75 DOLLAR BILL LITTLE BIG BAND – live at tubby´s (LP Vinyl)
NYCs 75 Dollar Bill began its prolific career in 2012, after percussionist Rick Browna veteran of the indie underground (Fish & Roses, Run On, V-Effect)and noise scene guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Che Chenconnected via MySpace. Since that initial jam session, when Brown began experimenting with his signature plywood crate drum rhythms, they have released three LPs and a clutch of self-released cassette and digital releases. Last years double album I Was Real received serious critical acclaimThe Wire calling it 2019s Album of the Year. On their first live album, Live At Tubbys, 75 Dollar Bill assembled a unique little big band [Sue Garner on bass, Cheryl Kingan on sax, Steve Maing on guitar, Jim Pugliese on percussion and Karen Waltuch on viola] for the small Kingston, NY club show. Recorded on the last day of their spring tour, the record puts a new perspective on themes from their body of work: a little more intimacy, a little more freedom, a little more controlled chaos. Browns idiosyncratic rhythms are all the more hypnotizing in Tubbys cozy setting, and Chens furious guitar work cuts and hums with sounds seemingly only attainable on stage. Its an album both challenging and immediate. The expanded 75 Dollar Bills affinity for improvisation and the avant-garde even leads to a rousing take on the Ornette Coleman classic, Friends And Neighbors that feels right at home in their own repertoire. The listener cant help but feel present and part of the communal joy and catharsis being shared here in this room. This performance at Tubbys turned out not only to be the last show of their tour, but the last show possible as the pandemic hit. Originally offered as a digital-only release on 75 Dollar Bills Bandcamp, Live At Tubbys now documents a highlight and closure of sorts; this kind of musical improvisation and community interaction being on hold for the foreseeable future. This double album on Grapefruit will have to tide everyone over until it can all happen again. *Grapefruit