Eat to the Beat 2: Jackson Browne / Potsticker Edition
-
Artist:
I'm not gonna eat crow or eat my words, but I was a little hasty in writing last week's "Eat to the Beat" post, since I forgot to mention one of L.A.'s premier restaurant/concert venue combo plates: Genghis Cohen. That realization hit me when I attended keyboardist-singer Jeff Young's Wednesday night jam session/love-in at the Fairfax district hotspot. Although squeezed into the tiny showroom off the main dining area, I was elevated by impromptu numbers from, among others, thoughtful/tender singer-songwriter Julia Fordham and a surprise drop-in, Los Angeles folk-rock icon Jackson Browne.
As the name suggests, Genghis Cohen is an American-style Chinese restaurant with a menu that evokes the fare served at suburban strip-mall take-out joints beloved by middle-class Jewish families, especially in the Northeast. Me? Not a big fan of that style of cooking which is usually marked by gooey, sweet sauces, overdone veggies and too much MSG - although it's hard to screw up potstickers. So potstickers it was. And lots of terrific singing and playing by Young and his veteran crew who have dubbed themselves the Song and Dance Society for these Wednesday night gigs.
Unlike the jam sessions at the Joint overseen by super-session guitarist Waddy Wachtel or the comparable gatherings directed by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell (all of which are majorly fun), Young and company put little emphasis on slamming out hard-rock and jukebox faves. Instead, the Song and Dance Society and their guests take a more studied, sophisticated approach with original material and unexpected covers.
The ubiquitous producer/engineer/MOGger Robin Danar had encouraged me to stop by Genghis Cohen, praising Young whose track record includes stints on keys with Steely Dan and a regular slot in Jackson Browne's ensemble. As it happens, other members of the Song and Dance Society - which includes Mark Goldenberg and David Kalish on guitars, Fritz Lewak on drums and Kevin McCormick on bass - record and perform with Browne. And they are a tight, melodious bunch.
Mr. Browne (left) and his band of renown.
When I arrived at the restaurant, Julia Fordham was already on stage, accompanied on piano by none other than comic actor Paul Reiser. They were performing a bittersweet number that they wrote about a difficult romantic relationship, and Reiser's delicate touch on the keyboard was a perfect complement to Fordham's trill.
I noticed that singer-songwriter-guitarist Andrew Gold was in the house, enjoying the Fordham and Reiser duo. It jogged my memory a bit. In addition to writing "Thank You for Being a Friend" (the theme to "The Golden Girls"), Gold had also co-written the cool, jazzy theme to Reiser's long-running sitcom "Mad About You." And there was Gold, lending his support to Reiser. That sense of community was abundant. There were other local talents in the audience; some would get up on stage and perform, others were content to just sit back and listen.
With a few of the Society's players adding instrumentation, Fordham pulled off a seductive, dance-provoking version of her pop-wise track "Stay," aided by the elegant Celia Chavez on back-up vocals. The S.D.S. then did a tidy, reggae-fied cover of the Allman Brothers Band's "Midnight Rider" with vocals by Young. Although they later worked out to the funky King Curtis hit "Groove Me," they first made way for Dannielle DeAndrea, a sleek brunette from Australia, who sang and scatted a fabulous, nearly a cappella cover of the standard "Blue Skies," accompanied by nothing other than an up-tempo Afro-Cuban drumbeat. Her voice is like ermine, her smile is a dazzler, and her relaxed presence on stage fit the casual nature of the night. Before she made way for an impressive mini-set by singer-acoustic guitarist Bernie Larsen, she did a couple of soulful tunes with some of the musicians in the mutable ensemble, including a ballad of her own entitled "Be with Me." (If only...)
And so it went until Young encouraged Browne - in glasses, black T-shirt, jeans, and a leather jacket - to emerge from a side room and offer up a couple of songs. First, he ambled into "My Stunning Mystery Companion," a reflective, romantic piece from his 2002 album The Naked Ride Home. The lyrics were more than apropos: "What with all my expectations long abandoned / And a life that just gets more and more demanding / There's no doubt that you're the reason I'm still standing." He followed that up with "Doctor My Eyes," the buoyant signature track from his 1972 debut album Jackson Browne. Both were done in beautifully offhand fashion. Sitting and playing guitar as he sung, Browne may have looked a little weathered in comparison to the fresh-faced kid who first recorded "Doctor My Eyes," but his voice was honeyed and warm and comforting, and the S.D.S. was right on the button.
How great was the evening? I'm probably going back tonight for an encore. The word is out that Little Feat guitarist and singer Paul Barrere will be on board, and who-knows-who-else. Although you can kid that it's fodder for graying boomers, I can tell you from experience that it'll be a pretty good night out.
In case you're not going to make it, you can console yourself with a clip of Browne doing a live rendition of "Doctor My Eyes" on the VH1 in-concert program "Storytellers":
Locating MOG account...
Comments (12)
hehe..........hey mike. i'm on my way there now.
i used to go to these jams in NY years ago with Jeff, but back then it was NY style with Donald Fagen playing every Tuesday night around midnight and 3 blocks from my flat. that turned into the "Rock and Soul Review" project. these Wednesdays are a nice hang. seeya later.
loved the post - nice read and have always been a big jackson fan
enjoy!
Robin: It's Thursday around 1 AM, and what a night it was! As you know, Barrere was amazing on a couple of Little Feat classics ("I'm Willin'" and "Dixie Chicken"), but the real bonus was a blitzkrieg appearance by guitarist Jimmy Vivino, musical director of Conan O'Brien's "Tonight Show" band. I guess that, since Conan has left NBC, Vivino had a little free time, and we were the beneficiaries. Plus, he brought along his rhythm section - bass-player Mike Merritt and percussionist/utility drummer James Wormworth - and they did a potent slow-blues cover of the Temptations hit "I Can't Get Next to You." Then, out came the phenomenal, iconic LaBamba a.k.a. trombone-player Richie Rosenberg - the guy who sings the falsetto "In the Year 2000" theme during one of Conan's signature bits. LaBamba absolutely tore it up with his lead vocal on a stunning version of Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up" that was not to be missed.
inrumford: Glad you dug it. And man, did I enjoy that second night!
Mike. i don't drag you out for nuthin', man. another awesome night. Barrere was amazing (Apolitical Blues as well), and Jimmy's version of "Can't Get Next to You" was more in line with one of my favorite renditions by a different Browne: Savoy Brown. "Move on Up" was amazing and i'm hoping to find a couple of photos of Celia and La Bamba singing on that one together. i also had a pleasant surprise as my friend Gabriel Gordon happened to be in town with Natalie Merchant and did a couple of killer original numbers where the band really took off.
Jeff has a great thing going on. glad you've caught these shows.
EXCELLENT...
You know the synergy between people when they REALLY are into the music, reminds me of what happens when I play with "the TRIBE" around here. As we are dubbed by my broadcasting friend DJ Thornton of KSBR 88.5 Jazz FM. Can't get enough of this stuff... thanks for the post!
Robin: Hmmm. Was it the Savoy Brown version - or the Al Green version that inspired Jimmy?
Kori: You are most welcome. Hope I'll get a chance to see you and your friends in action at some point.
This sounds like so much fun. I'm going to be in LA for 10 days in the latter part of April so I'm asking either or both of you guys to mark me on your dance card for one of these nights.
No worries, Jonh. You will be on board.
woo hoo!
Hey Jonh, we'll look forward to seeing you here in LA!
And Mike, thanks again for so favorably blowing the cover off of this well-kept secret in W. Hollywood . It's a lovely mid-week treat that is musically delicious. As far as cool people in the peanut gallery, i had a swoony fit the week before when I spotted Benmont Tench was in the house. Had a Heartbreaker crush on him ever since "Damn the Torpedoes".
Celia: Truly my pleasure, although I have my doubts about bringing attention to the gig. We wouldn't want too big a crowd to show, would we? (I know. I know. What an elitist!)
hey Jonh/Mike--my friend just posted a quick snippet of Jackson at Genghis that night, so i copped it to my Facebook page. if you wanna see it, go HERE.
http://www.facebook.com/robindanar?ref=profile