From Zion Baptist Church in Shreveport to Miles Davis Hall in Montreux.
Black Dub (Daniel Lanois, guitar, pedal steel guitar, vocals; Brian Blade, drums; Trixie Whitley, guitar, keyboards, vocals; Jim Wilson, bass, vocals), Montreux, Switzerland, 2011
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Set list (courtesy of YouTube):
1) Intro
2) Surely
3) I Believe In You
4) Steel
5) The Collection Of Marie Claire
6) Silverado
7) The Messenger
8) I’d Rather Go Blind
9) Ring The Alarm
Pastor B. L. Blade (with Daniel Lanois, guitar; Brian Blade, drums, et al.), “Louisiana Poor Boy,” Zion Baptist Church, Shreveport, La.
Most guitarists, most drummers would muck this up, thinking it needed a fill here, a roll there. Great musicians know how not to draw attention to themselves.
When the groove’s this strong, I don’t ever want it to end.
Give me another take.
And another.
Another.
Black Dub (Brian Blade, drums; Trixie Whitley, drums, vocals; Daniel Lanois, guitar, vocals; Jim Wilson, bass, vocals), “Last Time”
1: Santa Monica, 2/16/11
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2: Philadelphia, 11/18/10
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3: Vancouver, 2/2/11
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4: Hamburg, 7/21/11
scenes from New Orleans
(an occasional series)
Small room, deep pocket.
George Porter (bass), Ivan Neville (vocals, keyboards), June Yamagishi (guitar), Johnny Vidacovich (drums), with guest Corey Glover (vocals)
“Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” live, New Orleans (Maple Leaf Bar), 5/4/11
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Johnny Vidacovich, New Orleans drummer & teacher (Brian Blade, Stanton Moore, et al.), playing and talking (street rhythms, clave, New Orleans drummers, drum tree, etc.)
#1 (clinic)
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#2 (with Stanton Moore)
More Johnny V? Here.
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radio
Today and tomorrow, from 3 p.m. to midnight (EST), WFMU-FM will be broadcasting live sets from Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival—Pere Ubu, Swans, Animal Collective, et al.
replay: a clip too good for just one day
Great drummers are like great basketball players—they lift everybody’s game.
Trixie Whitley with Brian Blade (drums) and Daniel Lanois, “I’d Rather Go Blind,” recording session, 2008
lagniappe
Johnny [Vidacovich, featured on 9/30/09], man . . . what an inspiration. His playing is so liquid but at the same time just the street of it is so intoxicating. Studying with him, the drumming aspect was never about fundamental things. It was never about the drums as much as it was about the music and playing with this melodic sensibility. That sticks with me even more than the thickness or the groove, which he never spoke about, really. That was like a given. If you have it inside of you, that groove, you need to lay it down. But also need to be able to sing through the drums.—Brian Blade
(Originally posted on 2/13/10.)
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 2010/part 1
Scene 1: Sousaphone Parade
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Scene 2: Brian Blade & The Fellowship
Want more Brian Blade? Here.
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Scene 3: Mardi Gras Indians (Members of the Golden Star Hunters, Carrolton Hunters, et al.), Backstage
Want more Mardi Gras Indians? Here.
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lagniappe
Great drummers are like great basketball players—they lift everybody’s game.
Trixie Whitley with Brian Blade (drums) and Daniel Lanois, “I’d Rather Go Blind,” recording session, 2008
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Herbie Hancock (piano), Wayne Shorter (saxophone), Dave Holland (bass), Brian Blade (drums); live, Germany (Salzau), 2004
Part 1
(It may simply be a coincidence [or my imagination], but a four-note pattern that Herbie keeps repeating, with variations, reminds me, particularly at around 2:27 and following, of the beginning of Alfred Schnittke’s Piano Concerto [featured on 1/14/10].)
Part 2
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lagniappe
Johnny [Vidacovich, featured on 9/30/09], man . . . what an inspiration. His playing is so liquid but at the same time just the street of it is so intoxicating. Studying with him, the drumming aspect was never about fundamental things. It was never about the drums as much as it was about the music and playing with this melodic sensibility. That sticks with me even more than the thickness or the groove, which he never spoke about, really. That was like a given. If you have it inside of you, that groove, you need to lay it down. But also need to be able to sing through the drums.—Brian Blade
music clip of the day 