As for U2, they are going through the motions and letting the stage do their work for them and even so, when the song and the sound come together, tonight “I Will Follow”, “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, “Pride In The Name Of Love” and “Elevation”, they absolutely justify Tomas’ deep affection.
I know Tomas won’t do any of them, and given our respective track records, I tend to think he is probably making the right decision. In the meanwhile, The Mess We Made, with its Beatles and Hendrix references, its rubabdub dubs, its Mayfield falsetto and simmering when not exploding anger, should be with us soon.
Through the past three years, Tomas and his True Groove family have been releasing songs at a ridiculous clip, song after album after song and about to enter its third residency next week in less than year. Before things got completely out of hand, I though I’d work my way through the catalog and tell you what’s out there
Doncker should be considered in the same breath as Kanye West in the 2010s. Simply: he is the best. Resolutely color blind, Doncker is a musical chameleon, a superb electric blues guitarists at home in any genre you throw at him. He is always working, always writing, always playing around town and always always always creating
This residency has been winding its way every Thursday since the beginning of the year, and who knows when it ends, so this is an absolute must see. It will give the duo the time and space they need to expand songs that will live and breath through expansion and improvisation
Any afternoon, any time at all, you get to listen to such a great collection of musicians, especially in such an intimate space, is a great afternoon. Or evening. And in aid of such a wonderful project: music can change your life
Gregory Porter is having some 2015, a top 10 album in the UK is great, and the loud and intense approval of your some of the biggest names in pop music, Sam Smith for one, should make this a big gig, but singing a duet with Van Morisson on Van’s next album? That’s BIG. You can catch Gregory yourself, alongside rock nyc friend, bluesman Tomas Doncker, on Sunday afternoon
It got me thinking of protest songs for the people of Ferguson. I have somewhat liberal friends who agree with the verdict but I don’t. In the end of the Police Force is 98% white and the population of Ferguson is 98% black, this is, to put it simply, apartheid
It is the dub portion that really blows your mind, “Bato Bese” sounds like dub goes to broadway, it is a strange and beautiful thing and even with that the album reaches its zenith with the large and transgressive the Mighty Diamond’s cover “Why Me Black Brother Why” – Lee “Scratch” Perry would be proud to put his name on
Well done, Yankees, Tanaka has a partial UCL tear and is out six weeks if not the year. Why? One thing is for sure, they rode his arm too hard. Whither the Yankees? They spent $500 Million, $209 Million this year alone, and aren’t getting into the post season. Enough. Fire Cashman
Moanin’ At Midnight: The Howlin’ Wolf Project – Tomas Doncker band – If you have last year’s This Is The Tomas Doncker’s Band Howlin’ Wolf EP, what do you need this for? Four more songs. If you don’t have the EP, this breakthrough album for the band is the best collection of Wolf covers you will ever hear – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A
On July 8th, Doncker will be releasing Moanin’ At Midnight, a full tribute album to the great Howling Wolf, and, after write ups in most of the world press, including the Huffington Post, and interviews on CNN, now Guitar World are getting into the mix
The week belonged to Tomas Doncker’s True Groove All Stars, their two hour concert at The Cutting Room Tuesday night set the standard for all! A perfect compendium of real soul music that never stopped moving. Meanwhile, Lorde act her age if not older, at a simple, unadorned straight ahead gig at the dreaded Roseland that did her nothing but favors.
The audience let its hair down and Doncker had them snapping their fingers and stomping their feet throughout the show. A master master of ceremonies, Tomas directed the full stage with a sure handedness that soon transcended to rock star cockiness. True Groove has arrived.
This “I Don’t Want Nobody” is a steady groove with skronking in the song break and Chance yelping and sweating through the track; it is the second time Chance has recorded the classic but this latest version is the better of the two; Chance is in tremendous form here on a recording made late last week.
The last time the True Groove All Stars performed was a more than memorable gig at the Blue Note last year, but this one promises to be even better. Not only does Marla Mase have an excellent new album just released but latest True Groove signee James Chance will be there. Shout for “I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing”. On Tuesday at the Cutting room
There couldn’t be a record company more in tune with Chance’s avant garde funk sounds and more considerate of his immense musical gifts. For an early viewing make sure that you check out the True Groove All Stars on March 11th, 2014 at the Cutting Room
The “True Groove All Stars” concert at the Cutting Room on March 11 th will be a terrific chance to reacquaint yourself with the wonderfulness that is Sir Tomas, or the opportunity to catch up with his truly all stars, bassist Kevin Jenkins and spoken word maverick Marla Mase (whose new album is gonna blow you away) at the top of the list
Ikonoklast Bill Laswell for this article, he spoke of the lineage from which the three original soundscapes (and much of the overall “vibe” of ELEVATION) emerged.This music has to be felt, not analyzed, compared, judged or even listened to. It exists in the distance… past and future. Its’ roots go as far back as Miles Davis’ “In a silent way”. It’s beyond music. It’s part of the fabric. It’s Culture”.
at the end of the set during “Money To Burn”, James would pull out a wad of cash and put it on fire. Well, this night a woman jumps on stage from the audience and tries to snatch the money out of James hands and James jumps on her and hey fight and fall into Tomas who can’t believe his eyes and wonders if they’re gonna spend the night in jail.
The two revelations here are Cody Chestnutt’s superb r&b album from late 2012 and Bernie Worrell’s brilliant new album which opens with Miles Davis and closes with Bob Marley and in between is a subtle and beautiful jazz masterwork for piano.
Darkside – Tom Stoppard And Pink Floyd – A radio play that works as a record album that works as a radio with Stoppards rat-a-tat dialogue and concise storytelling. No, it isn’t “The Invention Of Love” but then neither is “The Coast Of Utopia”.
Ms. Copeland’s high energy set included tunes from her 2013 Grammy Award nominated album “33 & 1/3” (“Lemon Pie” and “Somebody else’s Jesus”) as well as some of her classics (“Dirty Water”,”Never goin’ back to Memphis” and “Beat up Guitar
Step Inside doesn’t work because of the voice, Kevin has a good voice for sure, and it doesn’t work because of the bass, though the band as a whole goes song after song of strength and determination, it works because the songs are killer
On a glorious Saturday afternoon drifting into Saturday evening, 60,000 New Yorkers became “Global Citizens”. Well helping the poor is one thing and music is something else entirely and I for one, actually, will be happy to dismiss the entire enterprise for you.
On A Carousel – The Hollies – This is the sound of the timeless clang of pure pop for now people in the heat of the UK Invasion. Immaculate harmonies, melodies, lyrics and Nash’s first lead singing on the A Side of a single- A+
