ANDREW D'ANGELO'S GAY DISCO TRIO at TEA LOUNGE, Feb 18, 2009
FEB 18, 2009 -- BROOKLYN: The Gay Disco Trio is Andrew D'Angelo's organized force behind his "Skadra Degis" album out on Skirl Records, composed of Jim Black on drums and drums that don't sound like drums, Trevor Dunn on bass, and the man himself on alto saxophone and bass clarinet. The GDT was presented as the second night of a pair of shows at the Tea lounge, celebrating the year anniversary of D'Angelo's diagnosis with brain cancer, the celebration element being that he has completely kicked the illness and is back on top.
An eager crowd filled the Tea Lounge well before the band began, and the excitement in the air reflected a general anticipation to see more from the man who had been unfortunately absent as a performer in New York City during the past year. There was talk in the crowd of Jim Black busting his snare drum open during the first song the night before, when D'Angelo's Living Health Big Band played for a packed house in the same venue, and that alone seemed to promise a fulfilling evening.
The melodies in the pieces had beauty, and the energy in the band projected intensity. When you combine those two factors, it makes for one hell of a show. Sometimes D'Angelo's compositions hit the same way a great pop song hits, with a melodic hook too true deny, but when that hook is spent, the band operates as a whole and propels forward into improvised storms, always operating with purpose. Every physical movement that brought Andrew D'Angelo's healthy self all over the stage felt meaningful, and when he plays fast, he means fast, and gratuity isn't an option. The same goes for Trevor Dunn's fluid bass navigations and Jim Black's otherworldly time keeping. The individual players all were a part of something bigger, and the fact that the evening was also celebrating the bandleader's survival of the bitch that is brain cancer, makes that bigger something all the more powerful.
Click HERE! for an audio clip from the 2nd tune of the 2nd set at this show
