By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
The Bad Plus
In 2017, The Bad Plus had a minus – and then a plus. The trio from Minnesota lost a founding member, added a top-flight player from Philadelphia and never missed a step along the way.
On October 23, The Bad Plus, which now features Philadelphia jazz legend Orrin Evans, visits Evans’ hometown for a show at South Jazz Kitchen (600 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, https://southjazzkitchen.com).
The Bad Plus features bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Orrin Evans, and drummer Dave King. The addition of Evans was the band’s only line-up change in its nearly two-decade history.
“Never Stop II,” which came out in 2018, was the first full-length release from this lineup. Now, the Bad Plus have a brand-new album – “Activate Infinity,” which will be released on October 25 on Edition Records.
“This is a new record company for us,” said Anderson, during a phone interview Tuesday. “It just fell in our lap. They got in touch and one thing led to another.
“We cut the new album in Brooklyn. We spent four months working on it at Brooklyn Recording and produced it ourselves. When we made ‘Never Stop II,’ we had never played live together with the new line-up. It was around the end of our time with Ethan (Iverson).”
Ethan Iverson, Anderson and King first played together in 1989 but it wasn’t until 2000 that they established The Bad Plus. The band recorded its first album after playing only three gigs together and later was signed to Columbia Records in 2002.
The intensely collaborative trio has constantly searched for rules to break and boundaries to cross, bridging genres and techniques while exploring the infinite possibilities of three exceptional musicians working in perfect sync. It is a group of passionate collaborators with no single “leader.”
“Dave and I grew up together in Minneapolis,” said Anderson. “We’ve been playing together since we were 15. Then, I went to the East Coast. Dave went to L.A. and then came back to Minneapolis. Ethan was in New York.
“We were all band leaders. When we got together as The Bad Plus, the guiding principle was that it’s group music. We’re three leaders that come together and we get to be ourselves and have a band sound. It’s not ‘somebody and his trio.’ We made our first album with this group in 2001 and we’ve released quite a few albums since then. ‘Never Stop II’ is the first with Orrin.”
Evans was born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia. He attended Rutgers University, and then studied with Kenny Barron.
He released the album “Trio,” which his debut as a leader, in 1994. Through 25 albums as a leader and co-leader, including his neo-soul/acid jazz ensemble Luv Park and the bracing collective trio Tarbaby, Evans has always followed a vigorously individual path.
“Last year, Ethan said he didn’t want to be in the band anymore,” said Anderson. “Frankly, it wasn’t a surprise. We wanted to continue the band and to carry on the legacy of the band and Orrin was an obvious, choice.
“I had known Orrin since the early 1990s. He’s just a player that we really respect. He has an outsider perspective that we all share. He’s a band-oriented musician – and a good friend. When we asked him to join, he had to think about it – for about three seconds.
“Orrin walks this line. He’s obviously a very respected jazz player. But he goes into other territories as well. He has always been avant-garde.”
When Evans, Anderson and King laid down the tracks for “Activate Infinity,” there was a new vibe.
“The chemistry was better,” said Anderson. “You can’t substitute getting together and playing together. With the new album, we played together a year before we went in the studio.
“I wouldn’t say the music has evolved. The core principles of what we do have been there since the beginning. With Orrin having been with us for over a year, there is more of a sense of freedom – just a little more of that subconscious.”
Video link for The Bad Plus – https://youtu.be/HrOn46ROUOE.
The shows at South Jazz Kitchen will start at 7 and 9 p.m. Tickets are $35.
Cat Clyde
The show at Johnny Brenda’s (1201 North Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com) on October 23 will be a double treat for fans of music made by strong women – a concert featuring Cat Clyde as the headliner and Jamie Drake as the opener.
Clyde, a native of Stratford, Ontario who is touring in support of her recently released sophomore album “Hunter’s Trance,” has been putting out records for a while but can’t point to a catalyst that started her on a career in music.
“I’ve always liked music,” said Clyde, during a phone interview last week as she was travelling through Vermont to a gig in Boston.
“There was never a moment when I decided to do music. It just happened organically. I started playing guitar in high school. I played in a few bands when I was in school.”
She followed her interest in music after she finished high school.
“I went to college in London, Ontario,” said Clyde, who now lives just outside Montreal. “I was in the ‘Music Industry Arts Program” at Fanshawe College.
“I graduated in 2014 and made my first album immediately after I graduated. I worked with one of the professors and also with a great guitarist.”
The album was “Ivory Castanets,” which was produced by Fanshawe professor David Martin at EMAC Recording Studios & Osbourne Studios. The guitarist was Patrick Fockler.
The album, which was released November 27, 2015, was co-produced by Martin, Fockler and Clyde with Fockler playing guitar, keyboards and bass and Clyde handling guitar and vocals. Her hit single “Mama Said” has over 10 million streams on Spotify alone.
After putting out a few singles, Clyde released “Hunter’s Trance” on June 14, 2019.
“With the new album, I got signed by Johnny Shipes, who owns Cinematic (Music Group),” said Clyde. “He liked my song ‘Mama Said’ and brought me to his label. It was a little strange because it’s a hip hop label. I’m glad to be with this label because I have complete control over what I do.”
“Hunter’s Trance” is described as, “a compilation of human emotion, with guttural undertones and soulful melodies meant to bury deep into your heart and mind.” According to Clyde, her sound is “dark like the sewer, bright like the sunrise.”
“I recorded ‘Hunter’s Trance’ last year,” said Clyde. “I rented a cool cabin in the woods and worked with a producer named Nicholas Vernhes. I spent a week there and recorded the whole album.
“A few weeks later, I went to Bear Creek Studio in Seattle and worked on a few tracks with Ryan Hadlock. It still wasn’t finished the way I wanted so I did a little more work with Jeremy Albino in Prince Edward County. Altogether, it took about a year to complete making the album.”
The final product features traces of Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin, Lead Belly, Etta James and Lightnin’ Hopkins and a lot of pure Cat Clyde.
Video link for Cat Clyde – https://youtu.be/Y5vM–wJSVg.
Jamie Drake
Drake, who just released her new album “Everything’s Fine” via AntiFragile Music, has had music in her life ever since she was a little girl.
“My dad was a songwriter,” said Drake, during a recent phone interview from her home in Silver Lake, California.
“He had a band called Harris Street Reunion. He’d have friends over jamming, but he never really pursued it.
“My brother and I used to sing harmonies with him. Actually, my parents said I used to slowly toddle toward the record player when I was three years old and we were living in Ohio.
“I can remember when I was young – seeing the record spinning and hearing the Hallelujah chorus. As a kid, music was always in my head. Melodies were haunting my brain.”
Like so many singer/songwriters, Drake started on piano.
“I started playing guitar by way of piano,” said Drake. “We had a piano when I was growing up. I never took lessons – but I’d write songs.
“When moved around a lot when I was growing up. I was born in Ohio and then we moved to a lot of different places including Florida and Arkansas.
“When I was in eighth grade, our piano fell off the moving truck and was destroyed. It was the worst day of my life. After that happened, I picked up a guitar at a pawn shop.
“When I was 17, I bought my first professional guitar when I was living in California. One day, I was moving from Thousand Oaks to L.A. proper. I was packing my car. Then, when I was backing up my car, I ran over my guitar. I laughed and cried sat the same time. I thought – this part of my life is over.”
Eventually, Drake traded coasts.
“I went to New York City after high school and met my first manager when I was 19,” said Drake. “Then, I thought – I’m not ready for this. For me, music was a very personal thing.
“I got married and then went through an amicable divorce in my late 20s. At that time, I immediately knew what I should be doing. I made my first solo album – ‘When I was Yours’ – in 2010.”
Drake has been a familiar name in the Los Angeles songwriting scene since her debut album in 2010. She attracted folk music lover and Academy award winner, Tim Robbins, which led to their collaboration and tour. Having a songwriter for a father and moving constantly from place to place shaped the versatility her work.
After a decade behind the scenes in Los Angeles collaborating with artists as varied as Jim James, Ed Helms, Peter Yarrow and Moby, in addition to co-writing and lending her voice to the theme for the CW show, “Life Sentence,” Drake has been honing her craft.
Nine years later releasing her debut album, she recorded “Everything’s Fine” and it’s a gem. The album features poignant songwriting, strong musicianship and Drake’s emotive voice. It is billed as “a breathtaking embrace of humanity, heartbreak and hope.”
“As a writer and performer, I’ve always had a tendency to wear a lot of hats,” said Drake. “I don’t want to be just a folk artists or an Americana singer. The vibe of the new album is hope — hope is a theme of my life.”
Video link for Jamie Drake – https://youtu.be/_d68Rv43YY4.
The show at Johnny Brenda’s, which has Cat Clyde as the headliner and Jamie Drake as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.
Barry Alfonso
On October 23, Main Line Books (116 North Wayne Ave, Wayne, https://www.mainpointbooks.com/) will host a special presentation featuring author Barry Alfonso.
Alfonso — one of the co-creators of San Diego’s Comic-Con, songwriter and former music critic for La Jolla Light, San Diego Union, and Rolling Stone — will be reading from, discussing and signing copies of his book, “A Voice of the Warm: The Life of Rod McKuen,” which is the first and only biography on Rod McKuen.
Alfonso grew up in San Diego, California, where he began his career as a music journalist for a variety of publications. He also wrote songs for the films “All The Right Moves” (starring Tom Cruise) and “Two of as Kind.” He was also responsible for Pam Tillis’ number-one hit “In Between Dances,” which was co-written with his longtime friend and collaborator Craig Bickhardt, a popular Philly musician. Alfonso also received a 2004 Grammy nomination for the liner notes to the Peter, Paul & Mary box set, “Carry It On.”
“I’m looking forward to being in Philly again,” said Alfonso, during a phone interview Monday morning from his home in Pittsburgh. “I haven’t been there in a while.
“Craig Bickhardt and I have been friends for a long time. We wrote together in Nashville. On Wednesday night, he’ll play a few songs we co-wrote including a little-known Rod McKuen song, ‘The Tamarack Tree.’ “I’ll also be doing a presentation between sets on Friday when Jesse Terry and Craig play at Burlap & Bean.”
Bickhardt and Terry will co-headline a show on October 25 at the Burlap & Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427-4547, www.burlapandbean.com).
As a teenage music scribe, Alfonso became interested in McKuen’s work and realized his enjoyment of McKuen’s music and poetry was — despite being wildly popular selling tens of millions of copies — “not cool” as McKuen was repeatedly panned by critics across the board. His songs including, “If You Go Away” and “Jean” earned him massive hits, while books like “Listen to the Warm” sold millions of copies.
At the same time, McKuen’s career touched nearly every aspect of pop culture from the 1950s through the 1970s. He wrote songs for Frank Sinatra, shared stages with and satirized the Beat Generation, sang folk music and disco tunes, collaborated with the great French songwriter Jacques Brel and conducted his own symphonic works. McKuen campaigned with Robert F. Kennedy, was an animal rights pioneer, fought against anti-gay laws at the risk of his career. The sheer scope and diversity of his improbable and complicated life is traced for the first time in this book.
“I worked as a musician and as a publicist, so I was familiar with Rod McKuen’s work,” said Alfonso. “I knew he was an artist who sold millions of records and was hated by the critics.
“As a writer, I thought something interesting must be there. Then, I found that here was no Rod McKuen biography, so I started writing one. I spoke to over 100 people who knew him.
“Sadly, when he died, a lot of his material went in the dumpster. Fortunately, Columbia University had a lot of material in his archives. Columbia is associated with Random House and he sold a lot of records for Random House.”
McKuen was treated like a teacher/prophet/guru by his fans and considered a con artist by his enemies. By turns sentimental and steamy, he was an eroticized Mister Rogers for adults — a voice of gentle liberation for Middle America and beyond.
He was a pioneering LGBTQ activist in the 1950s, an era when exposure could lead to arrest and a ruined career. He was a key early member of the Mattachine Society, the first gay rights organization in America. At the height of his fame, he waged a public fight against Anita Bryant’s anti-gay crusade in Florida.
He coined the phrase “It’s not who you love or how you love but that you love” – yet he refused to label his own sexuality. McKuen was sexually fluid/non-binary decades before the terms existed. How he navigated the repressive gender landscape of his time and celebrated love in all its forms makes his story uniquely relevant for today.
According to Alfonso, “The vast gap between the public adoration and the critical abuse was one of the main reasons I wrote this book. As I delved further into my research, though, I found Rod’s personal story to be complex, poignant and often inspirational.”
McKuen was a living enigma.
“He was a man that didn’t want to be known fully,” said Alfonso. “He did not want the whole story told. He was so famous and so unknown.
“I wanted to tell the story how pop culture changed in his lifetime. He was gender fluid. He spoke to lonely people. He wrote a poem about his lost cat. He spoke frankly. And, he had a huge audience among women.”
Video link for Rod McKuen’s “The Tamarack Tree” — https://youtu.be/S7RaUuxCA0E.
Barry Alfonso will present a reading and autograph signing of his book “A Voice of The Warm: The Life of Rod McKuen” at Main Point Books on October 23 at 7 p.m.
