Author: Alec Sugar
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75 Dollar Bill & BASIC @ The Sultan Room, Brooklyn, 12/4/24
I found myself on a recent evening amongst a ragged assembly of bespectacled geeks in a place called The Sultan Room. The centerpiece was a sunken ovular dancefloor with a backdrop of angular light panels evoking the futuristic situation room of a 70s sci-fi. The Sultan Room is entered through a sidedoor of the Turk’s… Read more
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Beat Round 2: Kings Theatre, Brooklyn, 12/8/24
I had the privilege to see Beat a 2nd time last Sunday. I reviewed the first NYC show in a lengthy and detailed post, so I’ll limit these remarks to some brief observations, fun anecdotes and beautiful photos. As a micro-refresher: Beat is the music of progressive rock band King Crimson performed by Crimson alumni… Read more
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Lost Seinfeld Scene – Kramer Gets Tickets to Beat
I’m going to another Beat show this weekend, and feel even more enthusiastic about it than Kramer does. INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT – DAY (Jerry is sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine. George is at the kitchen counter, picking at a bowl of cereal. Elaine is at the table reading a newspaper. Kramer bursts… Read more
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Joe Martin Quartet @ The Village Vanguard, NYC, 11/24/24
Joe Martin looked hip enough to be leading an indie rock band, but he’s a serious jazzman. The audience seemed animated enough it could’ve been a rock concert, but they were there for the jazz. As sax player Mark Turner quietly blew some warm up notes and looked down at his horn dissatisfied, Martin spoke… Read more
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The Vortex, Brooklyn, 11/15/24
The walking bass and trumpet rumbled from a nearby window as I waited to be buzzed in. Turning right down a corridor, I was greeted by a wave of sound, warm bodies and purple light. I had entered the Vortex, a night of jazz and libations shared over a loose network of friends. “I’m surprised… Read more
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Raven Chacon, Che Chen, C. Spencer Yeh @ The Stone, NYC, 11/9/2024
Noise is generally defined as unwanted sound. So why is there a genre called noise music? Who wants to hear the unwanted? Maybe noise isn’t unwanted but undefinable. A conventional song might express some viewpoint or emotion through verses and a chorus. Usually one melody–either a voice singing or rapping or an instrument soloing–soars over… Read more
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Emmanuel Michael @ The Jazz Gallery, NYC, 11/1/2024
The chance to easily see up-and-coming jazz musicians as well as the big names is a privilege of living in NYC. Jazz in my understanding has never been about a final state, so it seems like an important rite for a jazz lover to observe young musicians trying out new ideas. Emmanuel Michael’s performance at… Read more
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Beat @ The Beacon Theatre, NYC, 10/5/24
Intro I recently saw a Beat show, consisting of Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Steve Vai and Danny Carey playing 80s King Crimson music. I’d been drooling to see this since it was announced earlier in the year, and I think pretty much everyone who attended was a hardcore fan as tickets sold out very quickly.… Read more
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Lost Seinfeld Episode 7/8 – Scene by Scene
JERRY’S OPENING STANDUP MONOLOGUE Progressive rock and its time signatures, folks. I mean, these musicians are like mad scientists in a laboratory, cooking up a musical experiment that would make Einstein scratch his head. They’re like, “Hey, let’s not just stick to your standard 4/4 time signature. Let’s throw in some 7/8, 9/8, 13/8… Heck,… Read more