This weekend, I had the great fortune to be a part of the 15th anniversary celebration of the Okkadisk record label in Milwaukee. The concerts featured many of the artists on the label, including Peter Brotmann, Joe McPhee, Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark, Michael Zerang, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Jeb Bishop, Jim Baker, Nate McBride, Tim Daisy, and myself. It was a great celebration of the label and the community that owner Bruno Johnson and his wife Adrienne Pierlussi have created around themselves at their two amazing bars, The Sugar Maple, and The Palm Tavern.
The Sugar Maple
The shows started with a tribute to Joe McPhee, featuring Ken, Jeb, Tim, and myself playing 10 of Joe’s compositions from some early records including Oleo, Tenor, and Old Eyes. I’ve been a fan of Joe’s since I first heard him in 1999 at the Empty Bottle when he and Hamid Drake played a duo concert as part of a Vandermark Five record release party. I’ve heard him many times since, and am always blown away by the beauty of his sound and playing on every instrument he touches. (tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, alto clarinet, pocket trumpet, flugelhorn…..and probably many more I’m not even aware of….) It was a great honor to have the opportunity to play his music for him, and Joe couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about what we did with the tunes. Joe is one of the most gracious people I’ve ever met, and I’m sure would never let on even if he hated it, but he seemed genuinely thrilled to hear what we did with his music.
The fun continued on Saturday afternoon, when I actually got the chance to play with Joe for the first time in an afternoon concert at The Palm Tavern. Flooded with sunlight on a beautiful afternoon, we set up with Ken, Jeb, Tim, Joe, and myself, and did a long set with various solos/duo/trios/etc. The crowd was really enthusiastic, and the weather had everyone in a great mood, despite the pervasive round of hangovers from the night before…….
Saturday night continued with a show by the Engines, featuring mostly new music we’ve been working on during our Tuesday residency at Elastic. The music seemed to really come together finally, which always feels good after putting the time in on it!
Peter Brotzmann’s trio with Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits headlined that night, and slaughtered the house. Nasheet has become perhaps my favorite drummer in recent years, with an unbelievable sense of both feel and time and an amazing ability to create structures in free-improvised settings. Eric was not an apparent choice for this trio, being much better-known for the more straightahead work he does with Branford Malsalis, etc., but he pushed the music in some great directions, and certainly held his own during the Brotzmann onslaught. Peter’s new alto, apparently a Yamaha prototype of some sort, seemed like it might actually be louder than the one he was playing before……but as is frequently the case, he brought just as much beauty as energy to the concert, opting for some Gene Ammons-like quiet moments that are rarely discussed in descriptions of his playing.
Sunday afternoon wrapped up with a six-guitar piece by the Milwaukee group Collection of Bees, a trio set with Caffeine, and Fred Anderson and Tim Daisy playing duo. It’s a great testament to the label’s continuity over the years that the first two records Bruno put out were by Caffeine and Fred Anderson with Steve McCall. All these sets were appropriately great…..Caffeine sounded like a working band, even though they haven’t played in about 6 years. Tim Daisy played his ass off with Fred, and Fred continues to surprise me every time he picks up the horn, even though I’ve seen him play hundreds of times by now. Truly inspiring…..
Overall, I can’t say thanks enough to Bruno and Adrienne for all the support they’ve given me over the years. Bruno had no reason to work with me when I first talked to him about putting a Triage record in 2002. He was pretty much guaranteed to lose money on a release by a young unheard-of trio. But he liked the music, and that was enough. We’re now working on our fifth release together, the second cd by the Engines, due out this summer. As I mentioned to the audience at the Engines concert on Saturday, Bruno is one of the unsung heroes of the resurgence in the improvised music scene in Chicago, having been there since the early 90’s when things really started moving. His humble and unyielding support for what we do is greatly appreciated.
CONGRATULATIONS AND MANY THANKS BRUNO AND ADRIENNE !!!
