Charles Gayle Trio at Olé Madrid
Charles Gayle Trio at Olé Madrid in San Diego, California on Tuesday, February 27, 1996. Photo ©1996 by Rich Jacobs. Photo enlarges.
Olé Madrid
San Diego, California
Tuesday, February 27, 1996.
“Charles Gayle is a free jazz spaceship engine that has been igniting New York launching pads like the Knitting Factory for the last decade or two. This evening involved two long sets of ’60s-inspired free clamor divided by a half-hour break. The stand up bassist and drummer each soloed up their fair share of intense improv freedom as Gayle offered up anti-abortion / pro love / pro-Jesus sentiments punctuated by scratching sawmill violin; crude, ominous Casio keyboard chords; and cascading waterfalls that shoot up into the Sun via some really intense sax note / sheet wailing. It was a spontaneous sound aquarium that simultaneously stapled me to my chair and hurled me through distant expanses of beautiful uncertainty. It’s safe to say this performance was pure lift-off that took me a little bit further than out on a limb.”–GSD, Lou’s and the Abstract Truth (Lou’s Records newsletter), February 1996
Charles Gayle at Olé Madrid. That was a very memorable gig. I had never seen or heard free jazz performed live before, and was completely blown back by the sheer searing ferocity of the music. And to think it was all performed on acoustic instruments (although played through a sound system): sax, violin, stand up bass and drums! Recordings just don’t do it justice. I also happened to meet a couple of guys in the audience–Matt Crane and Rich Jacobs–who went on to become two of my best friends ever. Yep, it’s safe to say that overall, this was a pretty good night.
Check out these four video clips of Charles Gayle performing live at the Knitting Factory in New York City back in 1996.
More: Discogs, Perfect Sound Forever, Wikipedia
Words ©1996, 2018 Arcane Candy
Hah! I was at this gig. First time seeing this type of jazz performed. Olé Madrid was such an odd venue for this, and for interesting music San Diego was off the radar. Soon enough I was living in NYC and seeing this stuff all the time.