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What we have here is an outstanding audience recording (and photos) of the first public performance of The Invaders live at the Red Poppy Art House on June 28, 2008. The group featured the compositions and piano playing of Mitch Marcus with the rhythm section of Dr. Ban-Weiss on bass and Jeff Marrs on drums.

After a much-needed three-week vacation in Europe (more on that later), BayTaper.com is back in action (albeit a bit jet-lagged). Just before June and I left on our trip, we had the pleasure of hosting several members of the phenomenal unconducted chamber orchestra A Far Cry during the first date of their inaugural west coast tour. Our good friend Megumi Stohs, who is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, is our connection to the group. Many years ago, Megumi worked for June on occasion while attending the Conservatory, and we ve kept in touch during the time that followed her graduation. The group is based out of Boston, and is starting to turn heads in classical music circles on the East Coast, so I couldn t help but take advantage of this opportunity by offering to photograph and record their performance in the Koret Auditorium at the de Young Museum on May 15, 2008. The show was simply amazing, and the recording came out stellar. Best of all, they ve granted permission to share the first piece played that night, Arcangelo Corelli s Concerto Grosso in F major, Op.6 No.9 (1708), which you can listen to by clicking the Play Now link below. On this tour, the group featured Sharon Cohen, Andrew Eng, Jesse Irons, Jae Young Lee, Shaw Pong Liu, Monica Pegis, Megumi Stohs, Ashley Vandiver, and Liza Zurlinden on violin; Margaret Dyer, Jason Fisher, and Franklin Shaw on viola; Loewi Lin, Jeremiah Shaw, and Courtenay Vandiver on cello; and Karl Doty on Bass. You can learn more about the group at AFarCry.org, and you can keep abreast of their ongoing projects and performances by checking their blog, which is updated regularly.

Here s a fabulous audience recording of 8 Legged Monster playing live at Club Deluxe in the Haight on May 7, 2008. Although they don t play live together that often, when they do, it s a must-see event. So go out and support these guys the next chance you get! You can learn more about the band and their upcoming schedule on MySpace, and you can find their studio album for sale at CD Baby. I d also like to give a big shout out to the band for letting me post a few tracks for you to enjoy, thanks guys! Rob Barics, Clarinet Tenor Joel Behrman, Trombone Ian Carey, Trumpet Tom Griesser, Bari Sax Mike Irwin-Johnson, Guitar Arranger Noel Jewkes, Tenor Sax Vince Lateano, Drums Eric Markowitz, Bass Mike Olmos, Trumpet

A little more than a week ago, I was lucky enough to attend the first annual Switchboard Music Festival live at Dance Mission Theater on March 30, 2008. It was a full day of inspired music that s best described in their own words: The Switchboard Music Festival is an eight-hour music festival bringing together composers and musicians who are all pushing the boundaries of their respective genres. No other Bay Area music festival or concert series is dedicated to the idea of bringing together such an eclectic, genre-crossing/-breaking/-bastardizing group of experimentalists, innovators, and musical omnivores. Some of the finest musicians in the Bay Area played over the course of the eight-hour music marathon, including Aaron Novik, Amy X Neuburg, Christopher Adler, Dan Becker, Del Sol String Quartet, Jeff Anderle, Edmund Welles, Erik Jekabson, Gamelan X, Ian Dicke, Ian Dickenson, Inner Ear Brigade, Jonathan Russell, Robin Estrada, Ryan Brown, and Slydini. This really turned out to be a tremendous day of live original music, so please enjoy the photographs and this audio sample of Erik Jekabson s trumpet solo (using a delay) called Opening Fanfare, which was the appropriately-named first song played at the festival (thanks Erik!). And don t forget to help support this very-worthy festival when it comes around next year.

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 short video clip and some photos I shot from a recent recording session on January 5, 2008 at the House of Cubes. Mike Abraham, Guitar Sameer Gupta, Drums Henry Hung, Trumpet Darren Johnston, Trumpet Mitch Marcus, Tenor Sax Dayna Stephens, Tenor Sax Eugene Warren, Bass * Audio courtesy of the musicians, Producer Stephen Barncard, and Recordist Adrian Wong. Photography and Video by BayTaper.com

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 couple of live tracks from Smith Dobson s new band, the Lovecraft Ghostwriters, playing at the Red Poppy Art House on January 12, 2008. They performed a mix of new songs and old favorites from their recent release Basement Bloodlines. Smith Dobson, Vibraphone John Finkbeiner, Guitar John Hanes, Drums John Wiitala, Bass

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!

Here s a post from The Trio playing live at Chez Hanny in the Lower Haight on December 2, 2007. Chez Hanny is essentially Frank Hanny s living room and one hell of a cool venue if you re into listening to your jazz live in a cozy and extremely intimate space (check his calendar for upcoming shows). The band played two long sets and featured Denny Berthiaume on piano, Chuck Bennett on double bass, and Curt Moore on drums. The band was nice enough to let me pick one track from their performance to share with you, so please enjoy. And if you like what you hear, you can listen to more of their tunes and support the band directly by purchasing their new album Prayer for Peace.

Late last year, I had the distinct privilege of helping the talented Jeff Anderle and Jonathan Russell produce the first album related to their ongoing project Sqwonk. The CD features innovative compositions and arrangements for dueling bass clarinets that I recorded in the acoustically-pleasing Recital Hall of the new San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Listening to these guys play off of one another with that primal bass clarinet sound is truly something to behold, so it is with great pleasure that I present this sample of Profiteering from the album. If you like what you hear and want to support their efforts, the complete CD can be purchased for a nominal price here. Jon and Jeff are also helping organize, and will be playing as Sqwonk, at the upcoming Switchboard Music Festival, which is an eight-hour music festival that brings together composers and musicians who are seriously pushing the boundaries of their respective genres. The festival will be held on March 30, 2008 at the Dance Mission Theater in San Francisco, so mark your calendars because that s certainly going to be a show to remember! Note: Photo is from Sqwonk s CD Release at Old First Church on October 5, 2007.

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

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. David Boyce, Tenor Soprano Sax David Ewell, Bass Richard Howell, Tenor Soprano Sax, Talking Drum Sameer Gupta, Drums

On October 5, 2007 I recorded Crafty Apples playing in the Old First Church Concert Series. The ensemble features Sky Grealis on flute, Jason Levis on percussion, Aaron Novik on bass clarinet, and Charith Premawardhana on viola. They ve been around for about two years and describe their work as an opportunity to explore timbre and texture and less rigid structures mixed with improv and extended techniques all of which can be heard in the audio sample included below.

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 some of the tracks 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

This is the second post of my two-part series from the recent Treasure Island Music Festival held on September 16, 2007. It features the always exciting Austin band Spoon, who played just before Modest Mouse on Sunday s schedule. I love these guys. Their songwriting is real, their approach to rock n roll defies simply being called an indie band, and best of all, their live shows are worth every penny spent on tickets. In fact, this is one of those bands that must be seen live to truly appreciate. And that s why you re all in for a special treat with this one because the band has been gracious enough to let me release the recording for your listening pleasure (for personal, non-commercial use only). So, if you didn t make it out to Treasure Island last month, you can still listen to Spoon s entire set from the festival! I ve provided links below to the MP3s, but you can also stream and download the CD quality source (16-bit) directly from the Live Music Archive. And don t forget to support these guys by buying their stuff and seeing them live the next time they roll through your area.

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.

Scott Amendola (percussion) and Wil Blades (B3) recently invited Jeff Parker (guitar) to San Francisco to play a couple of gigs. I was lucky enough to catch the trio performing live at the Red Poppy Art House on August 12, 2007. Jeff hails all the way from the Chicago music scene, and it was a real treat to have him play with Wil and Scott in such an intimate venue in the Mission. It s also worth noting that Wil just released his first CD titled Sketchy, so make sure to check that out sometime. Below, I ve included a few photos from the trio s show at the Poppy as well as one sample audio track from the first set of that night s performance a composition by Scott called Slow Zig, which can be found on his 1999 album The Scott Amendola Band.

Last month I was invited to help document the Shotgun Wedding Quintet s CD Release in San Francisco on July 20, 2007. The show featured the quintet plus their full string section kickin an awesome blend of hip hop, jazz, and symphonic fusion to a sold out show at The Independent. I went early, hung out for sound check, and stayed the whole night having a great time listening to the music while shooting photos and a little bit of video along the way. I ve included a few of my best photographs as well as a short video montage I produced from the night below.

I m finally getting around to posting this excellent recording I made nearly a month ago of the Mitch Marcus Quintet s first set at this year s Fillmore Street Jazz Festival on June 30, 2007. The band was celebrating the recent release of their new album The Special, and they played a ripping set no doubt. I totally regret not catching the second half, but there was so much going on at the festival, I couldn t help but move along. This performance had the usual lineup of late, with Mitch and Sylvain Carton on the saxes, Mike Abraham on guitar, George Ban-Weiss on double bass, and Jeff Marrs on drums. The quintet also brought in special guest John Gove who blasted out some amazing trombone solos. So don t hesitate to take a listen because this tape came out spectacular, and how about those reflection photographs off the bell of John s trombone and of George off the inside lid of the piano!

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.

Tags: Adam Shulman, Adam Theis, Bay Area, BayTaper, Big Band, Brunos, Charlie Gurke, Eric Garland, Erik Jekabson, George Ban Weiss, Jazz, Jazz Mafia, Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Marrs, Joe Cohen, Live Music, Marc Bolin, Marcus Shelby, Mike Olmos, Mike Rinta, Realistic Orchestra, San Francisco Adam Theis recently organized an early night of jazz music at Bruno s in tribute to Miles Davis s birthday. It was an ambitious undertaking that included some painstaking efforts in the charting department. With only a single rehearsal under their belt, a chunk of the Jazz Mafia crew, along with other talented local musicians (complete lineup below), took on the awe-inspiring 1950 s era Birth of the Cool album in full Nonet form. The group played Boplicity, Budo, Rouge, Moon Dreams, Move, Venus de Milo, God Child, Israel, and Deception to an attentive and enthusiastic packed house. The only tracks not played from the original album were Jeru, Rocker, and Darn That Dream. You can learn more about the original groundbreaking album at Wikipedia, and please enjoy the MP3 audio and MP4 video samples of Move below. Joe Cohen, Alto Sax Charlie Gurke, Bari Sax Eric Jeckabson, Trumpet Flugelhorn Jeff Marrs, Drums Mike Olmos, Trumpet Flugelhorn Mike Rinta, Tuba Marcus Shelby, Bass Adam Shulman, Piano Adam Theis, Trombone

Tags: Bay Area, BayTaper, Ben Goldberg, Intersection for the Arts, Jazz, Jeff Cressman, Live Music, San Francisco, Scott Amendola, Wil Blades Here s a 17-minute audio clip and a few photos from a recent live performance by Scott Amendola, Wil Blades, Jeff Cressman, and Ben Goldberg at Intersection for the Arts on May 1, 2007.

Tags: Bay Area, BayTaper, Berkeley, Dave Scott, Erik Jekabson, Jazz, Jazz School, Jeff Marrs, Live Music, Marcus Shelby, Mario Guarneri, Mark Inouye, Mike Olmos, Randy Vincent, Trumpet Supergroup 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!

Tags: Bay Area, BayTaper, Big Band, Brass, Erik Jekabson, Jazz, Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Marrs, Live Music, Metro Opera, Mike Abraham, Mike Olmos, Mitch Marcus, Oakland, Sylvain Carton Next up is an outstanding performance from the Mitch Marcus Quintet +13 playing live at the Metro Opera in Oakland on April 12, 2007. This was a seriously fun show, I mean how can you not like listening to a live big band with that many great musicians playing such a diverse set of songs? The lineup included Mitch s standard quintet grouped together with a substantial horn section made up of lots of local talent. These guys don t get together in this format too often, so make sure to keep an eye on Mitch s Calendar so you can check them out the next time around. Trust me, it ll be worth it! Also, thanks to Mitch s generous permission, I m able to share this excellent recording made from a single stereo pair of mics placed dead center right in front of the action. My mics had the best seat in the house, and now you can hear the entire show from that exact same spot! Enjoy

Tags: 12 Galaxies, Adam Theis, BayTaper, Funk, Jazz, Joe Cohen, Live Music, San Francisco, Wil Blades, Will Bernard My Internet s been down for a couple of weeks, and I ve queued up a bunch of good shows with this being the first I m posting. So you can expect me to be light on the commentary and heavy on the content for the next series of podcasts. To get things started, here s a six-minute sample from Will Bernard s recent CD Release party at 12 Galaxies on March 24, 2007. Will was joined on stage by numerous friends and fellow musicians including Wil Blades on the B3, a kicking Jazz Mafia horn section, and many other talented local artists. It was a stellar show, and this clip testifies to that no doubt!