Blue Lester

In Penang to see Jackie perform at Short + Sweet Theatre 2013, I phoned journalist-cum-harpist Kim Gooi and asked him to come watch the show at Penang Performing Arts Centre. Kim came down and we talked music of course; blues, blues, and more blues. Kim had the idea to invite guitarist Joe Goh up from KL for one of our epic jams. The Penang Blues Brothers ride again.

The Penang Blues Brothers jump and wail: Joe Goh, Kim Gooi, Ron Ashkin

Joe caught the Katy up from Kuala Lumpur last Friday. I dropped by Kim’s and the three of us spent the afternoon working out on only three tunes – T-Bone Shuffle, Kidney Stew, and Blue Lester – all from the mid-to-late-1940s. I was on a roll a couple of weeks ago in Lagos and transcribed T-Bone Shuffle and Blue Lester from the original records and this was my chance to play them with others.

I particularly have had an ear worm for Blue Lester and I just can’t get that 1944 slow F-blues out of my head, Count Basie on piano backing Lester Young just prior to his military nightmare. I had first admired the tune on Von Freeman’s The Great Divide, where he calls it Blue Pres, and had half-transcribed it at the time – Vonski plays it at an even slower pace than Pres. A few weeks back I pulled up the original on my iTunes and re-discovered 10 choruses of pure bliss – Pres blows two choruses on the head, a single solo chorus, back to the head again, then Basie enters for three and Pres takes it out with three more, not bothering to return to the theme. Freddie Green anchors the proceedings with his steady rhythm guitar. Not a sound wasted. Nobody plays like that these days, when apparently both pianists and saxophonists are paid by the note. I can’t get the theme and Lester’s first solo chorus out of my head. I've transcribed that chorus and find Lester’s note choices deceptively simple, making me feel like I've been over-thinking my own improvisations.

PPAC echoes (literally) with the sound of 1944.

Unfortunately I left my trusty Zoom recorder back in Lagos and couldn't catch our version on tape. But on Saturday night, the three of us were invited to play for the cast party after Short + Sweet closed and we had a chance to perform Blue Lester in public for the first time. The tempo was set a bit fast and a young crowd more attuned to hip-hop got up and danced. Lester Young’s 16 bars connected with 2013 ears in Malaysia just as they had almost 70 years earlier in WWII-era America. It was not just me with the ear worm.

As Kim is fond of saying, if blues was money, I’d be millionaire.

Ain’t Nobody’s Business

The Penang Blues Brothers reconvened at Kim Gooi’s place for a late night jam last weekend, just prior to my return from Penang to Lagos. I joined Joe Goh on electric guitar and Kim on harp and acoustic. The blues spirit flowed freely as it always does when we get together, helped along in this instance by the product of the Isle of Jura. It is rejuvenating to play with these two – we routinely reach the sought-after (and all too rare) state of mind where the musicians are on the same wavelength, pick up their instruments, begin to play, time suspends, and the clock moves three of four hours ahead before the music pauses. 

I've been tied up with settling back in to work after the holidays and haven’t had sufficient time to go through and master all the recordings from last Friday. Of course, the batteries on my Zoom quit after about 2-1/2 hours, leaving some of the most spontaneous and creative parts of the jam in the air, never to be captured again. I did, however, cut out one track for sharing – Ain't Nobody’s Business – in tribute to the classic 1959 session by Jimmy Witherspoon with Ben Webster on tenor. “I'm three times seven, that makes twenty-one” – the age at which I first appreciated ‘Spoon’s rendition. Long, long ago now, a clear memory in the dim past. An appreciation that survives until today. Fortunately, I edited out most of my insipid vocal.

The Penang Blues Brothers Ride Again – Audio

Following our end-of-year blues jam the Little Penang Street Market, Kim Gooi hosted a get together last Friday night at his house in Tanjung Bunga. Joe Goh came up with his guitar from KL for the New Year and Kim’s friend Chiang, a Penang native who spent much of his life in Sweden, dropped by ‘round midnight to join in on second guitar. The blues spirit was flowing and we jammed for nearly four hours, caught on my Zoom recorder. From blues classics like Stormy Monday to Miles Davis to free blues jamming - Kim on harp, Joe and Chiang on guitars, and me on tenor sax. A good time was had by all; I had the chance to play my 1948 King Super 20 which is just a fantastic instrument. We plan one more blues jam before I head back to Africa for work.

Here are three downloadable audio tracks from last Friday’s jam – Sweet Home Chicago with Chiang on vocals, Folsom Prison Blues (where I make my vocal debut in the background), and Blue Monk. They are  MP3s at 320k.

By the way, Kim Gooi just published his book Health Tips: Maintaining a Long Life and Seeking a Spiritual Link with the Supreme Spirit which is available here from amazon.com. Kim’s life as a journalist landed him in a Burmese prison in the 1970s and the story of his survival is recounted in his book. An interesting new non-fiction from the man behind the blues harp on these recordings.

Blues Jam at Little Penang Street Market

Let 2013 begin with some YouTube videos from the last weekend of 2012. Jackie and I were asked at the last minute to perform at the Little Penang Street Market on Sunday. The LPSM is always a fun venue because the organizers let the musicians call the shots: we are able to put together our own sets and play whatever we want. No call for Lionel Richie covers or Frank Sinatra tunes to please the audience. The LPSM has evolved into one of the last remaining jam sessions on the island, particularly for jazz and blues fans, since the long-running G Spot jazz jam died over a year ago.

I phoned blues harpist Kim Gooi to join us, but our hopes to pick up the Penang Blues Brothers at short notice were dashed when we discovered that keyboardist James Lochhead was not feeling well and guitarist Sid was in KL for the holidays. Jackie and I were resolved to playing a not-too-fun duet set over Band-In-A-Box. We managed to convince one of the actors from the UK's Click Theatre Company, Richard, in town to play the role of The Major in Fawlty Towers, to sit in on piano for a few tunes.

Then things got interesting. I was told that there was another keyboardist in the crowd, which was larger than normal due to the number of tourists in Penang for the holidays. I asked him to join us and he modestly said he did not think he was up to standard. Ha ha. Fortunately I was able to convince "T" to come up on stage and sit in with me, Jackie, and Kim. The next hour caught fire. We warmed up on Chitlins Con Carne and Night Train, but then T just started jamming in Bb and things took off. T has a great rhythmic sense and we didn't miss the bassist and drummer after that.

I've posted four videos from December 30 on YouTube. First up is a slow gospel blues I've dubbed "Testifying with T" in honor of our mystery guest. I preach an improvised Sunday morning sermon over T's chords, then Kim and Jackie bear witness and Jackie and I harmonize in the choir before we all take it out.

Next up is The Doors' Roadhouse Blues, which I first played with Hans and the Hillbillies at Ziggy's Bar on the beach in St. Kitts. From the sacred to the profane, Roadhouse Blues is one of the all-time classic bar-band rockers. Then, back to tradition with Blue Monk and, finally, Blue Train as our New Years' wish.

As Blue Train closed, T got up from the keys and disappeared back into the crowd. Our time ran out too quickly, like 5 minutes rather than an hour. It has been quite a while since I've been in a pure pick-up band situation that I liked this much. You can see the smile on T's face in the videos. He definitely has the right attitude towards music and it was infectious. The crowd enjoyed listening to our set as much as we enjoyed playing the music, an all-around win-win. Like William Parker told me a couple of months ago, creating positive energy helps keep the world on its axis.

Jackie Hits Broadway

Jackie recently had the opportunity to perform with the YES Broadway Academy in Penang. YES stands for Youth Excellence on Stage and is sponsored by the US Embassy and American Voices, part of the US State Department's international cultural outreach program. Jackie was among about 50 young people chosen from around Malaysia to participate in this 10-day intensive program, which ran up to 12 hours per day. The program combined workshops in singing, dancing, and acting and was Jackie's first chance to do choreographed dancing on stage, which she did well despite her lack of experience and sore knees. 

The YES Broadway program culminated in two performances on June 16 at the Penang Performing Arts Centre as part of the Georgetown Festival. The second show was a "VIP" performance for US Ambassador Paul Jones and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and guests. Jackie had a brief vocal solo on Hakuna Matata from Lion King, backed by the entire ensemble, shown here in a clip from the evening performance. 

Broadway veteran Michael Parks Masterson was the lead instructor; Jackie really appreciated his no-holds barred coaching technique, which had her doing things she never knew she could within a few short days. She now can add dancing to her on-stage arsenal of singing, acting, scriptwriting, and playing saxophone. Thanks to Michael, John Ferguson, and the sponsors. The only downside is that I could not be there to see her live since I was in Africa at the time.

The US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has a review of the June 16 performance on its web site, found here. The Embassy's web site features a nice photo of Jackie fronting the ensemble during Lion King which can be seen by following this link.

Two of Penang’s Best Young Saxophonists

Today I’ll feature a couple of young players who are already deep into the horn in their teens. Hopefully you will hear much more to come from these two. 

Emily Brokaw: Emily is 17 years old and soon to graduate from Dalat International School. She has been playing for more than 6 years already, since entering middle school at Dalat, which has an American-style band program. She chose saxophone because both of her parents were professional saxophonists! Emily’s mom, Valeri Brokaw, is the middle school music director at Dalat and also directs the high school jazz band (along with a ton of other duties; Valeri is extremely hard working and you’d be hard pressed to find a nicer person). Dalat has the best school band program on the island and Emily is Dalat’s premier saxophonist. 

I asked Emily a few questions about her interest in the saxophone and here is what she wrote: 

• I currently play both tenor saxophone (a Yamaha intermediate horn) and alto saxophone (currently, a Selmer Mark 7). 
• My favorite music: Concert band - anything by David Holsinger (Gathering at the Ranks of Hebron and Havendance) and Holst's First and Second Suites; Jazz band - Take Five, Blues in the Night, most anything; Solo work - Tableaux de Provence by Paule Maurice. 
• Most memorable performances were in the 2010 and 2011 South East Asia Honor Bands and all [Dalat] Fine Arts concerts. 
• Future plans: I plan to study music education in university [in the U.S.] next year and continue playing in ensembles of all sorts. 

Emily is still a bit shy of improvisation but I am sure that will change as she progresses. You can catch her solo on Take the A Train with Dalat’s jazz band on YouTube. 

Jackie Ashkin: 15-year-old Jackie plays alto and has been playing for 2-1/2 years. In middle school, to my delight, she decided on saxophone. Valeri Brokaw was her first instructor. Jackie is a fast learner and traded in her POS Yamaha school horn for a vintage King Zephyr circa 1937 once we found out that she liked playing. If you like playing on a YAS-23 you will LOVE playing on a Zephyr! 

Jackie has a great voice and has been singing in school since about fourth grade. In Kazakhstan she performed for the International women’s group at age 9, singing in both Russian and English and playing dombra, the local two-stringed instrument. She continued with voice lessons in Malaysia and the ear training has paid off in an accelerated ability to play sax. In Dalat’s high school concert band she gets the chance to play every day, which keeps her chops up and has seriously improved her sight reading. She has played in Dalat’s jazz band for the past two years (both on alto and as featured vocalist – see the A Train video), and she has paid her dues in town doing section work with the Northern Jazz Ensemble big band. 

On stage with Jackie at the G Spot, Summer 2011

Last year I started taking Jackie out on gigs with me and basically just threw her in at the deep end. She had her first professional gig at age 14, at this point has performed in public quite a bit for her age (although never enough). She is learning to improvise by ear, as opposed to reading her solos like most of her peers, who are either scared to death of having to improvise or else sound like a bleating billy goat when they do. She is not afraid to get up on stage, she knows what sounds good, and she is her own worst critic. She intuitively understands key concepts like swing and syncopation and knows that music is all about sound, not about dots on a page. A big advantage is that she has actually listened to the greats of the tradition (Dexter, Jug, Dolphy et al.) and knows what a saxophone is supposed to sound like. Jackie currently plays on a Johnny Hodges-era Buescher Aristocrat (ca. 1936) that gives her the intonation necessary to play in concert band along with the flexibility to play jazz. You can see Jackie in action on our YouTube channel. A 15-year-old already playing Trane and Miles and improvising with originality. 

Go girls!

Audio Files - The Penang Blues Brothers

Here is a zip file containing the audio tracks from the Penang Blues Brothers +1 Sister jam this past Sunday. These are MP3s at 320k. Download, decompress, and add to your iTunes. The zip file will decompress as individual tracks. The sound is much clearer than on the YouTube videos.

Performance Videos - The Penang Blues Brothers

Here are three YouTube videos from the Penang Blues Brothers jam on Sunday. First up is the set opener Trouble, Trouble with James on vocals:

I've been listening a lot to Chicago blues tenor saxophonist J.T. Brown lately. J.T. is (somewhat) famous for having played with the influential slide guitarist Elmore James in the 1950's. He cut some sides in the 50's that are collected on the album Windy City Boogie on Delmark Records. J.T. died in 1969 and apparently his grave was unmarked until just last year when a benefit was held at a blues festival to raise funds for a headstone.

I've entitled the next tune Blues for J.T. in honor of J.T. Brown. I tried to get in a J.T. groove based on what I keep hearing in my head after listening to Windy City Boogie in the car so often...

The third video I've called Kim's Bb Boogie. Flip, Flop, and Fly is one of Kim's favorite tunes but his mike wasn't loud enough to hear the vocal so I think he gave up on singing and stuck to an instrumental instead. Jackie joined us on this one and played four choruses of hard blues which are pretty impressive improvising for a 15-year old. True to the blues tradition, Jackie's 1930's Zephyr had a bad spring so her axe had a rubber band wrapped around one of the keys.

I had a blast playing on Sunday. As mentioned in a previous post, I've wanted to do a Chicago-style electric blues band for a long time and this opportunity came together on a lark. I was out of town so Kim helped me arrange the musicians long-distance. James is the Little Penang Street Market's director but was a bit shy to perform at first. Tapa just happened to be in town. We had never played together as a unit which shows in some looseness but the blues feeling overruled and the set was relaxed, honest, rockin', and fun. Hopefully more to come. The musicians are Kim Gooi, harp; James Lochhead, keys and vocals; Bonny Jeremiah, bass; Ron Ashkin, tenor sax; Jackie Ashkin, alto sax; Tapa, drums; and Sid, guitar.

Tapa Sits In with the Penang Blues Brothers

The Penang Blues Brothers rocked Upper Penang Road this afternoon with a special surprise guest - our friend Tapa was visiting and sat in on drums. Tapa is well known in Penang musical circles from the years he spent playing on the local scene, but he moved to France with his family about a year ago. What a fortuitous coincidence.

The Penang Blues Brothers +1 Sister: Tapa, drums; Sid, guitar; Kim, harp;
Bonny, bass; Jackie, alto sax; James, keys and vocals; Ron, tenor sax.

We played a single 45-minute set and it was great fun for all. I've wanted to do an electric blues band for quite a while and this was the chance. Actually it was the Penang Blues Brothers +1 Sister, since Jackie played alto on a couple of tunes. I think she's about 30 years younger than the next youngest player.

I will put up audio and/or video from the set tomorrow depending on how the recordings turn out, as soon as I can process the files.

Penang Blues Brothers at Little Penang Street Market this Sunday

The Penang Blues Brothers will be jamming at this coming Sunday's Little Penang Street Market at Upper Penang Road, Georgetown (directly in front of the E&O Hotel). We're on at 3:30pm and the date is Sunday, March 25. Come on down and enjoy the afternoon.

I'm currently in Thailand (my browser knows it even if you don't, as my blogger is titled entirely in Thai which is one of those alphabets that English-language film producers use in outer space flicks) so Kim Gooi is helping pull the musicians together. Right now it looks like Kim will be on harp, I'll be on tenor sax, James Lochhead on keyboards, Bonny Jeremiah on bass, Joe Goh will be coming up from K.L. to play guitar, and we will likely have some guests too. James claims to know only two chords so I hope they are the same two that I know. We're all old enough to have actually had the blues a time or two because as Memphis Slim said, "You can't learn the blues in school."

100% electric blues with a nod to the Windy City. Hope to see you in Georgetown on Sunday.

Stormy Monday - Audio Tracks From Blues Jam

Today being Monday, I will start the week by posting some audio tracks from yesterday's marathon blues jam with Joe and Kim, following on the heels of the "Blues Are Universal" post from a few days ago.

Here are three takes of T-Bone Walker's classic Stormy Monday. I couldn't decide which one to post so all three are available - one instrumental and two with Joe on vocals - you decide. It was an informal jam so each take has its moments as well as its flaws, hopefully more moments than flaws. Played from the heart in any event. These are MP3s at 320K.

Stormy Monday - Take 1

Stormy Monday - Take 2

Stormy Monday - Take 3

And here is a 14-minute jam on Kim's favorite, Big Joe Turner's Flip, Flop and Fly. The vocals were not miked so they are subdued. Kim has to learn to shout like Big Joe! I missed recording the beginning coming down the stairs, so I started the track at the first full chorus.

Flip, Flop and Fly

Old Friends, Blues Jam at Kim's, Penang, Malaysia, recorded March 4, 2012. Joe Goh, guitar and vocals; Kim Gooi, harp and vocals; Ron Ashkin, tenor sax and whisk broom. Recorded on a Zoom H2.

Audio Files, China House on February 24

The audio from our China House gig on Friday, February 24, 2012, is available for download in 320k mp3 format at First Set and Second Set. The zip files decompress as individual tracks.

As a taste, here is our rendition of Eddie Harris' Cold Duck Time.

These are audience recordings on a Zoom H2. Plenty of noise from the bar!

First Set

1. Killer Joe and band intro
2. Equinox
3. Doxy
4. Bemsha Swing
5. Blue Monk
6. Lady's Blues
7. Cold Duck Time

Second Set 

1. Chitlins con Carne
2. Folsom Prison Blues (Jackie vocal)
3. Night Train
4. Blue Bird
5. Tequila
6. Over the Rainbow
7. Listen Here

The Chicago Jazz Quartet +1 Live at China House. Ron Ashkin, tenor sax; Jackie Ashkin, alto sax and vocals; Adrian Jones, bass; C.Y. Chee, guitar; James Peterson, drums. Recorded at China House, Georgetown heritage district, Penang, Malaysia, on February 24, 2012.

Gig Flyers

Video Trailer - Upcoming Gig at China House

Here is a 30-second video trailer for our upcoming gig this Friday night, February 24, at the Canteen at China House:

Jackie and I will be playing with the excellent guitarist C.Y. Chee in the rhythm section along with Adrian Jones on bass and James Peterson on drums.

As is our habit to introduce new tunes each time we gig, there will be about 8 selections that we haven't performed previously and we've been working hard to get up to speed. Not so easy when everyone has a day gig and we're spread from the mainland to both sides of this very congested island. Come out to China House on the 24th if you are in Penang. Last time the house was packed and we hope for another full house and responsive audience. Jackie will sing one or two again and we'll be playing tunes by Monk, Trane, Sonny, Benny Golson, McCoy Tyner, Rahsaan, Eddie Harris and other greats.

The Canteen at China House is located at 183b Victoria Street in Georgetown's UNESCO Heritage District, Penang, Malaysia. The music starts at 9:45 pm.

By the way - Penang tourism hit the big time and was featured in the New York Times travel section about a week ago - check out the article, which features China House prominently, at http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/travel/36-hours-penang-malaysia.html.

Nageswaram Duo at Thaipusam Festival

We went to see the closing procession of this year's Thaipusam Festival along Waterfall Road in Penang and were lucky enough to catch a duo of temple musicians playing nageswaram as they led the main chariot through the street accompanied by two thavil drummers. Here is a video clip I put up on YouTube:

The sound of the nageswaram always reminds me of Trane on soprano (listen to India with Eric Dolphy from the 1961 Village Vanguard sessions); Trane must have listened to South Indian music, the sound of which is much closer to his than the North Indian ragas he is reputed to have studied with Ravi Shankar.

Nageswaram music is associated with Hindu temple rituals and it is a living music. It is not studied in school so it can be reproduced in a concert hall for formally-dressed patrons who sit silently in attention; as you can see from the video, in this case the music was played on the move on a hot night for a thronging crowd of thousands. It was an integral part of the event. The musicians were surrounded by the crowd and it was difficult to get close enough to film this clip.

As the world's culture becomes more and more homogeneous (built, I am afraid, around having some dorky device stuck in your face regardless of where you are and what you are otherwise doing), it is encouraging to see the vitality of nageswaram music and an ages-old festival (Thaipusam is a Tamil festival celebrating the full moon). One of the rituals associated with Thaipusam, the kavadi, involves body piercing, pain, fasting, and sacrifice and I wonder how long that will last.

Nageswaram itself is a double-reed instrument made from ebony wood. It is difficult to play as it is not tempered and pitch must be mastered by a combination of embouchure and fingering. I had the fortune to study nageswaram with master Thilagar from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, a few years back when he was assigned to Penang as a musician in the Sri Mariamman Temple on Queen Street, Penang's oldest Hindu temple dating back to 1833. We would sit on the temple floor or he would come over to my house and teach me all by ear, as he didn't speak English nor I Tamil.

Return Engagement - China House on February 24

We're booked into Georgetown's Canteen at China House on Friday night, February 24. This is a return engagement after our initial gig there on January 13.

(L to R) Ron Ashkin, tenor sax; Jackie Ashkin, alto sax
and vocals; James Peterson, drums; Adrian Jones, bass

I'll be getting the set lists together over the next couple of days; likely to include some Mingus this time so Adrian can be featured. Jackie's vocal last time was a big hit with the crowd and I have asked her to prepare a few more tunes for the 24th. As usual we will introduce some new music at the gig. 

The Canteen at China House is located at 183b Victoria Street in Georgetown's heritage district; you may also enter from the opposite side at 153-155 Beach Street. Armenian is the nearest cross street. Music starts around 9:45pm and China House is set up so you can make an evening of it – have dinner up front at one of the nicest restaurants in Penang and then come back to the Canteen afterwards for live music.

Audio Files, China House on Friday the 13th

The audio from our China House gig on Friday, January 13, 2012, is available for download in 320k mp3 format at First Set and Second Set. The zip files decompress as individual tracks. These are audience recordings on a Zoom H2.

First Set

1. Killer Joe and band intro

2. Beatrice (tribute to the late great Sam Rivers)

3. Equinox

(L to R) Leonard, Jackie, Adrian, Ron, James  

4. Flintstones

5. Hold 'Em Joe

6. Kidney Stew

7. Blue Monk

8. Cold Duck Time

9. Mamacita

10. Someone Like You (Jackie vocal) 

Second Set 

1. Doxy

2. Song for My Father

3. Tequila

4. The Black and Crazy Blues

5. The Happy Blues

6. Listen Here

7. 'Round Midnight *

The Chicago Jazz Quartet +1 Live at China House. Ron Ashkin, tenor sax; Jackie Ashkin, alto sax and vocals; Adrian Jones, bass; Leonard Selva, keyboards; James Peterson, drums. Recorded at China House, historic Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia, on January 13, 2012. 

* for some reason, the second set closer, 'Round Midnight, did not get recorded and does not appear on the audio file.

Performance Videos, China House on Friday the 13th

Here are two performance videos from China House in Georgetown on the night of Friday, January 13th, 2012. We billed ourselves as The Chicago Jazz Quartet +1, the +1 being Jackie, and played to a full house. We had rehearsed together only the night before - Adrian Jones on bass, Leonard Selva on keys, and James Peterson on drums formed the nice rhythm section. Two firsts - Jackie's first vocal solo with a live backing band (well, almost, she fronted the Dalat Jazz Band last spring singing A Train), and James' first club gig. China House is a cool place, a unique space for Penang, three shop houses that go long-ways through an entire city block in the historic district, housing restaurants, bars, galleries, and performance spaces.

First, Jackie singing a cover of Adele's Someone Like You:

Next, Trane's Equinox:

There are three more videos from that night up on YouTube: Gene Ammons' Happy Blues with Tonal Alchemy sitting in as the rhythm section, Rahsaan's Black and Crazy Blues, and Beatrice, done as a tribute to the late great Sam Rivers who recently passed. Click here for the link.