Concert Reviews
DJ Logic's Project Logic w/ Medeski at Wetlands (last thursday in September, after month-long run of guests like Marc Ribot and John Scofield). Free-Funk w/ slammin' samples from Logic's turntables. He was backed by a kick-ass drummer, and dreadlocked bass, guitar and sax players. Check out www.djlogic.com for tour dates, as well as audio samples of his first release (feturing MMW, Vernon Reid, Marc Ribot, Teo Macero, Graham Haynes & Sex Mob).
Saw Amina Claudine Myers at The Jazz Gallery ("An International Jazz Art Museum"), which was having an "Exhibition & Performance Series To Honor Don Pullen: From Gospel to the Globe". The walls were covered with pictures of Pullen, album covers, anecdotes, etc. Amina played for about an hour. Before sitting down at the organ, she took off her shoes so she could play the bass pedals barefoot, like Rhoda Scott. She started off with an acapella vocal repeating the words "Have Mercy" for several minutes, then going into a bass pedal intro and extending into 12+ minute Gospel tune, never saying more than "Have Mercy". The crowd of less than 50 was foot-tapping and hand-clapping, and some guy would let out a deep-voiced "Yeah" at just the right times. Amina followed her inspirational intro with a soulful groove, and then a free piece reminiscent of Lester Bowie's New York Organ Enesemble recordings. She introduced the next tune, which she had recorded with Lester Bowie & the 5th Power, and this time had some of the audience singing along to "God Has Smiled on Me". The show ended with Amina excusing heself for forgetting the second verse to "Do You Wanna Be Saved?", another funky Gospel groove. The gallery owner concluded the show by bringing up an interesting ambiguity: Jazz has its roots in Blues and Gospel, but Gospel regards Blues as the Devil's music.
