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The Music of The Supplicants is so much more than an intricately woven framework of sounds, beats, and melodies. It is an experience. The level of emotion with which they play is so deep, so personal, and the energy so pure that it is almost as if existence, or being itself, creeps most surprisingly yet receptively into our souls. … The Supplicants personify the spirit of jazz in its purest form. It is fitting that their members—David Boyce, tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet; Richard Howell, tenor and soprano sax; David Ewell, bass; and Sameer Gupta, drums—have not chosen a leader; rather, they all lead in their own right. This humility is both at once rare to find in the age of individual jazz and a perfect epitome for their art. The purity of their music is just as rare to find in a time in the history of jazz where its staunch supporters, critics, and historians have crystallized an art form which is still very much alive and placed it behind the glass displays of museums as an untouchable antiquity. ~ Drew Foxman, All About Jazz
After a year hiatus, the four original members of The Supplicants got back together and put on one hell of a live show at the Red Poppy Art House on November 25, 2007. It was a great Sunday evening of improvised music in the Mission, and one that I’m pleased to be able to share with you. So download and listen to these two spontaneously-created audio tracks, and make sure to support these fine musicians whenever you have the chance.
On Friday, October 27th, 2007 I was invited to record the incredible FOCUS Trio live at the Red Poppy Art House in the Mission District of San Francisco. The trio featured Marc Cary (all the way from New York) on keys and synth, Sameer Gupta on drums and tabla, and David Ewell on double bass. They played a few new tracks as well as songs from their 2006 album FOCUS. The audience was also treated to a guest appearance by Marcus Shelby who stepped in to play bass on Elephants’s Eye and Minor League. The recording is a bit ambient because I set up in the back of the room, but it’s positively worth a listen, so you can thank Marc, Sameer, David, and Marcus for letting me share this sample track with all of you!
“The concept of FOCUS Trio is a collaboration between three cultures. Aside from that, playing our asses off the in the tradition of the great Duke Ellington, Max Roach and Paul Chambers, is the focus. … The live show will expand on the concepts developed since the recording of our 2006 album, FOCUS. The recording is the seed and the performance is when the plant grows.” ~ Marc Cary
Here’s a new post of an outstanding recording I made of D’Armous Boone’s Improv Consortium playing live as part of The Jazz House’sFree-Jazz Fridays Series at Scott Looney’s 8th Street Performance Space in West Oakland on January 19, 2007. With D’Armous Boone leading the group on tenor sax, he was joined by another talented sax player, Howard Wiley, as well as D’Armous’ old friend Matthew Goodheart on piano and the always-potent rhythms of Sameer Gupta on drums. The band grooved their way through an hour of fantastic improvisational free jazz for the packed house to enjoy, and they were gracious enough to let me release the recording under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 2.5 License.
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 thiswebsitebefore.
I recently had the opportunity to see an absolutely outstanding improvisational performance by The Supplicants (MySpace) featuring Sameer Gupta on drums, David Boyce on sax, and David Ewell on double-bass. The band played in trio format in the fabulously inviting and intimate Red Poppy Art House in the Mission. They jammed out improv jazz on-the-fly for nearly the entire time they played. It was an impressive night of live music performed in one of my favorite venues, and the best part is that they’ve allowed me to share the complete audio recording with all of you! There’s even seven minutes of video to share too. So enjoy this unique recording, and please help support the band by purchasing their Studio CDs and seeing them live the next time you get the chance!
After attending a marathon stretch of music at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco on Saturday and Sunday, I managed to squeeze in even more music by recording the Mitch Marcus Quintet live at the Rockit Room (formerly the Last Day Saloon) in the Inner Richmond. The band gave a stellar performance on this night with Mitch on tenor sax, Mike Abraham on guitar, George Ban-Weiss on double bass, Sylvain Carton on alto/soprano sax, and Sameer Gupta on drums. These guys are always worth seeing, and they have a regular weekly gig at Amnesia on Wednesday nights in the Mission that you should check out. You can also see a listing of all of their upcoming shows on their calendar. A big thanks goes out to the band for letting me record and share their outstanding live performance. You can listen and download their entire set at the links provided below. Enjoy!
