have wingtips, will tap.

Gypsy jazz guitarist Jim Stout

The Queen City Hot Club made its debut during last year’s Discover Jazz Festival. A year later, they have two Leunig’s appearances this weekend as the Festival wraps up: today, from 2-5pm and tomorrow from 1-4pm.

Keep an eye here for an interview with Jim Stout (leader of the Hot Club), coming soon. More pics too. We talked recently, and Jim shared a lot of interesting insights about his history playing Django-stlye jazz.

Leaving now to get back to the waterfront tent for the 5pm show with the Easy Star All-Stars and the Wailing Souls. And then Sonny Rollins tonight at the Flynn Center.

I’m on ‘great music’ overload this weekend!

discover jazz – day 3

scratching

Sunday, rainy and cool and just right for a few of the indoor-oriented happenings at the Festival.

JazzLab opened today, Discover Jazz’s annual mini-festival of educational sessions, creative exploration, and improvisation. JazzLab offers artists the opportunity to develop their art in the (very) public forum of the Firehouse Gallery on Church Street, while being streamed live on the air at Burlington’s community radio station, The Radiator. It’s quite a setup, and often provides some of the event’s most interesting and adventurous programming.

I  stopped by the Firehouse this afternoon looking forward to the scheduled “how to” demonstration with the iconic hip-hop producer and innovative DJ, 88 Keys. The write-up said he’d be sharing some of his moves and talking about his life as the producer of folks like Mos Def, and Kanye West. I arrived a little late for the session, and never did see him. Had he been there earlier? Was the person actually leading the demo someone who was introduced as a sub during the first part I missed? I didn’t find out the answers to either question.

What I did learn (from the unnamed DJ leading the talk) was how the standard “paradiddle” drumming figure translates into a comparable rhythm with the scratching technique used in turntable DJ’ing.

I found out what effects with names like “2-click flairs” (aka: “orbits”); “crabscratches”; and “stutter crabs” sound like in the context of a serious groove in progress. I’ve heard these effects before, of course, as has most anyone whose even moderately familiar with the popular music of the last 20 years or so. (Remember DJ Jazzy Jeff, and the Fresh Prince? Me too. And that was just the beginning.) But it never occurred to me the sounds I was hearing were stock patterns and moves, with commonly known names among those in the business. Turns out these artists have developed their own musical language, parallel to the conventional one we all know with common tempo and dynamic lexicon like “allegro” and “forte”, and standardized notation. But the terms and lingo for this kind of music-making is specific to the tools and moves they use. Unlike standardized musical terminology, “crabscratching” and “crossfade hits” don’t apply universally to music made with a diversity of instruments. Turntable DJ’ing is very much its own thing, with its own specific language. Who knew it was such a refined (and defined) art? Did you know there are schools to teach folks the ins and outs of  how to be an ace “scratch DJ”? All true.

Great afternoon with JazzLab learning about this world which, until today, I’d only experienced from the outside listening in.

From there it was on to a short walk around Church Street, a visit to the new Big Joe Burrell statue (its animated bronze sax gleaming with moisture in the afternoon rain), and a stop at Leunig’s to catch the first couple of sets with the Queen City Hot Club (guitarists Jim Stout and Jared Volpe), a group that debuted at last year’s Discover Jazz Festival. They kept the packed streetside tent swinging through favorite standards like All of Me and Daphne, and Swing Gitane.  The insistent splatter of rain on the outdoor patio tiles was right on cue when the duet launched into Django’s nostalgic classic, Nuages (“clouds”). It just wouldn’t have sounded right to hear that song on a bright, sunny day.

Mose Allison also held two shows tonight at Flynn Space, but I didn’t make it to either of them. I’m not a big fan, honestly. It’s not personal, I know Mose is a great songwriter and pianist. It’s that half-singing, half-talking patter style that doesn’t do much for me. (Though I do recall enjoying his performance years ago when he came to the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Festival, where I was a student at the time. Has it really been 25 years???) And really, by the time the Flynn Space shows were starting this evening I’d already had a full day and didn’t need anything else to make it better.

Tomorrow evening: 7pm at the Firehouse, Alison Segar’s new film about local trombonist, drummer and composer James Harvey; and then at the Flynn Space  a late-starting show (8:30) with two acts; mandolinist Jamie Masefield and clarinetist Brad Terry followed by gutarist Stephane Wrembel & The Django Experiment celebrating the life and music of the late Django Reinhardt in his centennial birthday year.

scratching

Queen City Hot Club at Leunig’s

as scene on Church Street

Big Joe’s sax

who, me?

Big Joe Burrell: just a lucky so-and-so

playlist #115 (5/17/10)-at home in the world

World of Music

Pgm #115 – At home in the world – and vice-versa.

Catch the show on Mondays 3-5pm EDT – at 105.9FM in Burlington, VT or online at The Radiator

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Nas with Youssou N’Dour & Neneh Cherry: Wake Up (It’s Africa Calling) / Open Remix / http://www.intrahealth.org/open/ (download) – (USA / SENEGAL)

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Señor Coconut: Beat It / Fiesta Songs / Nacional Records 54212 – (CHILE)

Mo’ Horizons: Hit the Road Jack (Pé na éstrada) / Brazil Remixed / Groove Gravy 1102 – (BRAZIL)

Paname Dandies: Tout est Calme / Le Swing de L’Escargot / Volvox 703 – (FRANCE)

Lucrecia: Quizás, Quizás, Quizás (Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps) / Álbum de Cuba / Warner Music Latina 521459 – (CUBA)

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Jim Stout (Queen City Hot Club): Swing Gitan / (demo) – (MADE IN VT)

Jose Conde y Ola Fresca: Pititi y Titi / Revolucion / Mr. Bongo 54 – (NY, USA)

Karima Skalli: Habbînâ (In Love We Are) / Wasla / Moucharabieh 321077 – (MOROCCO)

Lokua Kanza: On Veut du Soleil (One Wants the Sun) / Nikolo / World Village 479043 – (BRAZIL) *NEW – released 5/11/2010*

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Cairo Sound Clash: Chiftidelic / Cairo Sound Clash / http://www.cairosoundclash.com 2009 – (ST. LOUIS, MO., USA)

La Caravane Passe: Karmen / Velkom Plèchti / Me & My Music 2006 – (HOLLAND)

Célia Mara featuring Amparo: Matriaméricas / Santa Rebeldia / Globalista 8 – (BRAZIL)

Bobby Valentin: Bad Breath / Bad Breath / Fania 77330344 – (PUERTO RICO)

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Cesaria Evora: Sangue de Beirona / The Very Best of Cesaria Evora / Bluebird 63984 – (CAPE VERDE)

Rachid Taha: Ah Mon Amour / Diwan 2 / Barclay 9843375 – (ALGERIA)

Zafa: Tariki / Israel / Putumayo 268 – (ISRAEL)

Tinariwen: Nar Djenetbouba / The Radio Tisdas Sessions / Wrasse Records 130 – (MALI)

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Mdungu: Afro What!? / Afro What!? / Zimbraz  3035 – (HOLLAND)

Claudia: Salve, Rainha / Black Rio 2 / Strut 45 – (BRAZIL)

La Otrabanda: Intro-Indigenas / Pueblo Vivo / Sanjonero Records 2004 – (VENEZUELA / WISCONSIN, USA)

Ablaye Cissoko & Volker Goetze: Badingwoo / Sira / Obliq Sound 106 – (MALI / GERMANY)

Solas: The Maid on the Shore / Celtic Tides / Putumayo 141 – (USA)

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Cacique ’97: Eu Quero Tudo / Cacique ’97 / Footmovin’ Records 20 – (PORTUGAL)

Ilhan Ersahin featuring Erik Truffaz: Bosphorous / Ilhan Ersahin’s Istanbul Sessions with Erik Truffaz / Nublu Records 23 – (TURKEY)

Umalali: Fuleisei (Favors) / The Garifuna Women’s Project / Cumbancha 6 – (GUATEMALA)

Kristi Stassinopoulou: Strong Winds Blockade / The Secrets of the Rocks / Tinder Records 861142 – (GREECE)

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Guagua: Subterranean Subterfuge / Tres / http://www.guaguavt.com 2010 – (MADE IN VT) *NEW*

gypsy à deux

Jim Stout

Martin & Stout

Mike Martin

You know how much we love gypsy jazz, here at World of Music.

Just last week I picked up a couple of new (to me) recordings of very fine Django-style players from the Netherlands: Lollo Meier and Stocholo Rosenberg. There’s quite a thriving gypsy jazz scene in that area, and these folks are among the best.

Two of this area’s finest pickers came together for a dream-team pairing this past Tuesday. Jim Stout (Queen City Hot Club) and Mike Martin (Trio Gusto) traded off lead and rhythm roles in a few swinging, toe-tapping sets at Leunig’s.

Often in a restaurant setting I’ve noticed the dining experience is the focus, even when really great live music is cooking in the midst. While it’s hard not to spend some time lingering over the carefully prepared, colorful and elegant meals at Leunig’s (escargot, vegetable Napoleon, chili pomegranate glazed scallops…mmm), the music enjoyed an equal spotlight with generous applause after every number and folks lined up at the bar just to watch the music being made.

With this year’s Discover Jazz Festival just around the corner, I hope we’ll hear a lot more from Stout and Martin in the months to come!

throw a stone, you can’t miss

Last week on Burlington's Church Street

The thing about music in Vermont is that it’s everywhere.

Same with poetry, visual and performance art, and literary and learning events of one kind or another.

On a recent September Monday I reviewed the evening’s options and realized within an hour’s drive I could participate in an equinox stargazing party at a local library, see an internationally-recorgnized author speaking on worldwide food production, hear a piano trio performing Beethoven, or attend a reading of Robert Frost’s autumnal poetry.

Many days are like that.

Autumn’s already shaping up to be rich with offerings,  a few upcoming suggestions are below. You’ll notice most of these take place in Central/Northern Vermont. It’s because that’s where I live, and these are the ones I have the best chance of actually experiencing.

There are an equal number of  events and performances taking place in other areas of the state, so by all means look to your local arts/cultural scene and don’t just stop here!

Oct. 13, 8-10pm @ the Bluebird Tavern, Burlington: guitarist Jim Stout  and the Queen City Hot Club in an evening of gypsy jazz and gourmet cuisine. A fabulous combination.

Oct. 20 @ the Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College: Indian classical musicians, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar

Oct. 23 @ the UVM recital hall (part of the Lane Series): German keyboardist Andraes Staier, whose Bach will make you wonder how you ever listened to that music before Staier came along.

Oct. 23-Nov. 1 @ Palace Nine Theatre, South Burlington: the Vermont International Film Festival

through Oct. 25 @ the Shelburne Museum: Nature by Design, an exhibit highlighting Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Art Nouveau creations

through Oct. 25 @ the FlynnSpace in Burlington: Opus – a play about what happens as a string quartet prepares for their highest profile performance ever, as the group’s personal dynamics create as much tension as there is on any violin’s bridge.

Oct. 25 @ Langdon Street Cafe in Montpelier: local blues man Dave Keller hosts a tribute to blues legend Koko Taylor

through Oct. 29 @ Club Metronome, Burlington: New Orleans’ own trombone funk band, Bonerama as the artists-in residence Thursday evenings through October

Oct. 30 @ the Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College: the Ying Quartet in the final concert of their weeklong residency

all month (October) long @ the Black Door, Montpelier: pick a night, any night

Nov. 1 on the Flynn Main Stage: the extraordinary jazz/blues singer Dee Dee Bridgewater in a tribute program to Billie Holiday

Oct. 13-Nov. 25 @ the Fleming Museum: (exhibit) Cuban Artists’ Books and Prints, 1985-2008

the whole season at Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph: especially noting pianist Simone Dinnerstein’s Vermont return with an all-Bach program on January 23