Here's something you might be interested in.
Chuck Perrin, in a Dizzy's production staged in The Back Room at 98 Bottles, elevated the excitement factor to a "dizzying" degree last night by bringing in the uber-creative jazz/classical/rock ensemble, Sketchy Black Dog to packed and enthused audience.
Sketchy Black Dog is the brainchild of Russian émigré Misha Piatigorsky, a composer, arranger and pianist who lives in New York. His partner is Chris Wabich, a drummer with a highly unusual aesthetic. The group is billed as a jazz trio with string quartet. The final member of the trio is LA bassist Ed Livingston, who has been to SD before with Bobby Watson and Joshua White.
The strings were comprised of first violinist Sita Chay, from Korea, second violinist Reiko Nagano, from Japan, cellist Irina Chirkova, from Bulgaria, and violist Tom Lea, who hails from San Diego.
Opening with an original, "Three Tears at Midnight," Wabich's swirling brushstrokes and potent bass drum set the stage for the piano melody and striking harmonies of the strings. This Piatigorsky guy is some kind of genius when it comes to writing for strings. From their very first chord--that much was obvious. The tune got funky with a snare drum backbeat and Livingston's lithe, muscular bass, then everyone dropped out save the strings, which established a pizzicato rock vamp before the rest of the band came rushing back in.
On "17 Rooms," a lilting waltz, if I remember correctly, there was the drama of short, round robin solos from the strings, of which all stood out, but especially Lea's dark-toned viola essay and Chay's s soaring violin spot.
There was the joyous up-tempo rock epic, "Yo-Lo," which was powered off the stomping heel of the leader--who also let loose with a virtuosic piano solo. As a pianist, Piatigorsky is hard to pin down. He doesn't seem to have the usual jazz piano influences--very original stuff.
They performed "The Immigrant," which was based on Eastern European music--full of choppy rhythms and superb dynamic control--the entire group performed acoustically--save for Livingston's bass amplifier, and the leader encouraged everyone to sit as close as possible to take it all in.
Above all, Sketchy Black Dog seems to be dedicated to the idea of making their music fun. You could hear laughter coming from both the bandstand and the audience the whole night.
Piatigorsky introduced "El-a-Joey," as a hybrid of "Eleanor Rigby," and "Hey Joe." Over pastoral piano chords, the strings conjured clouds of harmony while Livingston probed a deep resonant path. The highly original drummer kicked things into a temporary double-time, then the chromatic Hendrix bass line emerged to explore "Hey Joe." Things got really wild from there, with themes that touched on everything from free-jazz to deafening arena rock before quieting down for Livingston to outline the Police standard "Roxanne."
Sketchy Black Dog is engaged in very creative music that is far outside the normal parameters, of jazz, rock or classical styles. They come to SD about twice a year, and I highly recommend making the next concert
Photo by TOM HARTEN.
Chuck Perrin, in a Dizzy's production staged in The Back Room at 98 Bottles, elevated the excitement factor to a "dizzying" degree last night by bringing in the uber-creative jazz/classical/rock ensemble, Sketchy Black Dog to packed and enthused audience.
Sketchy Black Dog is the brainchild of Russian émigré Misha Piatigorsky, a composer, arranger and pianist who lives in New York. His partner is Chris Wabich, a drummer with a highly unusual aesthetic. The group is billed as a jazz trio with string quartet. The final member of the trio is LA bassist Ed Livingston, who has been to SD before with Bobby Watson and Joshua White.
The strings were comprised of first violinist Sita Chay, from Korea, second violinist Reiko Nagano, from Japan, cellist Irina Chirkova, from Bulgaria, and violist Tom Lea, who hails from San Diego.
Opening with an original, "Three Tears at Midnight," Wabich's swirling brushstrokes and potent bass drum set the stage for the piano melody and striking harmonies of the strings. This Piatigorsky guy is some kind of genius when it comes to writing for strings. From their very first chord--that much was obvious. The tune got funky with a snare drum backbeat and Livingston's lithe, muscular bass, then everyone dropped out save the strings, which established a pizzicato rock vamp before the rest of the band came rushing back in.
On "17 Rooms," a lilting waltz, if I remember correctly, there was the drama of short, round robin solos from the strings, of which all stood out, but especially Lea's dark-toned viola essay and Chay's s soaring violin spot.
There was the joyous up-tempo rock epic, "Yo-Lo," which was powered off the stomping heel of the leader--who also let loose with a virtuosic piano solo. As a pianist, Piatigorsky is hard to pin down. He doesn't seem to have the usual jazz piano influences--very original stuff.
They performed "The Immigrant," which was based on Eastern European music--full of choppy rhythms and superb dynamic control--the entire group performed acoustically--save for Livingston's bass amplifier, and the leader encouraged everyone to sit as close as possible to take it all in.
Above all, Sketchy Black Dog seems to be dedicated to the idea of making their music fun. You could hear laughter coming from both the bandstand and the audience the whole night.
Piatigorsky introduced "El-a-Joey," as a hybrid of "Eleanor Rigby," and "Hey Joe." Over pastoral piano chords, the strings conjured clouds of harmony while Livingston probed a deep resonant path. The highly original drummer kicked things into a temporary double-time, then the chromatic Hendrix bass line emerged to explore "Hey Joe." Things got really wild from there, with themes that touched on everything from free-jazz to deafening arena rock before quieting down for Livingston to outline the Police standard "Roxanne."
Sketchy Black Dog is engaged in very creative music that is far outside the normal parameters, of jazz, rock or classical styles. They come to SD about twice a year, and I highly recommend making the next concert
Photo by TOM HARTEN.