The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe

"I drink," he said, "to the buried that repose around us."

Currently I am teaching the story "The Cask of Amontillado" at Bronx Community College. The class is called "Writing on prose". I chose "The Cask of Amontillado" because I love Edgar Allan Poe.

In "The Cask of Amontillado," the character Montresor, who is also the narrator of the story, decides to punish his friend Fortunato because the latter has offended Montresor's honor. In order to punish him 'properly,' Montresor burries Fortunato alive in the catacombs where he took him under the pretext that they would be trying the new wine, the Amontillado, that Montresor just purchased.

In just a few pages, Poe manages to depict horror at its best. Montresor is beyond frightening. 

72-year-old Pharoah Sanders is performing at Birdland this week

Thelonious Monk

Some days make me feel like listening to Thelonious Monk. His choices of intervals translate some of life situations' idiosyncrasies. At times there is a sense of the absurd very well rendered in Monk, and somewhat reminiscent of Ionesco for instance. 

Ellis Marsalis at the Blue Note

On Friday night (November 9) I saw Ellis Marsalis at the Blue Note, for his second set, and it was lovely. He played some Charlie Parker but also some Wayne Shorter (“Footprints”) and Herbie Hancock (“Tell me a bedtime story”). He played some of his own compositions (such as “Syndrome”) and a Christmas song. 

It was my first time seeing Ellis Marsalis perform and it was a delight. I knew a little bit about his music since I wrote the liner notes of his 2011 Christmas album. One cannot but enjoy his stature, charisma and mastery of his craft. Precise, playful and humorous, it is no surprise that Ellis Marsalis is an educator, but also the father of a very renown family of musicians. He quoted Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue” but also the Bugs Bunny theme. He was accompanied by beautiful musicians also.  

D. Lonnie Smith's organ Trio at Birdland, October 2012

I was at Dr. Lonnie Smith's first set at Birdland on Wednesday night and it was entertaining, surprising and musically fulfilling. As the owner of the club Gianni Valenti explained to me after the show, “the Dr. was one of the first jazz organ players to incorporate electronic synthesizer, keyboard and rhodes with the organ when he performed. [His music] encompasses RnB, blues and jazz, which expands his fan base.” So it looks like nothing can stop Dr. Lonnie Smith, in terms of genres, but also style. Dr. Lonnie Smith sings at times, too. He alternated slow and faster songs during his set, and certain moments felt like pop music.

Dr. Lonnie Smith was accompanied by Tom Guarnar, a very talented guitar player, as well as Donald Edwards. Edwards never stopped playing during the entire set (or at least it looked like that), just like Mark Ferber, who performed the night before at the Cornelia Street Cafe, with Tony Malaby and William Parker – in a setting which was quite different though, since Tony Malaby's music has more to do with free jazz. Lonnie Smith's set was very rhythmical and melodic at the same time. Smith explores and transcends the frontiers of different genres, so I suppose we can mention the term fusion here.

The keys he uses are for the most part major, and at times he would move his right hand and his entire right arm, drawing the melodic line in the air. The second piece of the set was a blues, slower than the first tune. The melody Guarnar played was incredible. Lonnie Smith emphasized the crescendos with his right hand.

Guarnar told me, after the set, that it was their first time performing together. The Dr. asked them to learn some of the music he wanted them to learn prior to the set, and the Birdland stage became, at 8.30pm that day, their rehearsal space. The 3rd piece was swinging a lot, with a binary rhythm (4/4). It incorporated a tremendous amount of improvising, it seemed.

When he is performing, Dr. Lonnie Smith exudes thrill. He looks like he is really having a good time on the organ. Smith's sound is very original, too. And Guarnar knew exactly how to respond to his musical propositions. Lonnie Smith has a very good sense of humor: at times he unexpectedly stops playing, as he did with the song “Never in love like this before.”

Smith also explained that he doesn't “like to talk too much” because he likes “playing too much.” Then Lonnie Smith started a piece called “Beehive” which is on his new CD, Pure Moment. The beginning of “Beehive” was rather atmospheric and then it became very rock, very intense. And there was something very 'pop' to the next song, but also ragga at times. Thank you Lonnie!

Tony Malaby celebrates Tamarindo at The Cornelia Street Cafe, Tuesday October 23rd 2012

Last night Tony Malaby's first set (with William Parker on bass and Mark Ferber on drums) at The Cornelia Street Cafe caught my attention for the most part. Malaby was celebrating and is still celebrating the release of his album "Tamarindo."

 I was initially a little reluctant to dive into his abstract style of playing, in which all the songs are connected to one another (like with a Wayne Shorter show), but the synergy between the musicians was special and eventually Malaby started playing what sounded like a melody, which made me relate to his music more. Malaby has a beautiful, large and open sound, even in the high notes. He clearly has a broad conception of music - wildness is the word that comes to mind. Not a single instance of weakening on the part of either William Parker or Mark Ferber and yet their job was not easy at all.

Malaby's abstract language reminded me of a Pollock painting and I felt that at some point, on the soprano sax, he quoted Shorter's soprano sax melodic improvisations. As Malaby wrote to me himself, "Wayne was certainly very important in my development." He added: "When I improvise in the trio I try to stay in a state of creation that only generates ideas from my bandmates - but who knows what the subconscious pulls through....All the pieces were my compositions."

And shortly after what I interpreted as his Shorter quote, Malaby sounded like a dog barking into his saxophone, which was surprising and original, at the very least unexpected. Malaby's show felt like a trance and celebrated pure, free expression. In the end it is hard not to be seduced by the rawness and authenticity of his style.

Tomorrow (Tuesday October 23) I am catching a set of Tony Malaby's band at the Cornelia Street Cafe. Malaby (on tenor sax) will be playing tunes from his 2006 album TAMARINDO. William Parker (who is on the album) will be on bass and Mark Ferber on drums. I am very excited since I have only heard good things about Tony Malaby and William Parker is a legend. I am all the more curious since William Parker just put together a book of interviews with contemporary jazz (or BAM?) musicians.