A double dose of Brooklyn

Two iconic jazz musicians from Brooklyn, New York, are coming to town over the next week, both stretching the definition of jazz to extreme limits, though in diametrically opposite directions. On one end, where the jazz avant-garde meets indie-noise rock, there is guitarist Marc Ribot with his newest group, Ceramic Dog. On the other is veteran vibraphonist Roy Ayers, the godfather of disco-jazz and funk, and presently the undisputed groove-master for any serious hip-hop and jazz club DJ.   

Originally from Los Angeles, Ayers - also a vocalist, composer and producer - moved to New York City shortly before his career took off in 1970, when he signed to Polydor Records at the age of 30. He then led the way in redefining 1970s jazz funk, and pioneered disco jazz with dance club anthems like "Running Away" and "Love Will Bring Us Back Together." Ayers stayed active in other genres as well, composing and recording classic soul tracks like "Everybody Loves the Sunshine," as well as grittier funk and fusion jazz classics like "2000 Black" and "Red Black & Green" and "He's Coming."

In their time, these songs were not always welcome in mainstream jazz clubs. It was another 20 years before Ayers' contribution to expanding the boundaries of the music was acknowledged, though his influence has been considerable. In fact, it could be argued that the Acid Jazz scene would not have developed the way it did in the 1990s if not for the work of Ayers, who brilliantly married upbeat jazz grooves with smooth vocals, social commentary and sensual love.

Time hasn't taken the edge off. Ayers can still match the astounding sound of his original recordings, with live performances full of high energy and his gliding, infectious grooves. If he's on for his Prague debut at Akropolis, it's bound to be the jazz dance party of the year. And when he calls out the lyrics from one of his classics, "Our time is now/We live in Brooklyn, baby," the house should respond with a roar. This will also serve as a pre-concert welcome for the next Brooklyn group at Akropolis, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog.

Ribot is best known for his singular guitar style, which helped define the distinctive sound of Tom Waits, and set the tone for John Lurie's Lounge Lizards and the moody soundtracks of Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law and Mystery Train. It is an unmistakably jagged and angular-sounding halted-guitar attack.

Ribot has worked extensively with John Zorn, as well as Medeski, Martin & Wood. Beyond the New York downtown scene, he was part of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' Grammy Award-winning project Raising Sand, and he dared to break ranks with the avant-garde several years ago with his self-described Cuban "dance band," Marc Ribot y los Cubanos Postivos. His newest group, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog, is a full-blown power trio touring Europe to promote their album Party Intellectuals (2008, Pi Recordings).

Ceramic Dog can be called a free/punk/funk/experimental/psychedelic/post-electronica collective. But with snide lyrics and raucous covers of, for instance, The Doors' "Break on Through," this is an understatement. The rhythm section is a fixture from NYC's downtown avant-garde scene: Shahzad Ismaily on bass and experimental-jazz firebrand Ches Smith, originally from California, on drums.

For their European tour, the band will feature vocalist Eszter Balint, who played the blasé Screaming Jay Hawkins fan from Budapest in Jarmusch's Stranger than Paradise. According to Smith, "Eszter joined Ceramic Dog in Paris in February for a program featuring Serge Gainsbourg, curated by John Zorn. We then asked her to keep playing with us. Her voice is great, and she plays violin and melodica. It's very nice having another instrumental element in the band."

Smith also plays with Good for Cows and Xiu Xiu - rawer, experimental rock-noise-free jazz projects, if you can define them at all. For all his groups, he says, "The New York scene seems more enthusiastic. Maybe there's more of a precedent in New York for 'challenging music,' with the downtown and Brooklyn scenes, not to mention the loft scene, No Wave and jazz in general."

And that just might be why both Ribot and Ayers live in Brooklyn, baby.

Tony Ozuna can be reached at
features@praguepost.com