Locked Down is The Black Keys guitarist-songwriter Dan Auerbach's collaboration with Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack -- the two premiere it April 5 - 7 at Brooklyn Academy of Music, second program of three the good Dr. presents there over three consecutive weekends. I bet it'll be a better-produced show than his "Tribute to Louis Armstrong," the all-star hodgepodge I've reported on in my new City Arts column. Which was fun, but. . . On first listen: Locked Down is bluesy, hooky and kinda rad, more wry and martial than funky and celebratory. A … [Read more...]

A followup: the Asia Society posted the  entire video of the  3.5 hour wayang kulit (shadow puppet and Javanese gamelan orchestra performance) that I wrote about Sunday -- the one in which President Obama stopped by -- in five parts. And colleague Richard Gehr wrote up the event for the Village Voice blog. howardmandel.com Subscribe by Email or RSS All JBJ posts … [Read more...]

President Obama made a surprise cameo appearance at the Asia Society's production of a Javanese shadow puppet show  -- a Wayang Kulit -- by dhalang Ki Purbo Asmoro with Gamelan Kusuma Laras on Manhattan's upper east side on Friday night (March 16). As a translucent strip of water buffalo hide, upright if not as nimble on his tusk-bone rods as flesh-and-blood Obama is on the campaign trail,  the puppet Obama popped up among a trio of clownish Javanese street-types. At first they addressed him with awe, one bowing to kiss the President's … [Read more...]

The Herbie Hancock who concertized at Jazz at Lincoln Center last Saturday night was the casually joking yet research-minded fusion meister. A review of his Friday night concert by Jon Pareles in the New York Times takes a generous view of Hancock darting among his multitude of possibilities, but I was less taken by his next evening's mostly greatest-hits show. I think Hancock underplayed his true piano genius. Over a two-hour period, the 72-year-old prodigy played only one piece through concentrating on the Fazioli grand, which seemed so … [Read more...]

Pianist Herbie Hancock is a chameleon -- as I say in my newest column in CityArts-New York. For his first appearance at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Friday night (3/9 ) he leads a trio, and on Saturday (3/10) adds Benin-born guitarist Lionel Loueke,  in formats a far cry from The Imagine Project, Hancock's latest album. In it he puts his skills as collaborator and accompanist to work with Pink, Seal, India Arie, Jeff Beck, John Legend, Los Lobos, the Chieftains, Chaka Khan, Toumani Diabate and diverse others. But here are three rare video … [Read more...]

President Obama is not to be forgiven for signing the heinous Nat'l Defense Authorization Act and several other bad moves, but as a blues fan I give it up to the guy for singing "Sweet Home Chicago" with B.B. King while hosting the first ever  White House blues party. Obama's version of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" was better, and I can't wait 'til he dips into the Marvin Gaye songbook ("What's Goin' On?", not "Sexual Healing"). Singing must be how he won Michelle. Way better than Romney's version of "America the … [Read more...]

European jazz stars of the Zurich-based record label Intakt come to the Stone, John Zorn's serious recital room, for a two-week fest March 1 - 15 in which they'll collaborate with veterans of NYC's downtown improv scene. I detail some of the shows -- and why people think jazz is better loved abroad than at home -- in my new column in City Arts-New York. howardmandel.com Subscribe by Email or RSS All JBJ posts … [Read more...]

Guitarist John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra was the highest-flying of any ensemble emerging from Miles Davis' jazz-rock initiative in the early 1970s, establishing a previously unapproached standard of virtuosity, improvisational excitement and commercial success for all-instrumental electric bands to follow. Drummer G. Calvin Weston's Treasures of the Spirit quintet playing music of McLaughlin's MO at the 92nd St. Y Tribeca in NYC last night (Feb 10, 2012) heroically addressed the complexity, speed and power of unique, difficult, … [Read more...]

Jose Reyes of the online listening station Jazz Con Class has posted  a Q&A with me about "free jazz" and "the avant-garde" -- which he proposes as two distinct subgenres of jazz, tied to the 1960s.  New things -- innovations -- thinking outside the box -- breaks from conventions and the continuum of progress (evolution) -- these issues are regards jazz, among other art forms, has long fascinated me. It's the topic of my book Miles Ornette Cecil - Jazz Beyond Jazz and the inspiration of this blog. So I spin out more of my pov … [Read more...]

Of 10 American novels critic Terry Teachout posted yesterday that he wishes he'd written, only All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren similarly appeals to me. I can imagine hunkering down as Penn Warren did, dryly but fiercely etching the sickness of American populist politics, which we're seeing swirl at its sickest this very  primary season. It would be work, for sure, but at a white hot energy -- which I'd think would be hard to sustain, but so satisfying to bring to completion. I haven't read all Terry's other choices (but of … [Read more...]