Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » New Universe Music Festival: Day 2, November 21, 2010
New Universe Music Festival: Day 2, November 21, 2010
The New Universe Music Festival
Raleigh, North Carolina
November 20-21, 2010
It's no small challenge to make a new festival viable, especially when it represents something of a niche within a niche. The attendance at the first day of the New Universe Music Festival was impressive enough, but with an influx of even more dedicated fans coming from all over the United States—the Deadhead equivalent of fusion icon
John McLaughlin
guitarb.1942
There were plenty of rumors floating around in the hall about the festival finale—an all-star tribute to McLaughlin—with all kinds of names being suggested. At the end of the day there was only one guest who managed to make the trek to Raleigh; but it was, perhaps, the best and most exciting one surprise possible; a longtime friend and musical partner who dates back to McLaughlin's 1970s experiments in the fusion of western jazz with Indian tradition with
Shakti
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1974
From left: Scott Kinsey, Arto Tuncboyacian, Matthew GarrisonLike the first day, the evening opened up with a CD listening party, this time featuring keyboardist
Scott Kinsey
keyboards
Matthew Garrison
bass, electricb.1970
Arto Tuncboyacian
percussion
Ranjit Barot
drumsChapter Index
- Wayne Krantz
- Lenny White's Anomaly
- John McLaughlin and The 4th Dimension
- All-Star Tribute to John McLaughlin
Wayne Krantz
Guitarist
Wayne Krantz
guitar, electric
Anthony Jackson
bass, electric
Wayne KrantzKrantz's music doesn't make for an easy listen. Knotty arrangements act as jumping off and rallying points for open-ended group improvisation, and are challenging enough in and of themselves, but live, even more so than on recordings like his recent Krantz Carlock Lefebvre (Abstract Logix, 2009), where he kept things relatively short and to the point. Two tracks from that album ranged from the alt-rock energy of "Rushdie" to the post-new wave vocal track, "I Was Like." But unlike the recording, where Krantz employed a different sonic spectrum—from tensile acoustic to heavily distorted and wah-driven electric—in performance, Krantz's tone was a curious combination of high end edge and slight overdrive; a strangely funky tone that felt like the aural equivalent of glass shards.
Unlike his 2007 trio performance at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal—which suffered from such poor sound that it ultimately lost almost all of the nuances so essential in the group's performance—here in Raleigh, the sound was still loud, but absolutely clear, revealing all, as it should. With Krantz's stylistic blend of muted lines, occasional bursts of frightening speed and an instantly recognizable but slightly skewed harmonic approach, it was too easy to lose track of what was going on in a band that, while ready and capable of kicking it hard, also demonstrated refreshing dynamic control—especially Almond, one of those players whose name may not be well-known, but who has been heard with everyone from
The Manhattan Transfer
vocals
Michel Camilo
pianob.1954
John Tropea
guitar
Anthony JacksonJackson, too, was clearly enjoying the chance to dig in hard with Krantz and Almond. The six-string electric bassist—a veteran of countless sessions ranging from
Lee Ritenour
guitarb.1952
Steve Khan
guitarb.1947
Dave Liebman
saxophoneb.1946
Chick Corea
piano1941 - 2021
From left: Wayne Krantz, Cliff Almond
The multifaceted Krantz has been heard on recent albums by
David Binney
saxophone, altob.1961
Donald Fagen
piano and vocalsb.1948
Lenny White's Anomaly
By contrast, from the first notes of veteran fusion drummer
Lenny White
drumsb.1949
Jimmy Herring
guitarb.1962
Richie Goods
bass
Return to Forever
band / ensemble / orchestra
Lenny WhiteAs stunning as Herring was throughout the set—and with a relatively hometown audience yelling out Jimmy!! throughout the set—White's regular guitarist,
Tom Guarna
guitar, electric
Vince EvansGoods—whose own Live at the Zinc Bar (RichMan Productions, 2009) was an overlooked gem which combined music from
Wayne Shorter
saxophone1933 - 2023
Lenny White
drumsb.1949
Herbie Hancock
pianob.1940
With a set list culled largely from Anomaly, White's playing was as seemingly effortless as ever, and the drummer appears—based on his recent All About Jazz interview and introductions during the Raleigh show—to be on a crusade to bring instrumental music back to the forefront. Given he was around when fusion was selling big, these days it's likely more a wish than a reality, but he made a strong case for the value—and accessibility—of his own music. He soloed rarely, and his first solo was paradoxical in its beginning quietly and ending even more so ("How about that," White said, after the song ended, "a quiet drum solo."), but he did raise the roof later in the set. Playing a light green kit with a remarkably deep bass drum, he introduced Herring's "Transients," from the guitarist's Lifeboat (Abstract Logix, 2008), saying "You heard him play it last night; now we're going to destroy this tune."
From left: Richie Goods, Tom Guarna, Jimmy HerringAnd destroy they did, as part of a performance by a well-oiled group that took no prisoners. Keyboardist
Vince Evans
piano
Jimmy Smith
organ, Hammond B31925 - 2005
Jan Hammer
keyboardsb.1948
John McLaughlin and The 4th Dimension
And so, it all comes down to this. As absolutely thrilling as every show was to this point, and as rich and varied as Abstract Logix's roster is in the fusion realm, the biggest draw of the New Universe Music Festival was, unequivocally, the return of
John McLaughlin
guitarb.1942
John McLaughlin (in background: Gary Husband)They weren't disappointed. Opening the set with a tune that has become something of a signature for McLaughlin and his group—original members
Gary Husband
drumsb.1960
Mark Mondesir
drumsb.1964
Etienne Mbappe
bass
Hadrien Feraud
bassb.1984
Gary HusbandBut it's not only Mbappé bringing something new to the table. Husband—who's celebrating his own new release with the all-star Dirty & Beautiful Volume One (Abstract Logix, 2010)—continues to grow as a keyboardist, channeling a sense of the keyboards as orchestra rooted in the similarly expansive approach of the late
Joe Zawinul
keyboards1932 - 2007
Mbappé—playing with a pair of silk gloves—delivered his own series of impressive solos throughout, but it was in his ensemble work where he especially shone, if only because he connected with the rest of the group on such a mitochondrial level, encouraging and supporting some of McLaughlin's best rhythm playing in years. He also drove the funk on Husband's rock-hard "Solli," popping and slapping the strings while McLaughlin pumped out a series of overdriven power chords, before leaping into a trade-off with Husband that was one of the set's high points.
Etienne MbappéThe performance wasn't without its flaws—at one point, Husband had the wrong setting for a tune, and elsewhere, McLaughlin's high velocity sometimes got the better of him—but these were extremely minor quibbles in a performance where everyone was truly going for it. Taking risks in music means not always succeeding, but sometimes the journey is simply more compelling than the ultimate destination. While the show leaned heavily on a truncated version of the 2007 set list, McLaughlin did pull out a second tune from To The One: a blistering take of "Recovery." But it was when the set neared its conclusion that the guitarist pulled out the biggest surprise of all—an unannounced guest appearance by master tablaist
Zakir Hussain
tablas1951 - 2024
Shakti
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1974
"
data-original-title="" title="">Remember Shakti. Hussain came onstage for an extended version of "Mother Tongues," featuring the percussion trade-off to end all percussion trade-offs, as Mondesir and Husband were driven hard—but ultimately succeeded—to keep up with Hussain's remarkable ability to divide, subdivide and then further break time down. But the most magical moments were when Hussain and McLaughlin traded off; it's been about a decade since the two last played together, but it was like picking up a conversation exactly where it left off, as the two pushed and pulled each other in a visible and audible reflection of mutual respect, love and friendship. For anyone in attendance, it was one of those memorable moments that, ultimately, will make the 2010 New Universe Music Festival go down as a world-renowned event. And when, as the song drew to a close, McLaughlin hinted at "Meeting of the Spirits," from
Mahavishnu Orchestra
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1971
Zakir HussainAn encore of "Light at the Edge of the World," made famous by
Pharoah Sanders
saxophone, tenor1940 - 2022
All-Star Tribute to John McLaughlinTo make the final evening of the first New Universe Music Festival even more special, a grand finale billed as an "All-Star Tribute to John McLaughlin" gave no indication of what that was to mean, of what shape it was going to take. With Gary Husband as the primary mover and shaker behind the event—organizing the rehearsals, writing the charts and acting as the cordial MC who introduced each of the five tunes, culled from across McLaughlin's long career—rehearsal time was short, and so it was important to assess the performances for what they were: a tribute to a guitarist who has altered the shape of music, and whose legacy remains alive and evolving. They were far from perfect, and some were more successful than others, but it was the spirit that was most important, as almost everyone who performed at the festival received an opportunity to weigh in with their own interpretations of McLaughlin material.
The set opened well, with Husband on keys, leading a group that included guitarist Tom Guarna, Neal Fountain on bass, Mark Mondesir on drums, and Arto Tuncboyacian on percussion, for a powerful version of "Friendship," from Johnny McLaughlin: Electric Guitarist (Columbia, 1979). As the group switched, Husband and Tuncboyaciyan then performed an ethereal, improvised duet where the percussionist sang and whispered to great effect, bringing down the pace and atmosphere, so that when the two were joined by guitarist Wayne Krantz, drummers Mark Mondesir and Lenny White, keyboardist Matt Slocum and bassist Neal Fountain for a Mahavishnu Mark II tune that ultimately provided more promise than delivery, it was still thrilling for the audience, many of whom were too young to have ever had the opportunity to hear this music live back in the day.
As the line-up switched yet again, Tuncboyaciyan suddenly appeared singing and blowing into a bottle, with the kind of irreverent humor that's so fundamental to his own music. The percussionist was then joined by guitarist Alex Machacek, drummer Jeff Sipe, bassist Matthew Garrison and Husband on keys for a version of "Fallen Angels," from The Heart of Things (Verve, 1997)—an album also featuring Garrison—which proved to be one of the better songs of the set, as Machacek approached the song with his own voice rather than trying to channel McLaughlin. The same could be said for Krantz when he joined the group—along with Ranjit Barot and Cliff Almond taking over the drum chairs—for a fiery version of "Jazz Jungle," from 1995's The Promise (Verve), his playing a combination of quirky personal idiosyncrasy and McLaughlin-esque heat.
From left: Jimmy Herring, Gary Husband and Matt Slocum perform "Dance of the Maya"The set closer was, perhaps, the tune that had the potential to light the biggest fire—a version of Mahavishnu Orchestra Mark I's "Dance of the Maya," where Husband (on drums) channeled his inner
Billy Cobham
drumsb.1944
Jerry Goodman
violin
Sumitra Nanjunjdan Another unexpected and important aspect of the final day's performance was when Alex Machacek's wife, Sumitra Nanjunjdan, came onstage to express the appreciation that everyone was feeling for the work of two people instrumental in making the New Universe Music Festival happen, and become such a meaningful success for its first year: Souvik and Shweta Dutta. Souvik's vision for Abstract Logix—first an online fusion storefront, then a label, now a festival—has been consistent since inception, but it's been a remarkable journey to watch, as he's gained expertise as a label head, tour manager, festival programmer and much, much more. The opportunity to experience the festival from behind the scenes with an all-access pass only made it more remarkable to see just how smoothly everything went, with nary a hitch or hiccup. Nanjunjdan presented the couple—also expecting their first child in the spring of 2011—with a copy of their festival poster, signed by all but two of the participating artists.
From left: Souvik and Shweta DuttaIt's still too early to assess the ultimate success of the New Universe Music Festival—whether it was, for one thing, financially viable enough to allow it to continue—but equally, it takes time for most festivals to gain traction. Thanks to the hard work of Souvik and Shweta Dutta, as well as their administrative person, John Angelo—who could be seen doing everything from driving artists to moving furniture—the New Universe Music Festival has already begun gaining that traction as an event with a concept that both sets it apart from virtually every other festival, and possesses the potential to make a real mark on the international stage as a premiere festival for contemporary fusion music.
Visit Wayne Krantz, Lenny White, John McLaughlin and The New Universe Music Festival on the web.
Photo Credits
All Photos: John Kelman
Day 1 | Day 2
Tags
New Universe Music Festival
Live Reviews
John Kelman
Big Hassle
United States
john mclaughlin
Shakti
Scott Kinsey
Matthew Garrison
Arto Tuncboyacian
Ranjit Barot
Wayne Krantz
Anthony Jackson
Manhattan Transfer
Michel Camilo
John Tropea
Lee Ritenour
Steve Khan
Dave Liebman
Chick Corea
David Binney
Donald Fagen
Lenny White
Jimmy Herring
Richie Goods
Return To Forever
Tom Guarna
Wayne Shorter
Herbie Hancock
Vince Evans
Jimmy Smith
Jan Hammer
Gary Husband
Mark Mondesir
Etienne Mbappe
Hadrien Feraud
Joe Zawinul
Zakir Hussain
Remember Shakti
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Pharoah Sanders
Billy Cobham
Jerry Goodman
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