Jazz in Reverse

Since I started a heavy rotation of Miles Davis and John Coltrane a few months ago, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to improvise on stage, without a net. On Thursday, February 17th at the Pour House in Raleigh, NC, I got as close to a jazz sensibility as I think I ever have.

Nathan Davis contacted me several weeks back about doing a “songwriters-in-the-round” show at the Pour House. This variety of show involves putting three or four songwriters on the same stage and seeing what happens. Along with Nathan Asher, Nathan Davis and I committed to performing a SITR show; we had no idea what was going to happen.

Nathan Asher brought his keyboard player, Lawson. Nathan Davis brought his sax player. I didn’t bring anyone. We set up and started playing in the round at around 10 p.m.

The night started with each of us doing a song individually. I thought this would be a good way to establish the identity of each individual writer. I thought it worked well. I hadn’t heard any of Nathan Asher’s stuff before this particular show. I read a review of a show of his in the Independent Weekly a few weeks ago. They seemed to indicate that he had a severe political slant, but I only detected a slight one. I enjoyed the imagery and specificity of his songs, all bold statements. He started the night off with as song about “America” and images from coffee shops and the like. It was powerful.

I followed him with “Another Day in Paradise,” one of my better pop songs. Then, Nathan Davis followed me with a song. I can’t remember which it was. The greatest moment I’ve had so far this year happened during Nathan Davis’s first song. His sax player, who was sitting at the bar, began to accompany him from across the room. It was breathtaking to be a part of it.

As we began the second round of songs, we all began to join in. Since no one really knew the material other than the one who wrote it, most of what went on was a process of improvisation. I like to think of it as “jazz in reverse.” The soloist is on firm ground; the band doesn’t know where it’s going to end up. It was wild. I think everyone liked it, too.

The songs I contributed ran the gamut; from Lessons of Autumn to stuff I haven’t even finished yet, like the song “Jenny,” which, incidentally, will appear in the video tour diary of this show.

The night went on. Before I knew it, it was midnight. We took a quick break and did two more rounds of music. We closed the night with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

Thanks for listening. It was a magical night.

MG4 @ Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC 2/12/05

And, the MG4 has returned!

At one point during our set, I turned to Alex and said, "You know, man, no matter how good we think we are, Ornette Coleman would hate us." We laughed.

Since Alex had rejoined up with us on a semi-temporary/semi-permanent basis, things have been going well. On Saturday, February 12th, MG4, also known as the Mike Garrigan Band, took the stage at Local 506 in Chapel Hill, NC. It was one of the best shows we have ever played.

During soundcheck, I turned to Remy and said,"You know, man, four years ago to the day we were getting together for the first time for Athenaeum rehearsals at your practice space in Raleigh." We laughed.

It's a bit odd to think that in the amount of time that it takes (most) people to get a college degree, I've been making music with Mark, Alex, and Jeremy. It's true, though. Up and down, high and low, we've seen the best and the worst of the business. And, it had been close to six weeks since we had all done the Athenaeum farewell/reunion show together. It was good to be back.

After check, we all wandered into the India Palace restaurant right next door to the 506. As Mark got a plate from the buffet, I said, "You know, man, I just got an Indian cookbook." We didn't laugh. My comment was neither funny nor relevant.

Starting Tuesday opened the show. I was taken a back by the number of rather large men in attendance. I later found out that the drummer of the band was on the Duke football team and had brought out a few of his team mates. The band was solid. At times, their sound reminded me of Coldplay and Tears for Fears. I think it was the octaves on the piano that did that.

Our set was strong. We didn't play any new material, save the acoustic rendition of "The Great Divide" that I did in our break. I dedicated the song to my wife's late Aunt Karen, who very recently passed away. The funeral was held on that Saturday near Mobile, AL. We both agreed that Aunt Karen would have wanted me to play the show. I thought of her during our set and hoped that, if in the afterlife you get to look down on things that are going on, that she was watching us play.

The night ended well. We had a great crowd. We all left with a "Let's do this again very soon" feeling. We will.

The Southeastern Touring Nexus (Part 2)

I got turned on to Jazz as an indirect result of doing a lot of running. During long runs, one has two choices. First, there's the option of escape, or, going to a different place and forgetting that you are running in the first place. Second, there's the option of existence, or, savoring just about every moment that your feet are hitting ground. I'm a fan of existence.

Wynton Marsalis was quoted in Ken Burns's Jazz as saying, "Jazz is existence music." By that he meant that when you listen to a Jazz recording, you are hearing a true negotiation among players, a democracy if you will. In the case of many great players, like say Charlie Parker, it is very possible that either directly before or after a solo that moved you, that player was passed out in the alley behind the club or recording studio.

In an effort to embrace the touring I've been doing over the past month, a heavy playlist of Jazz has been in rotation in my car. In fact, on my way to Charleston, SC, to play at Cumberlands on February 2, I listened to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane's avant garde masterpiece, on repeat. That, and Milestones by Miles Davis. I like a little hard bop every now and then.

When I got to Charleston, I headed straight for the Starbuck's on King Street. I like that one for some reason. I've passed many an hour in that place. I got some great press this week in Charleston from the city paper, too. It was nice to read that over a cup of coffee.

I got to Cumberland's at 6 p.m. I didn't need to be there until 9 p.m., but I was there. I took the time to do some writing in my journal. I needed three hours of uninterrupted time. Happy hour at Cumberland's was a little disruptive, but generally harmless.

The show was great. Stellar Door, a local acoustic trio, opened the show. They reminded me a lot of A Perfect Circle. They even did a Tool medley of "Crawl Away" and "Sober." Great job, guys! My set was solid. I enjoyed hearing my voice fly around that room.

Thank you to Luke Cunningham who let me stay at his brother's condo. Man, what a sweet pad!

The next day, I opted to head home to Greensboro. I could have stayed in Charleston for an extra day, but I saw a storm coming and didn't see a lot of benefit to staying there. I would just end up inside all day anyway and there were things to do at home. Just when I arrived home, it began to snow. My dog, Smitty, enjoyed romping in the snow immensely.

Jammin' Java in Columbia, SC is one of my favorite places to play. It's a restaurant and coffee shop. It's refreshing to not be a beer salesman for a night. By that I mean that most of the time, a touring musician's worth is based on a club's bar sales. This is unfortunate. And, not the case at Jammin' Java. Also, it's the only club I know of where you CAN'T play cover songs. How cool is that?

Brian Wiltsey opened this show. He was great! I enjoyed his falsetto; it's much better than mine. I was surprised at the number of people at the show. It was a Friday night and I imagine it's the only place in Columbia that kids under 21 can hang out with much success. Granted, a lot of the folks at the show were not there to see me. They did tip well, though. Thanks for covering my expenses.

I got a great write up in the Free Times, too. I was surprised that, for some in attendance, the only stuff people were familiar with was my free downloads. That made for a different set list, completely. Still, it was a very fun evening.

I managed to make it home at 4 a.m. I've resolved to limit my after show drives to 100 miles from now on. The 200 mile trek was just too dangerous to do at night for me. I was getting really, really tired. I had to stop every 20 miles to avoid falling asleep at the wheel and possibly dying. My death is going to happen someday, I know. I'll be damned if it's going to be because of a car crash, though.