Ottawa, anybody catch Geggie w/Bela/Ponty

Marc Decho · #1 07-21-2005, 08:13 AM

any Ottawa or out of towners happen to catch John Geggie filling in for Stanley Clarke a few weeks back ? apparantely Clarke was stopped at the boarder (whatever the hell that means ?) and couldn't make the performance with Bela Fleck and Jean-Luc Ponty, I didn't catch the performance but wondered how John sounded with such short notice...

anonymous0726 · #2 07-21-2005, 08:39 AM

I've had a few rough (and pre 9-11!) experiences trying to get across the border with musical equipment.

Marc Decho · #3 07-21-2005, 09:06 AM

very wierd stuff indeed, I heard that Clarke had problems elsewhere on the tour too, wonder if he's got some kind of checkered past or something !

Marcus Johnson · #4 07-21-2005, 01:19 PM

Checkered pants?...

That's weird...I know one of the folks organizing that tour, I'll email her and ask what up.

Marc Decho · #5 07-21-2005, 01:25 PM

not sure if he was sporting checkered pants that day

could have been leftovers from his cheez 80's wardrobe

fraublugher · #6 07-21-2005, 04:55 PM

i heard it was a visa problem.

Jeff Moote · #7 07-21-2005, 06:02 PM

I was there and he was amazing for getting the call that day. Obviously not the same as Clarke, but they picked Geggie and a drummer up for the gig and made it work really well. Did more jam oriented stuff than planned, even a flecktones tune (Sunset Road) without Ponty.

**Freddels** · #8 07-21-2005, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraublugher

i heard it was a visa problem.

Isn't he a US citizen? Why would he need a visa to enter Canada?

Aaron Saunders · #9 07-21-2005, 07:14 PM

That was Geggie who filled in?! The guy's incredible. Not Stanley Clarke, but the guy's awesome -- I saw him play in a trio setting with Jim Doxas (drums) and Donny McCaslin (sax) a few months ago. GREAT player. Also going to a music camp in August and he's the bass instructor (along with guest instructor Kieran Overs!) so I'm very excited. Also saw him play a couple months before that with Dawn Bishop (vocals) and Gordon Webster* (piano,) but it was a very different setting musically, so he couldn't do quite as much and get away with it -- real straight playing that day. Really nice cat, too -- I talked to him after both shows and he gave me his e-mail, but I can't decipher the part after the @ sign

.

*Gordon's a great pianist -- I love his CD "wethree," although his brother Mike (sax) uses a very popular "lick" right near the beginning of the tune he plays on, which bothers me to no end because it's so common -- I even heard it on Victor Wooten - Yin/Yang! Also an instructor and vocal accompanist at JazzWorks, the camp I'm going to.

**Adrian Cho** · #10 07-22-2005, 07:34 AM

I was in the Library listening to Dave Young when they announced that John had gotten the call for that gig. Apparently Fleck ran into John at the hotel and remembered him from the jam sessions. Anybody who knows John's playing and versatility would have known that he would do a great job. I know a number of people including myself who thought the Clarke/Ponty/Fleck thing would be a bit of a wank and I personally would rather hear Geggie than Clarke anyway.

Unfortunately I didn't get to hear it as I had made other plans but the review in the Citizen was interesting. I don't remember it all exactly but it seemed to imply that John and Nick may have been a bit nervous in the presence of the the big US stars and therefore did not play at their best.

Don't forget Nick Fraser on drums - a great player.

Hawkeye · #11 07-22-2005, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freddels

Isn't he a US citizen? Why would he need a visa to enter Canada?

Not to enter Canada, but maybe a visa to work in Canada?

Marc Decho · #12 07-22-2005, 07:46 AM

Hey Aaron, you'll definately have some fun at Camp Christie, John is a real nice n' funny guy, you should have seen him perform with Mark Dresser in bass duo format a few months back, fantastic stuff, although Dresser totally dwarfed him, John was content just setting him up, they performed some very interesting pieces, some Bartok...Kierian Overs is a monster player too, saw him perform with Barry Harris trio not too long ago, super nice guy too...you'll have an awesome time..enjoy

nicoli · #13 07-22-2005, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freddels

Isn't he a US citizen? Why would he need a visa to enter Canada?

Because he's working here, not just visiting. It's the same with us going down to the States, I need to get a visa / P2 permit to get across the border to play shows. You generally need all the paperwork completed in advance of getting to the border to avoid major headaches, so if he didn't have that and time was tight I can see there'd be problems.

Although one would assume he's a member of the AFM, and they do a good job of taking care of that stuff for members most of the time... as long as he gave them notice he'd be crossing to Canada.

I would've liked to see this show, and Diana Krall the night before them, but alas I had no problem getting into the US for some shows that week

**Freddels** · #14 07-22-2005, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Not to enter Canada, but maybe a visa to work in Canada?

I thought the original post was that he was stuck at the border. Entering shouldn't have been a problem. They may have stopped him from playing later but I wouldn't think they would have stopped him from entering.

**Adrian Cho** · #15 07-22-2005, 08:06 AM

Well if he was coming to play and they had a problem with it, they would not have let him enter and he probably would not have wanted to enter for any other reason. You have to declare what you will be doing during your visit.

Marc Decho · #16 07-22-2005, 01:50 PM

[quote=Adrian Cho]I was in the Library listening to Dave Young when they announced that John had gotten the call for that gig. Apparently Fleck ran into John at the hotel and remembered him from the jam sessions. Anybody who knows John's playing and versatility would have known that he would do a great job. I know a number of people including myself who thought the Clarke/Ponty/Fleck thing would be a bit of a wank and I personally would rather hear Geggie than Clarke anyway.

Hey Adrian, how was the Dave Young performance ? I was stuck at work and couldn't make it, and I fully agree i'd rather listen to John over Clarke any day of the week....all the Clarke i've heard is pretty fromage...seems like a wierd combo to have him with Bela and Ponty

**Adrian Cho** · #17 07-22-2005, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Decho

Hey Adrian, how was the Dave Young performance ? I was stuck at work and couldn't make it, and I fully agree i'd rather listen to John over Clarke any day of the week....all the Clarke i've heard is pretty fromage...seems like a wierd combo to have him with Bela and Ponty

Fleck/Ponty/Clarke was to many people, just a big marketing thing. But hey each to his own. Wouldn't have been my cup of tea which is why I didn't schedule to hear it.

Dave Young was great as always. Great player of course. He was doing a Mingus tribute and played lots of Mingus tunes but of course with his setup and sound, he sounded nothing like Mingus at all but then he wasn't trying to. The rest of the lineup (Michel Lambert, Gary Williamson, Kevin Turcotte, Kelly Jefferson) were of course great too.