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...