Coming to America (Shola Version, 2015)

I just heard from Nigerian saxophonist extraordinaire Shola Emmanuel, who is currently fulfilling a lifelong dream by travelling to the U.S. with horn. He spent a few weeks in Atlanta and is currently jamming away in D.C.

Shola's impression is that "Jazz Musicians work so hard but most time struggle everywhere." The more things change, the more they stay the same. I trust the U.S. meets Shola's expectations musically and he earns some lasting international recognition while there, because many I know define success by the mere act of relocation to a more developed economy.

2014 was musically fruitful for Shola, evidenced by a baker's dozen of links to YouTube videos he's done over the last year. Here is an improvisation on clarinet backed by bass which has a montage of stills in the background (pay particular attention to the photo of Shola with a certain tenorist which shows up at the 1:05 mark):

And here are the other dozen links for your listening enjoyment. Comments are welcomed and will be passed on to the musicians:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQbwnh26zAE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiUlX66ke_o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFpqbrLV_Uo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9qI1664ups

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w2Vy4LeTaM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDUqwIzdZMo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40pN4K1CAcQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjBoL1E1esk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE-h09zFQf8

http://youtu.be/RHhelh9ogAg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn36DLTXFxQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qecFHrRjU4

I'm told a new song is on the way and will post it as soon as received. Be on the lookout.

Jackie Awarded Best Supporting Actor (Female)

Best Supporting Actor (Female) 2013
...also Playwright and Director

Short + Sweet Penang 2013 culminated in an awards ceremony on Saturday night and Jackie won the judges' prize for Best Supporting Actor (Female) for her role in Mark Sasse's 'No' In Spite of Itself, despite her limited on-stage time. Congrats! Jackie's behind-the scenes role as director helped that play win Best Script for the series, helped out immensely by Ciera Nash and Joseph Stoltzfus doing strong work as the leads. Congrats to all.

The Penang Blues Brothers entertained with some jump and urban blues both before the performance and afterwards at the cast party. Special thanks to KL guitar hero Joe Goh and harpist Kim Gooi for the down home sound.

Here is the final night's performance of 'No' In Spite of Itself on YouTube:

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.

Tribute to the Late Nigerian Saxophonist Dare Peter

Nigerian Saxophonist Dare Peter

Saxophonist Shola Emmanuel came down from Abuja to visit and we jammed for a quick hour before heading off to the New Africa Shrine to hear Femi Kuti. Shola and I hadn't seen each other in four years but it didn't seem to matter, either musically or in friendship. I was taking the opportunity to catch up on hap'nin's of some of our other musician mates in Abuja when I learned some shocking news: in Shola's words, Dare is no more.

Bandleader and saxophonist Dare Peter passed away last month after struggling with a long illness. I don't know Dare's exact age but he couldn't have yet reached 40. He came across as kind of a hard-nosed Rasta type with his dreadlocks and Rastaman hat, but that hard exterior was far from the full reality as Dare proved himself to be a musician of heart and integrity in the time I knew him.

Dare Peter and Ron Ashkin in Abuja, 2008

Back in 2008, I walked in to the legendary Elephant Bar in Abuja and heard Dare playing Sonny Rollins' Doxy on alto, supported by a great local rhythm section. He immediately invited me up on stage to join him (here is an audio track of us doing Doxy). That cemented a musical relationship for the rest of the year when I became his second saxophonist, playing tenor, and we played his regular Elephant Bar gig as well as going out to other venues like Silver Spoon and the Arts & Crafts Village. It was at Silver Spoon with Dare's band that I backed up Dede Mabiaku, not knowing at the time that Dede was Fela Kuti's protégé and famous throughout Nigeria. Someone in the audience dashed me a bottle of Champagne that night.

Dare was inclusive and accepting as a bandleader, giving me plenty of chance to stretch out and improvise as the ideas flowed; not competing with me, cutting me off, getting in the way, or making me feel like I was stepping on his toes. There were plenty of times where he gave me the feeling that I was being featured by the band and not just playing a supporting role. He had a repertoire that spanned from jazz to highlife to pop and often a set would progress through all three styles; I'd usually play the jazz opening set and the highlife closer but usually chose to sit out on a lot of the chick singer vocals. Playing with Dare really opened up my desire to perform.

As a musician, Dare had an easy facility on alto sax with a screaming altissimo. His signature tune was Grover Washington's Mr. Magic. Here is a video Dare playing Mr. Magic in 2008:

I've posted this before, but this time it is for posterity (more videos can be found here as well). I understand that Dare married soon after I left Nigeria and leaves behind his wife and young son. Dare Peter, Nigeria's Mr. Magic, rest in peace.

Drive All Night

Mark Sasse's short comedy-drama Drive All Night won the Audience Choice Award at the 2012 Short + Sweet Theatre Festival in Penang on September 15. It is the story of Sonny, who drives off into the night after a spat with his wife and is tormented by late night radio...

Drive All Night topped ten other productions over four nights to win the award. Jackie [Ashkin] can be seen playing Right Speaker, alongside Sarah Lim as Left Speaker and Joseph Stolzfus as Sonny. Amanda Khoo directed. Playwright Mark is Jackie's drama coach at Dalat International School. Congrats!

Special thanks to Festival Director Faridah Merican and Artistic Director Joe Hasham for bringing Short + Sweet to Penang Performing Arts Centre and for giving Jackie and cohort the chance to perform.

Smart Phones Stupid People

Jackie's original short play Smart Phones Stupid People is now up on YouTube for those who missed the performance at the Short + Sweet Theatre Festival in Penang. A comedy about a couple driving through the African savannah who spot a wild animal in the distance and decide to stop for the perfect Facebook profile picture (based on a true story, believe it or not...).

The Credits

Playwright: Jackie Ashkin; Director: Dr. Shark; Kangaroo: Nik Ahmad Aiman bin Nik Kamaluddin; Panda: Timmy Ong; Leopard/Goat: Dr. Shark; Festival Director: Dato' Faridah Merican; Artistic Director: Joe Hasham. Performed at the Short + Sweet Theatre Festival, Penang Performing Arts Centre, Penang, Malaysia, September 14, 2012.

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.

Rain Sultanov, An Under-Recognized Master

In 2007 I spent some months on a work assignment in Azerbaijan. Needing my jazz fix, I checked out the local music scene and found that the main man on tenor in Baku is named Rain Sultanov. I looked him up. The first time we met he was playing soprano with piano accompaniment in the lobby of the Baku Hyatt, a high class lounge gig. 

Rain came by my hotel room one afternoon; I had picked up a DVD of Trane from the Jazz Casual series (1964) and was watching it on my laptop. Rain got his horn out of its case and just started playing along with Trane. My jaw dropped. He is a stunningly good player. 

I tried to talk him into regular lessons but he declined and gave me a few tips here and there instead, the kind of tips you can practice for years (you sound pretty good but try this with your phrasing...). For about a month he loaned me his Mark VI tenor to play on. We stayed in contact on and off for the time I was in Baku and then I was gone. 

I understand that in his high school days, Rain was the best clarinet player in the entire former Soviet Union. He spent some time playing in Germany, has recorded albums of both straight ahead Trane-influenced jazz and original jazz-Azeri fusion, but otherwise he is virtually unknown outside his homeland. I was pleasantly surprised to find him on the bill at the Penang Island Jazz Festival in 2010.

The Penang festival is a mix of mostly pop and fusion groups with an occasional hard-core jazz act thrown in, and Rain’s quartet was that year’s hard core act. His main stage set, I fear, was way over the head of the crowd which was expecting the Swingle Singers. I had the opportunity to jam with him after hours at the midnight jam on the last day of the festival, and he blew me off the stage on Impressions. I am pretty much fearless when it comes to jamming but this is one case where I was embarrassingly outclassed. I thank Rain for letting me sit in with him although he knows that. The video above is Rain and his quartet doing Giant Steps later that night, December 6, 2010. Elchin Shirinov is smokin' on keys and Rain's brother Ramin is on drums.

Jackie receiving instruction from Rain Sultanov. "No...no...no..."

Rain came by the house the next day and gave Jackie a sax lesson which she will not forget for a long time. It was a real treat for a young 14-year-old player to get a one-on-one with a world class performer. I hope Rain is keeping his gigs and recording projects up and finding wider recognition outside of Baku. He is a skilled and dedicated player and deserves it. Here is the link to his official web site.

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.

Performance Videos from China House, February 24, 2012

Here are some YouTube videos from last Friday night's gig at the Canteen at China House in Georgetown. First, Night Train, the Happy Go Lucky Local variant that was first a hit for Jimmy Forrest in 1951 and then famously covered by James Brown on Live at the Apollo in 1962:

Next, Kenny Burrell's Chitlins con Carne from his Midnight Blue album (1963) which originally had Stanley Turrentine on tenor:

The third video is Charlie Parker's Blue Bird, which was covered by Charles Mingus and his Jazz Workshop in the 1960's. Click on the link to go straight to YouTube.

The band was Jackie on alto and me on tenor, with Adrian Jones on bass and James Peterson on drums. C.Y. Chee on guitar completed the rhythm section and did a fine job. We plan to rehearse together in this format for future gigs. I will post the audio files soon.

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.

Nigeria Retrospective - Performance Videos

I have a few performance videos from 2008 when I spent the year in Nigeria. These are worth pulling out of the can and posting. I was playing with saxophonist and bandleader Dare Peter, who calls his band The Music Pyramids. Three of the videos come from the Arts and Crafts Village in Abuja, an outdoor venue, and were filmed at about 3:00am on a hot August night when Dare and I sat in with the house rhythm section. A fourth video comes from the Elephant Bar in Abuja with the Nigerian Hendrix, King Faj, fronting Dare’s rhythm section. The video on that one is terrible but the music more than makes up for it. 

First, Dare’s signature tune, Mr. Magic, from the Arts and Crafts Village: 

Next, King Faj plays All Along the Watchtower; I’m on tenor sax: 

Then, two more from the Arts and Crafts Village – the warhorse C Jam Blues and an original highlife tune of Dare’s:

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.