Tuesday, La Grande again.
At the beginning of the month, attendance was light- ping pong games were ongoing, people drifted out to the street for a cig, and it was mellow. But now, christmas week, the place is packed. Word is getting out.
The first set is the core band-
Alejandro Franov, on keys, and occasional bass and drums, has written movie soundtracks, played on dozens of sessions, and put out albums of his own ranging from solo piano to free jazz to indian inspired music (he plays a mean sitar) He collaborated with Juana Molina in 2004 on a little known ambient/electronic album called A y B.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDeFZBqDCtI
Loli Molina, on bass and guitar, at first appears to be “just” a singer songwriter, and she is that, in her day job. But she is awesomely capable of playing with this band, on bass, and later in the evening, as guest bassists sit in, on guitar. She is fierce.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KLAsjcRahY
on electric cello, Mauro Sarachian, who studied classical music in Argentina, Barcelona, and Brussels- but here, takes the role a lead guitar would in a rock band. Alternatively picking and bowing, he is unexpected and diverse in his attack- not your ordinary cello.
Two horns-
Ramiro Flores on saxes and occasional flute, and Juan Canosa on trombone and baritone sax- again, both players who have studied and worked with all kinds of bands both here and abroad. Mostly jazz guys, but Vazquez takes them into all kinds of other zones.
Drums- well, really two drum kits are on stage at all times- but one is constantly occupied by Pablo Bendov, who is a regular in Bomba del Tiempo at konex.
The other drum kit is where Vazquez perches when he is not conducting the band. Or, sometimes ,when he is, playing a kick beat, playing toms and cymbals with one hand, and, with his other drumstick in his mouth, directing the band with his free hand.
The band reminds me in some ways of the Lounge Lizards, with that old school, turn on a dime and give you five cents change precision and theatricalness- but, if, say, all of them were from brazil instead of just Arto. But the Lounge Lizards were more traditional, playing songs, with set melodies and bridges, and with places for brief solos.
This band is much more likely to be used by Vazquez as his instrument, not knowing how they will play a song until he leads them thru it. Certainly, there is a framework, and there is improv and solos- but one constant, in the 9 or 10 hours I have seen them playing, is the looks of glee on the faces of these musicians, as Vazquez directs them to do things they werent expecting, to start and stop and rise and fall, as he constructs the song around them. They know how he works, and they are all very quick on their feet, but they often dont see that cliff coming, or that anvil falling, until its too late, and yet they always come out sounding like it was rehearsed a hundred times.
This is one happy band- they all know they are doing things that are great, and they all know how much fun it is to play with others at that skill level. They trust Vazquez, and fall backwards into his arms all night long.
Intermission has Villa Diamante DJ'ing- which means dancing-he can invigorate a crowd of dead people.
Then, the second set starts with Kabusacki having laid out his enormous carpet of effects pedals, and with Venus, a 2 piece band of argentine expats who lived in Madrid for decades, setting up their synths. Marina Olmi, called by El Pais the Yoko Ono of Argentina, and Guillermo Piccolini, who has been in a bunch of avant garde indie bands in Spain- Pachuco Cadaver, for example.
The combo of the two of them, with Kabusacki, a guest bass player, and Loli now on guitar, plus a guest horn player and a drummer, means there are eleven or twelve people on stage now, jumping into a psychedelic wall of sound version of Tomorrow Never Knows, with 2 synths, 3 drummers, and Kabusacki meandering between washes of surf rock guitar, synthesized slide that sounds like a theremin, and McLaughlin-esque power chords. Its a bit Satanic Majesties Request, a bit Sonic Youth, a bit Grateful Dead- a long heavy wash of sound that gives you a contact high just listening to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_mhiUEg3zQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZdZolL6_74
When venus leaves, Gaby Kerpel crouches in the shadow of the drumkit, with his tiny analog Minibrute synth in his lap, adding squeaks and scronches for the rest of the night, somewhat reminiscent of Soul Coughing.
Amazing guest horns come and go- jazz players with chops, dropped in to unexpected twists and turns.
First La Yegros, and then Miss Bolivia, come up for two or three songs each- the band goes Afrodub/Brasiliana/Funk, sometimes with three or more percussionists. Never fewer than 8 musicians, often closer to 12.
Thru it all Vazquez is controlling the sound, the beat, the solos, directing and encouraging, producing, performing, singing, drumming, editing, composing all at once. He gives each player a bit of room, especially the visiting ones, but still produces something that none of them would have imagined on their own.
The cross pollination that has been occurring at these shows just could never happen anywhere else- imagine if the top jazz, punk, funk, rap, and folk artists in the usa just jammed together every tuesday night for a month- impossible. But here, its natural and organic.
Towards the end of the night, Vazquez kept trying to get Villa Diamante and Milo to come up- but Milo was nowhere to be found, and Villa was on the couch by the front door, frantically texting- presumably to Milo. Milo is a beatboxer and cumbia villera rapper, and Villa Diamante is a song constructor, deconstructor, beat collector, and can make any booty shake- the two of them, with that band, would have been a very interesting combination- but I dont know if it ever happened.
My wife and I were both recovering from the christmas cold that is going around, and we ended up leaving, a bit after midnight, with still no sign of Milo.
