SUNDAY NITE IN DA CITY .....

NUBLU vibing on Sunday nite back in New York City. Just back from the Nublu jazzfest in Istanbul , it was great !!! The fest happened at Babylon and Nublu Istanbul .We also did 2 nites of dj sets at cool lounge Lucca , with dj's Alex from Tokyo and DJ Logic . Thanks to all of you who came out and thanks so much to all staff and organizers and all the musicians who participated. It was just great !!

2800 people came out over the week to check the Nublu jazzfest in Istanbul !! . .....and now back here again , Sunday nite at Nublu Nyc with Dj Vladi, vocalist Vandana and drummer great Jojo Meyer. Raja just finished playing a great set with the percussion man from Ziggy Marley's band. Artist in residence Petar and Sarah were also hanging out . Nice to be back !!

SATURDAY IN ISTANBUL, LAST NITE OF THE NUBLU JAZZFEST AT BABYLON AND NUBLU ISTANBUL.

. More then 800 people came out to Babylon and Nublu. Vocalist from Paris Laika started the nite at Babylon with a great band including Hamid Drake, Craig Harris, Robert Irving and Jeribou.

Their set was followed by a jam started off with Love Trio and we were joined by Craig Harris on trombone , Bilal on guitar, talented vocalist Bora Uzer , Can Cankaya on keyboards, actor Ugur Yucel sat in on percussion and some vocals. Alp Ersonmez played the bass since Jesse had to go back to NYC this same morning to play with Regina Carter. Kenny Wollesen, Arto Tuncboyaciyan , Dj Logic and me Ilhan on keys and sax. After playing at Babylon for awhile I sneaked off stage when Can came and sat in on keyboards, to Nublu , which is next door, and you can access it through a door in between the 2 clubs.

Here in the pics are Laika, Bora Uzer, Love trio, Kenny Wollesen and Baris K, the doormen at Nublu . Last pic is the after spot we ended up at every nite late nite having lentil soup !!!

SATURDAY , RECORDING FOR THE PROJECT WONDERLAND WITH MASTER MUSICIANS HUSNU AND AYTAC !

Saturday afternoon after hanging out with great Turkish rockers called Duman, I went over to Husnu Senlendirici's studio to record some clarinet and kanun for the album and project called Wonderland , in Turkish " Harikalar Diyari". Husnu sounded so amazing and Aytac who plays the Turkish instrument Kanun, sounding just great. 2 true virtuose.

Here in the pic's are also great percussion man Izzet Kizil and Husnu's manager Sirac. Husnu listening while Aytac is recording . Arto Tuncboyaciyan came by and laid down some magic's over 1 track. Then Aytac there takin it easy , he just came back from playing some shows in Dubai. These guys are quite well known all over this region . The recordings are sounding real good ! Soon I'll post a track ... Kenny Wollesen and Logic were also there hanging out .

FRIDAY NITE AT THE NUBLU JAZZFEST IN ISTANBUL !!

Love Trio with Arto, Jesse Murphy and Eugene from Gogol Bordello, Dj's Yakuza and Alex from Tokyo and Dj Logic was spinnin in a cool lounge called Lucca, which was also a part of this fest . We held 2 nites of dj sets there.

Love in da house !!!

SNOWSTORM IN ISTANBUL...


It's not a very common thing here to see a snowstorm in Istanbul.
But hey , weather is changing everywhere.....but despite the storm around 250 people came out to see the premiere of Love Trio with masta Arto Tuncboyaciyan and Dj Logic. Love trio played 2 sets and it was Jesse Murphy's birthday , bassplayer of Love Trio. Kenny Wollesen was on drums and Ilhan Ersahin on rhodes and sax . Arto the magician on sounds and percussion and DJ Logic sitting in with us on turntables/sounds and beats. It was real cool, felt fresh and strong , one guy said , this is the new Weather Report..I duno about that but it was a nice comment. .Others were dancing all night long so I guess it was dancy ...and ofcourse dubby.

Next door to Babylon , at nublu Istanbul, were 2 great young piano players...Can Cankaya and Emir Ersoy. Both I heard rocked it , i didnt hear since I was playing next door. ...then the after party was at Nublu and then the after after party was at good friends Nevzat and Erol's spot called Otto . Which is a place that serves great pizza til 11 then turns into a great dj thang....


We had some fantastic dj's in the house, DJ Emekcan , who by the way has the biggest collection of Turkish psychadelic and funk from the 70's. Which is getting lots of attention around the world right now.I mean when I say collection....he has thousands and thousands in his apt and he is on his way to open a store . Dj Logic, who arrived today with Jesse and Alex from Tokyo is still in town . Istanbul great dj Baris K. Baris K was the one spinnin at Babylon inbetween and before Love Trio. Nublu records will release 3 12" vinyls of his edits of Turkish 70's funk. It's scheduled to be released in June. I will post a track here as soon as I get back to NYC , because here all blogs are closed down at the moment . You have to log into some secret websites to be able to access cause government here has shut down all blogs !!! Kinda crazy right...

awrite then....tomorrow is another day ...lots of new fresh music. The Nublu sound " the music of now "....

peace out...

in the pics you see. DJ Baris K, DJ Alex from Tokyo and his wife, Arto and Dj Logic, and then Kenny Wollesen . DJ Emekcan and Logic.

Snowstorm, mellow music and good vibes...

Nublu Istanbul Jazz Festival..... Tonite at nublu , the first set was by pianist Selen Gulun. She sounded great , always tasteful and interesting...Then as second band we had the lovely Natalia Mann on Harp and her band. Arto Tuncboyaciyan and Kenny Wollesen sat in . Kenny on darbuka !!! it was super cool. The music was so perfect for a day like today .... was calm and mellow and that harp makes everything sounds so dervishy .... i loved it !

...and there's a snow storm right now here in istanbul... Kinda crazy , its not very usual for this city.

Tomorrow Jesse Murphy and DJ Logic arrive in the morning and tomorrow nite we hit as Love Trio with Arto Tuncboyaciyan and Dj logic...

Here's a picture of Husnu . We went to the National TV's music award show, It was kinda odd. Natalia Mann with her harp. Ozan Musluoglu with his bass who played a great set Sunday nite . Other pics are from the jam session on Monday night which was hosted by a new magazine in Istanbul called drum and bass.

dont be late..
i.

2nd day at the Nublu jazzfest !! Junip , 123, Trio Mrio, Alex from Tokyo...

2nd day of the nublu jazzfest in istanbul was real cool. Cool in the real sense because the opening band was Istanbul local band 123 followed by Jose Gonzales' Junip.. both mellow , groovy and melodic...was a perfect fit. Alex from tokyo was spinnin in between and after. Next door, at Nublu istanbul Trio Mrio played with Alp Ersonmez from Istanbul Sessions, Sarp Maden and Volkan Oktem . followed by late nite set of Love Trio...this time istanbul version because jesse murphy is just coming on wednesday for the real love trio show. Joel from Junip came and sat in which was cool.. and the late show kinda went on for 2 hours or so...600 people came ....

Today we had a daytime vinyl market, with lots of vendors that had all kinds of music including ofcourse Turkish psychadelic and funky stuff from the 70's....

for now peace out from istanbul...

pics are Alex from Tokyo, Dilara from 123 , Jose Gonzales from Junip and bassist Alp Ersonmez.

M. Henry Jones & The Downtown Scene

On Thursday night I went to see my friend Atticus’, dad’s movie screening at Anthology Film Archives. His dad is M. Henry Jones and the show was titled “M. Henry Jones & the downtown scene”. I have know Henry for a very long time since Atticus and I were friends for what seems like forever. Henry has always been such a character, one of the most crazy and cool dads around. Henry and Atticus are always at Henry’s crazy, disorganized and fun animation studio, SnakeMonkey. And it gets even more fun when Rachel Amadeo, (Atticus’ mom) a film maker and another downtown character drops in. This movie screening really showed what New York was like back in the day where what Henry calls “Aggressive Hipsters” ruled the scene. Henry hung out with Dee Dee Ramone (from The Ramones), Cindy Sherman, Harry Smith and other hipsters in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Henry has been creating animation movies, the most artsy television commercials and experimental 3D art work.... all done in the East Village where he still resides in today. Henry mixes sound, color and investigates motion in his genius short films. Some of my favorite films of the night were Soul City (an artsy music video of the Fleshtones), The Three Fertnuckles ( a film based on a book Henry wrote in the 3rd grade...), Brand New Cadillac ( a great music video of The Zantees) and I completely loved his unique “America’s Best” TV commercials. I also enjoyed The Book and Go Go girl. The show was packed and what seemed like the whole east village was there. It was so packed that Anthology Film Archives opened another screening later on that night. After each movie played, Henry told stories about what influenced his movies and stories that revolved around them. This continued in the discussion after wards with DJ Spooky and Henry’s college teacher and film critic, Amy Taubin. I was thrilled to be there!
You can see some of Henry's 3D art work on the walls of Nublu...
-- Revolutionary Cat

Istanbul Istanbul...Nublu jazzfest is here

Kenny Wollesen , Alex from Tokyo,Arto Tuncboyaciyan and I arrived yesterday in Istanbul to do the Nublu jazzfest. Alex went to spinn at Lucca , which is a cool lounge by the Bosphorus. Kenny opened the festival at Nublu Istanbul playing a duo set with local drummer Berke, from the band called 123, in a groovy and cinematic collaboration of percution, samples and drums. After their set we played at Babylon as Ilhan Ersahin's Istanbul Sessions. We rocked out. Arto jumped up onstage for the 2nd set and Yakuza, a great dj from Istanbul was spinning in between the sets and after the shows.... late late nite we ended up jamming at Nublu til 5 am! ohh yeeeee...the Fest is on ! Nublu and Babylon are next to each other with a connecting door in between , which makes it feel like a festival 'cause people were rotating in the 2 rooms. Also a small upstairs room above Nublu was open, where dj Mabbas , another istanbul dj was cranking it up.... We had 3 rooms cooking at the same time...

I just realized right before the show that they were broadcasting this live on their new radiostation ...check radyobabylon.com.tr . If I would have known I would have let you guys know beforehand , anyways, check the other jazzfest dates from there .

Tonite the band Junip with Jose Gonzales will be playing at Babylon and the band 123 will do the opening set . 2 great bands! And at Nublu Istanbul, Trio Mrio with 3 great musicians , Alp Ersonmez, Sarp Maden and Volkan Oktem, will play the early set. Late nite I will do Love trio "version Istanbul" but im sure Kenny will sit in and who knows where it'll go then...

In Brazil its carnaval today but very rainy i heard , so at Nublu in NYC we're doing a Brazil nite with Darci, Ze Luis and others. Darci used to play with the heavy Rio funk band called Banda Black Rio, a legendary band, so it will be a rockin nite in NY as well. Love Trio just got invited to play a concert in Sao Paulo april 15 with reggae/Dub legend U-roy . It's a free outdoor show which is held every year in downtown Sao Paulo. 24 hours of music straight! it's a wild thing and more than 100 000 people go to this event....yeeeeee, we'll be there!

In the pics is and Alex/Kenny /ilhan and breakfast view in Istanbul.

Forro In the nite...

Forro in the Dark was one of the first bands out of Nublu , meaning one of the first bands that were born here. One day a few years ago I met this man outside Nublu , daytime, and he was a bit out of his mind so I didn't know what to make of the situation. But then he kissed the door and said my grandmother and grandfather used to have a bakery here and in the recession years they used to give bread to everyone in need. He said , this is a blessed place ..and I said , I know.

That's how it feels on most days here but every wednesday the energy is just very positive and Forro in the Dark and DJ Greg Caz have created a real good and warm sound here. Mauro Refosco , Jorge Continentino , Davi Vieira , Guilherme Monteiro and Ze on bass...you can't go wrong with that . They all have individually played with so many great Brazil artists that I don't even want to start name dropping because wednesdays with Forro in the Dark is what it's all about now. The cool thing is really what they've done to the music , besides being great instrumentalists Forro in the Dark have created some sort of hybrid which is not easy to do, in a way that it makes sense. But they've done it and I guess that's why rain or shine peeps are here waiting for it. Pinar is back , and Laura is back ...cool !!!

Byron is on the photo, and Petar..Nublu artist in residence..and Laura..

And not to forget NUBLU JAZZFEST starts in Istanbul this friday ..til March 12th ....but you know what the craziest thing is ...right now in Turkey government has shut down all blogging ..so no one can even read this blog from there...pretty crazy times eyyy.

Tuesday Night in the big Apple..

Bloomdaddies were on tonite. A band that got their start I think around 1993 /94 ...still in my head considered part of the younger guys in the scene ..but I guess time flies. Chris Cheek and Seamus Blake are truly saxophonists extraordinaire...they have played with who's who in the jazz scene , and now it seems this electrified band will have a return . They will play here a few more tuesdays in march and then continue on with some steady monthly shows...Dan Rieser and Tony Mason , the 2 drummers of the band also drummers extraordinaire and Jesse Murphy on da bass.

Nublu has been fortunate with having so many great musicians play here ... counting exactly who and what instrument is very difficult , but I think drums is the winning one , considering Kenny Wollesen ,Aaron Johnston , Deantoni , Jojo Meyer, Jochen Rueckert, Jeff Ballard, Tony Mason, Shawn Pelton, Dan Rieser, Marko Djordjevic, Bill Dobrow, Clarence Penn, Greg Hutchinson , Daniel Jodocy, Anthony Pinciotti....all play regularly here. And Im sure I forgot quite a few . This is kinda amazing . And with percussionists Mauro Refosco, Arto Tuncboyaciyan , Gilmar Gomes and Davi Vieira, this is a heavy arsenal !!!

Vana , a great pianist , who actually featured this week with the Lincoln Center Big Band with Wynton and all, played tonite. Catch him there this week !!! His trio sounded classy and cool and was nice to hear him on the Rhodes. Vana is also playing lots these days all over the world with Paquito D'Rivera and he is also Ute Lemper.s musical director.

Here are some pics...all a bit dark , but maybe someone can figure it out... Vana , Bloomdaddies, and a piece of a drawing on the wall by our own Petar Podzemaljac.

Mr Butch Morris...and his Orchestras....

Today was Monday nite in the city and we just played 2 long and super fun sets as Nublu Orchestra conducted by Butch Morris. This is a training camp for your brain , an exercise in composed improvisation where one must make musical decisions in a split second. You sit there on stage with the horn in your mouth, sticks in your hand or the mallets for your vibraphone. You get a cue from Mr Butch Morris to take a turn , or to invent a melody , or play something rhythmic that makes the whole band of 16 pieces go into one direction. There are moments when it feels you're right in the epicenter of something growing , and then you have to relax , relax to the extreme so you can get your impulses so fast in between your ears and fingers and in whatever is going on in your brain . Once you're starting to execute ideas on a rapid pace in tune with the whole band, you open new spaces where one starts navigating through unknown territories... instead of following the patterns you're used to . This is what Mr Butch Morris does on a full time basis. He makes you be in the moment.

If you have to classify Butch , take Miles Davis' heavy funk moments mixed with Philip Glass, then add some Jimi and then some Ornette and spice it all up with some chants ...and then through the doors of Nublu with it's own vibe and you get Nublu Orchestra conducted by Butch Morris. Ofcourse it is silly to compare a Master with other Masters , one shouldn't even start doing that but people do try to classify this music before and after the shows....Anyway , it actually became a long pleasent Monday nite .

After the band played, Vladi took over on the turntables and played lots of goodies , from Miles Davis electric-trip moments to Paul Gonsalves 27 chorus solo, from Duke Ellington live at the Newport Jazz Festival to Marc Bolan's T-rex, to Led Zepplin...0 and in between great Nublu remixes. The nite became wild and different , In the end I would say the feel was jazzy themed..

The beautiful TinaKristina played a set after the orchestra. She has a nice tone to her playing and persona .

Marla Turner who used to sing with Wax Poetic came to check the music and Toni K and girlfriend came later on in the nite. Toni K is a real fun dj that spinns now at Nublu every 3rd friday of the month. It's a party when she spins that's for sure. Clark Gayton was there..and ofcourse the whole big band. Mellow and nice and intense I would theme the nite as ....

In the picture are Toni K and friend and Marla Turner...

Here's a track from our studio album ...we will record another album in april !!!

peace out ..