Kamasi Washington and his band blow the house down.

By Daniel Jaramillo
 

In the world of contemporary Jazz the name Kamasi Washington has been mentioned in high praise. The young 34-year-old saxophonist distinguished himself a great deal by working as a session musician with heavyweight hip-hop artists and producers such as Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill and Flying lotus. Washington also released a triple disc album titled “The Epic” that was 173 minutes worth of music released in 2015 on the Brainfeeder label. The title is well suited as the music is performed and recorded by a 10-piece jazz band, a 32-piece orchestra and a 20-person choir. It received great acclaim and fans and critiques were excited to hear jazz that was reminiscent of John Coltrane. Whilst Coltrane's playing and improvisation influenced Washington, he has developed his own style of jazz that is influenced by other genres such as Hip-Hop, Classical music and Gospel. 

Washington grew up in Los Angeles and many of his peers were into Gangster Rap, which Washington embraced as a teenager and brought the attitude of Gangster Rap into his style of Jazz music. He went on to study music at the prestigious Hamilton High School of music. Hailed as “the King of L.A Jazz” Washington has been touring in Australia as part of the Byron Bay Blues festival and has just played two sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney. 

The Sydney gig was at the Metro Theatre and the crowd was quite diverse ranging from older jazz heads to younger fans that probably heard of Washington through his collaborations with the various hip hop artists he has worked with. The opening act was Lewis Butle a DJ spinning classic jazz tracks from the 40’s and 50’s but he also dropped in a few more recent Hip-Hop and RnB tunes. By 9:30pm The crowd finally got to see the bigger than life figure of Kamasi Washington and his band take the stage to perform Jazz at an “epic” level, the musicians were all very accomplished and really put everything into their performance, the dual drummers gave the band the power of a steam train at full throttle 

Washington greeted the crowd with a few funny stories about how he met some of his band mates and the crowd responded well to his lighthearted humor. He then brought his father who is an accomplished flute player as a special guest to join his band on stage, and together they paid tribute to Malcolm X with a track called “Malcolm’s Theme” from the “The Epic” album. 

Washington's playing was really energetic at times blowing his saxophone furiously like a hurricane and other times he would play a calmer tune that was like listening to water streaming down the river to even out the performance. The set list of the night comprised of songs from his debut album “The Epic” but there were also a few new songs that the audience had not heard before, perhaps a teaser from Washington’s next studio offering or maybe he was testing out some new compositions. Either way the promise of another great album was evident throughout the night. 

Halfway through the gig Washington took a break from blowing his saxophone and gave the spotlight to his two drummers who both took their solo’s to the next level and showed the audience just what drummers are humanly capable of. The band featured female vocalist Patrice Quinn who also gave the music another dynamic and showed us that Jazz is as diverse as the people who make it. The audience left the venue with a good feeling, content that they had just witness a truly special band, and because jazz is normally more intimate played in small clubs and cafe's, to see a performance of this level on a much bigger stage like a rock concert was something to cherish for any fan of jazz or fusion music.

 

Two Veteran MC’s join forces for one special tour

Common + Talib Kweli at The Enmore Theatre 

09/05/2016

By Daniel Jaramillo

Common is no doubt a veteran MC and has had his fair share of battles with the likes of Ice Cube and Drake but he is also considered a conscientious hip hop artist which is why he has kept relevant in the rap game for so long and his acting career has elevated him to the status of a great artist.


Common played a headline show with friend and fellow rapper Talib Kweli at the Enmore Theatre on a Monday night. As the people started arriving at the theatre to see this stellar hip hop line up, the first act to jump on stage was Sarah Conner a young female Australian MC who got the crowd warmed up straight away. Only a quarter of the theatre was full but Conner was showing her talent to the early comers and the crowd was getting right into it. Her performance showed her confidence and what skills she had on the mic as she definitely owned the stage and got the crowd to participate in the music alongside DJ Platterpush. She also gave a passionate speech about the lockout laws and why it is a bigger issue that violates our civil rights rather that just our right to go out and drink where we want. This of course was leading to a new song about the issue from her upcoming album, for this Conner brought out some guests including vocalist Natalie Slade. The crowds reception was positive as MC Losty and MC Big Red Cap also came on stage during her show; Big Red Cap is originally from Brighton, England and reminded me of Dizzee Rascal and some of the other grime rappers from the U.K. By the end of Conner’s set the house was full and we were ready for Talib Kweli.


When Talib Kweli entered the stage there was a great crowd reception, the girl next to me was screaming out in utter fanaticism, his DJ showed off some of his turntable skills as Kweli played a bunch of old and new songs, some were crowd favourites others more obscure. As the crowd waved their hands side to side Kweli instructed the lighting guy to dim down the lights so we could all appreciate the sea of cigarette lighters and phone screens from his loving audience. This lead to a tribute to Prince as Kweli told the crowd to “keep on dancing” and “clap your hands to the beat”. Kweli also paid homage to Paul McCartney by playing Eleanor Rigby and proceed to rap over the song.


The fans of Blackstar (Kweli’s group with Mos Def) also got a chance to hear him perform Definition which he finished with an RIP to Phife Dawg (The late rapper of A Tribe Called Quest). Kweli also spoke to the crowd about standing up for oppressed people around the world and how race and class should not divide us. He closed his set with Get By, which is well known for its Nina Simone sample, the beat has a clapping rhythm that made the audience join in, the atmosphere was buzzing! It was now the time everyone had come for and it did not disappoint as Common came running on to the stage. His energy was there for all to see as he opened with “The People” a song that Common wrote about how he identifies with ordinary people like us. Backing him was his live band consisting of a drummer, keyboardist, DJ and Female vocalist, together they lifted the atmosphere to yet another level giving Commons music a special quality.


Common acknowledged his Sydney fans by saying that he loves coming to visit our city. In a career that has lasted over 20 years, he is still hungry and he told us that he is working on brand new music. He also mentioned his love for hip-hop culture and listed his entire album catalog, which certainly has a special place in my collection.
Commons music often touches on injustices particular towards African Americans. He specifically mentioned police murdering unarmed black youth and the disproportionate amount of black men and women being incarcerated by the criminal justice system in his home country, he encouraged us to stand up against racism here particularly towards Aboriginal people. But it was not all serious, he also picked a young girl from the front row, asked her up on stage and sat her down on a stool, handed her a towel so she could wipe of the sweat dripping down his face whilst the other women in the audience went crazy as he started to free style about the girl on stage and then performed his love song Come Close To Me.


Common proved that he can be a ladies man but also a man who reminds us that we all have the power to change the world and it starts by being kind to one another. Common invited Talib Kweli back on the stage to perform another Blackstar song titled Respirations taking us back to the first recording they ever did together. Of course a Common show wouldn’t be complete without a tribute to the late J Dilla who produced several of his classic songs including The Light, which concluded his set. The crowd was shouting for more and he came back for an encore and performed a tribute to Nas. Both Nas and Common have worked together in the past and it was an appropriate salute to another legendary rapper who also came out of the hip-hop scene of the early 90’s. As Common and his band said goodbye, we were left in a positive mood having witnessed a hip-hop artist who has kept the spirit of the music alive. Not only did Common give us an outstanding performance covering his entire music catalogue, he also gave us some important ideas to think about in our own lives.

Sleepmakeswaves Review

by Daniel Jaramillo

Instrumental rock bands have hardly ever caught the attention of mainstream media or have received any air time on commercial radio stations, in Sydney however there is an emerging scene of bands who love to play long pieces of music that take the listener on a journey. This music is heavily inspired by Progressive rock/metal and Post Punk bands. 

Sleepmakeswaves is at the forefront of this movement and are gaining more fans every time they announce a headline show or when they open up for bands like Opeth, Cog, Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus and Bosnian Rainbows.  They also have been nominated for an ARIA and have toured in Europe, Asia, UK and New Zealand. I was at their headline show in Sydney at the Metro Theatre and joining them was Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, The Contortionist, and Dumbsaint.

When you arrive at a concert you normally don’t see all the punters outside of the venue but when I arrived to the Metro Theatre I saw every one outside and I was later informed that a fire alarm had gone off in the venue making everyone exit the building. It only turned out to be a false alarm and after that ordeal everyone came back into the venue and were ready to see Sleepmakeswaves. When they came on stage a loud applause was heard and the band was ready to get the audience straight back into the show. They told the audience that they were happy to see everyone come back inside and that they would give us a 110% performance. That was exactly what they did from the opening song To You They Are Birds, To Me They Are Voices In the Forest and then with other standout tracks from their catalogue. Their stage presence was infectious and they made the crowd get right into their long instrumental passages. The audience did not need to start mosh pitting as they were simply standing or sitting, admiring the music.

Sleepmakeswaves create some amazing melodies and they mix in electronic soundscapes into the heavy rock riffs which makes the music sound contemporary and fresh. Their repertoire comprised of new and old songs and many of their fans could instantly recognize nearly every song they played. Dumbsaint was the other instrumental band of the night but Sleepmakeswaves deserved their spot as the headliner and although I only caught the end of Tangled Thoughts of Leaving they certainly were menacing and put a lot of effort into their performance.

Sleepmakeswaves is a band that is waving the flag for exciting new music in Australia that is authentic and sophisticated for an audience that listens to a wide range of bands.

At the Drive In Review by

Daniel Jaramillo

This year At the Drive In announced that they would be reforming the band and venturing on a new world tour. It was also stated on their website that they would be releasing new music this year. Fans of ATDI had been anticipating this tour since that band last performed together in 2000. In those 16 years a lot of music was put out by each of the individual members especially from Cedric Bixler-Zavala (Lead Singer) and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (Lead Guitarist) who formed The Mars Volta and Antemasque. I was one the lucky pundits to get a ticket to ATDI’s sold out show in Sydney at the Enmore Theatre last Sunday.

As I arrived to the venue the place was already filled with fans who were ready to get the concert going. I was sitting from my seat at the back of the theatre and I could see fans right at the front getting close to the stage and preparing for what was going to be a great show.

The supporting band were Bad// Dreems a 4 piece band from Adelaide. There first few songs reminded of early punk music reminiscent of The Sex Pistols but with pop choruses. They got the crowd energised and created a buzzing atmosphere. Their set was short but only because their songs were short in timing. In my opinion they were an appropriate band to support ATDI but I wouldn’t be interested in a seeing them headline a show.

The moment came when the lights went out and ATDI came on stage to a loud applause. They got their set underway with Arcarsenal the opening song to their classic album Relationship of Command, even today it is still regarded as one of the top post-punk/hard-core releases of the last 20 years. The full set list comprised of songs mainly from Relationship of Command with a few songs from previous album In Casino Out.

Cedric dived into the audience in more than one occasion, crowd surfing and jumping around like he had flees in his pants. The light show behind them was also impressive but did not distract the audience from the music. The 5 piece band still can put on a rocking show with high energy and even Cedric who was having problems with his vocal chords as he discovered he had nodules in his throat (this subsequently made the band have to cancel their North American tour only a month before their visit to Australia) was singing like he was in his 20’s. Omar was also enjoying his himself but unlike the Mars Volta where he plays a much more lead role, his guitar playing becomes more about complimenting the whole band rather than playing long guitar solos.

The singer also gave a passionate speech about how in the early days of the band they were playing shows where no one new about them and how driven they were to keep their collective dream alive. He then went on to explain how for young people who have dreams of doing something they love are told by their parents that they need to have a backup plan is like having a fire inside your soul which your parents ignore and you go ahead and light houses on fire figuratively speaking. With that in mind it was a celebration of a band that has gone through hardships from members losing their lives to drugs to others leaving just before an 8 month tour took place and then reuniting again with most of the original members selling out shows all around the world.