E. Doctor Smith's Blog

This weekend, I'll find myself at New York City's Iridium Jazz Club, to see Britain's famed jazz drummer, Bill Bruford. Since the events of 9/11, it has become increasingly difficult to see many of Europe's finest musicians. Visa restrictions and mounting costs have limited many to performing only as far as New York City. Last year at the Iridium, Bruford and his most recent collaborator, saxophonist Tim Garland dealt with that dilemma by hiring several of New York's top jazz musicians to perform, and released the live CD entitled, "The Earthworks Underground Orchestra". Joining Bruford and Garland for this tour however, are Earthworks' newest members, bassist Laurence Cottle, and pianist Gwilym Simcock. Bill Bruford's career is like his drumming sound — inimitable. Known for his ringing metal snare drum, crisp cymbal work, and knack for complex time signatures, a young Bruford came to prominence in the late '60s with Yes. The drum...

Many years ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabakin big band, and this weekend, you too will have a chance to see this legendary musician in the most intimate of settings. This Saturday afternoon’s SFJAZZ Members-only concert provides just that, presenting a solo recital of renowned big band arranger and pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi at the exquisite Florence Gould Theatre. Akiyoshi’s history as a jazz pianist dates back to the late ‘40s in Japan. The postwar era in full swing, young Akiyoshi had no trouble finding piano gigs at the many nightclubs catering to American soldiers. A chance encounter with Oscar Peterson, touring Japan with the famed Jazz at the Philharmonic band, garnered her a record date with Verve Records impresario Norman Granz. Soon after she enrolled as the first-ever Japanese student to study jazz at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, where she pursued her nascent interest in composition. Her first marriage to alto saxophonist ...

One of the true immortals of 20th-century jazz, the legendary “Saxophone Colossus,” Sonny Rollins, continues to amaze fans and critics alike in jazz’s second century. In the words of critic Gary Giddins: “Rollins looms as an invincible presence after fifty years: one of the most cunning, surprising, and original of jazz visionaries and one of the very few musicians whose (infrequent) concert appearances and recordings generate intense expectations and heated postmortems.” Rollins returns to the SF Jazz Festival on the heels of his first studio CD in five years, "Sonny, Please". Jazz reviewer Jim McElroy wrote of Rollin's latest effort, "Rollins has a new label and a new recording and those of us who love to listen to jazz can now rejoice for in all the world there is but one Sonny Rollins, and on Sonny, Please, he proves he is still at the top of his game. From the very first song, the title track "Sonny, Please", Rollins and his group are off ...

One of my all-time favorite jazz keyboardists, the truly legendary Joe Zawinul, comes to the Palace of Fine Arts on November 2nd. I've seen Zawinul many, many times, mostly with his co-leader and Miles Davis alum, saxophonist Wayne Shorter in Weather Report. Zawinul is a true visionary, who once compared jazz to boxing (“the footwork, the jab, the constant setting up and reacting to your opponent), and now at the tender age of 73, continues the good fight of plumbing the intersection of jazz, rock, and world music with his always-fresh Zawinul Syndicate. Austrian born, Joe Zawinul emigrated to the US in 1959 where he played with Maynard Ferguson and the great Dinah Washington before joining alto saxophonist great Cannonball Adderley in 1961 for nine years. With Adderley, Zawinul wrote several important songs, primarily the slow and funky Hit "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" which reached the top on the Billboard magazine Pop Charts in 1967. Zawinul then moved on to a br...

World Percussionist and Grateful Dead co-drummer Mickey Hart returns to the Masonic Auditorium, Saturday, September 23rd, with his legendary Planet Drum group. This latest incarnation, as part of a SF Jazz Festival special event, Hart reunites his fellow percussion virtuosos; Indian tabla phenomenon Zakir Hussain, conga maestro Giovanni Hidalgo and African percussionist, Sikiru Adepoju. This latest incarnation of Planet Drum builds on the legacy of the group that won 1991’s first-ever “Best World Music Album” Grammy Award (for the self-titled record that held the #1 spot on Billboard’s World Music chart for 26 straight weeks). Hart is best known for his nearly three decades as an integral part of an extraordinary expedition into the soul and spirit of music, disguised as the rock and roll band the Grateful Dead. As half of the percussion tandem known as the Rhythm Devils, Hart and Bill Kreutzmann transcended the conventions of rock drumming. Their extended polyrhythmic ex...

In 1981, a small crew of talented musicians led by guitar virtuoso Robben Ford dedicated themselves to pushing the boundaries of jazz with a deceptively intense, distinctive sound that incorporated elements of bebop, funk, R&B and rock. They called themselves the Yellowjackets, and the buzz was instantaneous. That was 25 years ago, and a few of the names and faces have changed since then. What remains is a powerhouse quartet - including original members Russell Ferrante on keyboards and Jimmy Haslip on bass - that's still fiercely dedicated to that original vision of improvisational jazz that draws from a vast range of musical sources and yet defies categories. That initial buzz is no less intense today than it was a quarter century ago. The Yellowjackets are celebrating this landmark anniversary with the release of "Twenty-Five", a combination CD/bonus DVD package that captures two electrified live performances by the Yellowjackets during their European ...

The tragic death of "LJ" Lawrence , one of the regions' best loved bassists, has sparked an out pouring of love and support from far and wide. LJ was a close friend to me personally, and an inspiration to countless others with her generousity, music and spirit. I have been overwhelmed by the many emails and phone calls I've received in this time of grief, and in a way of coming to grips with a life cut way too short, I'd like to share just a few of the moving letters and tributes to the woman I affectionately called "LL Cool Girl". Sam Fallo, and members of the Musician's Union of Reno, will be holding a memorial tribute and jam session in her honor, Sunday, September 24h. Doc, Your article about LJ's life and her work with Don (Evans), brought back a lot of good memories of the Golden Age of blues in Reno, much of which was due to LJ's hard work every Tuesday at the old Hacienda. Thanks for that portrait in words, it was a great...

Laurie Jean "LJ" Lawrence, bassist of the Reno/Lake Tahoe groups "Cool Black Kettle", and her own "Sierra Blues Tribe", was found murdered Saturday morning in Reno, Nevada, the apparent victim of a dispute with her ex-boyfriend. Reno police arrested Denver Dean Pullin, 44, of the same address, and booked him into the Washoe County jail on suspicion of murder with the use of a deadly weapon. Authorities did not specify when they found the body or where the body was found at the home. Detectives will not release the cause of death until after an autopsy which was scheduled for Sunday. Officers discovered the body while responding to a report of a suicidal person at the residence. LJ, had been bringing great blues to the Bay Area, Reno and Lake Tahoe, for well over a decade. One of the hottest female bass players on the scene today, she was a wonderful singer and front person, bringing energy and enthusiasm to the stage, while sharing the limeligh...

This Wednesday night, September 6th, San Francisco poet and writer Robert Anbian, and myself, will bring Anbian's political and thought provoking poetry, with electronics, jazz and the music of my invention, the "Drummstick" to the Madrone Lounge, Divisadero and Fell Streets. Also performing with us will be legendary Bay Area musicians, saxophonist Charles Unger, and keyboardist Sam Peebles. Anbian's critically acclaimed "We" series, and his "Bush Hiaku" from writer Gene Stone's best selling anthologies, the "Bush Survival Bible", and subsequent "Cheney Survival Bible", will be put to the music of Bobby Hutcherson, Miles Davis, and Thelonius Monk, among others, and performed electronically by Unger, Peebles and myself, in a debut of our self described group, "UFQ", the Unidentified Flying Quartet. Anbian's "We" series, have been hailed as a "psycho-social poem-object of the contemporar...

Last weekend at San Jose's Jazz Festival, I saw the amazing bassists, Marcus Miller and the legendary Abraham Laboriel take the stage. This Saturday night, during Berkeley's Downtown Jazz Festival at the Capoiera Arts Cafe, I will see another one of those extraordinary bass players, the phenomenal Kai Eckhardt and his new "Area 61" ensemble. Eckhardt is widely considered to be one of the most influential electric bassists alive today, and is best known for his work with the John Mc Laughlin Trio, Indian percussion sensation Trilok Gurtu, and the band Garaj Mahal. Unbelievably, Eckhardt's musical career spans almost 3 decades. Eckhardt has performed an average of 100 shows a year internationally since he graduated Berklee College of Music in 1987. Highlights include engagements with: Billy Cobham, Stanley Clarke, Wayne Shorter, Patrice Rushen, Dewey Redman and Donald Byrd. Locally Eckhardt was a member of San Franciscos's Alphabet Soup, appeared wit...

This weekend, I'll be among the thousands of fans at the 2006 San Jose Jazz Festival, which opened last night on Santana Row, and runs through August 20th. The Festival promises to pay respect to the genre’s deep roots in New Orleans with a full line-up of superstars, including the Neville Brothers, Dr. John, Sonny Landreth, and more. Some of my personal favorites, reknown bassist Marcus Miller, and drummer Will Kennedy of the Yellowjackets fame, will also appear. The Festival will take place on nine stages, each dedicated to a flavor of jazz: Blues, Latin, Salsa, Big Band, Youth and Straight Ahead. “The Jazz Festival is our biggest fundraiser of the year, which helps serve more than 8,000 school children through our music and education programs,” said Geoff Roach, executive director of the San Jose Jazz Society. “So many jazz fans live in the Bay Area and nostalgia for New Orleans is particularly strong this year, given the turmoil experienced in the region. We want ...

My first trip to London was in 1977, during the Queen's "Silver Jubilee". During that visit, I was able to catch many of my favorite European musicians of the day, Genesis, Gong, Jean Luc Ponty, and the incredible drummer Bill Bruford. In those days, the BBC also produced the critically acclaimed "Rock Goes to College" series, at Oxford's Polytechnic Institute. Now, some 30 years later, comes the release of one of the best of those concerts, a Special Edition copy of the brand-new Winterfold Records DVD, "Bruford : Rock Goes To College." This classic 42 minute all-regions concert DVD was filmed at Oxford Polytechnic March 7th 1979. The band only made two appearances in its short life, both on national UK TV shows, with this being the second of the two. It was a groundbreaking electric rock group four of whose members- Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Berlin, Annette Peacock and Bill Bruford- already possessed or went on to develop, individual voi...

Tonight, I'll have the privilege of performing at the Edgetone Music Summit, an artist organized event founded in 2001 with fiscal sponsorship from 21 Grand Gallery, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization in Oakland. The Summit exclusively features independent artists most of whom are practitioners in music and sound of improvised and or experimental nature. In association with the Summit there are two year-round music series’, The Luggage Store Gallery New Music Series and the S.I.M.M. Series at the Musicians Union Hall. Both series serve as local stages for residential artists as well as for touring artists from all parts of the globe. The summit opened last night at the Luggage Store with the amazing Pamela Z, and moves to 21 Grand Gallery in Oakland tonight. Billed as a "Night of Inventions Played by the Inventors", I'll be joining Boston trumpeter Eric Dahlman, on his most unusual "Trident Trumpet", and inventors Bob Marsh, Steven Baker, Tom ...

Berkeley's famed Ashekenaz, has long been on my list of venues to visit, and now I'll finally have my chance with two great groups, The West African Highlife Band, led by Kotaja's Ken Okulolo, and the youthful "Shumba Marimba". Following a request by David Nadel, the late director of Ashkenaz, for a band to concentrate on Ghanaian and West African highlife dance music and rhythmic styles, the West African Highlife Band was created. With master musicians from several West African countries and the United States, the band draws on folk traditions combined with modern stylistic elements played with acoustic and electric instruments, and include the infectious classic highlife dance hits of Ghana and Nigeria. Along with Okulolo, the band features Soji Odukogbe, Nii Armah Hammond, Lemi Barrow, Rasaki Aladokun and Pope Flyne. The West African Highlife Band The Bay Area's own West African Highlife Band, led by Ken Okulolo, is renowned for reviving Nigeria...

One of my favorite bands from the NY/DC area, “Spottiswoode and His Enemies”, will be performing next Thursday night, June 29th, at the Make Out Room, at 22nd and Valencia Streets. This will be a fine opportunity to see this amazing group, in what must be a rare west coast appearance, and following their shows in L.A., (and even a wedding at the Herbst!). The "Enemies", are led by the irrepressible Jonathan Spottiswoode, a Brit who whose talent and voice, conjures images of John Prine, John Mayall, and Tom Waits, all rolled into one. With long time partner, guitarist Riley McMahon, Spottiswoode and his fantastic “enemies” are fleshed out by some of New York and D.C.’s best musicians; bassist John Young, the charming Candace De Bartolo on sax, the ever crisp drumming of Tim Vail, Tony Lauria on accordian and keyboards, and Last Train Home’s absolutely fabulous Kevin Cordt on trumpet and assorted evening wear. Spottiswoode’s music is both raw and wonderful, and n...

Improvisational music is alive and well at Market Street's "Luggage Store Gallery". The gallery's long running experimental music series, hosted by Bay Area veteran improvisers/sound artists, Rent Romus and Matt Davignon, have brought some of the most critically acclaimed artists of the genre, from legendary guitarists like Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith, to the inimitable improv pianist, Cecil Taylor. Last night's performance, amid the beautiful green walls and a fantastic musical art installation, found the debut of electro-saxophonist Jaroba, as well the highly anticipated debut of the Bay Area's "High Vulture". Led by the incinderary guitarist of the famed group MX-80, Bruce Anderson and his improv cohorts, drummer John Moremen, and bassist Bill Raymond, High Vulture, screeched, swooped, soared, and even soothed most effectively under Anderson's guidance and special effects. This music is not for the squeamish, however, if you are bo...

Since their eponymous CD release in 2004, Sebastopol's Sol Horizon has blossomed, becoming one of the most popular and forward thinking bands of it's genre. The release of their latest CD, "First Light" and recent tours of California and Hawaii, as well as collaborations with England's rising reggae star, Pato Banton, should erase any doubt as to their authenticity and musical sincerity. Led by vocalist Michael Litwin, and his "party revolution" group, Sol Horizon are ably driven by lead guitarist Clayton Hunt, percussionist Peter van Gorder, and rounded out with bassist Frank Preuss, drummer Colin Menzies, rhythm guitarist Alexei Brown and keyboardist Jeremy Cooper. Sol Horizon continues to write and perform only their original music, a feat very few reggae groups would even attempt. No Bob Marley covers, no Peter Tosh, no Steel Pulse, no Melody Makers, just Sol Horizon! Their "conscious lyrics" and continued involvement in the su...

My love of Brazilian music is no secret to those who know me, for years I performed with guitarist Carlos Augustus and his DC ArtBeat ensembles. In my youth, I would often journey to see such great artists like Dom Um Romeo, of Weather Report, Egberto Gismonti, Milton Naciamento, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Paulhino de Costa, and of course my favorites; the incredible Flora Purim and Airto Moriera, whose incendiary tamborine solos conjured images of Panamanian drummer Billy Cobham at his height. In what could have been a catastrophe at the Rasselas Jazz Club last Sunday night for the Wilbur Rehmann Quartet show, (It seems the owner inadvertantly double booked the evening!), the gracious Caroline Chung of Brazuca Brown, stepped aside and wished us good luck. So moved was I by the group's generosity, that I endeavored to find out more about her and her band. Rehmann's show I might add, was a smashing success, and in the aftermath of that evening, I found another pleasant su...