggressive, buzzy lead sound. Perhaps best of all, they could use their synthesizers and electronics as sound generators, creating all sorts of buzzing and swooping electronic mayhem that created an atmosphere and context for the written material.
Mary Halvorson and Randy Peterson at The Stone 1/30/18
PERSONNEL: Mary Halvorson (electric guitar), Randy Peterson (drums)
SET LIST: Improvisations 1-4 (Halvorson/Peterson)
HIGHLIGHTS: After several minutes of untreated guitar, Halvorson hit a distorted chord and made a loop out of the decaying sustain. In this moment, she discovered what would be the key strategy for the set – the interplay between free drumming and precise digital echoes and loops.
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Mary Halvorson and Randy Peterson joined forces for the first time on Tuesday, performing a series of four extended improvisations. Peterson created energy and movement while avoiding specific pulses or meters. Halvorson developed and transformed motivic content and created texture and depth with effects.
Halvorson began Improvisations 1 and 4 with simple melodic themes based on an [024] trichord and a perfect 4th interval, respectively. This material functioned in several ways. Initially she applied techniques of motivic transformation to generate more related material. Then, after the music brought the duo to a new area, she could return to these initial cells, effectively restating the theme. Finally, with the ability to create loops she could juxtapose a secondary area with these melodies. Improvisation 2 stood out for its blues implications. Frequent use of A7 and D7 chords, in combination with a prominent echo patch, placed elements of the blues in a cosmic dub setting. Throughout the set, Halvorson also used effects to create fleeting sonic accents, sometimes turning a distortion on and off quickly, or activating a tremolo effect just as a feedbacking note died off.
The most unique and interesting moments in the set came when Halvorson contrasted Peterson’s unmetered playing with a steady pulse. Most often this was accomplished with an echo effect or loop. In isolation, these passages could suggest Bill Frisell, Lee “Scratch” Perry, or Steve Reich. In combination with Peterson’s unmetered playing, these pulse-oriented sounds created tension and contrast. The finale of Improvisation 3 featured this concept at its most exciting and dramatic. Here Halvorson eschewed all effects and steadily picked out a set of arpeggios worthy of Slint. The repetition of the riff, its inherent harmonic tension, and the rhythmic rub of Peterson’s energy-based drumming made for a decisive climax.
Ben Perowsky, Tim Berne, Hank Roberts, David Torn at The Stone 3/16/18
PERSONNEL: Ben Perowsky (drums, percussion, electronics), Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Hank Roberts (cello), David Torn (guitar, electronics)
SET LIST: Improvisations 1 and 2 (Perowsky/Berne/Roberts/Torn)
HIGHLIGHTS: Each improvisation had mysterious origins. After initial introductions, the sidemen seemed to be warming up while Perowsky double checked his recording device, but he enthusiastically egged them on to make these sounds the de facto beginning of the set. Later on, as the audience applauded their first epic improvisation, Torn launched into a series of massive ascending arpeggios, creating a real-time crossfade between the applause and the second improvisation.
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For the fourth night of his residency at The Stone, Ben Perowsky assembled a new quartet featuring three veteran improvisers. Their two improvisations were contrasting in length (approximately 50 minutes and 10 minutes) but shared a “let’s see what happens” approach. While there were solo moments sprinkled throughout, this set was primarily about the collective sound of the ensemble, with no explicit stylistic agenda.
Each musician brought a personal set of sounds and approaches to the band. Peroswky’s drumming was extremely dynamic, often using shifts in volume to lead the band down particular paths. Whether drawing on a deep well of pulse-based grooves or using a more abstract approach, his playing exhibited a great deal of flexibility and diversity. The combination of tasty, session-style drumming with electro-acoustic soundscapes was the most unique and defining characteristic of the set. Perowsky also augmented his drum set with a collection of bells and electronics that further increased the scope of his contributions.
David Torn brought a digital aesthetic, using cosmic reverbs, loops, and glitchy effects to continuously transform his organic and expressive guitar playing, where distortion and microtonal pitch variations link blues slide guitar and Indian music. Hank Roberts could supply contrast by emphasizing his cello’s acoustic sound, or combine extended techniques with distortion and echo effects to access a whole other set of sounds. Tim Berne operated in many spheres, whether playing soloistic lines over an evolving textural backdrop, duetting with Torn or Roberts, providing a drone, or laying out entirely. Torn, Roberts and Berne all paired off at various points for “duets,” soloing together, shifting timbral emphasis, confusing the listener as to what sound was coming from what instrument.
Michael Formanek Quartet at The Stone 5/5/18
PERSONNEL: Michael Formanek (bass), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Ches Smith (drums, percussion)
SET LIST: A Fine Mess, Wobble and Spill, The Soul Goodbye (all by Formanek)
HIGHLIGHTS: The loud “THWACK” from Smith that marked the end of “A Fine Mess” was followed by such an efficient and seamless transition to “Wobble and Spill” that the first half of the concert felt like a long, multi-movement suite.
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Closing his residency at The Stone, Michael Formanek assembled a new quartet lineup to present three compositions. Various subsets of the band have previously played together in working groups such as Berne’s Bloodcount and Snakeoil, the Drew Gress Quintet, and the Anthony Pirog Trio. This existing familiarity enabled the musicians to prioritize interaction and conversation over a more conventional soloist/accompanist dynamic, resulting in an open, evolving soundscape that highlighted the musicians near-telepathic improvising abilities.
Formanek began “A Fine Mess” with the only unaccompanied statement of the night. His kinetic playing set the stage for the next 30 minutes of music, which found the group improvising their way through two of his compositions. For the most part, these improvisations were trios featuring Formanek, Smith, and either Alessi or Berne, which were connected with full quartet moments. Smith used a range of devices to delineate sections and create movement, such as switching between sticks, mallets, and brushes, zeroing in on small subsets of his drum set, and playing a contrasting pulse in relation to Formanek. Following the seamless transition into “Wobble and Spill,” Alessi and Berne improvised as a duo, matching each others changes in register and density. Throughout the set, motivic development was a key factor in shaping the group sound.
“The Soul Goodbye” was focused on drone, space, and duo improvisations. Beginning with Formanek and Berne, a long crossfade gave way to a duet between Alessi and Smith on short, high percussive sounds. Formanek’s re-entry led to a rhythm section feature, with Smith switching to cymbals. The theme emerged following a droning crescendo, a short, noir-ish earworm that had members of the audience humming to themselves after the performance.
Noah Berman 