BayTaper.com is an online multimedia documentary featuring original live music recordings and photography from the San Francisco Bay Area creative music scene. Learn More...
Please note that all of the photos, videos, and audio recordings found on this website are copyrighted works being made available for personal, non- commercial use only. These works may not be used for any other purpose without the direct consent of the artists involved. If you are the copyright holder of any material posted on this website and no longer wish it to be made available on the Web, please contact me immediately and I will take it down posthaste.
Here’s a video clip from the second set of the Jarrett Cherner Trio live at the Red Poppy Art House on April 12, 2008. This outstanding trio has local Jarrett Cherner on keys, and all the way from New York, Jorge Pérez-Albela on drums and Jorge Roeder on bass. In addition to the video above, there’s also some bonus footage of Jorge rippin’ a sweet bass solo here.
Coming off a huge week of rehearsals and a live album recording session at Bruno’s, Realistic Orchestra was back at it again (and in rare form) for an impressive performance opening for Björkestra at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on March 6, 2008.
Since the obvious theme of the night was Björk-inspired, the band pulled out one of their old favorites — an orchestral arrangement of Björk’s Venus As A Boy. They completely nailed the performance, it was quite simply awesome, and that solo by Dave Scott in the final minute was just off the hook! There were also some kickin’ guest vocal appearances by Chris McGee and Joe Bagale on a few tracks, and their set was topped off by members of Björkestra joining Realistic for a monster-sized wall ‘o brass blasting away their theme song Mountain Man. Now that was some crazy sh*t!
So, make sure to click on the audio slideshow above for a taste of the night’s outstanding performance, and you can also view more photos in this Flickr Set. Enjoy!
Here’s a killin’ video clip featuring Realistic Orchestra with special guest Dublin on vocals during their recent live album recording session last Tuesday night March 4, 2008. As usual, the Jazz Mafia crew was lighting up Bruno’s just like they always do, so make sure to head down there on Tuesday nights for a good time, and definitely keep an eye on their website for updated info about when their new live album will be released.
A few months back, I suggested to Mario Guarneri that he should play a gig at one of my favorite venues in town, the Red Poppy Art House. Well, that suggestion culminated in a fantastic performance by the Guarneri Jazz Quartet on February 1, 2008. The lineup featured Mario on trumpet and flugelhorn, and included Jeffrey Burr on guitar, Omar Clay on drums, and John Wiitala on Bass. Check out this video I shot of their song Baile from the second set of the night, and don’t forget that you can catch these guys playing live at Cafe Divine in North Beach on most Sunday nights.
Here’s a real treat for everyone, a long video from what I think was the last jazz gig of the year at the Red Poppy Art House. I shot this on December 29, 2007 using two tiny MP4 pocket cameras plus a field audio recorder from the back of the room (with permission of course), and considering how dark it was and how low budget my cams were, the final edit still came out pretty nice! The performance featured Marcus Shelby on bass, Matt Clark on piano, Jeff Marrs on drums, and Howard Wiley on tenor sax. Although Jeff was the main drummer for the night, the video features the one track that Marcus’s old friend Lorca Hart played on as a guest.
Please note that I’m trying out a new way of displaying video on my website that requires Flash 8, but also be aware that this is a huge video file, so it may require some patience while buffering. Thanks!
This is the first post of a two-part series on my coverage from the first annual Treasure Island Music Festival. I was given incredible access to the two-day show that took place on September 15th and 16th, and it was surely one of the more memorable gigs I’ve done in a while. This first post features a ton of photos from acts such as M. Ward, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Built to Spill, Gotan Project, Thievery Corporation, and DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. The venue couldn’t have been any better, with gorgeous views, sunny skies, and only a light wind all weekend long, how could you go wrong? Between the stellar location and the enthusiastic crowd, the musicians clearly picked up on the good vibes the Bay Area had to offer. Saturday had a slightly more hip hop, DJ, and electronic feel, while Sunday was intensely indie rock.
Highlights from the first day included the fantastic duo combination of DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, who not only spun strictly 45 rpm records from their collections for the entire show, but even found time to relax and have a beer mid-set on stage (see photo below). Now that was hilarious! And did I mention their rendition of Metallica scratched out on toy record players and mixers strung around their necks shoulder bag style? Crazy stuff! But for me, the capper for the night was clearly Thievery Corporation, who played a long set and featured numerous talented vocalists who rotated on and off stage throughout their performance. They seemed to flow effortlessly from ambient to hip hop to reggae to world and back again — it was truly inspiring. And given how impressive their performance was, I’ve also included a short one-minute video clip of a memorizing sequence from their set. So, please enjoy the included media from Part I of my Treasure Island series.
Part II will feature photos and a complete audio recording of Spoon’s set from Sunday night!
Here are a few photos from the 2007 Bumbershoot Festival that was held in Seattle on September 1, 2007. I’ve included a few photos and a video clip of the band Honeycut, who were representing for the Bay Area scene, as well as a few scenic pics I made while walking around the festival.
