“Live Mash For Now” is the third release from New Orleans-based quartet Matt Booth & Palindromes. A continued presence in the Crescent City's creative improvised music scene, the band presents original music that offers a fresh counterpoint to what is generally acknowledged there as “New Orleans music”. This album is a collage of three different live performances dating to 2019, weaving together an assortment of original songs, group improvisations, and including three covers from touchstone inspirations (Paul Motian, Ornette Coleman, Melvin Gibbs).
Far from the sterile confines of a recording studio, this release captures the quartet (plus occasional special guest saxophonist Aurora Nealand) in their element: on stage, feeding off the exchange of energy with an audience. The result is the most electrifying and dynamic performance the band has on record- the spacey moments are spacier, the hectic moments are harrier- this is the kind of freewheeling spontaneity that is tough to replicate in the studio. “Live Mash For Now” also acts as a tribute to the now defunct Sidebar, where two-thirds of the album was recorded. From 2017 until the pandemic, the tiny bar was the beloved home of creative music for a broad cross-section of New Orleans musicians, thanks to the brilliant programming of Scatterjazz.
credits
released November 1, 2022
Matt Booth: bass
Brad Walker: tenor and alto saxophones
Chris Alford: guitar
Doug Garrison: drums
Aurora Nealand appears on alto saxophone on tracks 2,3,4,7
Track 1 written by Melvin Gibbs
Tracks 2,3,5,7 are improvisations by the band
Track 4 written by Ornette Coleman
Track 6 written by Paul Motian
recorded live in 2019 at the Hi-Ho Lounge & the Sidebar (New Orleans, LA)
mixed by Rick Nelson and Chris Alford
mastered by Jeff Albert
art design by Dan Barrett
cover photo by Matt Booth