Saturday, July 28, 2007

Up On the Roof With Mark Southerland






















A few dozen indie rock kids, jazz enthusiasts and stray Fringe Festival geeks gathered on the roof of the Central Library's parking garage Saturday night for a performance misleadingly billed as "Acid Jazz."


















A live drummer emitted a constant spray of rhythms as an electronic beat pulsed. Mark Southerland alternated manipulating tape samples and playing saxophone and the Seussian instrument in the first photo.




















The effect was not unlike a remixed version of "Psalm, Pt. 4" from A Love Supreme, a grittier version of Amon Tobin or the electronic work of Matthew Shipp. While it was dense, challenging music, only the stodgiest traditionalist could have resisted its engaging charms.

*I also attended the screening of Flow: Living In the Stream of Music in the former bank's vault. While I wanted to see the documentary about Terence Blanchard's band, what I had most been looking forward to was chilling in a frigid room on the hot July day. I was disappointed to discover that the vault offered little relief from the sweltering heat. The film itself is a perceptive examination of the creative process, although the constant sighs of boredom from impatient moviegoers prevent me from recommending it too strongly.

(Original photos by Plastic Sax.)

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