Displaying news from 1 April 2004 to 1 May 2004.

new shows on wgmc90.1fm - Posted on 2004-04-29 21:34:38

i haven't quite updated my events section yet to reflect this change, but i've recently aquired two new shifts at wgmc90.1fm! so, [if you're keeping score at home,] i'm now on wednesday and thursday from 1-4pm solo, and fridays from 1-4pm along with red wierenga for Hilar On the Air!

got it? great!

respect reviewed @ allaboutjazz.com - Posted on 2004-04-27 10:44:00

well, not every review is stellar... but you take the luke warm with the hot. this is a review from december of respect's The Full Respect [by eric j. iannelli, december 2003]:

While gigging in and around Rochester, New York, the Respect Sextet circulated a demo CD entitled Respectacle. This portmanteau, as I'm fairly sure it was intended, conjures immediate associations with other words: respect, spectacle and receptacle. All three are appropriate. The players in this six-piece delight in paying homage to every one of their musical influences and enjoy drawing attention to themselves... and their debut full-length, The Full Respect, is a bag about as mixed as they come. It's hard not to be charmed by what you might call the band's capable clowning as they hop with enviable agility from the Mentos theme song to hard bop, ragtime, swing, and the not-yet-fully-explored sonic properties of squeaky squeeze toy. And while the Respect Sextet nods in every direction possible, there isn't a standard to be found on the disc. Each of the eighteen tracks is an original. So why do I still approach this disc with apprehension? I suppose it's the fact that it all seems intended as jazz for people who don't like jazz, something akin to the They Might Be Giants horn section (a very talented and entertaining horn section, mind you) taking the group's songs out on a separate tour as instrumentals. In other words, quirky and good for a few laughs, but nothing worth listening to outside of a live performance. Then there's the feeling that the Respect Sextet is uncomfortable about being in earnest. Almost everything has a dash of irony. “Doo Rag,” a great little Joplin-esque interlude, ends with a burst of cacophony, like a punchline to a joke. Despite some inspired flourishes, the two “Tag Game” tracks are just playful studio nonsense. And the excellent “Lost Time” doesn’t even last a full minute and a half, as if to get it over in a hurry before anyone catches on that there might be real feeling involved. There are some meatier offerings, among which are the nearly nine-minute “Cartel,” cool and atmospheric; and ”LaRutz B'Chutz,” which is comparable to the sadly underrated output of the jazz-klezmer proponents Kol Simcha (aka The World Quintet). But this handful of tracks isn't quite enough to counterbalance the slightness of the rest. For an outfit that aims to mingle the “serious, heady, and intellectual” with the “light, comic, and absurd,” the latter grouping tends to get more showing than the first. There's no doubt that the Respect Sextet owes a lot to diverse influences. Yet those same influences would probably be better served if the group was to take some of these sarcastic one-offs and tongue-in-cheek jam sessions and inject them with a substance equal to their ability.

[boldly, and parenthetically, i respond:
i guess earnest went camping... but everyone respects the squeeze toy! interesting too that respect was reviewed under the category "jam band". hm. hilar!

for a second opinion, please scroll down to "new review for The Full Respect! - Posted on 8 April 2004, 2:16 pm". ]

staten island knows how to party - Posted on 2004-04-26 10:05:00

ok, so big change in plans...

as it turns out, philadelphia is a thing of the past. jen and i are moving to new york city! [well, staten island, hilar!] i'm very psyched that everything will work out for her and i know i'll be happy as most of my friends are either currently there or planning on moving there.

which brings me to, does everyone in the world move to NYC every year? how do all those people fit?

more info as it becomes available...

seattle|lets eat - Posted on 2004-04-21 16:06:04

back from seattle! the weather was beautiful, the family was fun and we got to see some great music! brad mehdau's trio [with larry grenadier and jorge rossy] sounded fantastic at seattle's jazz alley, and it was a total pleasure to hear the coung vu trio [with stomu takeishi and ted poor!! with special guest bill frisell... hm...]. ted [and everyone else] sounded totally incredible... i may or may not have gotten a little teary eyed seein that guy up there. so stay tuned for more updates about the relocation decision [surprises may be just around the corner]. as always, thanks for checking out the site!

new review for The Full Respect! - Posted on 2004-04-08 15:16:00

here's a new respectful review of the respect sextet's new record,
The Full Respect [from Cadence Magazine, April 2004]:

'Based on this first official release, The Rochester, NY-based Respect Sextet is one of those hometown secrets that deserve wider exposure. The group of Eastman School of Music grads honed their chops and collective approach to improvisation at a weekly gig at a local coffee bar, and the results are amply displayed. In just under an hour, they squeeze in eighteen tunes that jump from skewed swing to whacked-out rags to blues stomps to free improv to bent tunes that hint at Balkan modalities or Latin rhythms and even a wry quote of the Mentos ad jingle. The three-horn front line of trombonist James Hirschfeld, reed player Josh Rutner, and trumpeter Eli Asher lock in together and rock the heck out of the compact themes. They can sound tight and polite on a piece like “Jazz Is Dead, But Sometimes I Like To Take A Chance With Skeletons,” which harkens back to Ellington’s small bands. They can take Charlie Parker’s theme from “Moose the Mooch,” start it out straight, and then slowly morph it into “Mooch Too Early,” a wry deconstruction egged on by Red Wierenga’s piano. There is a Breukerish sense of play in the sauntering “Doo Rag” which leads into the lilting tango of “Cartel,” the only extended foray on the release. Here, the horns take turns stretching out on melodious solos over Wierenga’s organ-like accordion. The six are also comfortable pushing things totally out with a series of interspersed free collective improvisations. Throughout, bassist Malcolm Kirby and drummer Ted Poor lock in on the constantly shifting meters, turning things on a dime and kicking the group along. This band would be a kick to see live. The fact that they can pull these diverse threads together into a coherent whole is a credit to the entire ensemble, making for an impressive debut.' –Michael Rosenstein

but a copy online today at www.respectsextet.com or www.jazzloft.com!

philly, here we come! - Posted on 2004-04-05 09:52:00

so the decision has finally been made. come september, jen and i will be headed southeast to philladelphia [i gotta learn to spell that before we move i guess...]

so... here's how you can help!

do you know anyone in philly? [musician or otherwise...] if so, please send me an email at rutner@joshrutner.com with their info! thanks!

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