November found us rocking out in Chicago--our first time in the Windy City. We had a total blast! And not just because Chicago is a hip, happening place with lots of music lovers. There’s an even cooler story here.

First of all, the performance was no ordinary gig: UD was the featured entertainment at an outrageous party, celebrating the launch of the new book by our drummer, Andrew Cohen. (It’s called Evolutionary Enlightenment and we’re proud to say it’s already a bestseller!)

Before we started playing, we learned that in attendance was none other than the great Robert Irving III, the Chicago-based keyboardist and composer who was credited with bringing Miles Davis out of retirement in the 80s, and was Davis’s musical collaborator for over 9 years!

We invited him to sit in with us, and he graciously accepted.

He joined us for one of our favorite tunes, called Jean Pierre--a funky, groovy, minimalist palette with room for a lot of creativity from every member of the band. And did he ever bring it!!!

You can listen to the full performance below, but one thing that struck us was how simple, yet dynamic his playing was. The chord changes that he laid down over the basic structure were unlike any we had heard before, and it made things extremely interesting and rich.

You know what else is cool about him playing that tune with us? It was one he also played with Miles Davis. Which means UD is just one degree of separation from that genius of jazz fusion, Miles Davis himself.

Just back from a short trip to Europe and first time in Tallinn. Does anyone know where Tallinn is? We didn’t – had to look on a map.   It’s the capital of Estonia. Anyone know where Estonia is? We had to look on map for that too. It’s a beautiful city – like a smaller version of Prague. We played at one of most beautiful clubs we’ve ever been in and people responded very warmly. Everyone there’s into anything avant-garde – theater, art, music. There’s been a cultural explosion there since the Berlin wall went down. The last gig was in Copenhagen. We haven’t been there for a few years. We particularly like the club we play there – great sound, great audience. Check out the new video – it’s a compilation from that show. We’re back home now for a few months gigging with the US band. Stay tuned for what’s next…

Posted on September 6, 2008 by Rodrigo

We had a great trip this summer. Everyone took a leap in the band -- in their own playing and the band as a whole -- we sound stronger with a lot more confidence and attitude and more interplay. The funk was heavy. We also had an opportunity for group coaching with one of the top five vibes players in the world -- David Friedman -- who lives in Berlin. We had 3 session with him in Paris and it really helped us to play better. He also played in the sessions with us and that was a blast -- he's really an accomplished musician.

The other highlight was Berlin -- we played in a very cool jazz house -- Cafe Schlot -- we were amazed we packed the room first time playing there. I think the Germans really liked the heaviness of our playing.
Also the festival in La Rochelle was a great experience for us -- playing for a big crowd.

And for me as a sax player it was incredible to play with one of the best sax players in Europe at our gig in Italy -- Maurizio Giammarco. He's played with everyone -- Mike Stern, Phil Markovitz, Dave Liebman and many others. The depth and knowledge in his playing was breathtaking. It was very inspiring to improvise together with a master.

Back in the US now and will be in Europe again this fall -- stay tuned for the next post!

Rodrigo

Posted on Sep 10th, 2008 by Kathy

Just got back from a fantastic tour in Germany, Italy, France -- 2 festivals and a lot of great gigs. We started off in Germany, a few days of rehearsals in Jeff's home town, Hamburg. Then played a festival in Wardenburg and a warm up gig in Hamburg. Then Berlin. That was outrageous -- Berlin is as happening as everyone says -- a lot of cool clubs -- artists, musicians. A creative vortex. Some of the best audiences ever there. We definitely want to go back.

Andrew met up with an old friend in Italy -- someone he used to jam with 30 years ago who's now one of the top sax players in Italy -- Maurizio Giammarco. He sat in for a gig in Florence. Brought a sophisticated jazzy sound in. A lot of fun for everyone. The only one who didn't have fun was Jeff -- his vibes broke down in the set up and we found out really fast there's no place to rent vibes on Sunday afternoon in Italy. So he was reduced to playing a kid's size keyboard we got at the restaurant next door. He played great anyway.

Then a very full few days in Paris rehearsing and working with a master coach and one of the top vibes players in the world, David Friedman. That took the band to a whole other level. You could hear the work that happened at the last gig at a festival in La Rochelle, France. They played at this beautiful mansion -- the most far out, edgy music at the festival -- and it went over really well. They were the special guests from the US for the Sat night slot. Will probably be back next year.

Back in Lenox, MA now with the US band -- not the same here as Paris or Berlin -- but the music sounds great and the US band very quickly slipped into the power groove that got deeper through the summer.
Stay tuned for news from the northeast!