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On Reptet/Kevin Valentine
In the current Philadelphia Weekly: ReptetMon., May 4, 8pm. $10. Chris’s Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom St. 215.568.3131 www.chrisjazzcafe.com The six-piece troupe from Seattle posts plenty of video at reptet.com — a good move for a band this much into masks, funny hats and so on. It’s a jokey, visual experience but the music has a core seriousness. Drummer John Ewing,
Learn a song, own a song
A commenter asks if I’m serious about one of my favorite song picks at Normblog. One hundred percent serious. Video below. Check the Wurlitzer comping at the start of the B section. The way the backing vocals outline the ravishing modulations. The guy rocking the tambourine. But let’s also admit the clarinet is sharp on the intro and the bass
“Liberators”
Here at Lerterland we take a dim view of Israeli human rights abuses, and are annoyed by those who excuse them. We’re equally miffed by the tendency on the left to excuse Hamas’s antisemitism and vicious terror attacks, and to ignore altogether its clear record of violence against Palestinians themselves. The indispensable Human Rights Watch, all too often attacked for
My profile on Normblog
Norman Geras, the fine UK blogger, asked me to participate in his ongoing Normblog profile series and of course I said yes. Thank you, Norm!
On Chris Potter/The Thing
In the current Philadelphia Weekly: Chris Potter UndergroundThu., Apr. 23, 8 & 10pm. $25. Chris’s Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom St. 215.568.3131 www.chrisjazzcafe.com With Underground (2006) and Follow the Red Line (2007), saxophonist Chris Potter took an unusual step, leading a quartet with solidbody guitar, Fender Rhodes piano and no bass — a Doors-ish instrumentation that accommodated new turns in advanced
On the Five Peace Band
My preview of the Five Peace Band (Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride, Brian Blade at Rose Hall Thursday through Saturday), in the current Time Out New York.
The handshake
President Obama is taking heat from Newt Gingrich and others for shaking hands with Hugo Chavez and “making nice” with Cuba, etc. Since I’m a dogged liberal opponent of those two particular regimes, let me say I support Obama’s moves and think the Republicans are full of it. It was Chavez who approached Obama at the Trinidad summit, not the
Torture’s supporters
In a debate with Joe Conasan this evening on Chris Matthews’ “Hardball,” Michael Smerconish, right-wing Philadelphia pundit, argued that if you do the math, the waterboarding done to KSM and Abu Zubaydah only amounted to 88 minutes or so. “That’s not even two hours!” he exclaimed. Now there’s a novel new legal standard. Points for creativity.