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A few weeks back, I was invited to record and photograph the Trumpet Supergroup playing live at the Jazz School on April 24, 2007. The group featured an amazing lineup of local trumpeters that included Mark Inouye, Mario Guarneri, Dave Scott, Erik Jekabson and Mike Olmos performing a wide assortment of pieces on flugelhorns and Bb, Eb, and piccolo trumpets. That’s five, count ‘em, five trumpets up front — all I can say is, “wow!” As if that weren’t enough, they were backed by the incredible rhythm section of Marcus Shelby on bass, Randy Vincent on guitar, and Jeff Marrs on drums.

Each one of these musicians brings a unique strength and talent to the trumpet that’s all their own, and listening to them all mix, match, and mingle throughout the course of the performance exemplified the deep range and diversity of styles they all bring to the table both individually, as composers and killer soloists, as well as collaboratively through awe-inspiring arrangements of the (mostly) original compositions contributed by each. This is another great example of a local group that doesn’t play together all that often, but when they do, it’s an event not to be missed!

 Battle Suite | Echoes of New Orleans (Scheidt) [9:59m]: Play Now | Download
 Close Your Eyes (Petkere) [7:54m]: Play Now | Download
 Free to Be (Marsalis, arr. Scott) [6:08m]: Play Now | Download
 Solo Trumpet and Effects Pedal (Jekabson) [6:03m]: Play Now | Download
 Cinderella (Inouye) [6:27m]: Play Now | Download
 Things Just Aren’t the Same (Guarneri) [5:13m]: Play Now | Download
 Baile (Guarneri) [6:34m]: Play Now | Download
 The 25th St. Skip (Scott) [11:23m]: Play Now | Download
 Found a New Baby (Palmer|Williams, arr. Jekabson) [5:13m]: Play Now | Download
 Swinging My Dear Bonnie Lass (Scott) [6:58m]: Play Now | Download
 Traffic (Jekabson) [7:01m]: Play Now | Download

I just made my first visit to Anna’s Jazz Island in Berkeley to make what turned out to be a fantastic audience recording of the Ben Adams Quintet playing live on January 15, 2007. The group is led by Ben Adams on vibes and he’s joined by a suite of local talents including Mitch Marcus on sax, Erik Jekabson on trumpet and flugelhorn, and the rocking rhythm section of Sameer Gupta on drums and Eugene Warren on double-bass. The band played three sets that included songs from their new studio album Old Thoughts for a New Day and older tracks from Ben’s collection of original compositions. The audience was also treated to two songs that were played with special guest and local sax legend Vince Wallace. After seeing these guys in action, I really think Ben’s quintet exemplifies the collaborative jazz scene that’s happening in the Bay Area right now, especially considering Mitch and Sameer were both recently featured in the SF Chronicle for being part of jazz bands to watch out for in the coming year (Mitch for his Mitch Marcus Quintet, and Sameer for Vidya). So please enjoy the new recordings and make sure to check out the Ben Adams Quintet live the next chance you get. It’s also worth reminding folks that Mitch, Erik, and Sameer have all been featured on this website before.

 Camp Hawk [13:01m]: Play Now | Download
 Sheltered Circle [10:23m]: Play Now | Download
 Conversation with Martin [10:12m]: Play Now | Download
 Vince Wallace / I Remember Sonny [10:04m]: Play Now | Download
 Ghost at Infancy [9:33m]: Play Now | Download
 Road to Rincon [12:48m]: Play Now | Download
 Blood Orange [11:33m]: Play Now | Download
 "Dedication & Thanks" [1:20m]: Play Now | Download
 The Actual [13:41m]: Play Now | Download
 Avery's Bedtime Song [13:28m]: Play Now | Download
 Soundtrack for the Beginning [10:25m]: Play Now | Download

I snapped these great photographs at a recent performance by Howard Wiley and friends playing live as part of the Trinity Chamber Concert Series at Trinity Chapel in Berkeley on November 4, 2006. The band played a diverse range of songs that included work-in-progress pieces from Howard’s Angola Project, as well as a sampling of straight-ahead and New Orleans jazz. On this night, the ensemble included Sly Randolph on drums, Marcus Shelby on bass, Geechi Taylor on trumpet, Andre Webb on trombone, Yeruda Caesar and Vivian McBride on violin, and Lauren Benedict and Jeanine Anderson on vocals, and of course Howard Wiley on sax. Besides the horrendous parking in Berkeley that night, I had a great time, and I encourage you to check out Howard live sometime — his sax playing is not to be missed! Included below is a sample track of Second Line, and you can also watch a slideshow of these pictures here.

 Second Line [14:50m]: Play Now | Download

Through a previous recording I made of Britt Daniel playing solo earlier this year, I was extremely grateful to be given this fantastic opportunity to archive Spoon opening for Death Cab for Cutie at the magnificent Greek Theatre in Berkeley. I had full access via media credentials to shoot photos and make a high quality matrix mix of the soundboard plus my stereo pair of ambient mics. I was able to bring a good friend of mine with me, and we got the royal treatment sitting in the VIP section dead center right behind the soundboard. The weather was perfect for an outdoor concert in the Bay Area, and the acoustics in the Greek Theatre were superb. I can’t really think of a better way to spend a Saturday night! Spoon played some of their classic tunes and even threw in a new track for good measure, but because they were opening for Death Cab, their set was a little on the short side, which was really the only downside of the entire night — I was definitely longing for more Spoon tunes. These guys put on a great show, and you just have to relate with the sincerity in their lyrics. So, take a moment to download and listen to the entire set from the Live Music Archive or stream MP3s from my recording from the links below. And, without a doubt, make sure to check these guys out the next time they roll through your town while on tour, you won’t be disappointed.

 The Beast & Dragon, Adored [3:54m]: Play Now | Download
 Monsieur Valentine [2:34m]: Play Now | Download
 Stay Don't Go [3:14m]: Play Now | Download
 Jonathon Fisk [3:38m]: Play Now | Download
 I Turn My Camera On [3:07m]: Play Now | Download
 "Tune Up & Thanks" [1:01m]: Play Now | Download
 Rhythm & Soul [3:32m]: Play Now | Download
 Paper Tiger [4:24m]: Play Now | Download
 Someone Something [2:37m]: Play Now | Download
 They Never Got You [6:14m]: Play Now | Download
 I Summon You [4:06m]: Play Now | Download
 The Way We Get By [3:12m]: Play Now | Download