“Percussive Pigs”
This was a quiet week by myself, with Diana in California and Wisconsin. I did venture out for some live music on Tuesday night. Charlie Hunter and Lucy Woodward were playing at The Townsend.
This was an excellent show. Charlie plays both bass and lead guitar on the same instrument – the top 2 strings are bass and the others are lead. The way he builds up rhythms and combines parts is totally unique and very clever. I had a great seat to observe exactly what he was doing with his fingers. I saw a couple of other Austin based guitarists at the show and they were clearly amazed at the dexterity and creativity.
Lucy Woodward’s voice was pleasant and she collaborated well with Hunter. The drummer and percussionist, Keita Ogawa, was outstanding. The quality of musicianship on display in this small listening room was very impressive. Here’s Ogawa playing three squeaky toy pigs in an amazing solo:
Here’s a cover from Grease, reinterpreted as a jazz standard:
This was likely my favourite show of the year so far in Austin.
I drove to McKinney on Thursday and then Diana made it back from her travels on Friday night.
The other two Aussies that we met at the Continental Club a few months ago (Sue and Graham) were passing through Dallas and hung out with us on Saturday. They are so entertaining and funny.
Diana has left on her travels again – headed to Boston for work and returning on Tuesday night.
I enjoyed a couple of TV shows this week – “Shangri La” on Showtime is about the famous recording studio, now owned and operated by uber producer Rick Rubin. The series showcased his unique approach to pulling the best music out of artists.
Jerry Seinfeld released a new series of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. The episode with a vintage Maserati and Jamie Foxx in New Orleans was a highlight.
Keita Ogawa, the drummer with Charlie Hunter this week, is also part of the band Snarky Puppy. This is an ensemble of folks that came together in Denton around the University of North Texas music department. They have a varying cast of members and uniquely blend jazz, folk, and rock in compositions that I always find interesting.
I heard this Richard Hawley song on TV and through the wonder of Shazam was able to instantly find who was performing and the name of the song. Hawley is an English singer songwriter with a number of good albums released.