Wednesday, December 5, 2012

always willing to listen always willing to learn - Al never stops...




Submitted by Al Kanovsky 12/4/12

Today is one of those days that I don't feel like doing much. I'm listening to some really old Art Pepper tracks and am amazed by the soft force he employed. The music reminds me of the group I listened to at BJB's Sunday night. "Amereida". Soft but forceful. Innovative and creative without pressing. Stephanie Meir, the vocalist, is sensuous without being sexual. Her voice and movements let you know that she is a woman singing with emotion. The band itself is made up of accomplished JAZZ artists including Tim Ries(guitar), Jorge Guzman(everything known to the music world) and Ouri Hersh(drums). The reason the drummer is mentioned last is because I listened to and learned something new. My ear picked up a somewhat unusual sound coming from the trap set. Looking more closely I noticed Ouri employing some strange looking sticks to play the drum set with. I listened, closing my eyes to concentrate on the sound. Hmmm. Not the usual rat-tat-tat of sticks. Not the hypnotizing tsss-a-tsss of brushes. A kind of chuh-chuh. The sound softer and lasting just a little longer than the tap of a stick hitting the drum head. After the set I tapped Ouri on his shaved pate and queried about the sticks. "Chinese sticks" he replied. That was about as far as I got, outside of him telling me he liked the softer sound behind the tone of Amereida. . You must be willing to listen in order to learn.
Amereida was preceded by Barbara Vann/Mike Orta's BJB Jam. Mike is on hiatus and was ably replaced by a delightful Lynn Moore(piano/vocals) and her husband Sandy Rubin(drums). They had met while working the cruise lines. Maybe next time I'll get the "Love Boat" tale 


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