I haven’t been going out too much lately but the last two times I did go out it was to listen to some great jazz at this performance space in Gowanus, Brooklyn called Ibeam. Every time I go there, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how good the music was. The place is in a very minimalist modern style full of Ikea items. To add something old fashion there is one single Julio Iglesias record humorously placed near the piano.
The first time I went this year, was to see my friends’ collaborative jazz group, Hucq/Duboule + 2, two Francophones (an alto saxophonist and guitarist) with different compositional styles. The saxophonist, Julien Hucq, had a very classic approach to his jazz pieces while Marius Duboule’s composition seem a little more modern and some of them reminded me of Radiohead songs (specifically from the Kid A album). Can’t wait to see more from them!
That same night a QC graduate and friend of mine, Sebastien Ammann, also had his group play his original compositions. They were impressive. His music reminds me of contemporary classical music but in a jazz style. Some of them were minimalist yet complex at the same time. I remember the drums in the last song just felt like pure rock’n’roll. It was a lot of fun to listen to. Definitely check his music at:
My last time at Ibeam was yesterday. I went to see an older (and American) crew of jazz cats of whom I haven’t heard or seen before. It was Alan Blackman’s group, Coastal Suite. Man were they good! It was honest musicianship mix with great talent. The instrumentation was piano, tenor saxophone, bass, drum set AND percussion (how awesome, double percussive instruments!). The tenor saxophonist, Donnie McCaslin, I actually recognized because he played with Maria Schneider’s Jazz Orchestra at the Jazz Standard this past November. And boy, I sure did recognized his amazingness. He had the longest solo I’ve ever heard. It was killin’! It was like a beast had just been unleashed and gone wild. And then to ease the beast after the solo, the piano calmed our ears with a light-hearted phrase which repeated. The show was being recorded so check out Alan Blackman’s site and wait for those recordings to come out:
So if you live in Brooklyn or are craving some good live jazz by new local artists, head over to Ibeam Friday or Saturday nights! It’s only a 10 dollar suggested donation for every show and there’s a cute and very good Italian bar called Bar Tano where you can stop for a drink and a tasty dessert after the show 🙂
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