Monthly Archives: February 2013

Rudresh Mahanthappa Takes a World Tour with Gamak

Photos by and courtesy of Jim Gale.

Photos by and courtesy of Jim Gale.

Two important and related things to note this week: First, alto
saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa is bringing his quartet Gamak to the Outpost for two concerts on Thursday and Friday. Second, the chairs at the Outpost are not fitted with seatbelts. So those of you
attending the shows will want to grip the arms of your chair
firmly, and maybe hook your feet around the legs, so you don’t get blown out the door when the quartet blasts off. If you’re not sitting on your hat, you will lose it.  Continue reading →

“Skylights”: Balm for the Eyes and Ears

Research can be fun, boring, illuminating, exasperating, you-name-it—just like the rest of life. Sometimes it delivers more than you expect.

That’s what happened when I was researching guitarist/composer Andy Othling for my
“Tiempo” column in Albuquerque The Magazine. Othling quit a perfectly respectable job at
Sandia Lab to make a living playing music, and I’ll tell you how that suspect decision turned out in the April issue.

For now, I’d like to share an unexpected encounter with the universe that I had in the course of my research: Skylights. It’s a time-lapse video of New Mexico skies composed by Othling’s
photographer friend Knate Myers and scored by Othling.Skylights

It’s 5 minutes and 39 seconds long. I recommend that you set aside some time to view it when you won’t be interrupted, and watch it full-screen. If you can manage headphones for the music, that won’t hurt any, either.

Photo by Knate Myers.

© 2013 Mel Minter. All rights reserved.

CD Release Party for Floozy’s “Open Can of Super Days”

In the last couple of years, three new female trios have sprung up in Albuquerque, each with its own sound and sensibility, each feeling like it couldn’t have happened anywhere else, and each feeling like it has the potential to take another step.artworks-000039100075-hxwebu-t200x200

First, there was hONEyhoUSe, then Jeez LaWeez, and now comes Floozy: Teresa Esguerra (Local Honey), Bronson
Elliott (Sexy Mother Pluckers), and Tanya Nunez (Tommy Rickard, Stu Nevitt).

Until a few weeks ago, I knew very little about these last three ladies, and now I can’t get their songs out of my head. Their first album, Open Can of Super Days (Flophouse Records), will be unleashed Saturday with a release party at the Outpost. It’s a big wet kiss of an album—exhilarating and dangerous, messy and calculating—a lipstick-smeared excursion into electro-acoustic folk-punk, with a shot of Thelma and Louise. Want to go for a ride with the top down?  Continue reading →

Double-Hearted Jazz: Part II

Two accomplished jazz musicians residing in New Mexico—guitarist Michael Anthony and woodwind specialist Arlen Asher—will be
featured in a Valentine’s Day concert, In Love with Jazz, presented by Victoria Rogers and Cal Haines.

Both photos by and courtesy of Jim Gale.

Both photos by and courtesy of Jim Gale.

Part I will take a look at the making of
Anthony’s swinging CD, First Take, featuring the First Take Trio, with Michael Glynn on bass and Haines on drums. They’ll be celebrating the CD’s release in the concert’s first set.

Part II will spotlight Asher, who will lead the second set of the evening, backed by the trio.  Continue reading →

Double-Hearted Jazz: Part I

Anthony 0255Two accomplished jazz musicians residing in New Mexico—guitarist Michael Anthony and woodwind specialist Arlen Asher—will be
featured in a Valentine’s Day concert, In Love with Jazz, presented
by Victoria Rogers and Cal Haines.

Both photos by and courtesy of Jim Gale.

Both photos by and courtesy of Jim Gale.

Part I will take a look at the making of
Anthony’s swinging CD, First Take,
featuring the First Take Trio, with
Michael Glynn on bass and Haines on drums. They’ll be celebrating
the CD’s release in the concert’s first set.

Part II will spotlight Asher, who will lead the second set of the evening, backed by the trio.  Continue reading →