I discovered avant-garde guitarist Marc Ribot last night at a free concert in downtown Manhattan, part of the River to River series of free shows every summer. This is a veteran from the New York Downtown scene, and one who defended free-form music venue Tonic until its final moments, so I'm sure he bristled at the irony of playing an inexpensive concert backed by corporate sponsors.

He's an eclectic player; in one concert he transitioned from an opening flamenco-style piece into jazz, fusion, prog, and noise. His first set with jazz ensemble Spiritual Awakening discordantly interpreted Albert Ayler compositions, and the second band, Ceramic Dog, replaced the brass with Moog synthesizers, flange, and crash cymbals galore. Ribot's not ashamed to bend notes into dissonance, but his improvisations moves with inspiration. His resume includes recording with Wilson Pickett, Elvis Costello, Marianne Faithful, and Tom Waits.

www.marcribot.com
http://www.myspace.com/marcribotsceramicdog

Labels: jazz, noise

This entry was posted by Endorse, on 7/18/07. You can leave your response.