Concerts I’ve seen with Joey Baron since 1988
Over the decades, I have seen drummer Joey Baron at least nine times:
1988: John Zorn's Naked City in New York
1989 (or so): Bill Frisell Trio in Philadelphia
1990: Naked City in Philadelphia
1996 (or so): Zorn's Masada Chamber Ensemble in Basel (maybe twice?)
2008: Masada Chamber Ensemble at
A symbol of the intensity and range of Johanna Summer’s piano playing in a duo concert with Jakob Manz
At her duo concert with alto saxophonist Jakob Manz last night at the Volkshaus in Basel, pianist Johanna Summer wore her long blond hair tightly tied back in a ponytail. That might have nothing to do with her performance full of flurries of melody when she was soloing and percussive
Finding words in Gerald Clayton’s “The Water’s Edge” as he and John Scofield played it in Basel
As guitarist John Scofield played pianist Gerald Clayton's melody "The Water's Edge", I found words for it:
I walked down to the water’s edge where I had been before.
I walked along the water’s edge till I could walk no more.
I sat down by the water’s
At the Martinskirche in Basel, Dianne Reeves sings about the summer when she was nine (1966), and I think about the summer when she was ten (1967)
At her concert with guitarist Romero Lubambo at the Martinskirche in Basel last night, Dianne Reeves sang "Nine", a song about being nine years old that she co-write with Eddie del Barrio and released on her 1994 album "Quiet After The Storm": "Double Dutch, kickball, hop scotch, bobby socks." She
“Blue Lou” by the Sullivan Fortner Trio with Tyrone Allen II and Kayvon Gordon, Atlantis, Basel, 2 March 2026
For me, the highlight of tonight's Offbeat Jazz concert by pianist Sullivan Fortner’s trio with bassist Tyrone Allen II and drummer Kayvon Gordon was their performance of “Blue Lou”, a 1934 composition by Edgar Sampson (who also wrote “Stompin’ at the Savoy” in 1933) that Fortner and his bandmates
The Sarah Chaksad Large Ensemble in Basel in 2023, 2024, and 2026
I first saw the Sarah Chaksad Large Ensemble on four straight days at the Bird's Eye in Basel on 12-15 July 2023. As when I have seen other jazz bands on consecutive days, the reward was the band's rich and varied performances, even or perhaps especially of tunes they played
“White Rabbit”, “My Funny Valentine”, and “Jockey Full Of Bourbon”: Youn Sun Nah and Bojan Z at the Volkshaus Basel, 10 November 2025
At the Volkshaus in Basel last night, pianist Bojan Z began a song with light patterns, and singer Youn Sun Nah entered: "One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small." But instead of reproducing Grace Slick's "feed your head" climax to "White Rabbit", Youn Sun Nah sang
Guests of Honor at the Basel Art Museum, April 1999: Manet Zola Cézanne Mehldau
I wrote this essay back in 1999 in response to an exhibition and a concert at the Basel Art Museum. I thought of it again this weekend while...
Brad Mehldau, solo piano, Martinskirche Basel, 14 February 2025
This evening's concert by Brad Mehldau at the Martinskirche in Basel was unamplified solo piano. The highlight of the first set, which featu...
Jan Lundgren and Hans Beckenroth’s duo arrangement of “She’s Leaving Home”, by The Beatles
At their duo concert at the Stadtcasino in Basel last night (which was before the solo piano set by Fred Hersch that I wrote about yesterday...
Andrew Shields