The Killa 4 Dilla 4/30/16 New Orleans, LA @ Maison – Fiyawerx Prod. – J Dilla Tribute

Killa 4 Dilla 4/30/16 Maison, New Orleans

The Killa 4 Dilla II – April 30, 2016
New Orleans, LA @ Maison (actually started 5/1/16 @ 3:30am)
Part 1 of 2:
???, The Light (with Ivan Neville, Ian Neville & Nikki Glaspie), [Alvin Ford Jr exits, Louis Cato enters], Thelonius > Players > Get Down > U and Ur Smile > 2 You 4 You, [Louis Cato exits, Adam Deitch enters], Thought U Wuz Nice, So Far To Go

Bee Getz as quoted in his NOLA Jazz Fest After-Dark 2016 overview review at Live For Live Music:

After the rousing success of their first endeavor, a late-night, post-BUKU throwdown, FIYAwerx Productions revealed a Jazz Fest after dark redux, and the Killa 4 Dilla II was born just days before the show. The FIYA Dept had this one tucked up their sleeve for a few weeks, but once they announced the second edition of their J Dilla tribute, the excitement around the city was palpable. Boasting a roster of jazz-funk heavyweights with a healthy appreciation for hip-hop history, the band came together in short order to summon a ghost of The Ummah. Lacing us with two hours of classic Jay Dee, this was Welcome to Detroit, the Frenchman Street edition.

The ensemble included the likes of Borahm Lee (keys and samples), Nate Edgar (bass), Nicky Cake Cassarino (guitar), Ian Neville (guitar), Maurice “Mobetta” Brown (trumpet), Khris Royal (sax and effects), Alvin Ford Jr (drums), Adam Deitch (drums) and emcees Nikki Glaspie and M@ Peoples. The outfit ambled on stage just after two in the morning, and deftly delivered a cadre of bangers that had us “Body Movin'” and crush-groovin’ late into the night. A student of the James Yancey pantheon, Borahm Lee was a revelation; a true-school beat conductor for this focused free-for-all, playing choice Rhodes betwixt a bevy of samples and looping gymnastics. Soulquarian essential oils were in the air on Common‘s “The Light”, and the energy turned Nthfectious; Cassarino‘s slinky Spanky Chalmers licks, Edgar‘s Pino Palladino was perfection, and Glaspie‘s mojo was workin’ through Rashid‘s effervescent verses, the dreaded femcee gripping the mic like it was mama’s gun. Another period piece, Slum Village‘s “Jealousy” was handled with verbal authority by M@ Peoples. This talented local emcee shined on a vast array of Dilla-gence throughout. Brown and Royal passed the champion sound forth and back, and Ford was steady-clicking a metronome of Dillafication, the off-beat/on-beat, blunted breaks mined from a Conant Gardens bassment.

Killa 4 Dilla 4/30/16 Maison, New Orleans

Miraculously, the man, myth, legend, the all-galaxy cat himself, Louis Cato appeared out of thin air and relieved Ford on the drum kit; a segment of virtue and virtuoso, this was beyond Filthy Mcnasty. Naturally, it being a FIYA Dept hip hop show in NOLA, the boy wonder Adam Deitch emerged to nail the illest Iverson crossovers. Lettuce‘s hip-hop heartbeat got luscious on a lucid dreaming “Lightworks,” an MPC piece of masterpiece theater found on Yancey‘s final finished document, Donuts. The Killa chorale continued to bless the Maison massive by honoring the legacy of hip-hop’s greatest producer; emotional readings of several undying soundtracks to our lives included “Runnin'” (The Pharcyde) and the SV/Common slab of heat rocks “Thelonious.” Most treasured was an sojourn through this writer’s amaranthine anthem: De La Soul‘s 1996 word-to-the-wise “Stakes is High”. James Casey and the Mayor of *my* New Orleans Derrick “Smoker” Freeman assumed the role of Plug-One and Plug-Two; this duo led the crew through golden-age, rap-superhero theme music.In a word: FIYA. A new generation of Native Tongues had been reinstated. Vibes? Vibrations. Jay. Love. JazzFest.

The Killa 4 Dilla II – April 30, 2016
New Orleans, LA @ Maison (actually started 5/1/16 @ 3:30am)
Part 2 of 2:
??? > Lightworks > ??? > Jealousy, Runnin’ (Can’t Keep Running Away) > Stakes Is High, Encore: [Adam Deitch exits, Nikki Glaspie enters], Think Twice

The Killa 4 Dilla II:
Borahm Lee – keyboards
Alvin Ford Jr. – drums (beginning until The Light)
Louis Cato – drums (Thelonius > 2 You 4 You)
Adam Deitch – drums (Thought U Wuz Nice > Stakes Is High)
Nikki Glaspie – drums (Think Twice), MC (on The Light)
Nate Edgar – bass
Nick Cassarino – guitar
Maurice Brown – trumpet, MC (on 2 You 4 You, ??? before Lightworks, & Jealousy)
Khris Royal – saxophone
Ivan Neville – vocals (on The Light)
Ian Neville – guitar (on The Light & Runnin’)
M@ Peoples – MC (on Thelonius & Players)
James Casey – MC (on Runnin’, Stakes Is High & Think Twice)
Derrick Freeman – MC (on Stakes Is High)

Greg Bryant - Killa 4 Dilla

Killa 4 Dilla 4/30/16 Maison, New Orleans

New Orleans Jazz Fest Late Night: Break Science Live Band at The Blue Nile 2016

Break Science Live Band 2016 New Orleans Blue Nile

Break Science Live Band
April 30, 2016 New Orleans, LA @ Blue Nile
Part 1 of 2:
Owner Of A Lonely Heart [Yes] > Goin ‘Down [Michal Menert collab], In Full Effect (clip), Hand Clapping Song [The Meters] > Funky Style (clip), Brain Reaction, Intergalactic

Bee Getz as quoted in his NOLA Jazz Fest After-Dark 2016 overview review at Live For Live Music:

Break Science is trendsetter in realms of live electronic music; implementing avant garde approaches to technology while retaining core identity and original sound. The duo comprised of Adam Deitch and keyboardist/sampler/producer Borahm Lee have begun to reinvent themselves as a live band, drafting Lettuce crew Jesus Coomes (bass), Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff (guitar) and The Shady Horns (Ryan Zoidis & Eric “Benny” Bloom) to make a formidable dance music dragon.

Break Science Live Band 2016 Blue Nile

It’s clear that familiarity and trust are crucial to the duo’s transition into a full live band. Deitch remains a force behind the kit, propelling the breaks, programming pads, and setting the ultimate tone; while Lee is mad professor, furiously twisting knobs, painting Rhodes colors, and layering the synth waves. Shmeeans and Jesus would lay back, low-down dirty and deep in the cut, serving the songs and keeping it vibey with disciplined restraint.

On the other hand, saxophonist Ryan Zoidis was levitation station, a dude not of this earth. The Shady Horns veteran hellraiser married imaginative melodies with sinister, psychedelic tones; all done through his Korg analog guitar-synth triggered by a custom-equipped mouthpiece. Eric
Benny” Bloom
is well versed in live-band electro-soul from his tours of duty in Pretty Lights Analog Future Band, and his stimulating, muffled wah wailing remained a perfect Zoidis foil in yet another compelling context.

The undeniable Tycho/Kendrick Lamar mashup “Vibe Walk” was a moving expedition, paired with familial collaborations with Michal Menert (“Goin Down”). Two tracks from the recent Manic Science project were reinterpreted: the Nice & Smooth-sampled “Funky Style,” and the haunting Pretty Lights remix “I Can See it in Your Face.” In mixing older Break Science originals like “Zion Station”, re-working NOLA classics (The Meters “Hand-Clapping Song”), and powering through AOR radio staples (Yes‘s “Owner of a Lonely Heart”), the omnifarious Break Science personalities were revealed. A smattering of new songs were interspersed within the set, only adding to the promising potential of this larger unit. Break Science Live Band surpassed many expectations, and chaperoned an enchanting journey down the wormhole of organic electronic music in 2016.

Break Science Live Band
April 30, 2016 New Orleans, LA @ Blue Nile
Part 2 of 2:
Throwback [Michal Menert collab] > I Can See It In Your Face [Pretty Lights], Let’s Go, Vibe Walk [Kendrick Lamar vs Tycho]

NOTE: Please excuse the fact that the audio on these is subpar. I think my Sony ECM-MS908C external video cam microphone started to crap out in a weird way (after extended use in the humidity I guess?). Luckily it didn’t happen until the 8th night (of 8 nights) so it didn’t affect too much of my footage. I promptly replaced the mic. I actually I picked up two because it is no longer being manufactured. I’ve been using these mics since 1999 and they still do a great job. I think I’ve owned 5 of them, if you count the 2 I have now.

John Medeski’s Mad Skillet 4/25/16 New Orleans, LA @ Little Gem Saloon Ramp Room

John Medeski's Mad Skillet 2016 Little Gem Saloon

John Medeski’s Mad Skillet
4/25/16 New Orleans, LA @ Little Gem Saloon’s Ramp Room
Set One:

Briar Patch [Brother Jack McDuff cover], Dead Dog In The Street [Kirk Joseph], Blister [Will Bernard], Mojet [Mago cover], ???

John Medeski’s Mad Skillet
4/25/16 New Orleans, LA @ Little Gem Saloon’s Ramp Room
Set Two:

Inside Straight [Cannonball Adderley / Dirty Dozen Brass Band cover], 571 [Will Bernard], ???, Adele [Kirk Joseph], Baby Goats [John Medeski], Awanna [Will Bernard], Wiggly’s Way [Medeski Martin & Wood cover]

John Medeski's Mad Skillet 2016 Little Gem Saloon

John Medeski’s Mad Skillet
April 25, 2016
New Orleans, LA @ Little Gem Saloon’s Ramp Room

Recorded, Mixed, & Mastered by Phil Harris – PH Balanced Recordings
SBD matrix: Schoeps CCM5’s (ORTF/Cardioid Onstage Center) + Mono SBD feed > Tascam DR-70D
SBD was mostly piano and keys, nothing else in it.
Most of the mix is from my Schoeps onstage.

AUDIO DOWNLOAD: FLAC TORRENT or LIVE MUSIC ARCHIVE
VIDEO DOWNLOAD: TORRENT

Set One – 11:15pm:
01. Briar Patch [Brother Jack McDuff cover]
02. Dead Dog In The Street [Kirk Joseph]
03. Blister [Will Bernard]
04. Mojet [Mago cover]
05. ???

Set Two – 12:55pm:
01. Inside Straight [Cannonball Adderley / Dirty Dozen Brass Band cover]
02. 571 [Will Bernard]
03. ???
04. Adele [Kirk Joseph]
05. Baby Goats [John Medeski]
06. Awanna [Will Bernard]
07. Wiggly’s Way [Medeski Martin & Wood cover]

John Medeski’s Mad Skillet:
John Medeski
– organ, piano
Will Bernard – guitar
Kirk Joseph – sousaphone
Terence Higgins – drums

Notes:
This was the 3rd year for this project. In 2014 it was billed as Will Bernard’s Blue Plate Review and occurred on Saturday of first weekend with Eric Kalb on drums. In 2015 it was billed as Will Bernard’s Blue Plate Special, on Thursday night, and cemented the lineup with Terence Higgins on drums. In 2016 it was Monday night and it was clear that Medeski was the leader of this group. They are going to record an album soon and start a kickstarter campaign. They also played a few European gigs in July of 2016.

John Medeski's Mad Skillet

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