On Tuesday night I went to see Alex Machacek at the Baked Potato, a jazz club here in the valley, in Studio City. Alex played with bassist Ben Shepard and drummer Eric Valentine. The Baked Potato is named so because they have a menu that consists of nothing but different kinds of baked potatoes. You can even get a baked potato Philly cheese steak. I knew that the place was small from the pictures I saw of it online but I didn't realize how small the place was until I got inside and sat down. That being said, the club is very intimate and the band is right in your face. Perfect for the listening experience and the visuals. The cover charge at the door for this concert was only $20, and they require a two drink minimum. With a baked potato I got as well I ended up only spending about $40, pretty reasonable to see a concert and have food and drink. Anyways, let's talk about the actual music.
First, Alex started off the concert playing a song that he's playing here in this short clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDvhTDljZxs. I don't know the name of the tune but in that clip is where I first heard it. It was great and refreshing to hear him open up with that tune. It's a great opening tune that has some great rhythmic syncopation. From this tune we can tell that not only is Alex a great guitarist with lots of technique but that he's also a great composer as well. You can say that this tune is like progressive rock meets jazz fusion, which is really what Alex's whole musical style is all about. He mixes odd time signatures with jazz chord progressions and rhythmic motifs to create original material. As far as the concert went I would say that this was the best tune that he played just for the sheer amount of excitement that was displayed during this number. This song is exciting the whole way through, like a car race speeding across the 101. You got the sense that the whole band was all together on this one, speeding through the complex snare hits, bass fills, and guitar chords. As far as the concert went though, I would say this was the only interesting thing they played during the entire first set.
That being said, once you hear a few of Alex's tunes you begin to realize that he uses the same kinds of orchestrations and the same kinds of chord progressions, with maybe a different melody here and there. I think at this particular concert Alex really wasn't feeling the music. He was just coasting. Whereas his sidemen were really pushing the envelop, truly improvising. I felt like there were only like maybe two times where Alex was really improvising and pulling off some great stuff in the process. The rest of the time he was coasting. By coasting I mean he's playing the tunes well but isn't really 'there' in the moment when it comes to his time for improvising. I was a bit disappointed to say the least but realistically I shouldn't have expected much for only $20. But his sidemen were terrific! Especially Eric Valentine on drums. He was playing these incredible odd time signatures and incredible snare/cymbal hits and never missing a fill. At times Valentine reminded me of the drummer from Return to Forever, Lenny White. He was my favorite part of the whole concert. Then the bassist Ben Shepard was playing some incredible bass fills and showing us what its like to play and get a great sound out of a 6-string bass. I didn't even know they made 6-string basses until I saw him play it that night! Shepard is a very melodic bassist that can play the bass like a guitar player plays the guitar. Very much like a Jack Bruce type player. The reason why I think Alex was kind of off this night was because I think this was just a pick up band he was playing with. These aren't the typical people he would usually play with so he was just laying low and again, coasting. The other thing I wish Alex would do is let the other guys write compositions for the band to play because after a while all his tunes start sounding the same. He uses the same tone on most of his songs. At best he sounds like a great Allan Holdsworth imitation, especially with that creamy slightly distorted lead guitar tone on his solos and that synthesizer sounding guitar chord stuff he does where it sounds like whales from the ocean. He definitely got that from Holdsworth. Out of all the Holdsworth clones I think there is only one player who has surpassed the master. He's pretty famous, his name is Tosin Abasi, a great progressive metal jazz fusion type guitarist (check out his band Animals as Leaders and side-project T.R.A.M). Anyways, once you hear Alex's compositions back to back you realize that they all sound the same. This isn't really bad but it does get old. Jazz is suppose to be fresh and unique and have more intensive improvisation. But this concert felt more like a rock concert in comparison to some of the jazz concerts I've been to here in LA. I'm not hating on Alex but I think he could have done a better job when it came to his solos.
Lastly, the other song that stood out to me was the last song he played, ending the first set. It was a Gospel-type tune entitled 'Oh, Lard'. This one was slow and moody, simplistic but made more complex with a jazzy series of chord changes for the improvisation. Again, here Alex's playing was nothing special but the bass playing and drumming were phenomenal. Plus it was nice seeing them play something simple and that had a Gospel type sound. Basically they made Alex sound great at this gig, not the other way around. This is the case where the sidemen make the star sound great. I think Alex is a great guitar player but I think he gives more of himself to the music when he plays with high profile musicians. In videos online I've seen him play with people like drummers Terry Bozzio and Gary Husband and in those videos he's giving it all he's got to the music. Maybe he just needs to play with musicians that push him to the farther reaches of great jazz improvisation. I've seen concerts where the star is a great performer with other big names but with a pick up band they're just coasting. It was a shame but I did enjoy myself that night. On the bright side now I know a place I can go to to hear jazz music!
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