By Margot Main

January's short days followed by cold, snowy nights made Manhattan an island of frigid concrete and heartless steel.  However, refuge was found in the smooth, warm sound of the band, Lettuce.  Combined with Wetland Preserve's comfortably casual environment, Lettuce's residency every Wednesday on the main stage helped get New York City's jamband fans one month closer to Spring.

Velour Recordings presented Dig Deep - four Wednesdays featuring Eric Krasno, from Soulive, in Lettuce.  The band included members from The Squad: Sam Kininger (alto sax), Jeff Bhasker (keyboards), Adam Smirnoff (guitar), Matt Rubano (bass) and Adam Deitch (drums).

January 3rd kicked off the residency.  Masters of the Groove opened with their funky backbeat.  Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, Reuben Wilson, Grant Green Jr., Tarus Mateen and Leo Gandelman worked the audience into their name defining groove that set the tone for the night.  Lettuce came on and slowly built into a seventies flavored swanky strut.  DJ Logic kicked in his vinyl for a power dance jam.  Certainly a very welcome way to begin Jamband Odyssey 2001.

January 10th opened with Robert Randolph moving the crowd with his explosive pedal steel guitar into a hand waving, soul grooving vibe. Lettuce's special guest, Javier Colon (Derek Trucks Band), lent his vocals on several songs including "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and "Use Me". Throughout the night, James Hurt joined in on keyboards, Charles Haynes sat in on drums and assisted with vocals.  Baba came in on beatbox and joined Pauly Ethnic on rhymes.  The friendliness associated with jamband audiences was demonstrated when Javier Colon announced Aaron Stein's birthday and we sung our well wishes to Aaron.  "It's Your Thing" immediately followed - a very appropriate song selection.

The highlight throughout this evening was the lovely lady of R&B, Ekene. Her voice harmonized nicely with Colon's.  She showered the crowd with her beautiful, sensual style and, judging from the guys' gaping mouths, increased Lettuce's aesthetic value.

January 17th opened with creative rock band, Screaming Headless Torsos. Their unique beat and percussion sound effects raised the temperature inside Wetlands.  Lettuce kicked in their funky improvisation with Fred Wesley delivering long groove notes on his trombone.  Dave Fiuczynski (from the support band) contributed his sound as well.  Lenny Pickett (Tower of Power), Ryan Zoidus, Jacques Schwartzbart (D'Angelo) and Roy Hargrove demonstrated their talents all night long.  Lettuce continued to dig deeper into their zone.

The horns owned this evening.  Krasno threw down some riffs, Wesley answered with his trombone and led the saxophones into jams that just kept getting higher and higher.  Stephanie McKay added her sweet touch on vocals.  She scatted with Wesley's trombone and defined a real improvised moment.  The night was complete with Wayne Krantz, "guitarist extraordinaire" playing hard soul jazz in the lounge.

January 24th with John Scofield - sold out!  The pinnacle of Lettuce's residency was this night.  It was the same night I got nailed with the flu. However, as relayed to me by my fellow freaks, Topaz wasted no time getting the crowd going.  Playing songs from his new CD "Listen" (Velour Recordings) Topaz started the fun and worked the crowd into a very happy vibe.  No shortage of adjectives, "great" and "amazing" were used to describe his performance.

John Scofield apparently bought the band to new heights as each player dug deeper and pushed themselves to the next level.  As reported to me, Sam Kininger, Adam Deitch and Jeff Bhasker busted out while Adam Smirnoff and Matt Rubano stepped up and greeted the challenge with aplomb.  Krasno jumped in head first and played Scofield's solo in "Go-Go".

Scofield once again proved that skill, innovation and risk are necessary elements of an accomplished jam.

Thurston Moore Trio
Tonic 1/26/01

By Anthony Coloneri

When I heard that Thurston Moore, guitarist for Sonic Youth, was playing a solo show with another guitarist and harp player at the Tonic, I knew I had to go.  What I heard was probably the best 60 or so minutes of music I've heard in a really long time.

First off, Tonic is starting to grow on me a bit.  What a great room to see a show. The concert was sold out but found plenty of room towards the back with a great view.  Being close to the bar is always a plus as well.  There are two speakers above the stage on the left and right side, which can be heard really well from anywhere inside.  Anyway, one by one the trio took the stage and started to create a setting for their set.  Nothing that resembled a song by any means, just obscure sounds coming from their instruments.  It was around this time that I noticed how many pedals were on the floor.  A further glance and I saw that the harpist was playing with the oddest effects I've ever seen on that instrument.  She was ripping the strings apart, banging on them any which way she could, giving the entire evening a frantic setting.   

Every once in a while the trio would hit a riff and go with it, but it was not a common theme tonight.  It was refreshing to hear this type of music.  I consider this form of improvising to be on another level from what jambands are doing these days.  I am constantly trying to take away the bass drum of a jamband and concentrating on what they are actually playing without the priority of dance, and I noticed that most bands aren't coming close to the collective sounds I was hearing.  The jams I am hearing from most bands are based on cycled ideas that keep coming back and filtering through in different characters.  But this music had no origin.  It was scary to think that the idea of it being so chaotic and random gave it a structure on its own.  I could not tell if they rehearsed this set of sheer sound with textures and short snippets of melodies weaving in and out or if they were playing on the fly.  Thurston kept my mind on edge the entire night and I couldn't ask for anything more.  

I was impressed with how many people came out to listen.  People weren't dancing, they weren't bobbing, they were simply standing their with their jaws dropped to the ground.  I recommend checking out this act or any performance which includes Thurston Moore.  The music is heavier than most improvised music I am listening to in the New York area and much more innovative than anything I've heard in a long time.     

The Freaks Ball
January 20, 2001

By Margot Main

Aaron and Sasha have the best parties!  The wonderful groove team with Chicka-Wah productions presented The Freaks Ball - NYC Freaks 1st Anniversary Bash on Saturday, January 20, 2001 at Tribeca B.L.U.E.S.; featuring Robert Randolph and The Squad.

Robert Randolph started up his pedal steel guitar and the blizzard started outside.  True to form, Randolph kicked in his energy and in a city second the venue was alive with dancing bodies.  Each song bought more of the gospel rock soul he's becoming known for.  It's the kind of music that sinks deep and gets people moving.  One after the other, the tunes augmented the enlightenment from the previous one.  Everyone at the front of the stage was dancing into a heavy sweat.  John Ginty went manical on keys and Danyall Morgan plowed down his bass as well as elevated the audience with his rich vocals.  Marcus Randolph worked up his own sweat as he grooved into his zone on drums.

Robert Randolph absorbed the radiant energy of the crowd as he announced the title of his new song, "New York City".  The party crowd heckled until he said he would call it "NYC Freaks" (we're holding you to it Robert!). This song has his patented spiritual energy as well as a very sweet rock back beat.  He certainly sings his soul through his custom built 13-string sacred pedal steel guitar.  Applause and cheers for a jam well done closed   Randolph's set.

The break was a great moment to replenish lost liquids, chat with friends and make new ones.  Even though this party was for NYC Freaks it was a congenial opportunity for friends of freaks to also experience camaraderie and the positive energy of live jamband music.

The Squad started playing a tune with notes so smooth they shepherded everyone back to the dance area.  Sam Kininger pumped up the funk on his sax as Jeff Bhasker kicked in the sparks on keys.  Adam Dietch got nasty (in a good way) on drums as the band and crowd worked their groove.  Adam Smirnoff's guitar and Mark Kelly's bass jived together increasing the intensity of the jam.

Aaron and Sasha were as happy as any newlywed couple could be.  Adam R. twirled his girl.  Mitch tried to whirl his fiancée; it didn't exactly turn out that way.  Gregg and his lady danced hand in hand to the groovelicious beat of the band.  

Brandi worked her bop; even Campbell and Marcus air guitared a few chops. Yummy G and Funk Man Sam kept it real at the front in groove-land.  Anabel, Kristen, Nina, Rachel, Carol and Mary - all femme freaks dancing divine as far as eyes could see.  The guys did their best trying to keep up; but, turned into more of a funky strut.  The kewl dudes just gave it up; hung at the bar drinking Maker's Mark.

Robert Randolph came out on the floor, he dug the vibe and waved his hands for more.  Wetland's Jake was there enjoying the air of a rare NYC moment.

Yea, The Squad got the party on!  They kept a serious dance beat going and everyone could've danced till dawn.  But, snow was building up outside. It looked like the only way home was to slip and slyyyyyde.  

NEWS

JAZZ IS DEAD "WORKINGMAN'S BEAUTY" starring

JEFF PEVAR (Guitarist with Phil Lesh and friends, David Crosby/CPR)

ALPHONSO JOHNSON (Bassist with The Other Ones, Santana, Weather Report)

T LAVITZ (Keyboardist with Widespread Panic, Dixie Dregs)

ROD MORGENSTEIN (6 time Grammy nominated drummer with the Dixie Dregs)

WESTBURY MUSIC FAIR
THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2001 - 8 PM

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT WWW.SFX.COM  OR WWW.MUSICFAIR.COM, BY CALLING TICKETMASTER AT 631-888-9000 OR 212-307-7171 OR AT THE WESTBURY MUSIC FAIR BOX OFFICE (960 BRUSH HOLLOW ROAD, WESTBURY, NY 11590)