The Jazz Exchange

Jazz Exchange contributer Paul Brady writes about a recent experience in New York City, and deems it still the best place on earth to check out a show.

Jelly Roll Morton once referred to it as “that cruel city.” Kurt Vonnegut nick- named it “Skyscraper National Park.” It is crowded and expensive. Did I mention it’s expensive? We can say what we want about it, but New York City is still one of the best places on earth to see and hear music, if not the best.

In February of this year I spent five days there both for business and leisure. My nights were all free. I had done no planning, bought no tickets, nor made any reservations for any clubs or concerts. Since there are never any less than about 15 different concerts going on each night in New York that interest me, I wanted to keep my options open. Risky, given the fact that in said town the big name performances usually do sell out. Maybe so, but as my friend and travel companion, the Chicago-based guitarist and recording-engineer Joe Darnaby, explained to me, “There is no such thing as a sold out show.” I think I believe him.

Our first successful attempt at catching a sold out show in New York involved an indie rock band I had never heard of called The National. They were performing in a hall on the NYU campus our first night in town which was a Thursday. The show was to start at 8:00 p.m. with two opening bands. We stood out in front of the venue along with several other students and young west village hipsters desperately asking if anyone had extra tickets while frequently checking at the door to see if anyone had returned any. No one had. As the 8:00 hour approached, I was becoming impatient. I did not want to spend my evening standing in the cold looking for tickets throughout the length of two opening bands’ sets with no guarantee of getting in. It was looking grim and the warmth of countless New York City pubs was calling my name, but my friend’s persistence paid off and about one minute before the show was to begin, he scored us two tickets. Ten bucks each.

I owe him one. The National was fantastic and is now one of my favorite bands. Fronted by unique baritone Matt Berninger, the group also includes versatile guitarist Bryce Dessner. When not with The National, Dessner can sometimes be seen performing with the Bang on the Can All Stars (a contemporary music ensemble that performs some of the most complicated music ever written) and as a member of the touring group for the multi instrumentalist singer/song writer Sufjan Stevens . The National’s sound is a harmonious blend of New York minimalist and contemporary indie rock. They creatively use sections of horns and strings both live and on their records. The group is completed by Dessner’s brother Aaron on bass and the brothers Scott (guitar) and Bryan (drums) Devendorf.

I spent Friday auditing jazz history lectures at Rutgers University unknowingly awaiting what was to be one of the best jazz performances I have ever seen. Kurt Rosenwinkel, the Philly-born guitarist who now makes his home in Berlin, was performing all week at the Village Vanguard with his quintet. Rosenwinkel has possibly received more accolades and praise from critics and musicians than any other young working jazz musician today. Over the years he has shared the stage with Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Mark Turner, and Ethan Iverson, to name a measly few. Since no longer living on American soil, the ex-NewYorker generates quite the buzz when returning to the states for performances. Knowing this, I was shocked when I was able to reserve two places for his Friday night show that same morning. The cover charge was $35, $10 of which goes toward a drink minimum. To compare, I have never payed more than $12 at the Green Mill jazz club in Chicago for shows, which have included the Dave Douglas quintet and Kenny Werner’s trio. However, this $35 “New York” cover charge was a steal. The group included Turner on tenor saxophone and together, the two improvised in a very intervalic way, often phrasing with large leaps between notes. They beautifully push tonality toward the limit. This was music at the highest level. The rest of the quintet was made up of pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Ben Street and drummer Obed Calvaire.

With rock and jazz shows checked off my list, my next priority was an orchestra concert. The greater New York area is a paradise of local and visiting orchestral ensembles. This weekend the Vienna Philharmonic was fulfilling their annual residency at Carnegie Hall. The Saturday night show had been sold out for weeks, but after Thursday’s triumph, I was optimistic we would be able to get tickets. I had toyed with the idea of buying one on craigslist.com for $200 (still cheaper than going to Vienna), but held off. No matter what the price, I was determined to see what many consider the best orchestra in the world. We took our chances on the street in front of Carnegie Hall, and at around 7:45 P.M. an older gentleman who was not going to be able to attend the show sold us a pair of main floor seats for $50 a piece. These were $150 seats. Valerie Gergiev conducted the Vienna Phil in Debussy’s “ Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune,” Tchaikovsky’s 6th symphony, and Prokofiev’s 2nd Piano Concerto with pianist Yefim Bronfman. It was interesting to hear the Vienna Philharmonic live for the first time performing French and Russian repertoire. This ensemble is an extension of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and has built a reputation around its superior ability to perform the music of the Viennese composers: Hayden, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mahler, Strauss, even Schoenberg. I admit I would have preferred to hear something from the Viennese canon, but nonetheless, it was an unforgettable evening.

After this trip to New York, it is hard for me to conceptualize all the horror stories I hear from people who live there about how expensive it is to see shows and just New York living in general. I was introduced to an incredible indie rock band and without a doubt saw two of the most stellar jazz and classical ensembles in the world for a total $95. That is less than what I have paid for a decent seat to Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts, and paying $35 for the music I heard at the intimate Village Vanguard made me feel is if I was ripping them off.

Let’s be honest, New York City is insanely crowded to the extent that anyone with even the mildest case of claustrophobia probably should not go there. It is completely overridden with traffic, pollution, and rat-infested subways. But for what remains of the fine arts, it is worth putting up with all the other obstacles that lie in the way of getting there, or living there. My friend Todd Whitelock, a Grammy Award winning Engineer and 20 year veteran of New York recording studios and live remote recordings, who remains at work there to this day, shares a New York horror story: “An independent Jazz Label approached me about recording a big band in a very famous venue, which shall remain nameless. Even though I had recorded there numerous times, I bid the job out of a remote truck to avoid sitting in the kitchen with a laptop, headphones and miscellaneous gear because I had heard from a fellow engineer that after returning from a recent gig at the same club, he unpacked his road cases to find them infested with NYC’s nefarious cockroaches. Needless to say, so was his car and garage which carted and stored that gear. The truck idea was nixed so I opted out in order to spare myself the same fate. I’ve got lots of interesting “load-in and load-out” stories through the back-alleys, docks and kitchens of New York City. But there’s no place like it!”