Fans of improvisational jazz, electronica and progressive rock will have the perfect sonic meal for their eclectic tastes when Spaghetti Eastern Music’s Two Bass Hit Ensemble returns to Harlem’s Silvana, part of their residency, on Tuesday, December 27 at 8 p.m.
The band is an off-shoot of Spaghetti Eastern Music, the solo venture of genre-leaping NYC/Hudson Valley guitarist Sal Cataldi. The guitarist is joined in this quartet by two esteemed bass players, David C. Gross and Tom Semioli, and veteran NYC drummer/percussionist, David Donen. Collectively, the four have worked with diverse artists including Stephen Stills, Humble Pie, Aztec Two-Step, Chuck Berry, Marc Ribot, The Lenny Kaye Connection, The Joffrey Ballet, performance artist Charles Dennis and the guitar orchestra of minimalist composer Rhys Chatham.
The music of Two Bass Hit draws inspiration from a wide variety of musical styles, from the electric fusion of ‘70s-era Miles Davis, progressive rock like King Crimson and the funk/psychedelia of Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys. The humbly band takes its name, “Two Bass Hit,” from the title of a Dizzy Gillespie/John Lewis composition featured on Miles Davis’ Milestones album.
While bassist Semioli holds down the grooves, his counterpart Gross plies a broader palate with his extended range six-string electric bass – providing chords and counter-melodies to guitarist Cataldi’s painterly ambient atmospheres and loops and blues and psychedelia-inflected soloing. Drummer Donen provides beats that draw upon rock and tribal patterns.
The December 27 residency engagement for Spaghetti Eastern Music is the latest in the quartet’s on-going residency at Silvana, a venue featuring some of the best jazz, R&B and modern rock acts in NYC. No cover, two drink minimum; Silvana is located at 300 W 116 Street in Harlem.
Bassist Gross has written 17 books and 3 instructional videos. Together with Semioli, he is the co-host “The Notes From An Artist Radio Show” on cygnusradio.com Monday nights at 8 PM EDT, and the “Notes From An Artist” podcast available on iTunes, Spotify, and all podcast platforms. Semioli is the creator of the popular Know Your Bass Player blog.
Spaghetti Eastern Music has received consistent raves since Cataldi’s 2016 debut disc under the moniker, “Sketches of Spam” (Bad Egg Records). The New York Times writes “Cataldi’s original instrumentals and acoustic vocal tunes have a beat unmistakably his own” while Time Out New York says, “the largely instrumental, Eastern-influenced jams are infused with some delicate guitar work and hauntingly moody atmosphere.” Cataldi and his Spaghetti Eastern has been called “a wild ride” by Radio Woodstock, “beautiful and unique” by WFUV’s Mixed Bag, “charmingly melodic and off-center” by WFMU, while NYS Music adds: “If Walt Disney World’s Space Mountain had a secret chill detour, Spaghetti Eastern Music would be the soundtrack.” Hudson Valley One labels the sound:“Part Sergio Leone fever dream, part Ravi Shankar raga, a whirling dervish of musical creation.”
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