Gourmet Vegan with Solo Bass

Chef and host Philip Gelb (left) introduces Rashaan Carter

Friday August 17th was one of the last of Mr. Gelb’s famed Masumoto peach dinners incorporating the incredible peak of the harvest peaches into his magical vegan creations. It is ostensibly among the last of his famed dinner concert series which has now run about 13 years. Whether the series is ending remains to be seen but the opportunity to partake of Gelb’s culinary art should never be missed and this night we had the opportunity to hear a fine young musician as well.

Phil started me with this tasty IPA, perhaps the only item that was not peach related.

Dinner for about twenty happy diners began with this delicious corn soup. Gelb has an eye for artistic presentation.

A little peach based salsa added a bit of fire for those of us who enjoy spicy things.

And on to the Baiganee (eggplant fritters) with peach kuchela and peach chutney.

The main course was Jerk Stewed Tempeh, Rice, and Peas Calaloo. Unfortunately my eating got a bit ahead of my picture taking but you get the idea.

Peaches are, as I said earlier, from the Masumoto family farm near Fresno where three generations have been producing some of the finest fruit in the state. The tempeh is also locally sourced from Rhizocali Tempeh of Oakland. It doesn’t get better than this.

The tradition here puts the musician on stage just before dessert. Rashaan Carter is an American musician from Washington D.C. who now resides in New York. He was passing through the bay area and Philip Gelb extended an invitation which he graciously accepted.

He began with an improvisation which he had initially done for a dance piece depicting the lynching of a black American woman Laura Nelson and her son in Oklahoma in 1911. Now this could really bring down the mood of the evening but for the fact that Carter spoke of and subsequently played this piece with such passion that all one could really feel is the tragedy of the act and the heroic expression of what is essentially protest music dedicated to her memory.

Rashaan has no small bit of the Blarney. His running commentary during the performance was as entertaining as that of a stand up comic as he engaged most thoughtfully with the evening’s clearly appreciative audience.

He graced us with what he said was originally intended to be a performance of a Charlie Haden piece but decided he wanted to do his own piece as a sort of homage. Indeed he captured Haden’s spirit oh so well in another virtuosic and passionate performance.

He ended with another sort of tribute, this time to Henry Threadgill. Again his gift of gab provided just the right segue into the next piece and his familiarity with Threadgill was immediately apparent. His facility with the acoustic bass produced nearly vocal sounding lines in a performance that did honor to Threadgill and left the evening’s audience very pleased.

We concluded with Blueberry polenta cake with peach ice cream and blueberry raspberry sauce, all vegan, all absolutely delicious.

And we will all keep an ear out for Rashaan Carter from this point on. Bravo!

The Alchemy of Diversity at Sound and Savor

Feb18

Freshly baked bialys right out of the oven opened the brunch.

This is another in the continuing account of my encounters with Philip Gelb’s underground vegan salon now called Sound and Savor. For some twelve years now he has hosted a series of dinners, brunches, and cooking classes. Many of the multi-course meals also feature some of the finest musicians, many from San Francisco and the east bay.

Today’s brunch started with fresh brewed coffee with a dollop of ginger (vegan) ice cream along with fresh baked bialys with cashew cream, pickled red onions, and “carrot lox”. So we began with a vegan Jewish theme. Needless to say these were delicious and the coffee helped waken anyone not ready for this 11AM start.

The next course was a similarly delicious borscht (beet soup) with beet pakoras. And clearly Phil has introduced this traditionally Indian dish which worked remarkably well with that soup. Again all were hot out of the pot/fryer clearly in our view.

As Phil performed his culinary alchemy in the kitchen we were most attentively served by his assistant for this meal, Letitia, a smiling joy of a woman who seems to have the knowledge and genuine caring of customer service in her blood. She was equally attentive to all in the crowd of about twenty diners with the usual mix of familiar faces and few new ones. Indeed the beautifully presented courses came at just the right pace.

The main course in this brunch was a Potato-Onion Tortilla, blood orange salad. And once again the diversity of cultures mixed to truly savory results as the friendly conversations flowed. At this point even the hungriest would hope for a pause and that’s exactly what happened.

With a judicious touch of rearranging Phil prepared a performance space for the three musicians who graced us on this beautiful sunny Oakland day. Jay Ghandi, bansuri (Indian Flute), Sameer Gupta, tablas (a staple of Hindustani music), and David Boyce, saxophone and bass clarinet (need I say a staple of jazz?). The alchemy of the food would now find an analogy in this jam session. Boyce and Gupta had played here about a year ago and Ghandi is a frequent collaborator with both musicians. All three had played yesterday in San Jose and were scheduled to play in San Francisco at the Red Poppy Art House. They are touring to promote their recent release A Circle Has No Beginning. These are just three of the musicians who participated in this crowd sourced disc which is itself worth your attention.

The energy was immediately palpable as seen in this excerpt from one of three pieces they played.

This last excerpt demonstrates the ease of communication between these musicians who blend diverse backgrounds of jazz and Hindustani musics seamlessly into something new and wonderful. The audience was energized to a level beyond what coffee could do and broke into appreciative applause after each piece.

The brunch ended with a dessert of (again fresh baked) Citrus Semolina Cake and more of that delicious coffee and ice cream. And, of course, more conversation.

These events have become a regular part of this writer’s recreational time and a real reason to celebrate living in the diverse and creative east bay. Phil’s judicious blend of cultures in his culinary experiments provide a parallel to his curation of some of the finest musicians with the only purpose in both case to entertain and enlighten. He achieved both is a big way this day. Thanks to all who participated.

Oakland Raga Mini With Tempeh

Mar10

David Boyce, saxophones and Sameer Gupta, tablas at Sound and Savor

Vegan chef and shakuhachi player Philip Gelb’s dinner/concerts have been one of the great joys of the east bay for over ten years now. Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with my enthusiasm for this series. Once again Gelb has woven magic in his impeccably creative vegan cuisine and his ability to attract astoundingly talented musicians.

I had to steal this photo from Phil’s Facebook page because I got so caught up in the fine conversation and food that I forgot to take pictures of any of the five courses except for the dessert.

Four wonderful food courses preceded the musical segment of this evening beginning with a hearty soup followed by some deliciously roasted brussel sprouts and the main course of vegan mac and cheese with deep fried tempeh.

Here is the menu:

“Cheesy” broccoli chowder (practically a meal in itself).

Roasted brussel sprouts with scallion ginger oil.

Southern Fried Tempeh, Macaroni and “cheese” with stewed greens, black eyed peas, Cajun roasted cauliflower, pickled daikon with Meyer lemon and mango chutney (pictured above but must be tasted to be believed, excellent!)

Chocolate waffle bowls withsoursop coconut ice cream, mango ice cream, blood orange marmalade, pineapple sauce and maple walnuts (all vegan and sinfully delicious)
As is customary in these events the musicians played just before dessert was served. A word about these musicians. Sameer Gupta , now heading up the wonderfully creative fusion ensemble Brooklyn Raga Massive hails from San Francisco. David Boyce is originally from New York but is now based in the Bay Area, has appeared on numerous recordings and his band, The Supplicants, can be heard in the Bay Area. Both are seasoned and extremely creative musicians.

Gupta began first by tuning his four drums (instead of the customary two found in most Hindustani music) and created bell like sounds as well as a rhythmic pulse before Boyce entered with his mellifluous sax. The music, clearly informed by melodic jazz and by traditional Hindustani elements took off in a high energy duet and became a unique and wonderful music which clearly energized the audience. The two had played together before though not in this particular configuration.

Here is a short video sample:

Three improvs were performed, one each with Boyce on soprano sax, tenor sax and bass clarinet. This unusual duo pairing sounded remarkably comfortable. They have performed together before and one could sense it in how well they meshed their individual styles.

The audience was understandably enthusiastic and appreciative after each performance. The combination of these fine musicians, clearly enthused about their music, and the intimate setting of this West Oakland loft made for a powerful experience, among the best this writer has heard in this venue.

Also worthy of mention was the amicable atmosphere with friendly interesting fellow diners, a common experience in this series.

Gupta and Boyce enjoying the vegan ice cream dessert after their performance.

Missed this one? There is another dinner concert featuring Mitch Butler on trombone and Howard Wiley on saxophone on Wednesday March 15th. Menu not yet announced. I hope you can make it.

Tickets are at: https://eventium.io/events/393278541021381/mitch-butler-howard-wiley-dinner-concert-march-15-2017

The Musical Mother of Us All: Pauline Oliveros, a Personal Appreciation

Nov27

Pauline Oliveros at one of Philip Gelb’s dinner concerts in Oakland. I published this photo on Pauline’s Wikipedia page.

I woke at about 3PM on the day after Thanksgiving (having worked the previous night shift) and I checked my e-mail and then, on Facebook I learned of the passing of theorist, composer, musician, teacher and all round wonderful human being Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016). She had died peacefully in her sleep on Thanksgiving Day. Going over the copious posts and comments I was saddened at her passing but oddly comforted by the fact that these posts honoring her are effectively eclipsing the ones on the obnoxious political issues as well as demonstrating the incredible reach of her influence. Thankfully, Pauline will not have to endure the regressive politics which now dominate our country and, indeed, the world.

I first encountered Pauline’s work, as many did, through the Columbia Odyssey LP curated by none other than David Behrman in his Music of Our Time series. There are several composers on the disc including Steve Reich (Come Out), Richard Maxfield (Night Music), and Pauline Oliveros (I of IV). Over the years I collected and listened to most of her recordings Discogs lists 55 recordings but no doubt there are many more and likely a plethora of unreleased material which will grace our ears for years to come. Like her older contemporary John Cage it is difficult to identify a “masterpiece” and, also like Cage, she didn’t aspire to such notions because she aspired to learn and subsequently teach the art of listening. Her Deep Listening Institute is based in Kingston, New York.

Stuart Dempster at another of Philip Gelb’s dinner concerts. Stuart is one of the members of Oliveros’ Deep Listening Band

I was pleased to be able to see one of the incarnations of the Deep Listening Band in Chicago at the Harold Washington Library. This concert occurred on the night of the famed “Chicago Flood” (1992) in which a construction mishap diverted thousands of gallons of water from the Chicago River into the disused coal delivery railway tunnels which connect most of the downtown buildings. I brought along a postcard from her album The Well and the Gentle hoping to get her autograph. It was my first face to face meeting with this icon of new music. She graciously took the card into her hand and immediately exclaimed with a smile, “Oh, this is from the Well”. She quipped that next time they would hold their concert in one of the “deep tunnels” which are a part of the Chicago’s massive flood control rainfall overflow system. I still treasure that autograph and the memory of my first meeting with Pauline.

Ione (l) doing verbal improvisation while Pauline improvises in parallel on her digital accordion at a memorable dinner concert curated by Philip Gelb.

I can hardly tell you my level of excitement when vegan chef and musician Philip Gelb announced that Pauline with her partner Ione would be appearing at his next dinner concert. The opportunity for a close encounter with this master was certainly heaven sent. (Pauline later wrote the lovely introduction to Philip’s first vegan cookbook.)

Philip Gelb performing at the June 21, 2015 Garden of Memory Concert at Oakland’s Chapel of the Chimes. This vegan chef and cookbook author plays and teaches shakuhachi and curates a wonderful dinner/concert series at his loft in West Oakland. Philip also appears on several albums with Pauline and others.

Indeed, as I sat across from Pauline no doubt babbling some starstruck nonsense, I encountered in both her and her partner Ione two warm and unpretentious people. While I knew I was in the presence of genius I was given to feel very welcome as they both engaged me and the other guests in lively conversation at this spectacular vegan meal. In the pause just before dessert they gave a wonderful performance with Ione speaking improvised and passionate poetic utterances while Oliveros played her quirky improvisations in parallel on her digital accordion.

Pauline Oliveros, Miya Masaoka and Frode Haltli performing Oliveros’ Twins Peeking at Koto (2014) at Other Minds 20 in 2015

I later got to see Pauline as a returning guest composer/performer at Other Minds 20, a series lovingly and painstakingly curated by composer, broadcaster and new music impresario Charles Amirkhanian. I believe this was her last major bay area appearance.

A clearly happy Pauline Oliveros acknowledges the warm applause of the Other Minds 20 audience after her performance at the SF Jazz Center in 2015.

Every year at the Garden of Memory summer solstice concert the open membership Cornelius Cardew Choir performs Oliveros’ Heart Sutra every year. The verbal score describes how one enters the singing circle and intones basically the note of their choice with one hand over their heart and the other on the back of another singer. I screwed up my courage to participate in this ritual a few years ago and it is now an essential part of the beginning of my summer. Pauline has taught me much and no doubt will continue to teach me through her writings and recordings. For that I am eternally grateful.

End of an Era and a Summation: In the Mood for Food Dinner/Concert Series

Jun28

Philip Gelb performing at the June 21, 2015 Garden of Memory Concert at Oakland’s Chapel of the Chimes.

For a variety of reasons I have not been able to spend any time with this blog for the last month or two but recent events tell me that I must find the time to get back online and publish. My apologies to all who are awaiting reviews and such. They will now be forthcoming.

This past Saturday night June 27, 2015 is among the last of this East Bay series which has been with us for the last 10 years. Philip Gelb, vegan chef extraordinaire, shakuhachi player and teacher has announced that he will be relocating to New York in the next few months.

I personally discovered this series shortly after I moved to the bay area. In a nondescript West Oakland neighborhood in a modest loft live/work space I found a vegan dinner which also featured a performance by Bay Area composer/performer Pamela Z. One concert/dinner and I was hooked. The opportunity to meet and hear many wonderful musicians and enjoy the amazing culinary magic was just too much to resist. I have been a regular attendee at many of these concerts and they all are valued memories.

Philip Gelb with Joelle Leandre at one of his dinner/concerts.

Phil, who studied music, ethnomusicology and shakuhachi has been a familiar performer in the Bay Area. In addition to performing and teaching the Japanese bamboo flute, Phil has run a vegan catering business and began this series some ten years ago modeled on a creative music series founded in part by the late Sam Rivers. As a musician Phil has gotten to know many talented and creative musicians who performed on his series. Phil is a friendly, unpretentious man with great talents which he successfully combined here.

Phil and sous chef Cori preparing the evening’s feast.

The 20 seats were sold out for the annual Masumoto Peach dinner. At the peak of the harvest each year Phil has put together multiple course dinners featuring locally grown organic peaches from the now four generation Masumoto family orchard near Fresno . In fact a recent film (information on the Masumoto page linked above) has been made about them called, “Changing Seasons” and one of the filmmakers was in attendance. There was a short discussion with Q and A at one point.

Happy diners anticipating the next course.

No music this night but wonderful food and friendly conversations filled the evening. The meal began with, of course, a taste of the actual peaches.

sous chef Cori serving the peach halves that began the dinner.

The next course, a peach tomato gazpacho.

Followed by a grilled peach salad with cashew cheese balls, arugula radicchio,, pickled red onions, and a cherry balsamic dressing.

Oh, yes, a nice Chimay to quench the thirst.

And then tempeh char siu wontons (from the local Rhizocali Tempeh), flat tofu noodles, a really great hot peach mustard and peach sweet and sour sauce.

The main course: peach grilled seitan, peach barbecue sauce, roasted corn and peppers, and some crunchy fried okra.

And, for dessert, peach rosewater cake with peach walnut sorbet. As is his custom Phil went around offering more of that sorbet which most folks, present writer included, availed themselves.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

But, as I said, this tradition is coming to an end. Not to fear, however. Phil is in the process of writing a cookbook sharing the secrets of his culinary mastery and the book will also document some of the many musicians whose talents graced many an evening here.

La Donna Smith and India Cooke playing an improvised duet.

Bassists Mark Dresser and Barre Phillips play together for the first time at In the Mood for Food.

The amazing Stuart Dempster at Phil’s loft a few years ago.

Gyan Riley, Terry Riley and Loren Rush attending the dinner/concert which featured Stuart Dempster.

Pauline Oliveros and her partner Ione performing at a recent dinner.

So this little sampling of photos provides some idea of the scope and significance of this series. Happily it is being documented in a book for which an Indiegogo campaign is presently in process. You can donate and receive any or many of a variety of perks ranging from a copy of the book for $40 and perks including an invitation to celebratory dinners planned in both New York and Oakland. My copy and my dinner invite are reserved.

There are 34 days left in the campaign at the time of this writing and the project is now at 106% of its funding goal. This is a piece of Bay Area music and culinary history that will please music enthusiasts and those who appreciate creative vegan cuisine.

Here is a list of musicians taken from the campaign site to give you an idea of the scope of the series:

Tim Berne – alto saxophone (Brooklyn)

Shay Black – voice, guitar (Berkeley via Ireland)

Cornelius Boots shakuhachi/bass clarinet

Monique Buzzarte – trombone, electronics (NYC)

Chris Caswell (2) – harp (Berkeley)

Stuart Dempster – trombone (Seattle)

Robert Dick (flute) NYC

Mark Dresser (2) – bass (Los Angeles)

Mark Dresser/Jen Shyu duet – bass, voice/dance

Sinan Erdemsel – oud (Istanbul)

Sinan Erdemsel/ Sami Shumay duet – oud, violin

Gianni Gebbia – saxophones (Palermo, Italy)

Vinny Golia- winds (Los Angeles)

Lori Goldston – cello (Seattle)

Frank Gratkowski (2) – clarinets, alto sax (Berlin)

Daniel Hoffman/Jeanette Lewicki duet violin, voice/accordion (Berkeley, Tel Aviv)

Shoko Hikage – koto (Japan-San Francisco)

Yang Jing – pipa (Beijing)

Kaoru Kakizakai (4) – shakuhachi (Tokyo)

Marco Lienhard shakuhachi (Zurich-NYC)

Mari Kimura – violin, electronics (Tokyo-NYC)

Yoshio Kurahashi (5) – shakuhachi (Kyoto)

Joelle Leandre – contrabass (Paris)

Oliver Lake – alto sax (NYC)

Riley Lee (2) shakuhachi (Australia)

Jie Ma – pipa (China, LA)

Thollem Mcdonas Jon Raskin duet piano/sax (wanderer/Berkeley)

Roscoe Mitchell – alto, soprano saxophones (Oakland)

David Murray – tenor sax (Paris)

Michael Manring (5) – electric bass (Oakland)

Hafez Modirzadeh – winds (San Jose)

John Kaizan Neptune – shakuhachi (Japan)

Rich O’Donnell – percussion (St. Louis)

Pauline Oliveros (2) – accordion (NY)

Tim Perkis/John Bischoff duet computers (Berkeley)

Barre Phillips solo and duet with Mark Dresser – contrabass (France)

Alcvin Ramos shakuhachi (Vancouver)

Tim Rayborn/Annette duet oud, strings, recorders (Berkeley/Germany)

Jon Raskin/Liz Albee duet sax/trumpet (Berkeley/Berlin)

Jane Rigler – flute (Colorado)

Gyan Riley (5) – guitar (NYC)

Terry Riley (2) – voice, harmonium (universe)

Diana Rowan (2) – harp (Berkeley/Ireland)

Bon Singer/Shira Kammen duet (voice, violin) (Berkeley)

LaDonna Smith/India Cooke duet (2) violin, viola (Birmingham, AL, Oakland)

Lily Storm/Diana Rowan – voice, harp (Oakland/Ireland)

Lily Storm/Dan Cantrell (2) – voice/accordion (Oakland)

Howard Wiley – tenor Saxophone solo and duet with Faye Carol voice

Theresa Wong/ Ellen Fullman duet

Amy X (3) – voice, electronics (Oakland)

Pamela Z – voice, electronics (San Francisco)

New Music Buff

Random perspectives from an informed new music fan.

Tag Archives: vegan

Gourmet Vegan with Solo Bass

The Alchemy of Diversity at Sound and Savor

Oakland Raga Mini With Tempeh

The Musical Mother of Us All: Pauline Oliveros, a Personal Appreciation

End of an Era and a Summation: In the Mood for Food Dinner/Concert Series

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