E. Doctor Smith's Blog

Friday, December 8th at San Francisco’s Warfield Theater, saw the penultimate performance of the legendary jazz guitarist John McLaughlin. Following his final show in Los Angeles the next night, McLaughlin officially retired from all live performances in America, ending this tour with his stellar 4th Dimension band. It was a bittersweet show indeed, however McLaughlin didn’t disappoint his fans, closing out his career with an incendiary outing of music both old and new alongside bassist Etienne Mbappe, keyboardist/drummer Gary Husband and drummer percussionist Ranjit Barot. Earlier in the show, McLaughlin recalled his 1981 performance at the theater with the late guitarist Paco De Lucia, Al DiMeola, and their memorable live album “Friday Night in San Francisco”, described by jazz author and critic Walter Kolosky as “a musical event that could be compared to the Benny Goodman Band’s performance at Carnegie Hall in 1938; And may be considered the most influential of all live acoustic ...

When it comes to open handed drumming mastery, Rayford Griffin is among the very best I have ever seen. Proponents of that "left-handed" technique include the legendary drummers Lenny White, Simon Phillips and of course, Billy Cobham. I was taught to play open handed by the great Paul Sears after seeing the Mahavishnu Orchestra with Cobham. I immediately knew that I wanted to learn how to play drums like that. Last June, I was able to catch violinist Jean-Luc Ponty's recent "The Atlantic Years Tour", reuniting him with guitarist Jamie Glaser, keyboardist Wally Minko, bassist Baron Browne and of course Rayford Griffin. A few months earlier I saw this line-up in support of the "Anderson-Ponty Band", featuring the founding member and lead vocalist of Yes, Jon Anderson. As much as I enjoyed it, I longed to see the Ponty group performing their all-instrumental material. This most recent tour didn't disappoint. For this tour, Griffin added an addition...

My 10 piece, Simmons SDS 9 electronic drum kit was actually inspired by drummer Bill Bruford's Simmons SDS 7 kit, and the music of his 1987 groups; Earthworks, David Torn's Cloud About Mercury and Kazumi Watanabe. Following his forward thinking and Rototom driven solo group, Bruford burst back onto the scene with the Simmons electronic drums in 1981 with the reincarnated King Crimson, using the brand new Simmons SDS 5 kit and pads. After the success of that tour, Bruford would receive the new SDS 7 kit, and put them to good use during subsequent tours with King Crimson and others, before moving on to the ill-fated Simmons SDX. I was fortunate to see Bruford's original Earthworks group, featuring Iain Ballamy, Django Bates and Mick Hutton at least 4 times; in Boston, two shows in NYC and in Washington DC. Seeing me outside of D.C.'s Bayou nightclub, and wearing a new Earthworks t-shirt; (I got it from one of Robert Fripp's guitar students-turned drum tech), Brufo...

One of my biggest musical influences was drummer Bill Bruford and the late '70s and early 1980 albums, "Feels Good To Me", "One of A Kind" and "Gradually Going Tornado", featuring his amazing-sounding Remo Rototom kit. Originally developed by Al Payson and Michael Colgrass, it was Bruford who really put them on the map when he first started using the rototoms during his stint with the prog-rock super-group, U.K. I was fortunate to see that band, featuring bassist John Wetton, keyboards/violinist Eddie Jobson and guitarist Allan Holdsworth in 1978, at the old Painter's Mill in Maryland when they opened for guitarist Al DiMeola. Bruford only used a 14" and an 18" rototom with that group, however their power and ability to cut through guitars and synthesizers were quite evident. They were amazing, however the band was short-lived, with Bruford and Holdsworth leaving after only one album. After Bruford left U.K. he began his own group, ...

Well gentle readers, another year has gone by, so it’s time to take a peek back at some of my favorite musical albums and shows of 2014. This list is by no means complete, but these shows were truly memorable, and these albums have been in my steady rotation and showing no signs of abating. So without further ado, here are twelve of my favorites from the world of jazz, world and rock… 1. Kai Eckhardt’s “Zeitgeist” One of the greatest bass players on the planet, the Liberian/German expatriate Kai Eckhardt, has made his home in Berkeley, after thrilling audiences around the world. His resume features a veritable who’s who of the fantastic jazz and world musicians; guitarist John McLaughlin, drummer Billy Cobham, percussionist Trilok Gurtu, Stanley Clarke, Wayne Shorter, Patrice Rushen, Dewey Redman, Donald Byrd, Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten and his band Garaj Mahal, to name but a few. Eckhardt’s latest album “Zeitgeist”, is jazzy blend of funk, Indian ragas and straight-up, butt-kickin...

Saxophonist Jeff Coffin and his “Mu’tet”, truly defy musical categories, and obliterate musical boundaries with their take-home-with-you compositions, their mind-bending solos and their swirling, danceable odd rhythms and exotic world music influences. Their previous effort, 2012’s “Into the Air” and 2011’s “Jeff Coffin & the Mu’tet Live!”; (a double CD described as “over the top funky and burning with energy and killer tunes). Coffin & the Mu’tet throw down and bring out the music lover in everyone. The album was released on the Ear Up Records label, and recorded live at SPACE (Chicago/Evanston, IL) and at MOMO’S (Austin, TX) in 2010/2011. Coffin and the Mu’tet, (last seen at Yoshi’s on Fillmore a few months ago with special guests George Brooks on saxophone and bassist Kai Eckhardt joining for the encore), returns with a new album, “Side Up”, featuring his fellow Flecktone bandmate Roy “Futureman” Wooten, (replacing drummer Jeff Sipe from the previous album), Felix Pastoriu...

San Francisco saxophonist Charles Unger, fresh from a recent tour of Sweden has re-emerged with a new album entitled, “Around the World”. Unger and jazz group, “The Experience”, featuring bassist Ben Luis, drummer Tony Coleman, and keybordist Sue Crossman, will debut the music from this latest effort at the Peacock Lounge tonight in the Lower Haight. Special guest performers will include a talented array of vocalists; Beverly Al-Kareem, Darlene Roberts and Unger’s longtime musical muse, Valencia Hawkins. A major force in the music scene of the San Francisco Bay area for the last 40 years, saxophonist Charles Unger is a musical institution. He is known for his exuberant style and talent, and for a stage show that is unforgettable. A regular performer at various San Francisco clubs, Unger is an innovator in the genres of Jazz, R&B and World Beat. Unger, who plays alto, tenor and soprano saxophones, was deeply influenced by the seminal works of artists such as Coleman Hawkins, ...