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View Full Version : Hamid Drake/Frank Gratkowski Thurs. 3/19 N.O.


belyin
03-15-2009, 11:47 PM
International creative jazz artists Hamid Drake (Chicago, IL) and Frank Gratkowski (Cologne, Germany) will appear in concert at Piety Street Recording studio (728 Piety Street, N.O.L.A.) at 9 Pm Thursday March 19. The concert will recorded for release by Valid Records. There will be a $10 admission charge.

Hamid Drake(born in Monroe, LA) is the one of the greatest drummers of his generation. His list of associations is immense and immensely varied: stars such as Don Cherry, David Murray, Herbie Hancock, Pharaoh Sanders, and Bill Laswell; creative music legends Peter Brotzmann, Misha Mengelberg, Ken Vandermark, Fred Anderson, William Parker; New Orleans own Kidd Jordan and Rob Wagner; and world music and reggae performers Foday Musa Suso, Sister Carol, the I-Tals, and the Heptones. He brings to every project tremendous commitment and spirit, and he has the rare ability to find freedom in the groove and the groove in free time and space. Hamid has appeared numerous times in New Orleans and has many fans here, and he appears on two of the finest recordings by New Orleanians from the post-Katrina period: PALM OF SOUL (w/Kidd Jordan and William Parker, recorded in Brooklyn on Sept. 22, 2005) and the Valid Records release ROB WAGNER TRIO Featuring HAMID DRAKE & NOBU OZAKI (recorded in New Orleans, Dec. 6-7, 2005.)

Frank Gratkowski is one of the brightest talents on the lively European creative jazz scene, and has brought his prodigious technique and exploratory spirit to New Orleans on several occasions, where he has performed with an eclectic range of local luminaries: Steve Masakowski, Jason Marsalis, Phil DeGruy, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Helen Gillet, Rick Trolsen, etc. Gratkowski has also recorded a cd in New Orleans with TOUCH (Gratkowski, Justin Peake, and Dan Oestreicher.)

Drake and Gratkowski have performed together, both as a duo and with larger groups, on numerous occasions, but this will be their first recording together as a duo. Piety Street Recording is New Orleans premier studio; it's large Studio A is also a superb listening space for concert presentations. This concert is presented as a joint production by Scatterjazz and Valid Records, and it is the first event in an extended New Orleans residency for Frank Gratkowski and Hamid Drake presented by Scatterjazz, an independent producer devoted to the presentation of creative music in New Orleans. For the complete schedule, please consult their website (http://www.scatterjazz.com)

papafrog
03-15-2009, 11:54 PM
yyr.....and andy durta who is scatterjazz is a postive force in the modern
jazz scene of new orleans...
i believe Gratkowski is also performing at zeitgeist fri. nite with
time green, and others....
as well as saturday nite Mckeowns books.....another interesting venue
here....one sat. a month they host a nite of difficult music....
usually some very interesting electronic stuff....

belyin
03-16-2009, 12:00 AM
Here's the more-or-less complete schedule:

1) Thursday March 19th--- 9:00 pm-- Piety street Studios (728 Piety)
Hamid Drake and Frank Gratkowski Duo-- public concert/live recording

2) Friday March 20th--- 9:00 pm -- ZEITGEIST
Hamid Drake + Frank Gratkowski + Tim Green ( + possible VERY special guest TBA)

3) Saurday March 21st-- 8:00--10:00pm-- McKeown's Books (4737 Tchoupitoulas)
Hamid Drake + Frank Gratkowski Duo (hamid on small kit, brushes, hand percussion)

4) Saturday March 21st-- MIDNIGHT SET @ Snug Harbor (following astral project)
Hamid Drake + Frank Gratkowski + Larry Sieberth on Grand Piano

5) Sunday March 22nd-- 5:00pm--7:00pm @ Fairgrinds Coffeehouse
Phil DeGruy + Frank Gratkowski Duo

6) Sunday March 22nd-- 10:30pm-- Hi Ho Lounge
Frank Gratkowski + Johny Vidacovich + James Singleton + Brian Coogan

7) Monday March 23rd-- 8:00pm @ ZEITGEIST
Frank Gratkowski mit TrolPelloCello (aka + Helen Gillet + Rick Trolsen + Dave Capello)

8) Tuesday March 24th-- 9:30 pm @ Blue Nile Upstairs
TOUCH cd-release party (Gratkowski + Justin Peake + Dan Oestreicher + friends)
--------------------------------------------------

papafrog
03-16-2009, 12:08 AM
Here's the more-or-less complete schedule:

1) Thursday March 19th--- 9:00 pm-- Piety street Studios (728 Piety)
Hamid Drake and Frank Gratkowski Duo-- public concert/live recording

2) Friday March 20th--- 9:00 pm -- ZEITGEIST
Hamid Drake + Frank Gratkowski + Tim Green ( + possible VERY special guest TBA)

3) Saurday March 21st-- 8:00--10:00pm-- McKeown's Books (4737 Tchoupitoulas)
Hamid Drake + Frank Gratkowski Duo (hamid on small kit, brushes, hand percussion)

4) Saturday March 21st-- MIDNIGHT SET @ Snug Harbor (following astral project)
Hamid Drake + Frank Gratkowski + Larry Sieberth on Grand Piano

5) Sunday March 22nd-- 5:00pm--7:00pm @ Fairgrinds Coffeehouse
Phil DeGruy + Frank Gratkowski Duo

6) Sunday March 22nd-- 10:30pm-- Hi Ho Lounge
Frank Gratkowski + Johny Vidacovich + James Singleton + Brian Coogan

7) Monday March 23rd-- 8:00pm @ ZEITGEIST
Frank Gratkowski mit TrolPelloCello (aka + Helen Gillet + Rick Trolsen + Dave Capello)

8) Tuesday March 24th-- 9:30 pm @ Blue Nile Upstairs
TOUCH cd-release party (Gratkowski + Justin Peake + Dan Oestreicher + friends)
--------------------------------------------------

tanks B...
Jeff Albert has done a great job of keeping upstairs Blue Nile going...
hes a good guy!!
i should be at a few of these great shows.....

Dr. A.
03-16-2009, 06:21 PM
Yipes! Drake is my favourite drummer around and I admit I had no idea he was from Louisiana. Last year was a bit of a waste-he played with Rob Wagner, and it should have been great, but it was pouring down outside, and the tent was packed with people that really didn't care to be there. It was so loud with talkers where I was sitting it could have been me up there drumming for all I was able to hear. I love those records he makes with William Parker and Fred Anderson. An early plug for next year would be booking the William Parker Quartet.

belyin
03-16-2009, 07:24 PM
I love those records he makes with William Parker and Fred Anderson. An early plug for next year would be booking the William Parker Quartet.

Well, if you are in Chicago, you are in luck. Wednesday night is the beginning of a week of celebrations of Fred Anderson's 80th. birthday. Hamid is flying back to Chicago on Sunday to play with Fred, Kidd Jordan, and Harrison Bankhead at Fred's bar the Velvet Lounge. (http://www.velvetlounge.net/). (I thought William was going to be there but I just checked and saw that he won't.) William will probably be at the Jazz Fest again this year with Kidd, but Hamid will be in Europe at the time . . .

belyin
03-24-2009, 03:01 AM
Well, if you are in Chicago, you are in luck. Wednesday night is the beginning of a week of celebrations of Fred Anderson's 80th. birthday. Hamid is flying back to Chicago on Sunday to play with Fred, Kidd Jordan, and Harrison Bankhead at Fred's bar the Velvet Lounge. (http://www.velvetlounge.net/). (I thought William was going to be there but I just checked and saw that he won't.) William will probably be at the Jazz Fest again this year with Kidd, but Hamid will be in Europe at the time . . .

Well, it was three great nights of music with Hamid and Frank. [Click here for the Times-Picayune review (http://blog.nola.com/chriswaddington/2009/03/virtuosity_is_common_thread_am.html)] But Hamid never made it back to Chicago on Sunday to play the concert honoring his "Babba" Fred Anderson on his 80th birthday, due to the fraudulent practices of United Airlines. They bumped him from his 6 AM flight, and he had to wait at the airport for 13 hours to try to get on later flights, all to no avail. It seems United oversold all their flights due to spring break traffic, and of course they were understaffed so even though he was at the airport 1 and quarter hours before his flight, it took so long to check his bag that he was one minute too late. And despite his zillion frequent flier miles and Plutonium club status (the man flies to Europe for gigs 2 or 3 times a month,) United customer service did nothing but give him the run around all day. So expect similar if not worse treatment at Jazz Fest from the airlines--get your boarding pass online before you leave for the airport, don't check any bags, get there early, and carry a bull-dog contract lawyer in your carry-on bag, and you may be cool . . .