CELEBRATING JOHNNY GRIFFIN: A TRIBUTE IN WORDS AND MUSIC

Reminiscences from fellow musicians, family and friends.

Johnny Griffin's compositions performed by Johnny's longtime rhythm section (Michael Weiss, John Webber and Kenny Washington) with Eric Alexander. Additional performances by Jimmy Heath, Cedar Walton, Ray Drummond and Ben Riley.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2008, 7 p.m.

St. Peter's Church

619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street New York, NY

The tenor saxophonist died a month ago at his home in France.

For his day job, Joseph Burke works as a photographer and graphic designer in New York. Yet away from his usual employment, Burke becomes electronica artist Obfusc who sees his first album as a “sort of statement of acceptance to urban existence, for good or worse”. As one would hope for, ‘Cities Of Cedar’ is an evocative record and one which stands on its own two feet as an exercise in melodic electronic music.

For ‘Delayed Sunshine Reaction’, the analogue keyboards cast images of blinking into the morning sun on to the “empty streets”. ‘Close Your Eyes And Daydream’ initially seems to be another Boards Of Canada rip-off but the cute analog tune and layers of electronica mean that the title of the track is really a recommendation for how it should be listened to. Other notable moments such as ”Morning Walk To The Pier’ and ‘Mood Gradient’ resemble an earthbound Avrocar.

Remixes added to the end of an album tend to be a way of padding out shorter, less substantial releases but the ones included here actually add value. Boltfish labelmate Milieu, for example, filters ‘Sounds From Shattered Seashells’ through a chilly, ambient gauze whilst Phasen’s wintry treatment of ‘Morning Walk To The Pier’ is eerily beautiful. Then Ova Looven manage to make ‘Close Your Eyes And Daydream’ even more blissed-out.

Burke is very astute in his choice of samples whether it’s the sound of rushing water or snatches of conversation, there’s always an air of mystery apparent. Similarly, the music is enigmatic but uncluttered and always melodic and atmospheric enough to hold the listener’s attention for its sixty-minute duration. In fact, Burke’s only problem is that several of the remixes here are superior to his own original versions.

Web Sites:
Boltfish Recordings Label and Sho Site
Obfusc Official Site
Obfusc MySpace

Further Listening:
City Rain, Milieu, Boards Of Canada, Avrocar, David Newlyn, October Man

For Neil Young’s fall tour, the Canadian troubadour will bring along opening acts Death Cab for Cutie from St. Paul to Omaha and then Wilco from Halifax to NYC. Plus, Nine Inch Nails announce the second leg of their own North American trek and Metro Station “Shake It” from coast to coast. The full list of dates is after the jump.

Neil Young
October 14 - St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
October 16 - Winnipeg, MN @ MTS Centre
October 18 - Regina, SK @ Brandt Centre
October 19 - Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
October 21 - Everett, WA @ Comcast Arena at Everett
October 22 - Vancouver, BC @ GM Place
October 29 - San Diego, CA @ Cox Arena
October 30 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
November 1 - Reno, NV @ Events Center
November 4 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
November 5 - Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center
November 29 - Halifax, NS @ Metro Centre
December 1 - Montreal, PQ @ Bell Centre
December 2 - Ottawa, ON @ Scotia Bank Place
December 4 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
December 7 - Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
December 9 - Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
December 12 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Spectrum
December 15 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden

Nine Inch Nails
October 23 - San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
October 25 - New Orleans, LA @ Voodoo Festival
October 28 - Orlando, FL @ UCF Arena
October 29 - Jacksonville, FL @ Veterans Memorial Arena
October 31 - Nashville, TN @ Sommet Center
November 1 - Greenville, SC @ Bi-Lo Center
November 3 - Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum Complex
November 5 - Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena
November 8 - Manchester, NH @ Verizon Wireless Arena
November 9 - Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
November 11 - Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place
November 12 - Montreal, QU @ Bell Centre
November 14 - Hamilton, ON @ Copps Coliseum
November 15 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
November 17 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
November 18 - Fort Wayne, IN @ Memorial Coliseum
November 20 - Cedar Rapids, IA @ US Cellular Center
November 21 - Columbia, MO @ Mizzou Arena
November 22 - Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
November 25 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
November 26 - Council Bluffs, IA @ Mid-America Center
November 28 - Rapid City, SD @ Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Arena
November 29 - Billings, MT @ MetraPark Arena
December 1 - Saskatoon, SA @ Credit Union Centre
December 4 - Kelowna, BC @ Prospera Place
December 5 - Victoria, BC @ Save On Foods Memorial Centre
December 7 - Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Arena
December 8 - Nampa, ID @ Idaho Center
December 9 - Missoula, MT @ Adams Center
December 12 - Sacramento, CA @ Arco Arena
December 13 - Las Vegas, NV @ Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino

Metro Station
October 15 - Nashville, TN @ Rocketown
October 16 - Cincinnati, OH @ WKRQ Radio Show
October 17 - Sauget, IL @ Pops
October 18 - Las Vegas, NV @ KMXB - Bite of Vegas
Ocotber 19 - Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Club
October 20 - Minneapolis, MN @ Epic
October 22 - Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues
October 24 - Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues
October 25 - Pontiac, MI @ Clutch Cargos
October 28 - Foxborough, MA @ Showcase Live
October 29 - New York, NY @ Nokia Theater
October 30 - Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
Ocotber 31 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
November 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
November 4 - N. Myrtle Beach, SC @ House Of Blues
November 5 - Jacksonville, FL @ Plush
November 6 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
November 7 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
November 8 - Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues
November 9 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
November 11 - Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
November 12 - Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
November 13 - Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
November 14 - Tulsa, OK @ Cains Ballroom
November 15 - Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground
November 16 - Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theater
November 18 - Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
November 20 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox
November 21 - Portland, OR @ Roseland
November 22 - San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
November 23 - Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre
November 25 - Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
November 26 - San Diego, CA @ Soma
November 28 - Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia L.A. Live
November 29 - Anaheim, CA @ The Grove

[Photo: Getty]

Jolie Holland will be back in Minneapolis on 10/25!

She is also releasing another album on 10/8 called ‘The Living and The Dead’

Legendary bluesman B.B. King plots out a fall tour, Hall, Oates & Oates’ mustache embark for a brief jaunt and GWAR bring their enormous costume wardrobe across America. Hit the jump for the complete set of tour dates for all three treks.

B.B. King
September 6 - Laughlin, NV @ Harrah’s Laughlin Rio Vista Amphitheatre
September 7 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theater
September 18 - Bossier City, LA @ CenturyTel Center
September 19 - Biloxi, MS @ Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
September 20 - Choctaw, MS @ Pearl River Resort
September 21 - Huntsville, AL @ Von Braun Center
September 25 - Bridgeport, CT @ Klein Memorial Auditorium
September 26 - Hartford, CT @ The Bushnell Center for Performing Arts
September 27 - Reading, PA @ Sovereign Performing Arts Center
September 28 - Peekskill, NY @ Paramount Center for the Arts
September 30 - Detroit, MI @ MGM Grand Detroit Casino
October 2 - Toledo, OH @ Stranahan Theater
October 3 - Joliet, IL @ Rialto Square Theatre
October 4 - Carbondale, IL @ Southern Illinois University Arena
October 5 - Branson, MO @ Welk Resort Theatre
October 7 - Wichita, KS @ Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center
October 17 - Albuquerque, NM @ Route 66 Casino
October 23 - Mescalero, NM @ Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino
October 25 - Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
October 31 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theatre
November 14 - Norman, OK @ Riverwind Casino
November 15 - Thackerville, OK @ Winstar Casino
November 16 - Dallas, TX @ Meyerson Symphony Center
November 21-22 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues
November 24 - Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
November 26 - Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere
November 28 - Beverly, MA @ North Shore Music Theatre
November 29 - Atlantic City, NJ @ House of Blues
November 30 - Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center
December 1 - Hagerstown, MD @ Maryland Theatre

Hall & Oates
August 15 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
August 18 - Saratoga, CA @ Mountain Winery
August 19 - Redwood City, CA @ Little Fox Theater (John Oates solo)
September 1 - Snomass Village, CO @ Jazz Aspen Snomass (John Oates solo)
September 6 - Phoenix, AZ @ US Airways Center
September 8 - Sellersville, PA @ Sellersville Theater (John Oates solo)
November 7, 8 - Windsor, ON @ Windsor Casino
November 13 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Chumash Casino

GWAR
October 2 - Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
October 3 - Orlando, FL @ Club Firestone
October 4 - Saint Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
October 5 - Tallahassee, FL @ Floyd’s Music Store
October 6 - Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
October 8 - New York, NY @ Fillmore New York At Irving Plaza
October 9 - New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place
October 10 - Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
October 11 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
October 12 - Johnson City, NY @ Magic City Music Hall
October 13 - South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
October 14 - Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights
October 16 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
October 17 - Winston-Salem, NC @ Millennium Center
October 18 - Norfolk, VA @ NorVa
October 20 - Louisville, KY @ Club Oasis
October 21 - Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theatre
October 22 - Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club
October 23 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
October 24 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
October 25 - Detroit, MI @ Harpo’s Concert Theatre
October 26 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
October 28 - Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues
October 30 - Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues
October 31 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave Eagles Club
November 1 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
November 2 - Cedar Rapids, IA @ Hawkeye Downs Speedway
November 3 - Fargo, ND @ The Hub Entertainment Complex
November 5 - Saskatoon, SK @ The Odeon
November 7 - Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall Ballroom
November 8 - Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Event Centre
November 10 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
November 12 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
November 13 - Bend, OR @ Midtown Music Hall
November 14 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
November 15 - Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House
November 16 - Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
November 17 - Magna, UT @ The Great Saltair
November 18 - Sparks, NV @ The New Oasis
November 19 - Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre
November 20 - San Francisco, CA @ Grand Ballroom At Regency Center
November 21 - Pomona, CA @ Glass House
November 22 - Ventura, CA @ Majestic Ventura Theatre
November 23 - San Diego, CA @ House Of Blues
November 24 - West Hollywood, CA @ House Of Blues
November 25 - Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
November 26 - Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
November 28 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
November 29 - Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
December 7 - Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live

[Photo: Loud/Getty]

So pair him with a pianist like Cedar Walton, (note -- like the previous link, a fan appreciation site due to lack of official) who came up roughly in the same era and have the same musical vocabulary, chances are you'll hear some excellent jazz. Tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.), Katie will give proof to my theory via music from a live recording the pair made in 1982, at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco.