Chris Speed’s Yeah No
From NYC
Chris Speed’s Yeah No
Chris Speed – tenor sax, clarinet
Cuong Vu – trumpet
Ted Reichman – accordion
Skulli Sverrisson - electric bass
Jim Black – drums
“With jazz coordinates that extend back to bebop, but also allude comfortably to a variety of folk traditions, this is deep and sophisticated music." — The Wire
Wed 4th February 8pm Adm €18 The Sugar Club Leeson St D2
Quietly, and without fuss or hyperbole, Chris Speed has been acquiring that certain kind of kudos that meets the standards of musicians and audiences at their most exacting. An originator of the fabled downtown scene, he’s a player who embodies its uncompromising work ethic, a singular path that requires a zeal for creativity and an acute sense of aesthetics combined with an instinct for survival and self-belief.
A native of Seattle, his music is borne of a lengthy apprenticeship in the crucible that is Manhattan and its ever changing soundtrack. Since 1997, Yeah No has been the conduit for his considerable gifts as saxophonist, clarinettist, bandleader and composer. 03’s Emit, the group’s third release for the adventurous Songlines imprint, further refines Yeah No’s unique syntax of stylistic eclecticism and improvised dialogue. The influence of The Balkans, with its dense rhythms and fruity dissonance, is ever present, but primarily this is the sound of NYC, a city where bebop jostles for space with free jazz, electronica, grunge and more. Its all here. Speed’s compositions, by turns gentle and abrasive, make this risky endeavour coherent, and are a document in themselves of the city’s cultural tolerance and open mind.
It’s a viewpoint doubtless shared by his bandmates, drawn from the highest echelons of this tightly knit musical community. Jim Black simply defies logic behind the drumkit while Icelander Skulli Sverisson brings the bass into new textural terrain. Cuong Vu exceeds the trumpet’s design parameters with apparent ease, and the band’s latest recruit Ted Reichman will open your eyes as to the untapped potential of the accordion.