Cliff Hines

Hailing from New Orleans, the Cliff Hines Quintet features Cliff Hines on guitar, Sasha Masakowski on vocals, Paul Thibodeaux on drums, Jasen Weaver on bass (replacing Martin Masakowski), and Andrew McGowan on keys (replacing Khris Royal on keys). The band recently released their debut album "Like Mystics of Old" which features all original tunes by Hines and a tribute track to the late avant garde clarinetist Alvin Batiste (the titular "Like Mystics of Old"). Their unique brand of jazz fusion sounds less like the sounds of the 70's and more like the art rock of the 00's. - Sound Magazine (CT)

Cliff Hines and friends will be performing the music of Prince at One Eyed Jacks on February 25, 2011
02.24: The Polymorphines + Makeshift Lover + Dead People + The Bills – Siberia

02.25: Cliff Hines Presents: A Tribute to Prince – One Eyed Jacks

If this Cliff Hines tribute show is anything like the last one, in which the jazz-guitar impresario and upwards of 20 special guests played two sets of faithfully recreated David Bowie covers to the delight of a heavily costumed crowd, it’s going to be a ripper. Because for the second installment of Hines’ “Tribute to” series, the motley crew of talented local musicians will be tacking one of the most celebrated and influential catalogs ever assembled: the collected works of the one-and-only Prince.

Members of Sun Hotel, The Local Skank, Big History, King Rey, Magnetic Ear, The Next Generation and more will make up the all-star cast joining the Cliff Hines Quintet throughout the show; and the discounted cover charge offered to those who show up dressed as his or her favorite incarnation of The Artist guarantees a festive, memorable evening.

02.26: Anders Osborne + Lubriphonic – Tipitina’s

02.27: Dr. John and the Lower 911 – Howlin’ Wolf

03.01: Hot Tuna Blues + Charlie Musselwhite – House of Blues

03.02: Secret Cities + Chris Rehm – Howlin’ Wolf Den - Barryfest.com

With Foburg only days behind us, its older, larger, captain-of-the-varsity-football-team brother, Austin’s annual South by Southwest Festival, will be officially underway in a matter of hours. For all the adventurous New Orleans cats willing to take the drive/flight to Texas, the experience can be at best completely overwhelming and at worst something akin to a hipster Apocalypse Now.

Though we’d all love to see the Strokes show from Levi’s or the Kanye and Radiohead secret shows, let’s be honest: it’s probably not going to happen. And if you’ve been unlucky enough to miss the RSVP’s for the all-day free food/free booze/free music festivals or failed to procure yourself a killer priority badge, you’re only option is to be prepared.

Barryfest is here to help, at least a tiny bit, with your preparation. We’ve put together a handy list of local and semi-local New Orleans acts that are taking the trip with you.

AM

Fri, 3.18, 3:30pm – D’Addario Swinghouse Party @ Rusty Spurs (405 East 7th St.)
Fri, 3.18, 10:00pm – The Ale House (310 East 6th St.)

Big Freedia

Thur, 3.17, 12:30pm – Austin Convention Center (Special Lecture/Q&A at SXSW Conference)
Thur, 3.17, 5:00pm – Emo’s Annex (603 Red River)
Thur, 3.17, 10:30pm – Beauty Bar (617 East 7th St.)
Thur, 3.17, 12:00am – ND Studios (501 Studios – 501 I-35)
Fri, 3.18, Time TBA – Big Easy East – Hotel Vegas (1500 East 6th St.)
Sat, 3.19, 5:30pm – w/ The Hookup + Katey Red – The Loft (718 Congress Ave.)
Sat, 3.19, 8:00pm – Mess With Texas - The East Side Drive In (Corner of 6th and San Marcos)
Sun, 3.20, 1:00pm – w/ GayBiGayGay + Katey Red @ Rogge Ranch (3506 Rogge Lane)

Big Rock Candy Mountain

Thur, 3.17, 2:30am – Backyard party (2807B East 22nd St.)
Fri, 3.18, 4:30pm – Red Eyed Fly (715 Red River)
Fri, 3.18, 7:00pm – Hotel Vegas (1500 E 6th St.)
Fri, 3.18, 1:00am – Pearl Street Co-op (2000 Pearl St.)

Brass Bed

Wed, 3.16, 1:15pm - Riot Act Showcase @ The Ghost Room (304 West 4th St.)
Wed, 3.16, Time TBA - The Parrish (214 East 6th Street)
Fri, 3.18, 9:00pm – Park The Van Showcase @ Mi Casa Cantina (503 East 6th St.)

Caddywhompus

Wed, 3.16, 8:30pm – Skanky Possum 1yr reunion show (2925 Higgins St.)
Wed, 3.6, 5:00pm – Slip n Slide Party @ Second House (1102 e. 2nd St.)
Thur, 3.17, 12:00pm – Free pancakes + beer @ Cherrywood Coffee (1400 East 38th 1/2 St.)
Thur, 3.17, 3:00pm – NNASA House Show w/ Sun Hotel + Candy Claws (1605 Sanchez)
Thurs, 3.17, 12:15am – W/ Baths + Reading Rainbow @ CheerUp Charlie’s (1104 East 6th St.)
Fri, 3.18, 4:30pm – Pearl Street Co-Op Party (1906 Pearl St.)
Fri, 3.18, 8:00pm – Big Easy Fest w/ Sun Hotel @ Hotel Vegas (1500 E 6th St.)
Sat, 3.19, 2:00pm – NOLA Showcase w/ Sun Hotel @ St. Roch’s Bar (515 Pedernales St.)
Sat, 3.19, 6:00pm – 21st Street Co-op Party w/ Sun Hotel (707 West 21st St.)
Sun, 3.20, 8:00pm – Blackfoot House Party w/The Eastern Sea (3609 Wilson)

Cliff Hines Quintet

Sat, 3.19, 3:00pm - Nomad’s Bar (1213 Corona Dr.)
Sat, 3.19, 8:00pm - Historic Victory Grill (1104 East 11th St.)
Sun, 3.20, 3:20pm – Antigravity Presents @ Green House (701 East 53rd St.)

Dirty Dozen Brass Band + Pine Leaf Boys + Big Chief Monk Boudreaux + Henry Butler

Thur, 3.17, 1:00pm – HBO Treme Showcase @ The Ghost Room (304 West 4th St.)

DJ Quickie Mart

Tue, 3.15, - Rusty Spurs (405 East 7th St.)
Wed, 3.16, 12:00am – Suite 101 (101 West 5th St.)
Thur, 3.17, 8:00pm – Lipstick 24 (607 East 7th St.)
Fri, 3.18, Time TBA – Dirty Bill’s (511 Rio Grande St.)
Fri, 3.18, 11:00pm – Hotel Vegas (1500 E 6th St.)
Sat, 3.19, 12:00am – Silent Disco Party @ The Enchanted Forrest (1412 W Oltorf)

Empress Hotel

Tue, 3.15, 4:00pm – Micah McKee solo @ Thai Fresh (909 West Mary St, #B)
Tue, 3.15, 7:45pm - Cheer Up Charlie’s (1104 East 6th St.)
Wed, 3.16, 10:00pm - Holy Smokes Booking Showcase @ Light Bar (408 Congress Ave.)
Thur, 3.17, 5:00pm - Skinny’s Ballroom & Radio Station (115 San Jacinto Blvd.)
Fri, 3.18, 2:00pm - LA Crawfish Boil Showcase @ Hotel Vegas (1500 E 6th St.)
Fri, 3.18, 8:00pm - Park The Van showcase @ Mi Casa Cantina (503 East 6th St.)
Sat, 3.19, 7:00pm – Historic Victory Grill (1104 East 11th St.)

Eric Lindell

Sat, 3.19, 11:00pm – Historic Victory Grill (1104 East 11th St.)

Flow Tribe

Fri, 3.18, 6:00pm – Hotel Vegas (1500 East 6th St.)
Sat, 3.19, 12:30pm – Nomad’s Bar (1213 Corona Dr.)
Sat, 3.19, 9:00pm – Historic Victory Grill (1104 East 11th St.)
Sun, 3.20, 1:00pm – Headhunters SxSW Showcase (720 Red River)

The Generationals

Wed, 3.16, 3:00pm - Force Field PR/Terrorbird Media Party @ Red 7 (611 East 7th St.)
Thur, 3.17, 2:00pm – Waterloo Records (600 North Lamar, Ste A)
Thur, 3.17, 5:15pm – Treehouse Party @ Cheers (416 East 6th St.)
Fri, 3.18, 3:00pm – Red House Pizzeria (1917 Manor Road)
Fri, 3.18, 4:55pm – The Eastern
Fri, 3.18, 9:00pm – The Orchard Showcase @ Cedar Street Courtyard (208 West 4th St.)
Fri, 3.18, 1:00am – Park The Van showcase @ Mi Casa Cantina (503 East 6th St.)
Sat, 3.19, 12:00pm – KUT Cactus Cafe (2247 Guadalupe St.)

Givers

Wed, 3.16, 2:15pm – Mohawk (912 Red River)
Thur, 3.17, 1:30pm – Fader Fort (1101 East 5th St.)
Thur, 3.17, 6:00pm – Lustre Pearl (97 Rainey St.)
Fri, 3.18, 4:00pm – Emo’s (603 Red River)
Fri, 3.18, 12:00am – Momo’s (618 West 6th St.)
Sat, 3.19, 11:00pm – Emo’s Jr. (603 Red River)

Honeyboy Carencro

Sat, 3.19, 9:00pm – Historic Victory Grill (1104 East 11th St.)

Katey Red

Sat, 3.19, 5:30pm – w/ The Hookup + Big Freedia – The Loft (718 Congress Ave.)
Sat, 3.19, 1:30am – Kiss & Fly (404 Colorado St.)
Sun, 3.20, 1:00pm – w/ GayBiGayGay + Big Freedia @ Rogge Ranch (3506 Rogge Lane)

Mia Borders

Fri, 3.18, 10:30pm – Tiniest Bar in Texas (817 West 5th St.)
Sat, 3.19, 8:30pm – Historic Victory Grill (1104 East 11th St.)

Native America

Fri, 3.18, 11:00pm – Park The Van Showcase @ Mi Casa Cantina (503 East 6th St.)

Quintron & Miss Pussycat

Thur, 3.17, 1:00am – CMRTYZ Party @ empty lot behind Cheer Up Charlie’s (1104 E. 6th St.)
Fri, 3.18, 1:00am – Goner Showcase @ Beerland (711 Red River)
Sat, 3.19, 1:00am – Panache Showcase @ The Mohawk (912 Red River)

Truth Universal

Fri, 3.18, 11:30pm – The Marq (422 North Congress Ave.)

Vockah Redu

Sat, 3.19, 1:30am – Kiss & Fly (404 Colorado St.) - Barryfest.com

Tomorrow, the Backbeat Foundation hosts its "Export NOLA" showcase at Austin's South by Southwest, where Texas will get a taste of some homebrew bands and artists. Featured bands include Big Sam's Funky Nation, MyNameIsJohnMichael, Cliff Hines and Sasha Masakowski, Mia Borders, and Empress Hotel.

Empress Hotel's four-song Daytrotter session is available for free download on the Daytrotter website. The Park the Van hires recorded the tracks earlier this month. It's springtime: Blast it with windows down.

Sasha Masakowski and Musical Playground's gorgeous new album Wishes is out now on Hypersoul Records. Stream some of her tracks on her website.

As for shows outside of Austin this weekend: Des Ark, Pygmy Lush, Screaming Females and Thou take over Euclid Records at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Sterling, Va.'s Pygmy Lush's journey from hardcore punk circles into sprawling, haunting southern Gothic folk brings them to their latest, "Yellow Hall" (stream here). The band's on tour with Des Ark, a band seemingly always on tour (for a decade, at least). Download "Jesus Loves You But You're Still Coming Home" here.

Screaming Females, buzz-worthy riff-destroying '90s powerpop from New Brunswick basements, has reduced its past New Orleans shows to tiny shreds. Stream Castle Talk on the band's Facebook here. And Louisiana's Thou has made dozens of its tracks available for free here.

More music after the jump:

A bunch of new stuff from Curren$y's crew in the Jets Fool world: Trademark the Skydiver's "Commited," Sir Michael Rocks' The Rock Report, and Fiend's The Sweetest Hangover — all for free.

Community Records reached its Kickstarter.com goal this week for the 2011 Block Party (and its DVD) to be held April 16 outside 3 Ring Circus' The Big Top (1638 Clio St.) Grab a free sampler of the more than 20 bands playing the annual event.

Also in the Community family, Sun Hotel released Tapes on Chinquapin Records. Download it here. - Gambit

In the last 9 days (March 12 - 20), I’ve seen 58 live bands and 60 performances. That’s more than I’ve ever seen ever. Of course, because it is me, I made a list of all of them and hearted the ones we liked. I asked the Boyf to colab on this list and the next few SXSW posts (mostly because he has a better understanding of music than me and because he remembers more of the shows. I just show up, whip out the camera and try not to get crushed if there is a mosh pit).

This list took much longer than I intended because of that and also because I left my computer in Houston during SXSW. I didn’t need it then (mostly because I was never still enough to use it). I’ll also post mp4s and videos when I can because it’s so hard to describe music and much easier to let the other person hear it.

BTW, one heart is mine & the other is his. One heart=only one of us liked them. Dun dun duuuun. Lol. In depth reviews are coming.

Day 1: Saturday
Bell Riots ??
Bad Lovers ?
Planets
A Giant Dog

Day 2: Sunday
TV Torso
Mr Heavenly ??
Thee Oh Sees ?
No Age ?

Day 3: Monday
Hardproof Afrobeat
Ringo Deathstarr ??

Day 4: Tuesday
Nightmanager ??
Bubbly Mommy Gun ??
Boys Life
Sea of Dogs ?
Nude Sunrise
Holy Waves

Day 5: Wednesday
No Mas Botas
Black Kettle ??
Nerdkween ??
The Cocker Spaniels ?
Janka Nabay ??
Mermaid Blonde ??
Ginia Factory ?
Gold Panda ??
Baths ??
Beans ?

Day 6: Thursday
Gobble Gobble ?
Das Racist ?
Oh Land ??
DoDos
Mount Kimbie
OFF!
Low ??
Ted Leo ??
Juliana Barwick ??
Cult ??
Gary Wilson ?

Day 7 - Friday
Eisley ??
Bearsuit ??
Shabaz Palaces ??
Grand Pianomaex
Wye Oak ??
Wild Flag ??

Day 8: Saturday
Megafauna ??
Martiall & the Moon Dance ??
Ugly Elephant ?
Paul’s Garage
The Cocker Spaniels ??
Ghost of the Sabertooth Tiger ??
Kempe & Eden ??
If By Yes ??
Consortium Musicium ??
Fig ??
Mi-gu ??
Tuneyards ??
Yoko Ono ??

Day 9 - Sunday
Cliff Hines Quintet ??
The Cocker Spaniels ??
Nerdkween ??
You Are An Airplane?
Dance In Pants - Vainbuthonest.tumblr.com

The following article appeared in the December 2010 issue of Offbeat Magazine. The piece’s focus is on a handful of recent University of New Orleans graduates that are leaving their imprint on the local music scene by each creating a sound that is raw, artistic, and fresh, while still paying homage the city’s longstanding jazz and funk heritage. Together, their musical influence has developed into a contagious movement, captivating old fans and luring new listeners.
ALL five of the artists featured in the article will be making appearances at our upcoming SAND [Same Art | New Direction] Collective musical series, presented by the Edgar Degas Foundation. For more information on this concert series and the SAND collective, visit our “Live Music” section. - Degas House

Thursday February 10 (07:00 PM - 10:00 PM)

On Thursday Feb 3, 2011, the SAND Collective presents performances by Cliff Hines’ Quintet and Magnetic Ear at The Degas House. Cliff Hines’ Quintet begins at 7:00 p.m. and Magnetic Ear is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

Some of the city’s most promising, emerging musicians have announced a new weekly concert series that will run for the month of February. This concert series is produced by the musicians themselves through a new association of serious young local talent called the SAND Collective (Same Art | New Direction). The SAND Collective events will feature beverages from local craft breweries and wineries as well as local cuisine.

Price
$5 cover includes FREE Jambalaya and one free drink - Arts New Orleans

A fresh blend of jazz, pop and a number of international influences, the Cliff Hines Quintet demonstrates a unique and exciting perspective on experimental, progressive jazz.

View All Recordings

Having graduated from NOCCA and UNO with a degree in Jazz Studies, bandleader Cliff Hines has proven himself to be a master student of jazz guitar and a valued member of the surging presence of impressive young talent in local jazz circles. Other budding local prodigies round out the quintet, most of whom met each other in the prestigious music department of UNO. Their debut album Like Mystics of Old (2009) has generated a buzz among local and national music media alike. Their music video “What Chance Do I Have?” was a finalist in a national music video competition, and they recently recorded a video for “Pastels,” during which several kids covered the band in paint from head to toe while they performed in all white garb and different colored bandanas over their eyes.

Cliff Hines – guitar
Sasha Masakowski – vocals
Paul Thibodeaux – drums
Jason Weaver – bass
Andrew McGowan – keys

Former members:
Martin Masakowski – bass
Khris Royal – saxophone

Read the original post - humidbeings.com

Cliff Hines and guests performing at One Eyed Jacks on February 25, 2011. - Barryfest.com

Cliff Hines and guests performing at One Eyed Jacks on February 25, 2011. - Barryfest.com

It’s shirts against blouses. The second installment in Cliff Hines’ tribute series (the NOCCA guitar instructor bowed to Bowie in October) is part homage, part Mardi Gras dress rehearsal and part New Orleans musical mixer, drawing from acute angles of the Crescent City creative class: members of Big History, Magnetic Ear, Sun Hotel, the Next Generation and Hines’ jazz quintet. Tickets $10 general admission, $7 in costume. 10 p.m. Friday. One Eyed Jacks, 615 Toulouse St., 569-8361; www.oneeyedjacks.net - Gambit

WEDNESDAY 15

Music: Progressively Fresh

If you’re in the mood for something musically enlightening tonight, head to Café Nine (250 State St. 203-789-0010, cafenine.com) for the first New Haven performance of the Cliff Hines Quintet, whose progressive jazz sound will please fans of experimental and psych music of all types. (Fun fact: Leader Cliff Hines is the nephew of local musician Dean Falcone.) Opening are The Spins and Sons of Hippies. 9 p.m. $5.
- New Haven Advocate

NEW ORLEANS — Unsure what to do as oil continued to creep toward the Louisiana coast, the percussionist Shannon Powell left his shotgun house in the Tremé section this week and lighted five candles at St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square. He said prayers for New Orleans, then played his usual nighttime jazz gig at Preservation Hall in the French Quarter.
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Chris Bickford for The New York Times
Shannon Powell, a percussionist, prays for New Orleans, performs his gigs and expresses a frustration that other New Orleans residents feel. “It was a good winter, with the Saints and the rebuilding and the new mayor,” Mr. Powell said. “First time I felt that way since Katrina, for sure.”
Related

For BP, a Battle to Contain Leaks and an Image Fight, Too (May 7, 2010)
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As Oil Threat Creeps Closer, a Rush on Seafood (May 7, 2010)
Times Topic: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill (2010)
“I’m trying to be patient with this thing,” Mr. Powell said, having already completed the prayer-and-playing routine at least five times.

In the Mid-City neighborhood, John Richie, a filmmaker, contemplated shaving his head and donating his blond locks because he had heard that hair absorbs oil. Bridget Joseph, an energy consultant, was eager to volunteer to clean oil off something, anything — but nothing needed cleaning yet.

All over town, people felt frustrated and helpless, they said, as a disaster that could have the environmental and economic effect of a major hurricane crept toward them, like Hurricane Katrina redux, but this time in silent, excruciating slow motion.

“Basically everybody’s like, what can we do? What are we supposed to do against this thing?” Mr. Powell said. “Every day I’m monitoring the situation and feel exactly the same way: I don’t know what to do.”

It has been 17 days since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico about 130 miles from New Orleans, in water nearly 5,000 feet deep. The rig, about 50 miles from the Louisiana coast, had drilled a well in the sea floor that began to gush hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil upon the collapse.

New Orleans, with an economy based on tourism and seafood, and dependent on fragile coastal wetlands for hurricane protection, has watched in horror as the oil, orange as rust, has snaked toward the coast — more slowly than at first expected, but in quantities much larger than originally estimated. On Thursday the Coast Guard confirmed that oil had hit the Chandeleur Islands miles off Louisiana’s southeast tip.

“It’s hard to wrap your head around it,” said Geoff Douville, a video production manager and bar owner who lives in Mid-City. “Does anybody have any idea what’s going to be the ultimate result of this?”

The timing is a devastating blow to the city’s psyche. Since the Saints won the Super Bowl upon the backdrop of Mardi Gras, followed by the landslide election of a popular new mayor, Mitchell J. Landrieu, New Orleans had been, by all accounts, getting its groove back. Five years removed from Hurricane Katrina, the tangible signs of a real recovery are everywhere: in rebuilt homes and refurbished parks, in old restaurants come back to life and in new businesses thriving. With hurricane season still weeks away, people were feeling optimistic for the first time in a long time.

“It was a good winter, with the Saints and the rebuilding and the new mayor,” Mr. Powell said. “First time I felt that way since Katrina, for sure.”

The echoes of the hurricane are everywhere now: from the map of the gulf showing something ominous moving closer, to the anxiety in the nervous waiting. Another man-made disaster, people say, akin to the levee failures. Residents also complain about a lack of good information, and about how the reports from the gulf keep changing: one day things look better, the next day, the situation looks worse.

The local news media’s attention has been split by Mr. Landrieu’s inauguration on Monday, business developments within the city’s N.B.A. franchise, the Hornets, and the annual Jazz and Heritage Festival, which ended last weekend after 10 days of celebrating music and food.

In the time of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleanians felt frustrated by a lack of trustworthy information about what was happening to the city while they were evacuated out of it. These days, in a reversal, people in the city are relying on people outside it — friends and family who work in the oil and gas or fishing industries, particularly people who live and work near the coast.

“The best and most reliable information is coming from the ground up, just like in Katrina,” Mr. Douville said.

And everybody knows somebody, as New Orleans and the coast are inextricably linked. For now, they are waiting together.

And life goes on. College students are preparing for finals. Golfers are on the greens. Preservation Hall is packed.

“Most people are just annoyed, rolling their eyes with a pessimistic attitude, like how could this even happen?” said Chris Monfort, a food-delivery man from the Bywater neighborhood.

There are no windows to board up, no sandbags to fill. So a lot of people are doing what New Orleanians do best: they are filling up on gulf seafood as if it were the last supper.

“To think that we might not have a good crayfish season anytime soon is a pretty scary thought to a New Orleanian,” said Cliff Hines, a musician.

And, like Mr. Powell, some people are praying. “All we can do,” Mr. Hines said, “is hope that it’s not as bad as everybody’s saying it’s going to be.” - New York Times

SATURDAY, Oct. 23
The Red Bull Street Kings contest pits the Soul Rebels, To Be Continued, Stooges and Free Agents brass bands against one another in a “battle” starting at 2 p.m. under the Claiborne Avenue bridge between St. Ann and Dumaine streets.
A David Bowie tribute at One Eyed Jacks, organized by local jazz guitarist and composer Cliff Hines, features an array of jazz and indie rock musicians performing hits and obscurities from all phases of Bowie’s career. Other musicians include James Westfall and Rex Gregory (Bionica), Chris Lenox (Consortium of Genius), George Elizondo and Jonathan Arceneaux (Glasgow!), Helen Gillet (Happy Talk Band), Micah McKee (Silent Cinema) and Sasha Masakowski, Andrew McGowan, Paul Thibodeaux and Jasen Weaver. The event is also a Bowie-themed costume party.
Acclaimed Brazilian jazz and classical pianist Jeff Gardner is backed by locals Tony Dagradi, Jesse Boyd and Johnny Vidacovich at Snug Harbor. Lloyd Price is back at Harrah’s Theater. The heavily percussive Eoto rocks Tipitina’s. The Radiators return to Rock ‘n’ Bowl. The Hot 8 Brass Band kicks brass at the Blue Nile. Old-school hard rock band Supagroup logs a rare area performance at the Green Room in Covington.
Local psychedelic rock band Bipolaroid celebrates the release of a new album, “Illusion Fields,” with a free show at the AllWays Lounge. Kim Carson & the Enablers celebrate a new CD at the Rivershack Tavern. Juice Newton sings at Boomtown Casino. Suplecs and War Amps rock d.b.a. The Banks Street Bar hosts Lynn Drury’s Grit & Groove Showcase. A revived Afroskull is at the Maple Leaf. - Times Picayune

The simple phrase, “This album is dedicated to all of my teachers: past, present, and future,” lines the inside cover of the Cliff Hines Quintet’s debut album, Like Mystics of Old. It’s a rather bold statement considering Hines has yet to reach 21. But after one listen, it’s clear that the young student (Hines studies jazz guitar at the University of New Orleans) chose his words wisely and with careful consideration as a deep sense of optimism and reverence permeate this imaginative and ebullient affair.

Hines’ lyrical six-string flourishes color Like Mystics of Old’s canvas, enticing vocalist Sasha Masakowski’s playful coos one moment (“What Choice Do I Have”) while inciting her cries the next (“Nova”). The rhythm section of drummer Paul Thibodeaux and bassist Martin Masakowski (Sasha’s brother) provide the album’s contrasts, propelling the hypnotic fugue of “Insomniatic” and eliciting the sonorous euphoria of “The Pacifier.” Khris Royal on saxophone and EWI serves as Hines’ melodic counterpoint, drifting gorgeously through the vivid dreamscape, “Pastel,” and whirling dizzily around the post-rock fantasy, “Dance of the Cleyrans.”

Not all of the album’s tunes work as well. The confusing “Tippy Toes,” the only lyric-driven number, withers a bit as Masakowski muses about the fate of a bizarre, shapeshifting creature. At other points, the album digresses into fusionland. But the sublime texture of “As in Blindness,” and the stirring beauty of “Mystic” capture Hines’ depth as a composer. The album’s title track, also its only cover, pays tribute to the late, avant-garde clarinetist Alvin Batiste, Jr. Here, over spare percussion, Martin Masakowski— playing bass recorder—and Hines weave a multi-hued tapestry rich in East Asian mystique. Lush and eloquent, never brash nor naïve, the Cliff Hines Quintet molds jazz that is at the same time exuberant and expressive, subtle and supple. - Offbeat Magazine

In mid-December, guitarist Cliff Hines’ jazz quintet held a performance at the CAC in which the band-members were painted on stage while in the midst of playing “Pastels” off their recent album Like Mystics of Old. The show was filmed for a video—here’s the finished work. - Offbeat Magazine

On Saturday night, jazz guitarist Cliff Hines will present an all-star cast of local progressive jazz and indie rock musicians to play two sets of music by David Bowie at One Eyed Jacks.

Bowie has been an obsession here in the office since the recent release of the deluxe six-CD/2-LP superbox reissue of Station to Station; here’s footage of the title track from a rehearsal in Vancouver in 1976, complete with Stacey Hayden’s feedback opening and Bowie fluffing a verse. Forgive the slightly rough video—this is 1976. - Offbeat Magazine

“I’m just trying to connect with people my age because it’s dying. Jazz is dying. We have to find a way to connect with a younger audience,” says saxophonist Khris Royal (24) as he gulps down an iced coffee at the Fair Grinds coffeehouse one Saturday morning. The previous night, Royal’s funk-fusion outfit Dark Matter’s boundless improvisations and explosive grooves rocked a small but enthusiastic crowd at The Maison on Frenchmen Street. Throughout the night, Royal danced amongst the spectators, jamming on his EWI (basically an electronic sax), periodically passing around a tip jar.

Even in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, bastion of tradition, and home to a burgeoning new generation of jazz musicians led by the likes of Royal and his cohorts, the future of jazz lies in some measure of doubt.

Musicologists offer several explanations as to why and how jazz has evolved over the years. Explanations, hypotheses and theories aside, as jazz’s popularity waned, rock’s surged. As one ascended to a status of high art, the other spoke to the masses. Ultimately, as jazz became increasingly urbane and scholastic, rock became increasingly urbanized, suburbanized and commercialized with genres as diverse as punk and hip-hop resonating across the mainstream. Blame it on society, blame it on the record industry, stretch and blame it on the musicians, but jazz has fallen so far out of the public eye that it isn’t hard to fathom that most people born in the ’80s will never encounter what Rahsaan Roland Kirk dubbed America’s classical music. “So many people don’t experience jazz at a young age,” vibraphonist James Westfall (29) says. “For someone who doesn’t come to their first jazz concert until they’re in their 30s, it’s difficult for them to understand what’s going on. On the other hand, a lot of jazz musicians play for themselves, and others unknowingly close the audience off because they’re not used to playing in front of a crowd.”

This wasn’t the case at One Eyed Jacks recently when jazz guitarist Cliff Hines (21) hosted a David Bowie tribute show. Hardly a jazz concert, this gathering brought members of the local indie rock and jazz communities together. To the elation of an even more outrageously costumed crowd, the revolving cast of Bowie-clad performers played two sets spanning the Thin White Duke’s catalogue. Hines, whose genre-morphing quintet (which often includes Royal) released his debut album Like Mystics of Old in late 2009, describes his approach: “Because of the uniqueness of our sound, we felt that we might better appeal to the indie rock audience more so than to the quote-unquote jazz audience in the city,” he says. “Our plan is to try to blend in with the more progressive rock groups in New Orleans. It may mean less playing, but the audience tends to get into it more.”

Adding vocals to several songs at Hines’ Bowie tribute in a sparkled, spandex get-up and spiky pink wig was Sasha Masakowski (24). Her band, Musical Playground, includes Westfall on keyboards and blends an eclectic mix of sounds ranging from Latin and world music to contemporary pop into a mélange of modern jazz. It’s a far cry from the trad standards heard in Preservation Hall. A charismatic performer and one of the brightest young talents in the Big Easy, she is no stranger to her peers’ frustration as she vies to convert audiences often seeking the more established sounds of the city. “I don’t know if New Orleans really embraces modern jazz,” she says. “It’s good to preserve things, but that’s not the nature of jazz. The nature of jazz is to constantly push and grow and stretch and create new things.” She admits to grappling with the issue on a personal level, “On certain gigs I wonder if I should play what the audience wants me to play, or if I should I play what feels good?”



All up-and-coming bands struggle to establish a following and define a sound regardless of genre, but New Orleans’ young jazz musicians face imposing odds. “People generally come down here to see what made New Orleans famous,” says Hines. “Progressive jazz is not something that New Orleans is instinctively known for. We have to work twice as hard to prove to club owners that our music is half as profitable.” Despite a limited audience, little promotion and few open doors, these artists are presented with a unique opportunity, one that could only exist in a city where jazz still shapes culture and influences daily life. “I think for people like us in many ways it’s harder to get recognized, but it’s also easier because we can pave the way in a scene that’s saturated with so many different sounds,” Masakowski says.

This is something that both Royal and Westfall, two of the scene’s most accomplished musicians, realized only after attaining recognition and experiencing the shortcomings of success in larger markets. Royal grew up learning from local luminaries such as Clyde Kerr and Kidd Jordan, but he abandoned his studies at Boston’s esteemed Berklee College of Music to become a session man in Los Angeles. As a member of the Regiment horn section, he went on to record with R&B and hip- hop superstars Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige, Nelly and The Game. Of his time there, Royal says, “I missed playing for real. If I got a solo, it was a cheesy, Hollywood sax solo. Despite the commercial opportunities, there was little else compared to New Orleans. Just think about how many styles of music we have that come out of jazz. Here, we play small clubs, often without a guarantee, and to get people in the door we play things that in a lot of other cities you would never hear.”

Westfall came to the Big Easy from his native Houston in 2000 to study at the University of New Orleans. Mentored by Terrence Blanchard, he became the first vibraphonist to be accepted into the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute, then located in Los Angeles. While enrolled, he was afforded the opportunity to perform with legends such as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Kenny Garrett. His career then took him to New York, where, despite receiving accolades, he found the atmosphere creatively stifling. “I think every young jazz musician has the desire to go to New York because of its aura and the music it’s produced. It’s like one of those things that you have to go out and experience for yourself before you see what it lacks. It took me a few years to realize that everything I wanted to do musically was in New Orleans.”

Perhaps no other musician’s journey has taken as many detours en route to the Crescent City as pianist Will Thompson’s. Thompson (30) grew up between north Mississippi and southeast Louisiana and chose to attend UNO so that he could entrench himself in the city that produced Professor Longhair and James Booker. Thompson, a member of the Louisiana National Guard, soon found himself entrenched in an entirely different set of circumstances when he was called into service in Iraq in 2004. There, using an iPod, a handheld recorder and a laptop computer, he compiled sequences of found sounds, ambient noises and electronic textures into a compelling musique concrète experiment titled Baghdad Music Journal, the first album ever recorded and released from a combat theater. “I knew there would be no pianos there, and I didn’t know what I was going to do,” Thompson says. “There were times I thought I was going to lose my mind. I thought that I would never play music again. So I bought a computer, an iPod and some software and began recording conversations, prayer calls, air conditioner sounds, power generators—whatever I was around. It saved my life.”

Thompson’s current band, WATIV, is a heady, avant-garde quartet that blurs the lines between free jazz and freeform experimentation. “Jazz,” however, is a word Thompson hesitates to use, and “tradition” is a subject he approaches with caution. “I don’t like to think about categories. Mostly, what I do gets called jazz because I come from a jazz background. I think if I choose to call it that, then I can; although a lot of people in this city would say that my band is definitely not jazz. Ultimately, whether you like it or not, the tradition is here. It’s not something that you have to make a conscious decision to uphold. Some people would say that it’s something you need to foster, but I think that if you’re really playing, then it is upheld. Tradition is our greatest blessing, but it can also be a curse when misused.”

Within jazz circles, tradition is a fiercely debated topic; within most others, not so much. But in the city where tradition runs the deepest and looms the largest, this emerging group of jazz artists have been able to draw from it a new, liberating source of creativity, one which allows them to roam freely between the past and the present as they forge their own identity. Westfall explains, “We’ve assembled a group of like-minded musicians who are drawn to each other. Everyone shares the same vision. Our goal isn’t to play jazz the way it was recorded. We want to play things differently. I feel that the spirit of the city, the vibrancy of the city, and the emotions of the city are all interconnected. I believe when I play a keytar solo, it holds the same spirit as what’s played in Preservation Hall.”



Connecting the dots may seem like a stretch, but beneath the surface the connections are clear. Royal, Masakowski and Hines all passed through the curriculum at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), the same curriculum that bred modern masters Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr. as well as contemporary climbers Christian Scott and Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews. All but Royal continued their education in UNO’s Jazz Studies program, taking their cues from professors including Irvin Mayfield and Roland Guerin. “At UNO, they really push you to be an individual and to find power in creativity and to break boundaries, musically and personally,” says Masakowski.

Hines has taken his commitment and craft one step further. While enrolled at UNO, Hines went on to assume the position of guitar instructor at NOCCA. “As a teacher now, I’d like to think that I’m a link in the chain,” he says. “I try to reflect the education I was given and the values my teachers instilled in me, the ways they taught and the ways they helped me find myself. That’s what jazz is. That’s what New Orleans is.”

Regardless of who they are—or aren’t—the way to define the next generation of New Orleans jazz musicians isn’t in terms of their merits as players or against the merits of the past. It is to look at them in terms of their connection to their city, their music and each other. “New Orleans is a city with a foundation unlike any other,” Westfall says. “People come here for the experience.”

“Once you embrace the diversity of music in New Orleans, it becomes easier to create your own path,” continues Masakowski.

“If you as a musician are moved by what you do, you can move an audience,” Thompson says. - Offbeat Magazine

On Thursday night, the Cliff Hines Quintet will be covered in paint.

The band will be creating a music video in real-time for the song “Pastels”, from their 2009 record Like Mystics of Old. “We’re going to be playing the song and be covered head to toe in paint by a bunch of kids,” says Hines. “There’s more to it but we’re trying to let a little bit be a surprise.” The song will be played in half-time, to give the troupe of 10-17 year-old painters time to work.

The event takes place at the Contemporary Arts Center Warehouse at 6 p.m. The video shoot will follow a full set by the band. “['Pastels'] is actually our hardest song to perform,” says Hines. “It has shifting time signatures all over the place. We were trying to figure out how to make that element come through in the video…there’s going to be some experiments with time as well as experiments with colors.”

It’s not just the musicians who will be getting the artistic treatment. “We have a whole band’s worth of instruments that are going to get painted,” says Hines. “Some of them are pretty junky…They’ll definitely be made a lot more special.”

In a first for the group, portions of the musical program will be accompanied by dance, choreographed by Hannah Weber. “[She's] an old friend of ours,” Hines says. “She’s about to leave town to go join Cirque du Soleil.

“Right now we’re in the works to do a Prince tribute,” Hines adds. “That’s going to be happening around Mardi Gras.” The group previously staged a tribute to David Bowie, featuring a collection of local musicians. Hines hopes to do more such shows in the future. “We’re going to try to it turn into a recurring event,” he says.

More info is on the Facebook event page. Below is the first video from Like Mystics of Old for the song “What Choice Do I Have?”. - Offbeat Magazine

hough oftentimes true, it’s a common misconception to classify New Orleans as a timeless city where traditional jazz can be heard echoing throughout the streets. Today, the birthplace of jazz is also home to one of the most progressive jazz scenes in the country. Many of the scene’s most promising talents were bred in the high school curriculua of the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA) and matriculate through the jazz programs at the Thelonious Monk Institute and the University of New Orleans.

One such talent is jazz guitarist Cliff Hines. A NOCCA graduate currently enrolled at UNO, Hines and his outfit, the Cliff Hines Quintet, recently released their debut album Like Mystics of Old and have since performed regularly across the city. If you remember back to a few posts ago, Barryfest lauded the CHQ’s showing at the inaugural Foburg Music Festival for playing “a wacked-out version of acid-jazz that sounds like they’ve got Donald Fagen on keys and Thurston Moore on guitar.” While I can certainly attest to the fact that the group’s adventurous spirit and unbridled musicianship blurs lines and bends minds, I rather you not just take my word on it.

Last week the CHQ submitted a video for their song “What Choice Do I Have?” to DoSomething.org’s Battle of the Band’s contest. In the video – apart from the music – Hines stresses the importance of music education. Five contest winners will receive $1000 for their school music program with one Grand Prize winner receiving $5000 and an opportunity to play at the Apollo Theater in New York city. Needless to say, I’m compelling you to vote. The contest ends tonight (April 19th) at midnight. To vote, visit http://www.dosomething.org/bands/entry/nocca-riverfront , register or login via facebook connect, and click on the guitar icons below the video (That’s it!). Below, you can check it out for yourself. Also, I’ve included two more vids that I found on Hines’ YouTube channel from a recent performance at One Eyed Jacks. “Dance of the Cleyrans” should definitely reinforce Barryfest’s Thruston Moore reference while “Insomniatic” certainly brims with those Donald Fagen vibes he so aptly described. - Groovescapes