Anyone who has visited a rural Negro church, where the congregation sings from the heart instead of out of hymn-books, cannot fail to have been touched by the fire, the solemn dignity, the grand simplicity of the Negro spirituals.

One of the elders of the congregation, an old man or woman whose long experience in the church enables the singer to match the song precisely to the tempo of the meeting, begins slowly. The congregation responds with a faint chorus. The leader singes his line again, this time more strongly. This time the response is stronger. By the end of the first or second chorus, the spiritual will have gathereed together all the voices of the church in to a swelling a rolling chorus. Each participant takes his own part, from the shrillest falsetto to deepest bass, and improvises within it. As the songs proceed, sometimes for hours on end, the rhythm of hands and feet joins the thunder of the singing with the thunder of a chorus of drums; the tempo increases slowly and inevitably until the whole audience sways with ecstasy. The air is punctuated with the shrill screams and the hoarse ejaculations of the worshippers who have become posessed, or, as they put it, 'got happy.' The posessed ones leap and fling their arms about in blind spasms of hysteria; they sometimes roll on the floor or walk across the benches; on occasion they lie on the ground for hours in a trance-like state.

Out of such passionate religious meetings came the Negro spirituals which provided comfort with visions of a heavenly reward. The setting and the manner of these songs are strongly reminiscent of African religious practice; but the content, flowing out of the Bible and the noble folk hymns ofthe whites, is distinctively Afro-American. These inspired and beautiful songs are more moving that almost any other American music.

Sam is thankful for...

...Jenny Lewis — as far as I am concerned, her voice is the aural equivalent of the Holocaust Cloak in The Princess Bride — invincible and haunting in the night.  Also, I thought Under the Blacklight was a fantastic record, and will be listening to Acid Tongue as soon board the Bolt Bus this afternoon.

...My new leather baritone sax gig bag — now when I open my closet and lament the fact that I never practice, I can be secure in the knowledge that it's not because my horn is not particularly portable — wait, this is actually making me feel worse.

...Googie's Lounge (above the Living Room) — okay, seriously have you ever been up there?  It's like they beat all the snootiness out of The Living Room with multi-colored pillows and then used those pillows to adorn the Googie's stage, all of which draws attention to the pearl-white piano which is always only sort of tuned.  Add in the Christmas lights and barely-concealed ambient noise from the bar downstairs, and it feels like you're at a concert in That Guy Who Never Left Your Hometown's basement.  Which is awesome, as far as I'm concerned.

...Friends With Actual Bands — as opposed to playing Rock Band with friends.  I might be on my own on this one, but every time I play Rock Band it always feels like only the faintest imitation of the original song, and that's on the rare occasions when I can hear the playback above the incessant clicking of the sticks on the "drum set," which sounds about as much like actual drums as a whistling goldfish. Also, Rock Band never accounts for personal vocal interpretation.  I choose to sing the melodies a little differently than the original artists' interpretation.  I am an AWESOME SINGER, Rock Band! Keep your singing interface away from my fragile self-esteem.

...Ten Years of Virginia Coalition — I went to my first VACO show at The Garage in DC (which no longer exists) in 1998.  I had been listening to them for about 6 months already, but seeing them live, as I'm sure is true whenever anyone sees their favorite band for the first time, was an electrifying and unforgettable experience.  I suppose it could have been jarring to realize that this music, which had coaxed me through so many teenage anxieties in the previous months, was loved equally by a thousand other sweaty jumping locals.  Indeed, in later years I would come to dislike the band's live performances, which had taken on the atmosphere of fraternity reunions, and where the band's decision to go outside the box and play Stevie Wonder covers was greeted with derision, which persisted until they played E Song for the millionth time.  But that night — April 22nd, 1998 — I was at a concert with a girl for the first time (her name was also Sam), and it was the first time I'd convinced a number of my friends to come check out this band I'd been hounding them about for months.  All of them were skeptical, and Sam, who didn't know any of them and was meeting them for the first time in a packed club in one of DC's seedier neighborhoods, was nervous and probably not having a great time.  

And then the band hit the stage, and things were never the same.  A thousand hands flew into the air and swayed with the go-go inflected groove of Jerry Jermaine.  Sam dropped her pout instantly and started dancing, which blew my MIND.  My friends all suddenly shouted, "Oh SHIT!"

When we all looked up two hours and three encores later, the night was 180 degrees from where it had been before the show.  I felt like some final piece of adolescence had finally slid into place — like my internal compass had finally stopped spinning and had something to point to.  "When in doubt, VACO" became my official motto.

Of course, I totally struck out with Sam. My friend Allen, one of the leading skeptics before the show, ended up getting to work for the band for a while.  Once, riding around the neighborhood in Allen's car, Steve Dawson, the singer who would later leave the band for a legal career, flagged us down to return Allen's copy of Mario Kart 64.  I seethed with jealousy and stammered something to Steve about how I thought he was extremely awesome.  Later that year I would get hit in the head with a beer bottle at the band's Christmas concert at the sold-out 9:30 Club.  Shortly thereafter Steve left and people started booing at the shows.  By 2006, the drummer had departed as well, and a friend of mine was drumming with them at a less-than-half-full show at Irving Plaza opening for JJ Grey and Mofro. The soulful groove anchoring their old songs was missing, and I got the sense they were drifting, which is kinder than the adjective several friends used to describe the set. 

I saw them just a few weeks ago, ten years after the show at the Garage, opening for Kate Voegele, and I was, at 26, easily ten years older than the majority of the audience.  I watched as they played a tight set of tunes from their latest album, Home This Year, a drastic reinvention of their sound which leaves much of their older R & B and funk inclinations behind for simple, well-crafted folk rock.  I am the only one of the faithful from the glory days I've talked to who loves it, and while some of the smattering of VACO fans in the room howled for classics, I was filled with pride as they instead made their way through the new material.  They've had a million chances to quit, and never have, which is about all I'm hoping for out of life.

Dan is thankful that...

...the man on ecstasy (or acid) at the MGMT show in Williamsburg on Valentine’s Day did not have the proper coordination to hurt me with his flailing arms during “Electric Feel”.  I plan never to attend another dance/electronic rock show ever again.  OK, that's a lie.

...Marnie Stern doesn't mind making out with strangers at her shows.  If you didn't know, Ms. Stern recently opened a kissing booth at her shows.  Fans paid a pre-designated amount (that went towards charity or something) for either a hug, a short kiss jab on the lips, or a full-blown makeout.  Yup, that really happened to some lucky fans.  Please, Marnie, re-open the booth soon!

...the new Cut Copy album this year, In Ghost Colours, is good.

...someone named their band Goblin Cock.  Seriously, that's a band's actually name.

...that grumpy resident wasn't successful in shutting down Union Hall in Brooklyn.  An angry resident that lives either near or next to the Hall complained about the noise, then complained about the people frequenting the establishment, then finally called in some firefighters to catch the club exceeding its occupancy limit.  None of the attempts worked, however, and Union Hall lives on!

... Q-Tip finally released a new album.

...the Epiphone Special II guitar I bought this year hasn't lost its tones yet. 

...The Smiths didn't release another redundant best-of compilation again.  Oh wait, they did.  Dammit.

...for the noise cancellation headphones that allow me to block out every annoyance on the trains and streets of New York, from horns to humans alike.  I can listen to my tunes without having to worry about that lady about to get hit by a car right in front of me, or that man rapping out loud to himself on the corner, or that never-ending power saw that rivals the volume levels of a Boeing 747 engine on Warren street every morning.  Greatest invention ever!

...I made it out of every show alive this past year.

What are you all thankful for?  We'd love to hear from ya!

I’ve been in a pretty deep reggae phase lately, branching out and exploring some artists I’m less familiar with: Jacob Miller, the Congos, Bunny Wailer, the Gladiators… if you ever want to get lost and explore some reggae, go to Last.fm and start up Bunny Wailer Radio, or Culture Radio, or Jacob Miller Radio. Then grab a Red Stripe (or a Guinness), sit back, and enjoy.

The Congos - Congoman (mp3) - from Heart of the Congos

[See post to listen to audio]

Jacob Miller - Shakey Girl (mp3) - from Collector’s Classics

[See post to listen to audio]

Have you guys & gals seen Three Sheets yet? It’s already 3 seasons old, but I just started watching a few weeks ago. Zane Lamprey is the brilliant & hilarious host, and he has the enviable job of traveling from country to country, exploring local drinking culture (often followed the morning after by  finding the best local hangover remedy). It’s such a great show, and will have you laughing out loud no more than 3 minutes in.

Check out the Jamaica episode of Three Sheets here on Hulu.com. You’ll find out why Guinness is just as popular with the locals as Red Stripe. Trust me, it’s worth your while.

By the way, the channel that hosts Three Sheets, MOJO HD, will be going off the air on December 1st. Worry not, though, Three Sheets will be picked up somewhere, it’s just not clear where yet. Meanwhile you can catch up on all the episodes online for free at Hulu. And if you flip on Mojo today, you’ll land right in the middle of a Three Sheets Marathon. Cheers!

So the other day, I was flipping through my HD channels and came across a show called Music in High Places on Palladia. This episode featured Ryan Adams in Jamaica. Now, I’ve always been a distant admirer of Ryan Adams. I have a few of his records, both solo and with the Cardinals (and I need to get the Whiskeytown albums). But I can feel myself being drawn more and more into his music.

This performance of “Firecracker” on the show was my highlight. I’ve been playing the hell out of this YouTube video since…

Girls Aloud are a British girl group created by ITV1 talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. The group, consisting of Cheryl Cole (n?e Tweedy), Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, has become one of the most successful British pop groups of the decade, with a record-breaking sixteen consecutive Top 10 singles (including three number ones), four platinum albums (including a number one) and record sales in excess of 4 million in the UK. They are Smash Hits poll winners, have won a TMF Award and have been nominated for a BRIT Award.

4 Bands That Stole The Show:

• The Black Angels
• Trail of Dead
• Deerhoof
• Z-Trip

4 Locals That Made Big Gains:

• The Octopus Project
• Black Joe Lewis
• The Ugly Beats
• Ume

4 Bands That Made Me a Bigger Fan:

• Annuals
• Islands
• Atmosphere
• Kool Keith

4 Bands I'm Sorry I Missed:

• J*Davey
• Parts and Labor
• St. Vincent
• Black Heart Procession

2 Bands That Could've Been Better:

• YACHT
• Minus the Bear

Few big bands were as flexible, innovative or influential in 1946 as Dizzy Gillespie's bebop orchestra. In the mid-1940s, most jazz bands and musicians were playing swing, a syncopated rhythmic style that had kept dance halls and record stores humming since the mid-1930s. Bebop, by contrast, had a much freer feel, requiring cat-like musical dexterity and on-the-fly creativity. Bop musicians were less concerned about pleasing dancers as they were on blowing away listeners. 

Most big-name bandleaders in 1946 excoriated bebop. They viewed it as corrosive gibberish that was too hard on the ears and poison to the wallet. What's more, a majority of swing-band players had a terrible time figuring out what they were supposed to do or how to solo convincingly in the new idiom. As one of bop's chief architects, Dizzy held a unique advantage. He had invented the secret formula, and his big band was completely fluent in bop's intricacies. Best of all, no other band in 1946 could knock off what Dizzy's orchestra was doing.

Up until now, only a small number of recordings featuring Dizzy's 1946 big band existed: All were for the Musicraft label, recorded on June 10, July 9 and November 10. And each track lasts roughly three minutes to conform to the rigid 78-rpm record format. Dizzy had tried to launch a big band in the summer of 1945, but the band's rural tour down South placed the band in African-American dance halls where locals wanted to hear regional blues, not baffling bebop. Dizzy folded his 1945 band in October before heading out to California with Charlie Parker.

With the release of Dizzy Gillespie Big Band: Showtime at the Spotlite, we now have a remarkable document. Recorded at the Spotlite club on New York's 52d St., likely on June 28, 1946 (see yesterday's post), the new double CD provides a wealth of evidence confirming Gillespie's playing and leadership genius. We also hear just how difficult this music was to play and the band's frightening ability to do so. As Gillespie well knew, the more complicated the arrangements and more proficient the musicians playing them, the longer it would take mainstream bands to catch up. Take that, Harry James!

Released by Uptown Records, the same label that in 2005 issued the miraculous Dizzy Gillespie-Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York, June 22,1 945, the Spotlite set is packed with trumpet-section fireworks and riveting solos. What makes this new CD so special is the club setting. Free from the financial and time constraints of a studio, Dizzy's band was able to comfortably play lengthy versions of its book: 'Round Midnight (6:57), The Man I Love (5:29) and Second Balcony Jump (5:01) not to mention extended versions of many others. What we wind up with are tracks with breathtaking back-to-back solos by some of bop's best band players of the day. And unlike Dizzy's big bands of 1947-49, which recorded for RCA and featured many inventive novelty numbers, his band at the Spotlite in 1946 had a more pure, unvarnished quality, a raw energy that was unmatched.

Long issued as a miserable-sounding bootleg and for years mischaracterized as a radio broadcast, the Spotlite recordings originally were cut by Jerry Newman, a college student who in the 1940s used to haul a portable disc recorder around capturing live dates with the blessing of bands and club management. Bob Sunenblick, owner of Uptown Records, obtained the original acetates from the Newman family, and the staggeringly crisp restoration was done by Ted Kendall.

It's important to note that Dizzy's passion for big bands didn't come out of thin air. His trumpet section work for Teddy Hill, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Lucky Millender, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins and other swing bands in just a handful of years exposed him to the best leaders, arrangers and players of the period. Dizzy also arranged for Woody Herman (1942-43), Jimmy Dorsey (1944) and most important, Boyd Raeburn [pictured], whose progressive band in 1944 was the first to record Dizzy's Night in Tunisia (originally known then as Interlude).

On Showtime at the Spotlite, what you hear is the spirit of liberation. There's the frantic freedom of tyranny's end with the close of World War II. There's the unbridled spirit of racial liberation through a new music style that belonged squarely to African-Americans. And you hear the freedom of musicians finally able to solo without the typical constraints imposed by most other bands. What made bop significant in 1946 is that most big-name bands and musicians at the time still hadn't figured out how to play it. You can hear this glee and sense of pride loud and clear in every track on the album's two discs.

After listening to these Spotlite discs, you'll also be reminded once again just how special and important Dizzy Gillespie was to jazz's development. And you'll come to the same conclusion I did: that Dizzy really can't be praised enough for bringing this music forward in both small groups and large orchestras. In this regard, Gillespie remains larger than life and still vastly under-appreciated for his enormous talent and contribution. Surely he is Louis Armstrong's equal.

And then there's the 36-page booklet featuring superb notes by legendary jazz writer Ira Gitler along with page after page of rare photos. Ira's Grammy-worthy notes are especially significant because the 79-year-old producer and educator was there at the birth of bebop. He also was at the Spotlite club in February listening to Dizzy's sextet. To have Ira's personal perspective and historical context enhances the CD's you-are-there electricity.

Another treat is Thelonious Monk on piano. Monk was the band's original keyboard player but was fired on the stage of the Apollo Theater by a fed-up Dizzy shortly after this recording was made. Monk was replaced by John Lewis after Monk returned late to the bandstand from a local bar once too often. [Photo of Monk and Dizzy: Paul Ryan]

Monk is particularly thrilling on what's surely the earliest recording of Gil Fuller's arrangement of 'Round Midnight, which owes more to I Can't Get Started than to Monk's original intentions. Hearing Monk back the Gillespie band on this track is a thrill, especially if you enjoy the Salle Pleyel version from 1948 with John Lewis on piano. Listen to Monk pound the keys almost in frustration as other soloists play louder and louder to block out his choppy style and struggle to stay on the beat. Dizzy, of course, recorded 'Round Midnight earlier, in February 1946, with a small group for Dial. But this version, for me, trumps all others.

Other highlights include a nearly five-minute Groovin' High with solos by James Moody, Dizzy and Milt Jackson. Most fascinating of all again is hearing Monk do his thing and wondering how the band ever managed to stay on tempo with his abstract impressionist and percussive style.

On Convulsions, we hear a fascinating piano solo that Ira Gitler believes was played by Milt Jackson [pictured]. At first I thought Dizzy was playing. But when I brought that up to Ira, he advised me to have a re-listen to Dizzy's playing on the Warming Up a Riff session with Charlie Parker and Miles Davis in November 1946. There, Dizzy subs on piano, and his style, as Ira noted, is completely different. Milt Jackson's attack on the piano is percussive and vibes-like in delivery. "Compare what you hear on Spotlite with Milt's piano playing on other dates," Ira said. "Listen to the Dizzy sextet dates of 1950 and 1951. Milt was a pretty stiff piano player."

Dizzy Gillespie Big Band: Showtime at the Spotlite is loaded with surprises and its importance cannot be underestimated. This isn't background music. You truly must pay attention and listen hard, and read the liner notes, which includes Ira's interview with Dizzy band alum Dave Burns. There's a lot more going on here than initially meets the ear or eyes. Hats off to Uptown Records' Bob Sunenblick for bringing this material into the digital age.

It's a big week for Michigan rockers Mason Rockers. Barack wins their state's electoral votes, their new video premieres on MTV2's Subterranean tonight, and they kick off a tour with Cloud Cult. Check out the widget below where you can stream their new single "Lock and Key." Tour dates under the cut.

November 7 - New Horizon - Winona Lake, IN
November 8 - Papa Pete's - Kalamazoo, MI (w/ The Mighty Narwhale)
November 9 - Brillobox - Pittsburgh, PA (w/ Fredrik)
November 10 - Black Cat - Washington, DC *
November 11 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *
November 12 - Heirloom Arts Theater - Danbury, CT *
November 13 - Middle East Downstairs - Cambridge, MA *
November 14 - University of New Hampshire (WUNH Presents) - Durham, NH
November 15 - Bug Jar - Rochester, NY
November 22 - The Intersection - Grand Rapids, MI (w/ The Mighty Narwhale)
November 26 - The Magic Stick (w/ The Silent Years)
December 13 - The Beat Kitchen - Chicago, IL
December 19 - Locals Only - Indianapolis, IN
January 16 - The Blind Pig - Ann Arbor, MI

w/ Cloud Cult