Whew! Another fun-filled day at Big Ears yesterday. I started my day early on a pleasant Tennessee afternoon with Alan Rudolph's Sunrise Quartet and an hour plus of ambient new age jazz and improvisation.
My next set was the Luke Stewart Silt Trio playing modern jazz on a modern stage.
One of my highlights of the day and of the entire festival was Sylvia Courvoisier and her Chimera ensemble playing music from their album of the same name. The all-star band included Wadada Leo Smith and Nate Wooley of trumpet, Ikue Mori on electronics, Drew Gress on bass, Kenny Wollesen on vibes, drums and percussion, and Nasheet Waits on drums. Beautiful, amazing music in a captivating set.
The last time I saw Ukraine's DakhaBrakha was in 2014, just after Putin's invasion of Crimea. Now here we are in 2025 while Ukraine is facing a whole new set of challenges, now including the U.S. itself. In any event, they are still amazing, with otherworldly harmonies, driving percussion, and innovative songwriting, all while bringing awareness and raising money for a globally important cause. It was an uplifting and emotional set with the audience expressing heartfelt support for the Ukrainian people and their existential cause.
Not to be outdone by Sylvie Courvoisier's all-star band, jazz violinist Jenny Scheinman's All Species Parade band featured three jazz guitar superstars (l to r): Julian Lage (seated), Bill Frisell, and Nels Cline. Obviously, it was a killer set.
And speaking of a lot of guitarists - Thor Harris' band Water Damage included Thor on whatever handmade instrument that he was playing, two drummers, two bassists, a violin, and seven electric guitars, including Kramer and David Grubbs, playing Reel 25 - the same doom metal riff over and over and over again for 45 straight minutes until the band and audience entered into a state of transcendent euphoria together. Loud, noisy, confrontational, and slightly ridiculous, it was the perfect nightcap (12:30 to 1:15 am) for the day.
A final Guinness with some Big Ears friends at Clancy's, and then to bed by 2:45. Up at 7:30, and ready and roaring to go at it all again for one final day.
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