15th October 2009

Video

Just got back from the Yusef Lateef / Adam Rudolph duo performance at Bowker Auditorium.  The two have been collaborating for over 20 years, but I went into the show almost completely unaware of their history, their library, their sound.  So this was heavy.  They both played dozens of instruments, Rudolph sticking mainly to percussion, and Lateef primarily on wind instruments.  But neither held exclusively to one type of instrument, and they both seemed to employ an extensive range of extended techniques with a variety of tools - Rudolph was bowing everything, and Lateef sort of … made out with his saxophone at one point.

There’s something really soothing and maybe even hypnotizing about seeing a couple of older gents completely destroying an hour and a half set while looking like they were just messing around with several dozen instruments.  They traveled from ambient sounds, to ethnic music, to traditional blues and jazz, to tribal war marches, to more tribal hunt music.  At one point, when they’d been in a particularly heavy “free” area, Rudolph just stopped playing his drums, and I realized Lateef had actually been doing a pretty traditional “cool” (in the beatnik sense of the word; very 50’s feel to it) jazz riff on the sax.  With both men playing at once, you wouldn’t be able to tell, but when isolated, you can pick up on some of their influences; they range from all over time and space (blues, jazz, beat, Afro-Cuban, tribal), and they combine it quite interestingly.  The effect is something that, while definitely rooted in traditional music of the past, is completely new.

Favorites instruments were Rudolph’s coffee can and Lateef’s slide-whistle (with which he used just his finger as the slide).

Least favorite part was the guy taking pictures with his loud-ass camera the whole time, getting right up in front of the stage like a prick.  Hey buddy! Guess what? STUFF YRSELF!

This was the second Solos & Duos concert of the season, the first being the Evan Parker / Ned Rothenberg performance from last month.  The last one is next month, Tyshawn Sorey, the only solo performance of this season. If the first two concerts of the series are any indicator, it should be nasty.

Tagged: honkers and squeakersgetting into a serious thing