I hope the August Wilson Center survives the pandemic crisis. It is a wonderful small venue to see concerts and plays. The last concert we saw there was The Bad Plus. I can’t wait until we can attend again. I love listening to live music. If you can afford it please make a donation to keep this wonderful Pittsburgh Institution afloat.
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The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus
Every now and then you get lucky with tickets and performers. A hew yers ago we saw Medals, Martin and Wood at the Sherman Theather in Stroudsburg Pennsylvania and we had tickets in the front row, I have published a number of images and have one show piece entitled Bass Hands.
I took a lot of pictures that night and here are a few more from the set.
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Getting ready to see Peter Frampton tonight at the Benedum Center. It has got me to thinking about all the great concerts we have seen since returning to Pittsburgh. Last January we saw The Bad Plus at The August Wilson Center and saw a virtuoso bass performance by Reid Anderson.
Reid Anderson is a bassist and composer from Minnesota. He is best known for his work in The Bad Plus with pianist Ethan Iverson and drummer Dave King. The Bad Plus has been together since 1989.
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Reid Anderson
Last week I published some images of The Bad Plus performing in Pittsburgh at The August Wilson Center.
The images caused some Facebook discussion of if they should be in monochrome or color. I can”t decide so here are some images of Orrin Evans on Piano and Reid Anderson on Bass in color and monochrome. Help me decide by answering this poll.
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Orrin Evans (Color)
Orrin Evans (Monochrome)
Reid Anderson (color)
Reid Anderson (Monochrome)
About ten years ago my daughter gave me a CD of The Bad Plus for my birthday. I loved their complex improvisational rhythmic music. Some of the best new jazz I had heard in a while. Over the years there have been a couple of changes in the group. Although the founding member Ethan Iverson has left the group founding member bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King, have added Orrin Evans on piano. The results are still amazing music.
These images are from last night at The August Wilson Center in Pittsburgh.
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The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus
Chris Wood from Medeski,Martin and Wood is one of the world’s best bass players. This was captured during “acoustic tour” in 2015 at The Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg Pennsylvania. He played three different basses during the show. When he plays the “stand up”bass the instrument seems to become part of his body.
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Bass Hands
Last evening we returned to the August Wilson Center to attend the closing event of the Highmark Blues and Heritage Festival. Last year we visited the center for the first time to attend the Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival. We vowed to return to see a music performance and as we suspected it is a perfect venue for Jazz.
John Scofield is a master guitarist we had never seen and love his recordings with Miles Davis, Medeski, Martin and Wood and others. He was amazing and just as impressive were the musicians in his band. We had seen drummer Bill Stewart perform before with the Brecker Brothers. Vicente Archer on bass and Gerald Clayton on piano and organ also were both amazing performers. The acoustics are so wonderful we could clearly hear everything without excessive volume. This was the first Blues and Heritage Festival, we will plan to attend again next year.
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John Scofield
I am glad they still have rock shows at The Benedum Center in Pittsburgh. We saw Mark Knoplfer play there a coupld of years ago and it really took me back to some of the great shows they had there a long time ago.
This is from the Stanley Clarke School Days Tour in 1976. He made a great entrance on to the stage and then wowed the audience along with guitarist Ray Gomez Billy Cobham and George Duke.
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Stanley Plays The Stanley
By 1976 Stanley Clarke had began to branch out from Return for Ever and perform as a solo act. School Days is regarded as one of his best albums and was recorded in a studio with a large ensemble. The guitarist on the tour was Ray Gomez and he was electrifying in the concert.
This image was taken at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, PA in 1976. The theater is now known as The Benedum Center.
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Ray Gomez 1976
I have seen Béla Fleck perform many times. Arguably the best Bluegrass banjo player of all time. I saw him perform a duet with Bruce Hornsby which was an amazing concert. However when you see him play with the Flecktones you get to to see the jazz and improvisational music of four exceptional musicians. In addition to Béla Fleck, there is Victor Wooten who is one of the top bass players in the world. The group is rounded out by Futureman (Roy Wooten) on drums and Howard Levy on harmonica and keyboards.
Last Wednesday we saw them play at The Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead in the first appearance this year. This was my seventh time seeing them and as always they were amazing and their music mesmerizing. Four days later and I am still humming their tunes. A couple of snaps from the show.
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The Flecktones
The Flecktones
The Flecktones
Imagery Photography 