Two superb jazz quartets appear at the Triple Door this weekend,
each celebrating the release of a new album.
With Another Morning (Origin), Matt Jorgensen+451 continue their pathbreaking combination of jazz, rock, and funk, all
without succumbing to the excesses of yore: aimless solos,
straitjacketed arrangements, and second-rate riffs. My favorite track,
“Lock Down,” begins with Ryan Burns laying down some serene electric
piano chords but a sequence of ascending harmonies takes over, giving
the tune a yearning, Pet Sounds–era Brian Wilson feel.
Fine solos by everyone in the band follow, but the real treat is
Jorgensen. Tapping, poking, and stabbing the cymbals, Jorgensen serves
as a subtle co-colorist, pushing and prodding with microscopic licks
that keep the whole thing together.
And what might prove a safe refuge—covering tunes like “Helter
Skelter” and Neil Young’s “Ohio”—impels Jorgensen and company to
recast the tunes; a plodding, second-rate Beatles song levitates
immediately with Phil Sparks’s walking bass and a witty, bop-inflected
solo by saxophonist Mark Taylor.
I’m also enthralled with Charles Lloyd‘s Rabo de Nube (ECM). Blessed with an ear for remarkable musicians, Lloyd assembled a
band back in the 1960s that included two young superb players, pianist
Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Here, his current quartet
showcases pianist Jason Moran and drum wizard Eric Harland. Together
with bassist Reuben Rogers, the quartet hopscotches through jazz
history in a trice. I love how on “La Colline de Monk” Moran’s
barrelhouse stride piano jolts into a blurry Cecil Taylor–like
constellation of notes and then dissolves into nothing, just like the
fade on an old LP. Don’t miss it. 
Catch Matt Jorgensen+451 on Thurs March 27 at the Triple Door,
7:30 pm, $15. The Charles Lloyd Quartet performs at the same venue on
Mon March 31, 7 and 9:30 pm, $25.
Fri 3/28
FFFF
No, not my first high-school report card, but the third “Final
Friday Film Freakout,” a series showcasing experimental film and music.
With Super 8 films by Doug Lane, animations by Jon-Paul Pachenker, and
live sound by 100PIECES. SHA-BANG!, 1410 24th Ave, 8 pm,
free.
Sat 3/29
HELMUT LACHENMANN
Why drive (or take the train) several hours north to see Helmut
Lachenmann? Because Seattle is not a stop on the West Coast tour of
this master German composer. Arriving on the scene in the late 1960s,
Lachenmann translated the timbral fluidity of electronic music into
solo, chamber, and orchestral works for acoustic instruments. His best
pieces achieve the dream of every young avant gardist: harnessing
hieratic complexity to impassioned, often extroverted sound (and vice
versa). This concert features music by Lachenmann and his teacher,
Luigi Nono (1924—1990). UBC School of Music Recital Hall,
6361 Memorial Rd, Vancouver, BC, 604-822-3113, 8 pm, free.
HUBBARD/HORIST/KIKUCHI
San Diego—based percussionist Nathan Hubbard plays duos and
trios with guitar saboteur Bill Horist and fellow stick maven Paul
Kikuchi. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave, 322-1533, 8 pm, free
(donations accepted).
Sun 3/30
THE QUENCHER GERMAINE SESSIONS
Formerly the Mt. Nonfiction Sessions, this week’s installment finds
noise-skronk guitarist Ed Petry teaming up with saxophonist Kenny
Mandell. The pair front an ensemble bent on deconstructing the angular
and witty music of Thelonious Monk. Blue Moon Tavern, 712 NE 45th
St, 675-9116, 8:30 pm, free.
Tues 4/1
DUO EN
Virtuosos of the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) and koto (a kind
of oversized zither than can sound somewhere between a hammer dulcimer
and a harp), John and Elizabeth Falconer commemorate the release of
Spell of Spring (Koto World). The music, composed by their
teacher Sawai Tadao (1937—1997), is meditative without being
mushy; agitated rhythmic sections as well as slow streams of notes
create a calming, otherworldly atmosphere. The duo embraces the rough
edges of their respective instruments too. Gritty nuances (a spiky
plucked string or wheezing flute note) reveal a richness that banishes
any expectations of sappy New Age music. Fourth floor Chapel
Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 8 pm,
$5—$15 sliding scale donation.
Wed 4/2
ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER
I will always be grateful to this dazzling violinist for coupling
Wolfgang Rihm’s Time Chant with her recording of the Berg
Violin Concerto; that DG disc was my first exposure to Rihm,
one of the most compelling German composers of the post-Stockhausen
generation. Here, Mutter appears in recital performing the three violin
sonatas of Brahms with pianist Lambert Orkis. Generally, I don’t
recommend recitals in Benaroya’s big hall, but Mutter has the power and
grace to be heard. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 215-4747, 7:30
pm, $25—$105.
COG-DIS PRESENTS
The folks behind the online calendar devoted to the Seattle
experimental sound scene—www.cog-dis.org—serve up a late
night of avant exploration. Rendezvous, 2318 Second Ave, 441-5823,
10:30 pm, $5.
