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Here’s two very clean audio tracks of Inditranego and Joey Rubber Special from the amazing Mitch Marcus Quintet +13 big band who performed live on October 21, 2007 at the de Young as part of the museum’s Cultural Encounters program and done in collaboration with Jazz at Intersection.

Eight bands were commissioned to create and perform eight original compositions for what turned out to be an outstanding outdoor concert series at the museum. Although the series is now complete, the whole program will culminate in a combined performance by all eight bands playing each of their commissioned works at 6:30pm on January 18, 2008 at the museum. And best of all, the final concert is completely FREE to the general public! So, please enjoy these tracks, and I hope to see you all back at the de Young in a few weeks.

Note: the photo is actually a video frame capture from the tiny pocket cam I had with me at the show. The audio was captured with one stereo pair in the middle up in front, and two additional condensers were placed off to each side of the band.

Mitch Marcus & Sheldon Brown, Tenor Saxophones
Sylvain Carton & Marcus Stephans, Alto Saxophones
Dave Scott, Henry Hung, Erik Jekabson & Darren Johnston, Trumpets
Mike Rinta, Jeff Cressman & Joel Behrman, Trombones
Marc Bolin, Bass Trombone & Tuba
George Ban-Weiss & David Ewell, Bass
Jason Slota, Vibraphone & Percussion
Cornelius Boots, Bari Saxophone
Mike Abraham, Guitar
Jeff Marrs, Drums

 Joey Rubber Special [12:18m]: Play Now | Download
 Inditranego [16:20m]: Play Now | Download

On Tuesday, June 5th Realistic Orchestra presented it’s Second Annual Prince Birthday Tribute at Bruno’s. The orchestra was in full effect and guest vocalists like Joe Bagale, Chris McGee and Emily Schmidt ripped it up with the band as the night progressed. DJ Daymitreeus was also in the house spinning crates of rare Prince related records all night long, not to mention busting some sick Prince-themed freestyles with the band. The good news is Adam and the guys gave me permission to post my entire audio source, but the bad news is I ended up leaving before the end of the second set. Oh well, there’s still twelve tracks of Realistic goodness available for your listening pleasure! So please enjoy this eclectic mix of original compositions and unique arrangements of some classic Prince by everyone’s favorite big band. And although I didn’t bring my own camera, thankfully someone else did.

 Fringetown [10:38m]: Play Now | Download
 Reactance [10:00m]: Play Now | Download
 Scary [9:08m]: Play Now | Download
 Hard Times [10:02m]: Play Now | Download
 Living for the City [5:16m]: Play Now | Download
 Prince Medley [13:39m]: Play Now | Download
 Musicology [7:06m]: Play Now | Download
 D.M.S.R. [4:55m]: Play Now | Download
 777-9311 [6:49m]: Play Now | Download
 Darling Nikki [9:38m]: Play Now | Download

Here’s another installment from the ever-tantalizing, and now revitalized Jazz Mafia Tuesdays live at Bruno’s. It was Mike Olmos’s birthday, and the boys were goin’ off as usual. Low End Theory opened the first set, and then Brass Mafia took the stage for the second set. Here’s a slammin’ fifteen-minute audio sample from the second set for your listening pleasure. And make sure to get yourself down to Bruno’s on Tuesday nights!

 Fela Medley [15:20m]: Play Now | Download

Here’s my next installment from the 2006 Fillmore Street Jazz Fest. The Brass Mafia headlined the last slot at 4pm on Sunday’s schedule at the Sutter Street Stage, and boy was it worth the wait! These guys are part of the Jazz Mafia collective, and they sure know how to have a stompin’ good time! The band features ringleader Adam Theis on the oh-so-low sousaphone, Joe Cohen on the tenor and bari saxes, Mike Olmos blasting on trumpet, and Pat Korte thumping on drums. And if that wasn’t enough, they were also joined by special guests Will Bernard on guitar/banjo, Doug Beavers on trombone, and Matt Lucas playing percussion. As can be imagined with that kind of lineup, their two sets brought the Sutter Street Stage to a festival-ending climax on Sunday with a mix of original compositions and some truly awesome medleys and arrangements of a few classics that included material from Fela Kuti and the Skatalites. Their last (official) track of the day invited rappers Dublin, Orukusaki, Jebediah, Natron, and Seneca on stage for a 10-minute medley that mixed live jazz, hip hop, and improvisation in all it’s new-school glory. But, little did the crowd expect, when the six o’ clock ending time came and past, the boys just kept on playing by grabbing a snare drum, bass drum, and their brass instruments and heading out into the crowd New Orleans marching-band style! It was fantastic, and it whipped the fans into a frenzy — what a great way to end the weekend’s festivities! So, check out my photos above, and the videos and audio files below to get a taste of what their performance was like on Sunday. And whatever you do, make sure to go see these guys live sometime, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

 Confucious / Outkast [.MOV] [8:06m]: Play Now | Download
 Confucious / Outkast [.WMV] [8:06m]: Play Now | Download
 Hip Hop Medley [.MOV] [11:56m]: Play Now | Download
 Hip Hop Medley [.WMV] [11:56m]: Play Now | Download
 Do Like Eddie / Soulful Strut [9:35m]: Play Now | Download
 Rocky / The Model / 80's Mekka Medley [8:22m]: Play Now | Download
 Fela Kuti Medley: Colonial Mentality / Rofroro Fight [12:05m]: Play Now | Download
 "It's Hard Work" [1:09m]: Play Now | Download
 Whoopin' Blues [7:37m]: Play Now | Download
 Confucious / Outkast [9:09m]: Play Now | Download
 Brass Mafia Theme [8:52m]: Play Now | Download
 Rappers Intro [1:13m]: Play Now | Download
 Hip-Hop Medley [12:03m]: Play Now | Download

I’ve finally found some time to write and post about this superb gig of Low End Theory playing live at 12 Galaxies. These guys are part of the Bay Area’s super-talented Jazz Mafia collective that we’ve been covering for a while now, and they sure know how to kick down some serious low-end brass through their powerful section of in-your-face trombones. The group is made up of Adam Theis, Marty Wehner, and Joel Behrman on trombones (with a little trumpet thrown in for good measure), Marc Bolin on bass trombone, Dave Scott on keys, George Ban-Weiss on upright bass, and Eric Garland on drums. It was a kickin’ night of pumping horns, and the recording came out absolutely outstanding. And, thanks to the Mafia’s willingness to share their live performances with fans for personal, non-commercial use, you should definitely spend some serious quality time listening to the MP3s posted below, and don’t forget to support the band, and the collective in general, by getting out to see their live shows.

 Complete Compunction [8:12m]: Play Now | Download
 Anyone Who Had A Heart [8:21m]: Play Now | Download
 Super Glue [12:18m]: Play Now | Download
 Gospel Sermon [8:08m]: Play Now | Download
 Confucious [7:31m]: Play Now | Download
 The Whip [6:58m]: Play Now | Download
 Straight Shuffle [5:57m]: Play Now | Download
 Whoop Ass [10:01m]: Play Now | Download
 Not Standard [5:50m]: Play Now | Download