{"id":25423,"date":"2019-10-23T08:58:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T12:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=25423"},"modified":"2019-10-23T08:58:06","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T12:58:06","slug":"on-stage-the-bad-plus-celebrates-new-album-with-show-in-philly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=25423","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: The Bad Plus celebrates new album with show in Philly"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, <\/span>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Bad Plus<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2017, The Bad Plus had a minus \u2013 and then a plus. The trio from Minnesota lost a founding member, added a top-flight player from Philadelphia and never missed a step along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

On October 23, The Bad Plus, which now features Philadelphia jazz legend Orrin Evans, visits Evans\u2019 hometown for a show at South Jazz Kitchen (600 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, https:\/\/southjazzkitchen.com<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bad Plus features bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Orrin Evans, and drummer Dave King. The addition of Evans was the band\u2019s only line-up change in its nearly two-decade history.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNever Stop II,\u201d\u00a0which came out in 2018, was the first full-length release from this lineup. Now, the Bad Plus have a brand-new album \u2013 \u201cActivate Infinity,\u201d which will be released on October 25 on Edition Records.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a new record company for us,\u201d said Anderson, during a phone interview Tuesday. \u201cIt just fell in our lap. They got in touch and one thing led to another.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe cut the new album in Brooklyn. We spent four months working on it at Brooklyn Recording and produced it ourselves. When we made \u2018Never Stop II,\u2019 we had never played live together with the new line-up. It was around the end of our time with Ethan (Iverson).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ethan Iverson, Anderson and King first played together in 1989 but it wasn\u2019t until 2000 that they established The Bad Plus. The band recorded its first album after playing only three gigs together and later was signed to Columbia Records in 2002.<\/span><\/p>\n

The intensely collaborative trio has constantly searched for rules to break and boundaries to cross, bridging genres and techniques while exploring the infinite possibilities of three exceptional musicians working in perfect sync. It is a group of passionate collaborators with no single \u201cleader.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDave and I grew up together in Minneapolis,\u201d said Anderson. \u201cWe\u2019ve been playing together since we were 15. Then, I went to the East Coast. Dave went to L.A. and then came back to Minneapolis. Ethan was in New York.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were all band leaders. When we got together as The Bad Plus, the guiding principle was that it\u2019s group music. We\u2019re three leaders that come together and we get to be ourselves and have a band sound. It\u2019s not \u2018somebody and his trio.\u2019 We made our first album with this group in 2001 and we\u2019ve released quite a few albums since then. \u2018Never Stop II\u2019 is the first with Orrin.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Evans was born in Trenton, New Jersey<\/a> and raised in Philadelphia. He attended Rutgers University, and then studied with Kenny Barron.<\/span><\/p>\n

He released the album \u201cTrio,\u201d which his debut as a leader, in 1994. Through 25 albums as a leader and co-leader, including his neo-soul\/acid jazz ensemble Luv Park and the bracing collective trio Tarbaby, Evans has always followed a vigorously individual path.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, Ethan said he didn\u2019t want to be in the band anymore,\u201d said Anderson. \u201cFrankly, it wasn\u2019t a surprise. We wanted to continue the band and to carry on the legacy of the band and Orrin was an obvious, choice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had known Orrin since the early 1990s. He\u2019s just a player that we really respect. He has an outsider perspective that we all share. He\u2019s a band-oriented musician \u2013 and a good friend. When we asked him to join, he had to think about it \u2013 for about three seconds.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOrrin walks this line. He\u2019s obviously a very respected jazz player. But he goes into other territories as well. He has always been avant-garde.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When Evans, Anderson and King laid down the tracks for \u201cActivate Infinity,\u201d there was a new vibe.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe chemistry was better,\u201d said Anderson. \u201cYou can\u2019t substitute getting together and playing together. With the new album, we played together a year before we went in the studio.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say the music has evolved. The core principles of what we do have been there since the beginning. With Orrin having been with us for over a year, there is more of a sense of freedom \u2013 just a little more of that subconscious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for The Bad Plus \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/HrOn46ROUOE<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The shows at South Jazz Kitchen will start at 7 and 9 p.m. Tickets are $35.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Cat Clyde<\/p><\/div>\n

The show at Johnny Brenda\u2019s (1201 North Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-739-9684, <\/span>www.johnnybrendas.com<\/a>) on October 23 will be a double treat for fans of music made by strong women \u2013 a concert featuring Cat Clyde as the headliner and Jamie Drake as the opener.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clyde, a native of Stratford, Ontario who is touring in support of her recently released sophomore album \u201cHunter\u2019s Trance,\u201d has been putting out records for a while but can\u2019t point to a catalyst that started her on a career in music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always liked music,\u201d said Clyde, during a phone interview last week as she was travelling through Vermont to a gig in Boston.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was never a moment when I decided to do music. It just happened organically. I started playing guitar in high school. I played in a few bands when I was in school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She followed her interest in music after she finished high school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went to college in London, Ontario,\u201d said Clyde, who now lives just outside Montreal. \u201cI was in the \u2018Music Industry Arts Program\u201d at Fanshawe College.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI graduated in 2014 and made my first album immediately after I graduated. I worked with one of the professors and also with a great guitarist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The album was \u201cIvory Castanets,\u201d which was produced by Fanshawe professor David Martin at EMAC Recording Studios & Osbourne Studios. The guitarist was Patrick Fockler.<\/span><\/p>\n

The album, which was released November 27, 2015, was co-produced by Martin, Fockler and Clyde with Fockler playing guitar, keyboards and bass and Clyde handling guitar and vocals. Her hit single \u201cMama Said\u201d has over 10 million streams on Spotify alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

After putting out a few singles, Clyde released \u201cHunter\u2019s Trance\u201d on June 14, 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith the new album, I got signed by Johnny Shipes, who owns Cinematic (Music Group),\u201d said Clyde. \u201cHe liked my song \u2018Mama Said\u2019 and brought me to his label. It was a little strange because it\u2019s a hip hop label. I\u2019m glad to be with this label because I have complete control over what I do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHunter\u2019s Trance\u201d<\/span> is described as, \u201ca compilation of human emotion, with guttural undertones and soulful melodies meant to bury deep into your heart and mind.\u201d According to Clyde, her sound is \u201cdark like the sewer, bright like the sunrise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded \u2018Hunter\u2019s Trance\u2019 last year,\u201d said Clyde. \u201cI rented a cool cabin in the woods and worked with a producer named Nicholas Vernhes. I spent a week there and recorded the whole album.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA few weeks later, I went to Bear Creek Studio in Seattle and worked on a few tracks with Ryan Hadlock. It still wasn\u2019t finished the way I wanted so I did a little more work with Jeremy Albino in Prince Edward County. Altogether, it took about a year to complete making the album.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The final product features traces of <\/span>Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin, Lead Belly, Etta James and Lightnin\u2019 Hopkins and a lot of pure Cat Clyde.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Cat Clyde \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/Y5vM–wJSVg<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Jamie Drake<\/p><\/div>\n

Drake, who just released her new album \u201cEverything\u2019s Fine\u201d via AntiFragile Music, has had music in her life ever since she was a little girl.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was a songwriter,\u201d said Drake, during a recent phone interview from her home in Silver Lake, California.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a band called Harris Street Reunion. He\u2019d have friends over jamming, but he never really pursued it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother and I used to sing harmonies with him. Actually, my parents said I used to slowly toddle toward the record player when I was three years old and we were living in Ohio.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can remember when I was young \u2013 seeing the record spinning and hearing the Hallelujah chorus. As a kid, music was always in my head. Melodies were haunting my brain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Like so many singer\/songwriters, Drake started on piano.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI started playing guitar by way of piano,\u201d said Drake. \u201cWe had a piano when I was growing up. I never took lessons \u2013 but I\u2019d write songs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen moved around a lot when I was growing up. I was born in Ohio and then we moved to a lot of different places including Florida and Arkansas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in eighth grade, our piano fell off the moving truck and was destroyed. It was the worst day of my life. After that happened, I picked up a guitar at a pawn shop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was 17, I bought my first professional guitar when I was living in California. One day, I was moving from Thousand Oaks to L.A. proper. I was packing my car. Then, when I was backing up my car, I ran over my guitar. I laughed and cried sat the same time. I thought \u2013 this part of my life is over.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, Drake traded coasts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went to New York City after high school and met my first manager when I was 19,\u201d said Drake. \u201cThen, I thought \u2013 I\u2019m not ready for this. For me, music was a very personal thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI got married and then went through an amicable divorce in my late 20s. At that time, I immediately knew what I should be doing. I made my first solo album \u2013 \u2018When I was Yours\u2019 \u2013 in 2010.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Drake has been a familiar name in the Los Angeles songwriting scene since her debut album in 2010. She attracted folk music lover and Academy award winner, Tim Robbins, which led to their collaboration and tour. Having a songwriter for a father and moving constantly from place to place shaped the versatility her work.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a decade behind the scenes in Los Angeles collaborating with artists as varied as Jim James, Ed Helms, Peter Yarrow and Moby, in addition to co-writing and lending her voice to the theme for the CW show, \u201cLife Sentence,\u201d Drake has been honing her craft. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nine years later releasing her debut album, she recorded \u201cEverything\u2019s Fine\u201d and it\u2019s a gem. The album features poignant songwriting, strong musicianship and Drake\u2019s emotive voice. It is billed as \u201ca breathtaking embrace of humanity, heartbreak and hope.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a writer and performer, I\u2019ve always had a tendency to wear a lot of hats,\u201d said Drake. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be just a folk artists or an Americana singer. The vibe of the new album is hope — hope is a theme of my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Jamie Drake \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/_d68Rv43YY4<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at Johnny Brenda\u2019s, which has Cat Clyde as the headliner and Jamie Drake as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Barry Alfonso<\/p><\/div>\n

On October 23, Main Line Books (116 North Wayne Ave, Wayne, https:\/\/www.mainpointbooks.com\/<\/a>) will host a special presentation featuring author Barry Alfonso.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alfonso — <\/span>one of the co-creators of San Diego\u2019s Comic-Con, songwriter and former music critic for La Jolla Light,\u00a0San Diego Union, and\u00a0Rolling Stone — will be reading from, discussing and signing copies of his book, \u201cA Voice of the Warm: The Life of Rod McKuen,\u201d which is the first and only biography on Rod McKuen.
\nAlfonso grew up in San Diego, California, where he began his career as a music journalist for a variety of publications.\u00a0 He also wrote songs for the films \u201cAll The Right Moves\u201d (starring Tom Cruise) and \u201cTwo of as Kind.\u201d He was also responsible for Pam Tillis\u2019 number-one hit \u201cIn Between Dances,\u201d which was co-written with his longtime friend and collaborator Craig Bickhardt, a popular Philly musician. Alfonso also received a 2004 Grammy nomination for the liner notes to the Peter, Paul & Mary box set, \u201cCarry It On.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to being in Philly again,\u201d said Alfonso, during a phone interview Monday morning from his home in Pittsburgh. \u201cI haven\u2019t been there in a while.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCraig Bickhardt and I have been friends for a long time. We wrote together in Nashville. On Wednesday night, he\u2019ll play a few songs we co-wrote including a little-known Rod McKuen song, \u2018The Tamarack Tree.\u2019 \u201cI\u2019ll also be doing a presentation between sets on Friday when Jesse Terry and Craig play at <\/span>Burlap & Bean.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bickhardt and Terry will co-headline a show on October 25 at the Burlap & Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427-4547,\u00a0www.burlapandbean.com<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

As a teenage music scribe, Alfonso became interested in McKuen\u2019s work and realized his enjoyment of McKuen\u2019s music and poetry was — despite being wildly popular selling tens of millions of copies — \u201cnot cool\u201d as McKuen was repeatedly panned by critics across the board. His songs including, \u201cIf You Go Away\u201d and \u201cJean\u201d earned him massive hits, while books like\u00a0\u201cListen to the Warm\u201d\u00a0sold millions of copies.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, McKuen\u2019s career touched nearly every aspect of pop culture from the 1950s through the 1970s. He wrote songs for Frank Sinatra, shared stages with and satirized the Beat Generation, sang folk music and disco tunes, collaborated with the great French songwriter Jacques Brel and conducted his own symphonic works. McKuen campaigned with Robert F. Kennedy, was an animal rights pioneer, fought against anti-gay laws at the risk of his career. The sheer scope and diversity of his improbable and complicated life is traced for the first time in this book.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI worked as a musician and as a publicist, so I was familiar with Rod McKuen\u2019s work,\u201d said Alfonso. \u201cI knew he was an artist who sold millions of records and was hated by the critics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a writer, I thought something interesting must be there. Then, I found that here was no Rod McKuen biography, so I started writing one. I spoke to over 100 people who knew him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSadly, when he died, a lot of his material went in the dumpster. Fortunately, Columbia University had a lot of material in his archives. Columbia is associated with Random House and he sold a lot of records for Random House.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

McKuen was treated like a teacher\/prophet\/guru by his fans and considered a con artist by his enemies. By turns sentimental and steamy, he was an eroticized Mister Rogers for adults — a voice of gentle liberation for Middle America and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was a pioneering LGBTQ activist in the 1950s, an era when exposure could lead to arrest and a ruined career. He was a key early member of the Mattachine Society, the first gay rights organization in America.\u00a0 At the height of his fame, he waged a public fight against Anita Bryant\u2019s anti-gay crusade in Florida.<\/span><\/p>\n

He coined the phrase \u201cIt\u2019s not who you love or how you love but that you love\u201d \u2013 yet he refused to label his own sexuality. McKuen was sexually fluid\/non-binary decades before the terms existed. How he navigated the repressive gender landscape of his time and celebrated love in all its forms makes his story uniquely relevant for today.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Alfonso, \u201cThe vast gap between the public adoration and the critical abuse was one of the main reasons I wrote this book. As I delved further into my research, though, I found Rod\u2019s personal story to be complex, poignant and often inspirational.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

McKuen was a living enigma.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a man that didn\u2019t want to be known fully,\u201d said Alfonso. \u201cHe did not want the whole story told. He was so famous and so unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to tell the story how pop culture changed in his lifetime. He was gender fluid. He spoke to lonely people. He wrote a poem about his lost cat. He spoke frankly. And, he had a huge audience among women.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Rod McKuen\u2019s \u201cThe Tamarack Tree\u201d — https:\/\/youtu.be\/S7RaUuxCA0E<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barry Alfonso will present a reading and autograph signing of his book \u201cA Voice of The Warm: The Life of Rod McKuen\u201d at Main Point Books on October 23 at 7 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times In 2017, The Bad Plus had a minus \u2013 and then a plus. The trio from Minnesota lost a founding member, added a top-flight player from Philadelphia and never missed a step along the way. On October 23, The Bad Plus, which now features Philadelphia jazz legend Orrin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5166],"tags":[9240,9238,3912,9239,7633],"class_list":["post-25423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-barry-alfonso","tag-cat-clyde","tag-featured","tag-jamie-drake","tag-the-bad-plus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25423"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25424,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25423\/revisions\/25424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}