Saturday, July 24 w/ Christian Howes
Columbus Jazz Festival: 7pm
Alternative Guitar Festival
Curated by Joel Harrison
Monday- Wednesday, Aug. 2,3,4
Shows at 8:30 and 10 pm
Cornelia St. Café, 29 Cornelia St., NY
Mon. Aug. 2- Admission $10 for whole night
8:30 – Vic Juris and Mary Halvorsen
10:00- Pete McCann and Adam Rogers
Tues., Aug. 3 Admission $15 for whole night
8:30- Rez Abbasi and TBA
10:00- Brandon Ross and Michael Gregory
Wed., Aug. 4- Admission $15 for whole night
8:30- Joel Harrison and Anupam Shobhakar (sarod)
10:00- Marc Ribot and Elliot Sharp
Guitarist/ composer and guest curator Joel Harrison has assembled a cross-section of improvising guitarists for a three -day festival at Cornelia St. Café. He has focused on duos that bring together unusual, (mostly) first-time, pairings. The emphasis is on fearless innovators and improvisers- jazz, country, blues,prog, noise, Indian, and classical will seamlessly meld together. Surprise will be the order of the day. Mr. Harrison hopes that this will be a yearly event in which fine guitarists, who operate outside the commercial realm, will have an opportunity to demonstrate their skills.
The players, according to Harrison:
Aug. 2
Vic Juris is a master. He plays jazz standards as well as anyone alive, but also veers into all kinds of surprising modernism. His nylon string playing is lovely, and his feel and imagination are incredible. Mary Halvorsen is a fresh face on the scene, a Braxton acolyte, with a fiercely independent style. I have no idea what these two will sound like together which is absolutely enticing. I have a feeling they won’t play Stella by Starlight but if they do you may not know it.
Pete McCann is the Clark Kent of the guitar. Watch out when he steps into the phone booth- it will be deadIy force, no matter the style, delivered with a smile. Adam Rogers…what can I say about a guy who soloed next to Michael Brecker for many years? Everything he does comes out sounding perfect. Adam’s technique extends into so many avenues of guitar playing it’s silly. He is an encyclopedia of guitar.
Aug. 3
Rez Abbasi is one of the most lyrical jazz players alive. His ability to play long, beautiful phrases, using complex harmony is amazing. I love his tone and touch. Partner TBA
Brandon Ross first caught my ear in Cassandra Wilson’s band, but since then I have seen him in numerous settings. His commitment to individuality, creativity, and new sounds is fascinating and unpredictable. You can’t pin him down, which I love. He is joined by one of my primary early influences Michael Gregory. I first heard Michael in the late 70’s with Oliver Lake, and it was life-changing. I took a few lessons with him way back when. One thing I loved was that he sang as well as played. This is something he shares in common with Brandon.
Aug. 4
Joel Harrison is not going to write about himself! But he (I) can say that the pairing with sarod fulfills a lifelong dream to collaborate with an Indian classical musician. I plan to play mostly National Steel Guitar, using slide. These instruments, the multi-stringed sarod and National Steel, are like long lost brothers. Anupam Shobhakar, from Bombay, is a young master of his instrument, an immense talent, and the great nephew of the best-known sarodist of the past 50 years, Ali Akbar Khan. We’ll find common ground in Indian, jazz, and blues.
Elliot Sharp defines the word “innovative”. His bag of tricks on guitar is truly deep. Whether tapping, skronking, wacking, pulling, or caressing the instrument, it’s always unique and in your face. Marc Ribot is one of the few players who crosses over from absolutely insane new music to absolutely lyrical American roots music. Anyone who knows me will see why I value this openness.