Re: Matt Darriau & "Time Out"

xander@sirius.com
Mon, 15 Apr 1996 20:40:00 -0700


Sorry if this doesn't interest many of you (I am on the verge of taking
this thread off the list).

In response to my sloppy comparison, Charlie had this to say:

>Whoa, Matt Darriau vs. Dave Brubeck!?! Um, I've known Matt Darriau
>for a lot of years, and I can tell you - Dave Brubeck is no
>Matt Darriau :-).

Never one to keep to one train of thought, this may explain how I brought
Matt Darriau into the thread:

1. Both Dave and Matt have made accessible records which spotlight some
very exotic (by Western European standards) rhythms.

2. I was also thinking about points of entry to the global jazz scheme for
newbies - for me that point of entry was the Knitting Factory scene (by
which I don't mean to exclude a lot of related musics happening in other
places and on other labels).

>Matt was on the scene here in Boston for many years, playing
>with "Orange Then Blue" (a great small-big-band, led by
>George Schuller - check them out, there on Gunther Schuller's label),
>and with Les Mierables Brass Band (with me on drums/percussion).
>LMBB record 2 things - one on Global Village called "Om-Pah",
>the other on Northeaster Records, called "Manic Traditions".
>The band also did a soundtrack for kids video producers
>Rabbit Ears productions - "Pinocchio" before breaking up.
>Matt then split for NYC, where 1/2 of LMBB already lived.

I only knew of a track by LMBB on a Knitting Factory comp, something like
"Downtown does the Beatles" (Definitely not a Beatles fan, I've avoided
this one.) But of the two albums (discs) which to start with?

>BTW, many of the cats in LMBB are now found in other bands -
>Frank London, was the leader of LMBB & is now the leader of
>the Klezmatics, Marcus Rojas (tuba) is with Threadgill's
>Very Very Circus (check that out! - 2 elec. guitars, sax,
>2 tubas (!) French Horn, drums), Vinny Nobile is with the ska
>band Bim Skala Bim....Matt is working the klezmer & downtown scene
>in NYC.

I haven't heard any of the Klezmatics' records, but Frank London's
soundtrack for "The Shvitz" is awesome! In my top five for 1994 (which is
when I got it - I think it may have come out in 93?), without a doubt.
Klezmer meets everything on this disc, from traditional to (Yiddish) rap,
with hot jazz and some charged noise guitar romps inbetween.

Alexander