Thursday, November 1, 2012

Review: Jazz Scan

Ric Bang, of the Jazz Scan jazz blog, has written a little review of Little Played Little Bird:

“Little Bird” was a nickname given to Ornette Coleman, an American-born saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer who was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s.

Why the “little played” in the album title? Because, as often is the case with artists ahead of their time, Coleman was a polarizing talent; the kindest descriptor would be “unorthodox.” Some listeners became immediate fans; others were outspokenly critical. That latter group included Miles Davis, who initially declared that Coleman was “all screwed up inside”; Roy Eldridge, who said, “I think he’s jivin’, baby”; and one reviewer, who described Coleman’s group style as “nobody solos, everybody solos.” 
Other musicians felt he played out of tune; and he had difficulty finding like-minded musicians to jam with. But as time passed, Coleman’s fan base increased and he found work in jazz clubs and concerts, and as a composer for film soundtracks. He’s still performing today, and has become more respected, playing with many name artists and securing contracts with prime studios such as Atlantic, Blue Note and Origin. In 1969, he was inducted into the Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. 
Drummer Todd Bishop is a fan, and this album includes nine Coleman compositions. So, as stated in the liner notes, “Little played = an album of Ornette Coleman tunes that you don’t hear, because nobody plays them.”

Continued after the break:

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Late gig add

That's a neighborhood in Brussels, which you know if you are in any position to come to the show. Espacio ON is located at Steenweg op Etterbeek 172, 1040 Etterbeek, Brussels, Belgium. Phone number is 0486278929. We will play at around 7 or 8pm (precise details coming this evening), and there is a cover of 5 euros.

See our other tour dates here.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Rehearsal @ Jazz Station in Brussels

A few shots from my quartet´s rehearsal at the Jazz Station (who were kind enough to let us play on the premises) in Brussels this afternoon. The band is myself with Jean-Paul Estiévenart (trumpet), Martin Méreau (vibes) & Olivier Stalon (bass):

 

More after the break:

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

It's tour time

My partner Casey Scott and I are flying to Brussels tomorrow to make her a record (for the Topsy Turvy label), and to do my tour in support of my new record, Little Played Little Bird. We'll be rehearsing through the weekend, recording my drum tracks at Jet Studio on Tuesday and Wednesday, and gigging my stuff from November 1-10.

Playing with me will be:
Jean-Paul Estevenart — trumpet
Martin Mereau — vibes
Olivier Stalon — bass

Come on down, hear us play and say hello if you're in the vicinity, and check back here or at my drumming blog Cruise Ship Drummer! updates from the road.


Thursday, Nov. 1
Bar Belge — Paris  
97, avenue du Général Leclerc
94700 Maisons-Alfort FRANCE
01.43.68.20.50

Friday, Nov. 2  
Le Bab-ilo — Paris
9 Rue Baigneur, 75018 Paris, FRANCE
01 42 23 99 19

Sunday, Nov. 4 

Café Belga — Brussels
Place Eugène Flagey Plein
B-1050 Bruxelles/Brussel BELGIUM
Tel:+32 2 640 35 08

Tuesday, Nov. 6

LiquID  — Luxembourg
15-17 Rue Munster
 L-2160 Luxembourg-Grund
(352) 22 44 55

Wednesday, Nov. 7

Buster  — Antwerp 
Kaasrui 1 2000
Antwerpen, BELGIUM
+32(0)497 71 81 33

Thursday, Nov. 8 

Sazz'n Jazz — Brussels
Rue Royale 241 /  241 Koningsstraat
1210-Bruxelles BELGIUM
32 (0) 475 78 23 78

Friday, Nov. 9  
— 22:00
Centre d’Ecologie Urbaine — Brussels 
789 Chaussée de Waterloo
 B-1180 Bruxelles BELGIUM

+32-2-34-32-281 ou +32-488-88-36-43
With songwriter Casey Scott.

Saturday, Nov. 10  

Jakobshof — Aachen
Stromgasse 31 52064 Aachen GERMANY
0241 36800

Anyone who wants to contact me can reach me most reliably through Olivier Stalon— I will be available for private lessons until November 10th.

My brother John Bishop, a great drummer, will also be in Belgium at the same time, incredibly, and you should go see him play if possible.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Airplay update

Radio airplay is still going strong-- since our last update Little Played Little Bird has had play the following stations, among others:

WUOT 91.9 Knoxville, KDVS 90.3 Chicago, KMUW 89.1 Wichita, KSJS 90.5 San Jose, WCPN 90.3 Cleveland, KRFC 88.9 Ft. Collins, WNMC 90.7 Traverse City, TaintRadio.org, WTJU 91.1 Charlottesville, VA, WFCR New England Public Radio, Gallery41.com,

Thanks everyone!

Notice: LA Jazz Scene - Scotty Yanow

Here's a nice little review of Little Played Little Bird by jazz historian and author Scotty Yanow, for LA Jazz Scene. A brief pull:

 The lack of an alto and trumpet allows the quintet to get a bit of distance from Ornette Coleman’s recordings, as does the utilization of Iago’s Fender Rhodes. The music is explored on its own terms. Ranging from free bop romps to lyrical ballad statements, with the highpoints including spirited renditions of “Friends And Neighbors” and “Check Up,” these fresh and adventurous interpretations cast new light on Ornette Coleman’s songs. Little Played Little Bird is easily recommended and available from www.origin-records.com.

Review: Bird is the Worm - Dave Sumner

Here's a nice review from Dave Sumner's excellent Bird is the Worm jazz blog. Dave is an editor at Allaboutjazz.com and a writer for eMusic.com as well as MusicIsGood.org. It's a nice piece of writing, and I hate to excerpt from it, but here are some choice bits:

Taking ownership of a series of obscure Ornette Coleman songs, drummer Todd Bishop shines them through a facet of his own view of the music, while leaving the beating heart of the originals intact, not a scratch upon them.
Most strikingly, the album is an easy listen. Not in the sense that it’s straight-forward, but instead, Bishop doesn’t needlessly complicate matters. Due to his inventiveness, Coleman’s music already comes with its dangers and pitfalls, wrapped with a bow on top. Bishop doesn’t try to out-free Coleman, instead, just takes the music as it is, and then plays it his way. That’s a big reason why this album works. It’s an impressive music statement to sound both personal and referential, to create music that feels In The Now and simultaneously nostalgic.
[...]
Amazingly, Bishop has negated the requirement of actually needing to like Coleman’s music to enjoy Little Played Little Bird, without extinguishing the heart of the source music, and thus, making this an album accessible to Coleman enthusiasts, too.

 Go pay Dave a visit and read the complete piece.

UPDATE: Here Sumner has put us on his Best of 2012 So Far list...

Friday, June 22, 2012

Notice at Gallery 41

Here's a really nice notice from Ron at the Jazz From Gallery 41 blog:

"A really good drummer, a very musical drummer, and absolutely fun to listen to.

The Todd Bishop Group has a terrific new release on Origin Records "Little Played Little Bird: The Music of Ornette Coleman".  Todd's group includes Richard Cole and Tim Willcox / reeds, Weber Iago / keyboards, Bill Athens bass.  In case you haven't guessed from the title, it's a collection of Ornette's compositions, there are 9 of them on the cd, all played great!!!

Todd Bishop, the drummer (in case you've lost track), has a very cool blog some might say is written specifically/only for drummers, but I think everyone who plays an instrument, writes music, listens to music...would find it interesting, entertaining, and fun."

Thanks, Ron!!!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Interview on WHPK 88.5 fm Chicago Tuesday @ 7pm

I'll be doing a live interview about the CD on Lofton Emenari's show on WHPK 88.5 fm Chicago Tuesday evening, June 11th.

Stream it live at 7pm Chicago time if you dare.

Visit Lofton's blog for more information about his show.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Much new airplay

TOP TEN jazz at KDVS Davis,
CA and KUT Austin, TX
The new radio play has not abated at all since the last post; multiple new plays are coming in almost every day. Here are as many of the new stations I can list in a reasonable amount of time: KSJS San Jose; “The Voice” 88.7FM, Sacramento;  top ten at KDVS, Davis, California; top ten jazz at KUT Austin; KUNM New Mexico; WESM 91.3 Maryland; KDNK Colorado, WVIA Pennsylvania, My apologies to anyone I've missed!

Also more plays by our old friends at WTJU Charlottesville, Virginia; TaintRadio.org; WNMC 90.7 Traverse City; WWSP Stevens Point, WFCR New England Public Radio; WMUA Amherst; WPRB Princeton; KSVY Sonoma, WWUH Connecticut, and more!

Selected play lists after the break:

Monday, April 30, 2012

Review: AllAboutJazz.com - C. Michael Bailey

Another review of Little Played Little Bird at AllAboutJazz.com, this time by C. Michael Bailey, who was very positive about my previous Origin release, 69 Année Érotique. Here's a portion of it:

The music selected by Bishop covers 1959—"Lonely Woman" from The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic)—to 1987—"Feet Music" from In All Languages (Caravan of Dreams). The band Bishop assembled to perform this rarified music is notable for the lack of an alto saxophone. Instead, Bishop heads up a quintet made up of Hristo Vitchev's pianist Weber Iago, bass reeds player Richard Cole, tenor and soprano saxophonist Tim Willcox, and bassist Bill Athens. In contrast to much of Coleman's work, Bishop's inclusion of Iago on piano lends a greater harmonic depth, and therefore, a foundation to these ruminative compositions.
Bishop's performances plumb the freedom inspired by Coleman while placing the composer's song in a postmodern light. Most notably, the plaintive alto wail that is the hallmark of "Lonely Woman" is conspicuously absent, the underlying theme presented instead by Willcox on tenor and Cole cleverly on bass clarinet. Iago plays nervous, percussive dances in the background. Iago's use of the Wurlitzer on "Friends and Neighbors" and "Country Town Blues" is very effective. For a collection based on music where the piano is anathema, Iago discharges himself admirably on both keyboards. The leader provides that vibe essential to the Coleman sound—that controlled chaos that so permeated post bop in the wake of John Coltrane's classic quartet and Miles Davis's second great quintet—freewheeling and solid.

Go read the complete review.

Airplay: WYCE, KSDS, WPTC, KRCB, WTJU, more!

A veritable onslaught of new radio stations adding Little Played Little Bird: Kansas Public Radio, WYCE 88.1 Grand Rapids, KSDS 88.3 San Diego, WPTC 88.1 Penn College, KRCB 91.1 Santa Rosa, WTJU 91.1 Charlottesville, VA, WWSP 90.0 Stevens Point, KKRN 88.5 Bella Vista, CA, WSCA 106.1 Portsmouth, plus more plays on WNMC, TaintRadio,

Complete playlists after the break:

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Still more airplay: KIOS, WTJU, KRFC, WRUV, more!

Much new airplay for Little Played Little Bird, on KIOS 91.5 in Omaha, WRUV 90.1 in Burlington, WTJU 91.1 in Charlottesville, VA, KRFC 88.1 in Fort Collins, Jazz From Gallery 41 in Berkeley, WWUH 91.3 in Hartford, WPRB in Princeton, and KLCC 89.7 in my home town, Eugene. Thanks to all the MD's and DJ's! Complete playlists after the break:


Review: Emusic.com

New review on Emusic.com, written by Dave Sumner:

Todd Bishop Group, Little Played Little Bird: The Music of Ornette Coleman: Concept album that performs renditions of lesser-known Ornette Coleman tunes (except “Lonely Woman,” which Bishop admits to including because he loves playing it, “concept be damned.”). Bishop on drums and leading a quintet that includes a family of saxes, bass clarinet, piano & Wurlitzer, and bass. A strong recording that brings plenty of swing, fire, and blues to the Coleman compositions. Not a requirement to actually enjoy Ornette Coleman’s music to like this album; Bishop brings his own voice and vision to this excellent album. Highly Recommended.

Thanks, Dave!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Much new airplay: KTUH, WKPS, WRTI, more!

UPDATE: More plays at WWSP, WFCR, Taintradio.org, and new stations WNMC 90.7 in Traverse City, Michigan, and WPTC 88.1 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Plays are coming fast and furious now; here Little Played Little Bird has been added at KTUH 90.3 in Honolulu, WKPS 90.7 at Penn State, WRTI 90.1 in Philadelphia, KWIT 90.3 in Sioux City, KWMR 90.5 in west Marin, and Portland's own KBOO 90.7. View playlists after the break:


Review: Sax Sounds Magazine

There's a new Spanish-language review of Little Played Little Bird on the Sax Sounds Magazine site, written by Arion Molina. I speak a little Italian and French, but no Spanish, and I would hesitate to try to translate it for the other anglophones, but Google Translate gives us the following pull quote:

Cuesta recommend an album of this whimsical style of jazz, but I would say that fans of the genre and fans of Ornette Coleman, found in "Little Bird Little Played" a very good source of inspiration. Entertainment is assured. 

Well, OK!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

See you in Seattle

Heading up to Seattle to play the Ballard Jazz Festival in a moment. Tonight is the Brotherhood of the Drum, hosted by Michael Shrieve, which I'll be playing with saxophonist Rich Cole and bassist Paul Gabrielsen; also featured are Sonny Rollins drummer Kobie Watkins, Eric Eagle,  and the massive King Tears Bat Trip.

Friday is the Jazz Walk, where my quartet will be playing downstairs at the Salmon Bay Eagles- that will be a good hang, because upstairs will be the Table and Chairs Label Showcase, which will feature players like Gregg Keplinger, Neil Welch, Greg Sinibaldi, and more. We play at 8pm tonight (Wednesday) and 8-12 on Friday. See the Origin site for further details.

See you there!

UPDATE:  We got a lot of great feedback on the new CD, and had really fun shows on Wednesday and Friday- thanks to the musicians, to all the nice people who attended (and who bought CDs!) and to Kobie Watkins and Michael Shrieve for being incredibly nice and for buying my book, to Gregg Keplinger for working on my cymbals and for being very supportive, and of course my friends and family, and everyone at Origin for putting all the hard work putting on the event.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

First review: Little Played Little Bird @ Allaboutjazz.com

Hey, here's the first review of Little Played Little Bird [that's my new recording of the music of Ornette Coleman- have you heard?] from our good friend Dan McClenaghan at AllAboutJazz.com. Here's an excerpt, but go read the whole thing:

"Little Played Little Bird sounds unlike any set that Coleman has ever put together, despite the temptation to compare it to his Hidden Man and Sound Museum Three Women—simultaneously-released on his Harmolodic Records label in 1996—mostly because these overlooked gems in Coleman's discography included pianist Geri Allen. In terms of sound, Cole's baritone sax—fierce and growling on "Enfant"—recalls tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman's work during his Blue Note Records years with Coleman. Aside from that, the vision here is purely the Todd Bishop Group's.

For those with passing knowledge of the saxophonist/composer's sound, this wouldn't, on a blind listen, be recognizable as Coleman's music. For his ardent fans, the melodies are there, laid down with a compellingly original harmonic and rhythmic approach, with bassist Bill Athens—who is essential to the music's unqualified success—laying down a viscous and pulsating murk that flows through Bishop's idiosyncratic steam hiss cymbal sizzles and off-kilter but-tight drum work on this immaculate exploration of Ornette Coleman's music."

- Dan McClenaghan

Monday, April 16, 2012

Airplay: WWPV, WWSP, taintradio

More airplay for Little Played Little Bird from WWPV at St. Michael's College in Burlington, Vermont, WWSP at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, as well as our friends at taintradio.org. Thanks LJ Kopf, David Beckett, Bob Rogers, and Russell Haines! 

Complete play lists after the break.

Friday, April 13, 2012

First airplay: Little Played Little Bird

Radio play for LITTLE PLAYED LITTLE BIRD is starting to come in. Right now several tracks have been added to the avant-garde channel at JAZZRADIO.com, and taintradio.org (who were the first to add the last record as well), and KKRN 88.5 in northern California, KSVY in Sonoma, CA, and New England Public Radio, WFCR in Amherst, MA. Also, one of my drum students just reported hearing us on KMHD 89.1 here in in Portland. The CDs were only mailed out to the radio people recently, and I expect we'll be seeing quite a bit more in the coming weeks.

Complete playlists after the break:

Review highlights: 69 Année Érotique

Paul Abella, Chicagojazz.com:

"Origin Records strikes again with another outstanding disc..."

“Oh man, this really is hip!”

"I loved Bishop’s disc from the second I put it in the CD player..."

"... fat bass lines and funky drum grooves..."


Interview: Oregon Music News

Tom D'Antoni of Oregon Music News talks to me about my Ornette Coleman project outside the Blue Monk in Portland:

CD review: 69 Année Érotique - Allaboutjazz.com (#2)

69 Annee Erotique (Allaboutjazz.com - published: April 20, 2009)
Todd Bishop's Pop Art 4 | Origin Records (2009)
By Dan McClenaghan

69 Annee Erotique gets extra credit for off-the-beaten-path-ness. It is a work celebrating the music of the late French pop songster Serge Gainsbourg (1928- 1991), by Portland Oregon-based Todd Bishop's Pop Art 4. Gainsbourg, whose name may not be person-on-the-street familiar in the United States, was a pop icon in France from the late-1950s to the 1980s, a musical renaissance man of sorts who delved into jazz, pop, reggae, soundtracks, psychedelia and electronica, all while nurturing a reputation for unseemliness and personal excess in the mode of California poet/writer Charles Bukowski, to whom he has been compared.

The sound that drummer/band leader Bishop has crafted is a curious mix of garage/surf rock and Phil Spector-like wall of sound production, with some gritty saxophone, a dash of Neil Young and Crazy Horse grunge, going with gusto after Gainsbourg's simple and engaging yet ofttimes Brian Wilson (of The Beach Boys) type of pop song melodies.

2010 Europe tour poster

Best of 2009: 69 Année Érotique - Allaboutjazz.com (#2)

Allaboutjazz.com's Dan McClenaghan put our 69 Année Érotique on his top ten CDs of 2009 list, along with albums by Jan Garbarek, Gary Peacock, Steve Kuhn, and Jessica Williams. Here's his introduction followed by our entry:

2009 was a fantastic year for music. Every disc on this list is a marvelous set of sounds. This is what keeps me excited about the art form.

Todd Bishop's Pop Art 4
69 Annee Erotique
Origin Records

A meticulously-crafted jazz/pop mix nod to the music of the late French musical Renaissance man, Serge Gainsbourg.

Dan's complete list after the break:

Best of 2009: 69 Année Érotique

69AE makes another best of 2009 list on AllAboutJazz.com- thanks C. Michael Bailey!

Here's the complete list:

Martial Solal
Live at the Village Vanguard: I Can't Give You Anything But Love
Cam Jazz

Enrico Pieranunzi
Enrico Pieranunzi Plays Domenico Scarlatti
Cam Jazz

Todd Bishop's Pop Art 4
69 Annee Erotique
Origin Records

CD Review: 69 Année Érotique - Chicagojazz.com

CD review: Todd Bishop’s Pop Art Four - 69 Annee Erotique (chicagojazz.com, published July, 2009)
by Paul Abella

Origin Records strikes again with another outstanding disc, this time from drummer Todd Bishop and an outstanding group playing the music of Serge Gainsbourg. I have to admit, I hadn’t a clue who Serge Gainsbourg was, prior to seeing this disc make its way across my desk. Of course, curiosity got the best of me and I had to check out Gainsbourg’s music to hear these songs straight from the source. What I heard was charming and familiar on a number of levels. At once, I heard the jazz meets French folk of Maurice Chevalier (or Edith Piaf), the soundtracks of any number of hip sixties and seventies movies, the nouveau chanson of Pauline Croze and even the music of Beck. What started off as, “These guys are doing a tribute to who?” quickly turned into, “Oh man, this really is hip!” I loved Bishop’s disc from the second I put it in the CD player––I am a sucker for fat bass lines and funky drum grooves, after all. But now, armed with the knowledge of what this stuff sounded like the first time around, I was eager to go back again and check it out anew.

Best of 2009: 69 Année Érotique / Larry Appelbaum

Here Library of Congress jazz specialist, writer, and WPFW DJ Larry Appelbaum plays his favorite recordings of 2009, including 69 Année Érotique:

Sound of Surprise
WPFW-FM
Washington D.C.
Sundays 4-6 pm

A Look Back at Favorite Releases From 2009 (in no particular order)

1) Gerald Clayton-Con Alma (Two Shade)
2) Dominick Farinacci-Don't Explain (Lovers, Tales & Dances)
3) Martial Solal-Green Dolphin Street (Live at Village Vanguard)
4) John Scofield-Just a Little While To Stay Here (Piety Street)
5) Allen Toussaint-St James Infirmary (The Bright Mississippi)
6) Joshua Redman-Round Reuben (Compass)
7) Fred Hersch-Por Toda Minha Vida (Fred Hersch Plays Jobim)
8) Luciana Souza-Sorriu Para Mim (Tide)
9) Gretchen Parlato-Doralice (In A Dream)
10) Kurt Elling-Dedicated To You (Dedicated To You)
11) Roberta Gambarini-So In Love (So In Love)
12) Bill Frisell-Lovesick Blues (Disfarmer)
13) Jeff "Tain" Watts-Return of the Jitney Man (Watts)
14) Anders Christiansen-Dear Someone (Dear Someone)
15) Anour Brahem-The Lover of Beirut (The Astounding Eyes of Rita)
16) John Patitucci-Mali (Remembrance)
17) Todd Bishop-69 Annee Erotique (69 Anne Erotique)
18) Cyro Baptista-Batida de Coco (Infinito)
19) Arve Henriksen-Migration (Cartography)
20) Miguel ZenonVilla Palmeras (Esta Plena)

Dan's Europe tour diary - part 2

Willie Matheis and Dan in Belgium

Dan's PA4 Europe tour diary - part 2

Notes from the 2009 Pop Art 4 Europe tour, written by guitarist Dan Duval:

Our time in Paris was densely packed with sight seeing, transportation, and performance. We arrived in the afternoon on Friday, so we didn’t have time to do much of anything before playing our gig that night. The club, Le Bab Ilo, was tiny but extremely charming: we played in a book lined basement room.

[...]

On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, we took the train into Paris in the morning, checked out different parts of the city on foot, and then took the train back to the hotel in time to pack the gear into the car and drive back into town for that night’s gig (Sunday night was the exception, which we had off; Todd didn’t have to drive anywhere except the train station near the hotel that day, and I’m pretty sure he was happy about that). It was quite an intense expenditure of energy, and Paris is an amazing city!

CD review: 69 Année Érotique - Allmusic.com

69 Année Érotique: Music of Serge Gainsbourg (Allmusic.com - published May, 2009)
by Adam Greenberg

Todd Bishop has taken groups Lower Monumental and Flatland through somewhat revolutionary jazz territory before, exploring what modern free jazz could sound like while still putting together entirely listenable albums. On 69 Annee Erotique, Bishop takes his Pop Art 4 through some surprising new arrangements of old Serge Gainsbourg songs.

The songs vary from dark to light, slow to jumpy, but they're all given a strong touch of the new in Bishop's arrangements. There's some extra electrofunk quietly placed into the opening title track, and some extended low-end soloing on the sax from Richard Cole in the Ballade de Melody Nelson. A stronger European flavor makes its way in with Initials B.B., a bit of Albert Ayler-style funkiness in Cannabis, and an incredible mix of Brazilian friction drums, saxophones, and Olatunji's Akiwowo in New York, USA. The pace slows down considerably for a more sultry waltz then immediately jumps back up for Le Poinconneur des Lilas. The keyboards, courtesy of Steve Moore, get a chance to shine in Intoxicated Man, and the album finishes off with more of a period piece in Je T'aime…Moi Non Plus, complete with a few sultry vocals thrown in.

The album slinks and squirms all the way, keeping a sultry vibe to the proceedings, but at the same time never leaving a vibe to fend for itself. The arrangements and the band hold up each sound with care, giving it just the right bit of timbre to carry it through the piece in an almost destined manner. An excellent bit of reworking from a group that sounds like it has more to offer yet.

Dan's Europe tour diary - part 1

Willie Matheis and Dan in
Brussels, first night of the tour. 
Dan's PA4 Europe tour diary - part 1

Notes from the 2009 Pop Art 4 Europe tour, written by guitarist Dan Duval:

The Sazz ‘n’ Jazz is a small club in the heart of the Turkish district of Brussels; the group that played right after us was a traditional Turkish ensemble which featured the Sassi, a guitar-esque Turkish instrument. They sounded great! The club owner, audience, and other musicians were all very kind to us, and actually the rest of the tour continued in a similar tone. Todd sold a fair amount of merchandise, we got Olivier (the Belgian bass player) up to speed, and everybody recognized almost every Serge tune we played. It was a great time, even despite the jetlag.

[...]

Having spent the weekend getting acclimated and well rested, we were ready to get down to business and play shows on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night. Monday night we played at a very small club in Ghent called Bar Deco. The owner, Kristoff, is actually a jazz drummer and percussionist (later in the evening Willie and I heard him play some slamming cajon like stuff on a barstool with his bare hands), and he sometimes has jam sessions at his club. He did some good promoting for us, and even hooked us up with a nice dinner. Before the show we rehearsed with Jouni, the bass player who played the three Paris gigs with us – he is a nice guy and a great player. After taking our dinner break we got started, and the place felt really packed, especially since it was such a cozy venue. People really seemed to dig it, and once again, the Gainsbourg material was not lost on the European audience.

CD Review: 69 Année Érotique - Allaboutjazz.com

CD review: 69 Annee Erotique (Allaboutjazz.com - published: May 16, 2009)
Todd Bishop's Pop Art 4 | Origin Records (2009)
By C. Michael Bailey

Context can be everything or nothing. Listening to 69 Annee Erotique with no background will spark recognition of well-preserved lounge music of the 1960s/'70s, performed with modern sonics imitating those of the period: A bit of psychedelia wisping into the edges of post-war Western society right before the Summer of Love and the sexual revolution. The music is all well played and entertaining. Portland Oregon drummer Todd Bishop creates a themed recording as well integrated as Bob Sneider's and Joe Locke's Film Noir Project, Nocturne for Ava (2008, Origin), but that theme has no story.

Given the context of who Serge Gainsbourg was, both artistically and culturally, and particularly after having listened to some of Gainsbourg's music in situ, 69 Annee Erotique takes on a greater artistic gravity. Todd Bishop has done something special here, respectfully presenting Gainsbourg's music with his own (Bishop's) American flair. Bishop readily captures the international sexiness of Gainsbourg's tunes while buffing them to a 21st Century shine.

Todd's 2009 tour highlights

1. Show at Dumont (Aachen, Germany). Great audience, great club, totally mad hang after the gig, great people. Thanks Armin, Skip, Chrit and everyone else!

2. Show at Sazz'n Jazz - another beautiful venue and great audience.

3. Frites with peppersaus (mayonnaise with a ton of black pepper) while killing time jetlagged in Haarlem waiting for our hotel room to be ready.

4. Blasting "Immigrant Song" while driving into Aachen, Germany.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ApxnAr6pRt0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

5. Surviving insane Paris traffic- including a foray into the insane 6e arrondissement, and hair-raising roundabouts in general.

6. Having the weak dollar work in our favor for once.

7. Notre Dame gargoyles

8. My Waterloo bullet.

Todd Bishop interview - Jazz Society of Oregon

Todd Bishop Jazz Society of Oregon feature  - September 2010

Interview by Rita Rega

Early Years/Education: Grew up in Eugene, Oregon and went to South Eugene High School. Trumpeter Gregg Hall was the band director at that time, it was a great program. My older brother, John, is also a professional drummer. He must have inspired me. My Dad was a jazz fan, so we had a bunch of 78’s around the house. His collection included a lot of boogie-woogie, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Benny Goodman, etc. My Mom was a musical theater person. I'd say from 1971 to 1988, there was a full-time drummer practicing in the house -- first my brother and then me. After high school I attended the University of Oregon and studied classical percussion with Charles Dowd. From there I went to the University of Southern California on a scholarship and studied jazz drumming with Gregg Field (Count Basie's drummer). I was also pursuing art at that time and got into painting and photography. I eventually dropped out of USC to play music. I was in Los Angeles in 1993 when they had the riots, and I decided it wasn't for me. I moved to Portland in '94 with a tenor friend of mine, Ricky Sweum.

My brother John Bishop started Origin Records (based out of Seattle). He moved there from Eugene. I probably should have moved there too. There were always a lot more people who wanted to play with me up there. Origin does the Ballard Jazz Festival twice a year. I still do photography professionally. I photograph musicians. My strategy is to try and get as close as possible. I usually work without a flash.

Le Figaro n'est pas verbeux

Todd Bishop's Pop art 4 joue Gainsbourg: Le jazz quartet rend hommage à Serge Gainsbourg.

2009 Europe tour poster

2009 CD Release poster

Airplay: 69 Année Érotique - WWOZ - New Orleans

WWOZ 90.7 New Orleans

An old playlist, but a new station for us:

Playlist for June 23, 2010 from 4:00PM - 7:00PM
Current New Orleans Time: Sat, 12:33pm
Show Host(s): Valerie "The Problem Child" Kacprzak

Playlist Date & Time: 6/23/2010 4:00PM - 7:00PM

Program: Jazz from the French Market with Sondra Bibb
Playlist Tracks
[...]
Bill Frisell & Jack DeJohnette"Otherworldly Dervishes"The Elephant Sleeps
Medeski Martin & Wood"God Fire"Radiolarians
Gabor Szabo"Corcovado"
Madeleine Peyroux"Blue Alert"Half the Perfect World
Duke Ellington w/John Coltrane"In a Sentimental Mood"Priceless Jazz
Ella Fitzgerald"Love For Sale"Sings the Cole Porter
Ike Quebec"Blue Samba"Bossa Nova Soul
Nina Simone"Lilac Wine"Diva Series
Duke Pearson"After the Rain"Midnight Blue
Steve & Edie Gorme"Black Hole Sun"Lounge a Palooza
Quincy Jones"Walking in Space"Walking in Space
Gabor Szabo"Gypsy Queen"Spellbinder
Todd Bishop "69 Annie Erotique"
The Bad Plus"Baraccuda"
Shakti and John McLaughlin"Together"
Cat Power"I Can't Get No"The Cover Record


WWOZ
Second Floor
French Market Building
1008 N. Peters
New Orleans, LA 70116

Setting this sucker up

Nothing to see here at the moment- this is the future home of all news-related stuff for my jazz quartet and new CD, LITTLE PLAYED LITTLE BIRD- tour dates, radio airplay, reviews, etc.

For now, visit my main site, my drumming blog, or my Bandcamp page.