An irrepressible creative spirit, Ribot has absolutely zero concern for genre boundaries. From off-the-wall avant-jazz explorations with John Zorn and Fred Frith to sultry Latin forays with Los Cubanos Postizos to his downtown-NYC ensembles Rootless Cosmpolitans and Shrek to Spiritual Unity (a group “dedicated to re-creating and re-imagining the music of the great saxophonist Albert Ayler”), he has more bands than Rush Limbaugh has pharmacists, and there’s nary a dud in the lot.
Ribot is in town this week working on the upcoming Robert Plant/Alison Krauss album, so he’s decided to bring his cohorts from yet another group, Ceramic Dog, to town for a one-off at The Basement. (The band toured Europe earlier this year.) A power trio that also includes two fixtures on Southern California’s experimental rock scene—bassist Shahzad Ismaily (Two Foot Yard, Secret Chiefs 3) and drummer Ches Smith (Good for Cows, Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant, Ben Goldberg)—Ceramic Dog play edgy, in-your-face garage-rock instrumentals trashed up with a healthy dose of electronic mischief. “Party Intellectuals,” from the band’s MySpage page, sounds like an alien dance party held in a midtown Manhattan traffic jam. “Midost” is trashy, metal-tinged math rock, while “When We Were Young” suggests what the Velvets might have sounded like if they’d had laptops. Ribot is a fearless and riveting improviser, and an opportunity to see a player of his stature in the intimate confines of The Basement is like hitting the musical Powerball.
Meanwhile, human octopus Horacio “El Negro” Hernández joins the Nashville Jazz Orchestra at Ingram Hall for “Cuban Fire,” a night of Latin jazz and salsa that promises to be incendiary. Hernández is a mind-blowing drummer at the pinnacle of his career—regarded by many as the best Latin trap-kit drummer alive, and that’s in a genre known for spawning boatloads of exceptional drummers. (Search YouTube for the video of him in action and you’ll understand why.)
Hernández, 44, was a prolific studio drummer in his native Cuba for years—he allegedly kept a mattress in one of the studios, sometimes not returning home for a week or more—before moving to Italy and eventually New York. He’s worked with jazz heavyweights Dizzy Gillespie, Paquito d’Rivera and Michel Camilo, not to mention Latin rock legend Carlos Santana. (Unless you haven’t turned on a radio for the last eight years, you’ve surely heard Hernández’s work on Santana’s Supernatural.)
All drummers strive for at least some level of limb independence—where each and arm and leg can play separate rhythmic patterns—but Hernández’s polyrhythmic skills are so astounding, it’s remarkable he’s not suffering from multiple personality disorder. (Not to mention that he’s done more for the cowbell than Will Ferrell’s Gene Frenkle on SNL.)
Also joining director Jim Williamson and the NJO Friday are renowned Latin percussionists Richie Flores and Jesus Diaz, along with a couple of terrific local percussionists, Lalo Davila and Glen Caruba—not to mention NJO’s great resident drummer, Bob Mater, who’s likely to be so giddy surrounded by this embarrassment of percussive riches, it’ll be a miracle if he doesn’t fall off his stool. Singer and songwriter Dalia Garcia, a veteran of Julio Iglesias’ touring band, will also perform. The orchestra will play the music of Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Arturo Sandoval, as well as selections from Johnny Richards’ “Cuban Fire Suite,” made famous by Stan Kenton’s big band.
Two can’t-miss shows on the same night—damn! Bummed you can’t see both? Actually, you can, since NJO is doing two performances, the first of which is at 7:30 p.m., while Ribot won’t go on until 9 at the earliest. So quit your whinin’.
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