Earthwise is having its “piano serious” which comprises concerts on eight consecutive dates next week, next month, April 1 thru April 8, all at the Mitchell Park Community Center El Palo Alto room, sometimes called “The Mitch”.
It is my first time back in the rooms since hosting the Israeli musician Anat Cohen playing Brazilian music with her partner Marcelo Goncalves in November; I have hosted a handful of shows so far this year, despite taking a sabbatical as an athletics trainer or coach.
The shows will feature piano players such as Marta Sanchez, Ethan Iverson, Motoko Honda, Dick Conte, Dick Fregulia, Myra Melford, Adam Klipple, Tammy Hall, Edward Simon, Murray Low and Ben Stivers.
In terms of frequency that is Marta Sanchez (five times), Tammy Hall (two times), Ethan Iverson (two times) and everyone else once.
Marta played in two previous years, as a duo at The Mitch and with her quintet at Lytton Plaza. At the Mitch she used the Baldwin that has been there since the room opened in 2015. At Lytton she used an electric keyboard. Next week she — and the other 10- will use a 7-foot Yamaha on loan from Piedmont Piano of Oakland.
Ethan appeared years ago in a short-lived series at a gallery at the corner of Alma and Hamilton, downtown. Tammy meanwhile did a very casual but lovely hit at Johnson Park two years ago (the same day as the Stanford-USC game). Motoko has played three times, usually solo. This time she brings a group with reeds, and rhythm.
The show with Tammy Hall and Edward Simon is a matinee Sunday April 7 at 2 pm whereas all the others are 8 pm hits.
Myra was scheduled to play for Earthwise in 2020 — with Snowy Egret — but, dear readers surely recall, that was a miserable year where a pandemic created havoc in many realms beyond the 88 keys of pianoforte. (I looked this up: Myra has 12 projects– Dialogue with Ben Goldberg which is what we will host, but also Trio M, Be Bread, Language of Dreams, Quartet with Ben and Friends, MZM, Splash Trio, Solo, Lux Quartet, Fire and Water Quintet, and Tiger Trio. I think I saw her as a side person with Allison Miller.
(Meta note to self: I just rose from the table here at Coupa the Venezuelan cafe, walked over to the bath room, took a picture of a flyer that was there for a while already, and sent it to Hans Wendl who was Myra’s manager but also works or worked with Edward Simon, who I’ve never actually met, but is also from Venezuela; I met his daughter when she was at Stanford Jazz Workshop, the night I went by CoHo with Jorge Glem, who plays cuatro–ok, whoa, hey howdy, fact-checking his spelling I see that Jorge Glem who played here at Lytton Plaza with Sam Reider last summer also played with SF Symphony in November under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel).
Monday’s show is April Fool’s Day but I don’t know how that will impact the affair. Likewise, the eighth show, on Monday, April 8 will take place during an eclipse. I’ve brainstormed numerous weird ideas that to my mind would be fun for an Ethan Iverson show on April Fool’s day, but its also true that Ethan sometimes doesn’t get my sense of humor – for example, he banned me from commenting on his blog for a few weeks — the internet version of hockey’s “five for fighting”. So I probably will not actually try to get Adam Duritz of Counting Crows to sit in, as in the still from “Hanging Around”.
I will try to focus over these next 12 days on making the piano series a success, even to the exclusion of my other shows on the books and my other normal time-punts and distractions. I’m also – slightly defying my edict — at least carrying around a copy of a book I spent $15 on at Bells called Ernest Lupin The Piano Duet: A Guide for Pianists.
I promised myself I would make some type of joke or allusion to Counting Crows at counting my piano performances. To reiterate:
Piano Serious by Earthwise:
-Eight shows
-Sixteen performances
— Eleven pianists
-Various side-people although it started as purely solo piano
–Ages of performers including side people range from 21 for Rabiah Kabir a Stanford student in a duet with her teacher Murray Low of SALJE to Dick Fregulia age 83 who is Paly class of ’58 and Stanford class of ’62 and was once kicked out of the music room at Stanford for playing Jazz and I want to mention here that I am sending a note to mayor Greer Stone suggesting that the City of Palo Alto honor Dick here then or soon. Dick has been an educator in Marin for many, many years besides his considerable success in the entertainment industry or the arts. The red herring of the bunch is Monday’s headliner’s Freelance Subversives who are built around Will Bernard and his guitar but feature the piano player Ben Stivers – I noticed that they were doing a tour out here and spliced them onto the end of this serious. By the way, my awkward use of “serious” and not “series” is a reference to the fictional baseball player and illiterate from “You Know Me, Al” by Ring Lardner. In that book, if you excuse another digression of point of personal privilege, they are discussing that in Chicago circa 1920 after the major league season would end with The World Series, the White Sox and the Cubs would duke it out in The City Series, which the baller would call The City Serious. So I mean this run of shows for Earthwise is serious in the sense of being a sobering amount of effort to organize but also whimsical if I am quoting fictional baseball characters. And watching or working on this event will likely pre-empt my interest in basketball’s March Madness — which needs a new name anyhoo if it creeps into April.
I also rejected HURRY UP KEYS ITS TIMED which is a T.S. Elliot reference.
I plan to say something brief, briefer than this, about Ethan being on my radar or in my pantheon since before his days on the cover of Downbeat with The Bad Plus; I heard about him in January, 2001 from the dancer June Omura which was 25 months before These Are The Vistas dropped. But who’s counting?
FOUR HOURS LATER, AD FOR A BOOK OR THE PHOTOGRAPHER HERSELF, JESSICA LEVANT
1) Yes, feel free to use the Tammy Hall photo for your flyer (if she approves). Also including a recent one. (Again, if she approves).
2) There is a Dick Fregulia page – he has used the photo frequently – see volume Two. (I don’t know Bell’s Books – how is it that they are selling my self-published book? Is it a used one perhaps? Both volumes are available on amazon + the Mechanics Library on Post Street in SF has a copy of each. Possibly still some in stock at the Jazz School book store.
3) See my website https://www.jessicalevant.com/bay-area-jazz-musicians/ for many shot over past 20 years, but not diligently posted. See also my facebook page which has a musician album. Lastly ask me. I shoot most bay area musicians when I am in their company.
4) if you want prints, please contact me.
Best,
Jessica
CURRENT SHOWS:
Sweeties Art BarMarch 1 – 31 – Paper Chase, my all-collage show. Closing Reception on 3/29/24
Drawing Room Annex, 599 Valencia, SF. 2/24 – 3/24 – Women Rising Show – 1 piece in this show
SFWA GalleryMarch 5 – April 5- Spring! Lush! two pieces in this show.
On Thu, Mar 28, 2024 at 11:43 AM mark weiss <earwopa@yahoo.com> wrote:
I am producing a Tammy Hall concert next weekend —in fact two of them; can I have authorized use of your portrait of her from your 2013 collection, a copy of which I am thumbing through right now in Palo Alto at Bell’s books. I mean for a flyer. Who have you shot recently? Mark Weiss Dba Earthwise (650) 305-jazz
I was slightly disappointed that there was no Dick Fregulia.
Mark Weiss, founder of Plastic Alto blog, is a concert promoter and artist manager in Palo Alto, as Earthwise Productions, with background as journalist, advertising copywriter, book store returns desk, college radio producer, city council and commissions candidate, high school basketball player, and blogger; he also sang in local choir, fronts an Allen Ginsberg tribute Beat Hotel Rm 32 Reads 'Howl' and owns a couple musical instruments he cannot play
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 