Michael Mull Octet

Michael Mull Octet

Friday, August 12, 2011

FBJO, Mahadev and MORE

Happy Friday everyone!

Apologies for the long break since the last post. As soon as I returned from the weekend tour with Mahadev, there was a mad scramble to get ready for a tour with the Fatum Brothers Jazz Orchestra beginning July 28th. I was joining this fine young big band in the midst of their summer tour (they had already been on the road for two weeks) just in time for a four-night run at Chicago's famed club, The Jazz Showcase. We recorded two sets a night, soon to be pared down and molded into "The Fatum Brothers' Jazz Orchestra: Live at the Jazz Showcase". We caught some great stuff on tape, so I'll be sure to keep you updated as this project keeps rolling.

After Chicago, we packed up and drove some long hours, making our way down and across to play shows in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Columbus, Jacksonville, and Sarasota over the next week, ranging from concert halls to jazz clubs to farmers' markets to backyard parties! This was all thanks to an incredible amount of work put in by Michael Fatum, the trumpet-playing Fatum brother and one heck of an ambitious character. Let's put it this way; the only big bands that are touring these days (aside from the Fatums and Maria Schneider's band) have been around since the 1950's...I am very proud to be a part of an ambitious project like this one that literally runs on the love of the music. Stay in the loop at fatumjazz.com.

In addition to bringing home a vicious sunburn from the tour, I also grabbed a copy of pianist Adam Kromelow's debut album, Upgrade. He plays in the Fatum Brothers Jazz Orchestra as well, and regularly melts minds with his control, spontaneity, and dynamic range. I gave the album a listen straight through this morning and I am thoroughly impressed; a great set of originals and interpretations rooted not only in jazz, but in rock as well. The performances are full of energy without the tiresome, over-played quality of many contemporary groups.

As I type I am listening to yet another new musical aquisition, a solo record of ambient music produced and performed by the talented Mike Lockwood. Entitled "HAPPY:entropy", the album boasts pieces that meld electronics, field recordings, and recorded instruments to provide you a brisk walk through Mike's brain (or at least a part of it). If you've heard Mike play the drums, you know already that his music is to be taken seriously. If you haven't heard him play, do it. And buy the album.

Lastly, there are only a few days left for you to pledge support for Mahadev's album on Kickstarter.com! We are just over the halfway point, but need a lot more help to reach our goal. Any amount helps, and a pledge of only ten bucks can secure you a digital copy of the album when it is finished. Know what you're getting yourself into, listen to some rough takes from the album! Please let me know if you have any questions about Kickstarter, and thanks in advance for your support.

More news coming soon, thanks for reading!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Mahadev Tour and Kickstarter

Happy July everyone, hope you are staying cool(ish). Mahadev, a wonderful group I've been involved in for the past year, is embarking on a short escapade this weekend to play a couple of shows. We are also launching a Kickstarter page to help fund our debut album; it is already recorded, but we need help to get it mixed, mastered, and duplicated. The sounds and performances are very solid and I'm really hoping we can share this with you all soon. Check out the page! The touring Mahadev is: Dave Cipriani (classical guitar/Indian slide guitar), Eric Klerks (fretless bass), Michael Mull (alto sax/clarinet), Chris Payne (percussion).

Any folks in Santa Barbara or San Francisco looking for some great music? Here are our stops up the coast this week:

THURSDAY JULY 14, 8 PM - SANTA BARBARA
Muddy Waters Cafe, 
508 E. Haley St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
$8
http://www.colterfrazier.c​om/sbnewmusicseries.html 
Our friend & killer sax player Andrew Conrad will be opening for us & sitting in on some songs!


FRIDAY JULY 15, 8 PM - SAN FRANCISCO
Kaleidoscope Free Speech Zone
3109 24th st, @ folsom
San Francisco, California
$5-10 donation
http://www.kaleidoscopefre​espeechzone.com/
We'll be opening for americana band Buxter Hoot'n



Bring your friends, or tell 'em if you can't come yourself. Hope to see some smiling faces at our shows!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

"Peasant Funk" Coming Soon

Looking forward to a busy upcoming week. I'll be going into the studio for a couple of days to record Orkestar MEZE's debut album, "Peasant Funk"! We have been polishing all your peasant favorites and working on a couple brand new songs for the record, and are all excited to get in the studio this week. We did a great photo shoot for the album today in the hills of Sunland, complete with horses, sheep, dust and pitchforks; can't wait to see what came out of that!

More updates to follow, but "Peasant Funk" should be out in about a month, with a big CD release party in the works as well!

Otherwise, I'll be posting a few upcoming gigs here very soon, come back soon. I've also been transcribing some more solos by Meshuggah's Fredrik Thordendal, a project I began last year and was put on hold until now. Once I get a couple more done, I'll post here with some analysis --- transcribing has already yielded some amazing stuff, so I'm excited to share it with you.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Friday Night Peasant Bacchanalia

Friends and Peasants,

Just a quick reminder that Orkestar MEZE will be rocking Rusty's Surf Ranch on the Santa Monica pier yet again this Friday night at 10pm. We started a monthly residency there recently, and will be bringing the peasant funk on the first Friday of every month. Here's the facebook event.

We are so grateful to have reached and surpassed our Kickstarter goal, and Orkestar MEZE's first album will be recorded, mixed, mastered and manufactured this month, to be available for all you peasants early July! We'll be recording at the Mouse House Studio with world-class engineer Rich Mouser, so expect the recording quality to be, well, not-so-peasant. More info to come!

Lastly, don't forget to check my posting about the Benefit Event for Japan at Peace Yoga this Sunday, 6/4/11. I'm bringing a quartet to play, plus two other bands, a dance show, and some amazing prizes for super cheap raffle tickets. This event has been tirelessly organized and prepared by my wife Ami, and 100% of the proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross to help relieve and rebuild. Details can be found here.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Benefit Event for Japan at Peace Yoga

Friends, the media rolls onward to cover the latest news, but we mustn't forget the terrible happenings that began with an earthquake in Japan on March 11th this year. I am pleased to invite you all to a wonderful event a week from today to take place at Peace Yoga in downtown Los Angeles. My wife Ami Mull has been working tirelessly for the past few months organizing, recruiting, scheduling, and rehearsing for this event, and she has lined up three bands, a short dance show, and an enticing stack of raffle prizes for those who attend. The best thing: ALL proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross --- all entertainment and prizes (plus use of the venue) were donated, allowing admission/raffle ticket money to go to Japan %100! With a big event like this one, this is a rare claim; come support our neighbors across the Pacific and have a blast doing it.

I'll be performing a set with my quartet, featuring Juanma Trujillo, Emilio Terranova, and Mike Lockwood. You can find all other info below, including the event on Facebook. You are encouraged to download the flyer below and spread the word! The more people to party, the more we help those in need.


BENEFIT EVENT for JAPAN at PEACE YOGA
Sunday, June 5th
Doors @ 1:30pm, entertainment/raffle 2:00-6:00pm
$10 donation for admission (or more if you want!)
$2 raffle tickets (check here for a listing of awesome prizes)

Peace Yoga
903 S Main Street, Los Angeles
Click the flyer below to view closer!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Gutbucket, Mahadev and a MEZE gig

Folks, it's been a wild ride since my last post. I'll run through some of the happenings here and let you know about some upcoming events I'm very excited about.

On Monday, May 9th I had the privilege of performing some arrangements with the razor-sharp, avant-rock-jazz quartet Gutbucket. Touring behind their new album Flock, Gutbucket made a stop at the REDCAT Theater in downtown LA, billing the show as "The Gutbucket Chamber Orchestra". The first half was a brilliant quartet set of pieces from Flock, while the Chamber Orchestra (of which I was a part) joined them for the second set. Check out this positive review from the LA Times.

Recruited from CalArts students and alumni, the Alto/Guitar/Bass/Drums quartet was augmented with two woodwind players, two keyboardists, percussion, cello, and additional electric bass and guitar. We performed expanded arrangements of pieces from Gutbucket's previous release, A Modest Proposal. The music was incredibly challenging and complex, but only extraneous when it wanted to be. It was a great experience to work with the guys from Gutbucket in a few days of intensive rehearsal, getting all that music together; we all hit our stride during the soundcheck, and I had a blast performing with everyone at REDCAT. Thanks to Gutbucket and all the CalArts connections for the opportunity!

This past weekend, I went into the recording studio with Mahadev, a fun world-jam quintet I've been involved in for almost a year now. We got some great stuff laid down, and will be launching a Kickstarter project soon to spread the word and try to get this thing produced and released!

Tonight, Orkestar MEZE converges on Hollywood for the rapture! We are playing at the Key Club, opening for East-European rockers Viza, and looking forward to a packed show. We go on at 9:30pm, and there are a few other bands to check out as well. You can get more details on this Facebook page.

In other MEZE news, we have surpassed our initial Kickstarter goal raising money for the album, and looking to keep the momentum through these last ten days! With more support, we can put money toward mixing, mastering, and printing the album, meaning less time before it can appear in your peasant hands! Check out the page and pledge some support for a copy of the album and other cool incentives.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Review: Dave Binney 4tet at the Blue Whale

New York-based jazz musicians pass through the LA area from time to time, and I always try to catch a good show when I can. I never pass up an opportunity, however, to see alto saxophonist David Binney. I have been a fan of his playing and compositions for several years now, and have had the opportunity to hear him perform a few times. A relentless explorer and veritable bandleader, Binney builds his set from a long list of his original compositions over the last decade (sometimes more), and unleashes his band upon the material. With a freshness and freedom often only heard in a composition's first performances, Binney and his bandmates breathe new life into the music each time, taking risks, surrendering at times, relentless at others. Binney brought a tight quartet to the Blue Whale on Saturday night, demonstrating once more the malleability of his music and the artistry of the musicians he chooses to play with.

Dave Binney brought from New York pianist John Escreet and electric bassist Tim LeFebvre, completing the quartet with LA's own Louis Cole on drums. If you are unfamiliar with Louis's music, I would highly recommend checking out some of his videos on Youtube. His style and influence was apparent throughout the night, his layered, often aggressive playing splashing against Tim LeFebvre's inventive bass. The grooves were at once tight and loose, a sublime push-and-pull against Binney's and Escreet's improvisations. Escreet demonstrated how an acoustic piano can not only function, but excel in a sound setting that would otherwise be regarded as "electric"; employing two-handed, percussive techniques, Escreet often built material not with melodies, but with rhythmic and tonal shapes and gestures.

Binney, as expected, lit the place on fire. With music that intense, it is difficult as an improviser to find the proper pacing; many soloists dive too quickly into "loud and fast and lots". Binney is a patient and thoughtful soloist in any context, but his composition-centric, "serving the big picture" abilities were highlighted at the Blue Whale as he maintained a gradual rise in intensity in each improvisation, engaging both his bandmates and the audience from start to finish. Binney's experience as a composer is also evident in his strength of idea, or motive, when improvising. Pitches alone are not considered: sound as a whole is introduced and developed.

This was not a show of technical prowess (although it was definitely apparent), but one of textural, rhythmic, and gestural exploration. Nights like Saturday remind us all that there is still plenty of new music being made that holds deep roots in the jazz tradition --- not the outward, obvious tradition of playing swing and standards, but the tradition of "live" and "living" music. As the inimitable Eric Dolphy said:

When you hear music, after it's over, it's gone, in the air. You can never capture it again.

Musicians like Binney, Escreet, LeFebvre, and Cole continue the catch-and-release of this music we so dearly love. It was beautiful to be a part of a packed house enjoying such a fresh night of music, and I believe it is a testament that we'd all like to see a little more of Dave Binney and his groups on the old West Coast. Thanks for a spectacular show, guys.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Orkestar MEZE Album Project

Good morning friends!

I'm very excited to announce that Orkestar MEZE, your favorite peasant funk band, is embarking on a debut album for your listening and dancing pleasure. We just played a super fun set at this year's Topanga Earth Day Festival; tons of great videos up on YouTube, check out "Silicone" below:


Orkestar MEZE has also put up a Kickstarter page to fund our new album. If you are unfamiliar with Kickstarter, it allows fans and listeners to contribute as much or as little as they want to the album's production, and in return, receive anything from a copy of the album to cool one-of-a-kind gifts to a private performance from Orkestar MEZE! You can go to the page, watch our video, and check out the "Peasant Packages" that are available.

We have an amazing opportunity to record in an ideal studio situation, but we can't do it without your help! We have been doing great so far, so let's keep that ball rolling! Remember, if we don't reach our goal, the money goes right back to you, so if you want this project to happen as much as we do, check out those Peasant Packages!

If you'd like to hear more about Orkestar MEZE, you can stay updated on our Facebook page, and just search us on YouTube for a ton of videos from previous shows. We have a few exciting shows coming up in May, including the beginning of our residency at Rusty's Surf Ranch in Santa Monica on May 6th. More details soon...

Thank you all for your support, we can't wait to get this album going!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Barclay's and The Mint

Good morning, I'd like to give you all a quick update on some upcoming gigs. Tomorrow night (Friday, 4/1) I am playing with one of my good friends Nick Grinder and his quintet at a new spot in the San Fernando Valley, Barclay's Coffee and Tea. They recently began having live jazz there, and although this will be my first time, I've been hearing about a great vibe and casual, energetic atmosphere. Details below:


Nick Grinder Group:
Nick Grinder (trombone), Michael Mull (alto sax, bass clarinet), Michael Ragonese (piano), Jak Kyokong (bass), Nick De Ryss (drums)


Friday, April 1st
7:00 PM, two sets
$5 suggested donation goes directly to the band
Barclay's Coffee and Tea
8976 Tampa Ave., Northridge CA 91325
View the event on Facebook


I'll also be joining Thy Oddbirds next Wednesday 4/6 at The Mint in Los Angeles. We're playing one later set amid some other bands, and I'm really excited to sit in with these guys. You should check it out for yourself, but to quote the Mint's site, the music involves "melding cinematic electronic soundscapes with traditional funk and jazz"; there is an open, funky vibe not unlike Miles Davis's classic Bitches Brew recordings, and I think this set is going to be a blast to play and hear.


Thy Oddbirds:
Boyd Peterson (electric bass), Paul Krueger (keyboards), Michael Mull (alto sax, flute), Robert Patrick (guitar), JK Benjamin (drums)


Wednesday, April 6th
11:00 PM
$10 cover ($15 for under 21)
The Mint
6010 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035
Gig info on the Mint's website




In other news, I went out to Vitello's last night to see trombonist Bob McChesney and his quintet. Let me just say one thing about Bob McChesney: if you have not heard him play, you must. Bob is playing the trombone on an unprecedented level, and every time I hear him I still can't believe my ears. His support was incredible as well, with tenor great Bob Mintzer and pianist Andy Langham lending some of the hardest swinging, passionate improvisations of the evening.


I'll do my best to post about Bob McChesney's next show, and we'll all go together. You'll see...


Cheers everyone, I hope to play for you at one of my upcoming gigs.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Orkestar MEZE Bulgarian Spring Party

Long time no post! Life has been incredibly busy but mostly excellent.

This Saturday night, March 19th, Orkestar MEZE will be rocking the Bulgarian Spring Party at the St. George Bulgarian Church! This won't be your usual church party... Bulgarian rakia (delicious) and beer will be available, plus some delectable Bulgarian food. MEZE translates to "food you eat when you are drinking", so what a match-up this is for us! Only five bucks, all ages, and some great peasant-funk to dance to all night! What more could you need on a Saturday night?

Bulgarian Spring Party with Orkestar MEZE
Saturday, March 19
8:00-11:00 PM
$5 admission, no minimum
ALL AGES

St. George Bulgarian Church
150 South Alexandria Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Check it on facebook