Rachel Z Trio

Omar Sosa Michel Camilo

Bobby Rush

Joe and Vicki Price

Malcolm Holcombe

Eddie PalmieriMagic SlimCheryl Fisher

Joe Louis Walker

Rachel Z Trio

Pat MethenyPat Metheny

Omar Sosa Michel Camilo

Bobby Rush

Joe and Vicki Price

Malcolm Holcombe

Eddie PalmieriMagic SlimCheryl Fisher

Joe Louis Walker

APRIL2010

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WINNING SPINSAT AGE 55, GUITARIST PAT METHENYhas certainly earned his reputation as a risk-taking artist who rarely does the expected.For the vast majority of his more-than-35-yearcareer, the left turns have been compelling,including the futuristic layered guitars ofNew Chataqua in 1979 and the surging, less-is-more Trio 99>00 CD with bassist LarryGrenadier and drummer Bill Stewart in 2000.

Even missteps like Song X (an overly out-side 1985 release featuring saxophonist OrnetteColeman) and Zero Tolerance for Silence (afeedback-drenched 1994 solo-guitar disc thatsounded like Metheny’s inside joke on GeffenRecords) didn’t fail because they were boring.Time will dictate whether his new CD,Orchestrion (Nonesuch), attains classic statusor spins out. But the unique melding of manand machine is certainly one of the Missouri-born guitarist’s most ambitious efforts.

It’s not easy to break down what he’sdoing in simple terms. Metheny is, as usual,playing guitar to accompany parts he’s writtenfor keyboards, bass, drums and percussion. Thedifference here is that he’s simultaneouslytriggering solenoid-and-pneumatic-poweredelectromechanical robots to play the musicwith him. It’s an idea that stemmed from tin-kering with his grandparents’ player piano (alate-1800s instrument that moved its ownkeys via mechanized rolls of paper) as a child,plus the early 1900s versions of Wurlitzerpianos and the original, self-containedorchestrions—as opposed to the new, in-plain-sight orchestrion robotics Metheny will employto pull this music off during solo concerts.

The shimmering 16-minute title track andsubsequent ballad “Entry Point” open thedisc by pointing out how closely the guitaristand robots can mimic various Pat MethenyGroup lineups. On both tracks, piano andsynthesizer lines approximate those of LyleMays, the composer’s longtime foil. The basssounds echo Steve Rodby’s work; the drumsand cymbals are reminiscent of Paul Wertico;and Nana Vasconcelos-like percussive accentsalso pop up.

“Expansion” quickens the pace, utilizingvibraphone that may be a nod to GaryBurton, who employed Metheny in his group

from 1974 to 1977. The piano intro to thepoignant “Soul Search” sounds anything butrobotic, and provides the guitarist with acushion for one of his signature hollow-bodiedmelodies. When the stripped-down ballad seguesinto a swinging midsection, it sounds surpris-ingly like an actual improvising jazz band.

The closing “Spirit of the Air” is one of theCD’s most orchestral pieces, using fretlessbass, keyboards, marimba and orchestral bellsto exemplify the album title. And Methenydisplays the nimble playing that’s defined hiscareer as much as his strong, artistic ideals.

“Orchestrions flourished in the era thatdirectly preceded the advent of sound record-ings,” the guitarist writes in the album’sliner notes. “In many ways, that period oftime stands as an interesting middle zone; thefirst technology that brought a performer to an

PAT METHENY

By Bill Meredith

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audience once removed, while retaining theessential characteristics of that performer’smessage.”

An early guitar-synthesizer pioneer, andone of the first guitarists to openly phrasemore like a horn player than guitarist,Metheny may have learned to think out-side the box by never learning how tothink within it. He studied at theUniversity of Miami for only a semesterbefore withdrawing to teach both thereand at the Berklee College of Musicwhile still in his teens. He’s since goneon to win 17 Grammy Awards in 12different categories, but pulling offOrchestrion in concert by himself couldbe his most impressive feat.

Pat Metheny performs tracks from Orchestrion solo at Ruth Eckerd Hall inClearwater on April 9 and at The Fillmore in Miami Beach on April 10.

WINNING SPINS

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JOE AND VICKI PRICEEARL’S HIDEAWAY, SEBASTIAN/APRIL 6BERT’S BAR & GRILL, MATLACHA/APRIL 7BODEGA BLUE, VERO BEACH/APRIL 9UNDERGROUND BLUZ, ORLANDO/APRIL 10BEACH SHACK, COCOA BEACH/APRIL 11Joe and Vicki Price make the kind of stomp-down countryblues that defies all efforts to keep still. The Iowa-basedhusband-and-wife team have been rolling out the boogiefor close to 30 years, and have opened for blues legendssuch as Honeyboy Edwards, Homesick James and JohnLee Hooker. Joe Price’s latest CD, Rain or Shine, show-cases his raw, homespun vocals and barbed slide work ona National ResoRocket guitar, among other axes. Vickiadds to the mayhem on National Radio-Tone and Reso-

Lectric guitars, andcontributes huckleberry-stained backing vocals toJoe’s originals. “Hornet’sNest,” on which Joeapproximates an angryswarm buzzing hisguitar strings, is up foran Independent MusicAward for Best BluesSong. The album wasthe IMA judges’ choicefor Best Blues Album.“Don’t stop rockin’that steel guitar,” theyurge on “Steel Guitar.”Seems unlikely. BW

S P O T L I G H TMAGIC SLIM, JOE LOUIS WALKERTAMPA BAY BLUES FESTVINOY PARK, ST. PETERSBURG/APRIL 9-11The Tampa Bay Blues Fest boasts a true blues-lover’slineup. Magic Slim and the Teardrops (6:30PM April 10)are among the toughest, most consistently engagingChicago blues bands around. With a voice full of blustery,good-humored menace, Morris “Magic Slim” Holt is thequintessential Delta-gone-Chi-Town artist, his down-tuned guitar echoing his deep-chested vocals. While hisTeardrops have undergone personnel changes over thepast 45 years, Slim soldiers on in top form. On thebrand new Raising the Bar, Slim and the ’Drops kick itold-school on originals and classics such as “Part TimeLove” and “4:59 A.M. Equally consistent in quality,

although a bit lesspredictable, flame-throwing vocalist andguitarist Joe LouisWalker will alsoscorch the fest (4:30PM

April 11). On his 2009release Between a Rockand the Blues, the SanFrancisco native whip-saws through traditionalblues and boogies, aswell as soul- and rock-influenced blues, likethe place is on fire. VisitTampabaybluesfest.comfor the full lineup. BW

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OMAR SOSAMINIACI PERFORMING ARTS CENTERFORT LAUDERDALE/APRIL 10Cuban-born pianist Omar Sosa celebrates his 45thbirthday by performing with his Afreecanos Quartet ina South Florida Jazz presentation. Born in Camaguey,Sosa has charted a singular musical path. Early on, hestudied percussion at the city’s music conservatory, whichincluded training on the marimba, a melodic, piano-like mallet instrument he still plays. Raised on classicaland traditional Cuban music, Sosa later discovered jazzat the conservatory in Havana. His Afreecanos Quartet—featuring vocalist and Senegal native Mola Sylla, bassistand Mozambique native Childo Tomas, and Americandrummer Marque Gilmore—mixes Sosa’s creative

traditional Afro-Cubanupdates with theimprovisational jazzthat the band’s nameimplies. The quartetwill also play arrange-ments of Sosa’s com-positions from his newCD, Ceremony. Recor-ded with composer/arranger/cellist JaquesMorelenbaum and the18-piece NDR Big Bandfrom Germany, the discblends Sosa’s influ-ences into futuristicworld music. BM

S P O T L I G H TBOBBY RUSHBRADFORDVILLE BLUES CLUB, TALLAHASSEEAPRIL 23As if being the “fonkiest,” most-entertaining bluesmanon the scene weren’t enough, Bobby Rush was justnamed International Ambassador of the Blues by theState of Tennessee House of Representatives. Apparently,the Louisiana-born, Chicago-raised singer’s booty-shakingsoul-blues translates on a global level. Just what is itabout the old-school R&B vet that speaks so universally?Could it be his salty, seasoned vocals? His mastery ofthe mouth harp? Or maybe it’s the generously propor-tioned booty dancers who accompany him on stage andwhose gyrations perfectly illustrate his lascivious lyrics.Of course, Rush is no novelty act. With blues creds going

back more than 50 years,Rush, 69, providedexpert harp accompa-niment to HoneyboyEdwards, with whom hediscusses Little Walterand others, on 2008’sRoamin’ and Ramblin’.Rush’s latest, 2009’sBlind Snake, finds himworking the down-home-blues-meets-uptown-funk territoryhe pioneered. Rush’srecords are great fun,but seeing him live isunforgettable. BW

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Log on to www.bostonsonthebeach.comfor our complete lineup, menus, photos and more!Located on the waterfront in Delray Beach, Boston’s is the ideal place

for casual dining, live music and sports viewing in our first-floor restaurant, The Beach. Or enjoy great cuisine and cocktails

upstairs at our fine dining restaurant, The UpperDeck. And be sure to check out our Back Bay Tiki Bar for a tropical cocktail

while listening to some of the area’s finest musicians on our outdoor stage. Boston’s… something for everyone!

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RACHEL Z TRIO with JESSE JONES JR.FORT PIERCE MARINA SQUARE/APRIL 11,THOMAS CENTER, GAINESVILLE/APRIL 13Keyboardist Rachel Z received a great deal of fanfareby touring with Peter Gabriel throughout the mid-2000s, but her career shouldn’t be defined by workwith a pop star. A graduate of the New EnglandConservatory, her often textural sound was ingrainedthrough work with Steps Ahead and Wayne Shorterduring the 1990s. She was Shorter’s keyboardist forhis 1995 CD High Life, which won a Grammy for BestContemporary Jazz Album. The influence of the ven-erable saxophonist inspired the pianist’s 2000 releaseOn the Milky Way Express: A Tribute to the Music ofWayne Shorter. The Rachel Z Trio’s new CD, I Will

Possess Your Heart,features longtimebassist Maeve Royceand the drummingtandem of OmarHakim and MarcusGilmore (with formerShorter and Santanadrummer RodneyHolmes filling inrecently on tour). Forits Sunshine Statedates, the trio will bejoined by veteranSouth Florida saxo-phonist and flutistJesse Jones Jr. BM

S P O T L I G H TEDDIE PALMIERI, MICHEL CAMILOwith ALFREDO RODRIGUEZARSHT CENTER, MIAMI/APRIL 16The monthly Jazz Roots series presents an evening ofmusic by three Latin jazz pianists with generationaland geographical differences. The concert introducesAlfredo Rodriguez, a dynamic 23-year-old from Cuba whowas discovered by Quincy Jones. Dominican Republicnative Michel Camilo’s dexterity is evidenced by hisvaried Grammy Awards: The 56-year-old’s 2003release Live at the Blue Note won for Best Latin JazzAlbum, and his 2006 CD Rhapsody in Blue won aLatin Grammy for Best Classical Album. TheManhattan Transfer scored a 1983 Grammy for theirvocal rendition of his tune “Why Not!,” the leadoff

track on his latestrelease, the live bigband set Caribe. Thebuoyant playing ofNew York City-bornEddie Palmieri, 73,won him his ninthGrammy, for Simpatico,the Best Latin JazzAlbum of 2006. Theageless pianist’s blendof salsa, Afro-Cuban,classical and tradi-tional influences hasresulted in his ownsignature brand of Afro-Caribbean jazz. BM

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ERIC ALLISON & CHERYL FISHERVAN DYKE CAFE, MIAMI BEACH/APRIL 21Canadian vocalist Cheryl Fisher earned her Master’sdegree in Jazz Vocal Performance from the Universityof Miami in 2000, and she makes great use of SouthFlorida’s instrumental talent on her new CD,Moments Like This. Area multi-instrumentalists EricAllison (saxophones, flute, percussion) and IraSullivan (trumpet, saxophone, flute), bassist JamieOusley and drummer Danny Burger join Canadianpianist Oliver Jones in augmenting Fisher’s silkydelivery on several standards. The disc builds inintensity throughout, with Sullivan’s trumpet elevat-ing the title track, and the husband-and-wife team ofAllison and Fisher adding percussion to a creative

arrangement of ColePorter’s “I Concentrateon You.” Allison’s tenorsax is a force on theDuke Ellington classic“I Got It Bad,” and heswitches to alto toform a horn sectionwith Sullivan’s flugel-horn on “Jordu.” Allshould be highlightsat the CD releaseparty at the Van Dyke,along with the vocal-ist’s soaring take onthe ballad “Blame iton My Youth.” BM

S P O T L I G H TMALCOLM HOLCOMBESTRINGBREAK MUSIC FEST, BROOKSVILLE/APRIL 16LUNA STAR CAFE, NORTH MIAMI/APRIL 17In a voice as black and flinty as a coal-miner’s lung,Malcolm Holcombe mines a rich seam of American music.Holcombe grew up in the foothills of North Carolina, andthe shadow of the Appalachians falls across just abouteverything he sings, writes and picks on guitar. On hislatest recording, For the Mission Baby, Holcombeapproximates the gasoline-throated yowl of Howlin’Wolf on tracks such as “Bigtime Blues.” Image-ladenlyrics to tunes such as “Hannah’s Tradin’ Post” and“Leonard’s Pigpen” conjure dusty backroads, ruraltowns and the folks who inhabit them with affection andhumor, and are brought to life with the assistance of top

Nashville sessions cats.In fact, humor plays abig part in Holcombe’scraft, as when he tellshis lady to pick herpanties up off the flooron “Short Street Blues.”Holcombe’s SoFla per-formances have beenwildly entertaining anddeeply moving, as thisunique artist accom-panies his potent-yet-vulnerable vocals withdeft acoustic guitar work.Love great songwriting?Don’t miss him. BW

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