Oregon Daily Emerald
Thursday, October 20, 2005
There's something for everyone
at the movies this weekend.
For all the info, see page 10.
Jazz trio puts a spin on improvisation
The University-based group will employ 'creative jazz' with a set
inspired by the late Elliott Smith in a show at Luna tonight
BY KRISTEN GERHARD
PULSE REPORTER
Toby Koenigsberg was 6 years old
when his grandfather gave him his
first lesson about music.
"He pulled out his French horn and
played for me," Koenigsberg recalled,
"and I don't remember it exactly, but the
point is that he wasn't
very
Kristen Gerhard | Pulse reporter
Toby Koenigsberg , assistant professor of jazz piano at the Univer
sity, warms up in the School of Music and Dance on Sunday.
good. And he said something like, 'I've been
playing forfive years and this is all I can do, so
if you're going to play music you should start
when you're young.'"
And so began Koenigsberg's 24-year rela
tionship with the piano, an experience that has
taken the University graduate around the
country, from New York to California, and right
back to Eugene again, where he now serves
as assistant professor of jazz piano and asso
ciate director of jazz studies in the University's
School of Music and Dance.
Since his return to Eugene about two years
ago, Koenigsberg has formed a strong con
nection with Luna, the jazz-based nightclub at
tached to Adam's Place restaurant. His month
ly performances atthe venue last year went
so well thatthe club requested Koenigsberg
do a similar gig on a weekly basis.
With his first performance a solo act,
tonight will mark the Toby Koenigsberg
Trio's second weekly performance at Luna.
This evening's trio will be composed of
Koenigsberg on piano, graduate student Ja
son Palmer on drums and junior Dorian
Crow on bass guitar. Koenigsberg, who has
been leading jazz piano trios for almost 13
years, said this sort of group has a very rich
history within the jazz genre.
"There have been a lot of great jazz piano
trios that have built off of what earlier jazz pi
ano trios have done," he said. "So there's this
great tradition and it's given someone like me,
who's playing jazz a hundred years after its
birth, a lot of stuff to work with."
Tonight, the trio will feature the music of
Portland-native, folk-punk artist Elliott Smith.
The singer/songwriter was probably best
known for his song "Miss Misery," which was
nominated for an Academy Award in 1998 for
its appearance in the film "Goodwill Hunt
ing." To the great sadness of his loved ones
and fans, however,the artist committed sui
cide on Oct. 21,2003 while working on his sixth
album, "From a Basement on a Hill," which
was released posthumously.
"I play his songs well because I have such
a deep feeling about his music, because I love
it so much," Koenigsberg said. "I've also
found that it's especially adaptable to jazz set
tings. The harmonies are really intricate and
varied, which is more like jazz and less like a
lot of pop music."
Tomorrow's two-year anniversary of
Smith’s death, however, was not a factor in
the trio's decision to play his music at
tonight's event.
"It was just a strange coincidence," said
Palmer, who has performed with
JAZZ, page 7
■ In my opinion
KRISTEN GERHARD
WHOLE LOTTAWOMAN
TV shows on DVD
are a hot commodity
I've finally come to terms with a miserable as
pect of my personality: I am an extremely lazy
bum. There are few things in life that make me
happierthan when a television station runs a
marathon of one of my favorite shows. I can curl
up on the couch with a bag of candy and a bottle
of soda and barely move for at least four hours.
I also have an addictive side, especially when it
comes to buying entertainment products like CDs
and DVDs. Set me loose in a Best Buy with a cred
it card and I will love you forthe rest of my days,
just ask my mother—I love her and her credit
card very much.
But combine those vices with the recent up
surge inTV-on-DVD sales in the United States,
and you've got a very concerned (notto mention,
very fat from all that candy) Kristen.
In June, Variety magazine reported on a
study conducted by Adams Media Research
and Screen Digest. The analysis found the
amount Americans were spending on DVDs of
television shows had jumped from $160 million
GERHARD, page 11
PULSEMUSIC PULSEMUSIC
The (International) Noise Conspiracy, "Armed Love": "0 Baiian Todos, 0 No Baila
Nadia!" The (International) Noise Conspiracy hasthese words of wisdom, meaning "
either everyone dances or no one dances" in Spanish, written across die first page of
their CD booklet for their fourth CD, "Armed Love." Used as a revolutionary exp
t urges everyone to
dally in troubled times, which the world
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"Make no mistake about it, we are a revolutionary, anti-capitalist, Marxist, Communist rock band," says lead
singer Dennis Lyxzen. The (International) Noise Conspiracy proves this in their twelve-track CD, which includes po
litically rebellious songs like "Let's Make History," "This Side of Heaven," "Guns for Everyone" and — of course
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sound. Nevertheless,
definitely worth checking out
-Amy Uchty
INSIDE PULSE
Live life like
Winnie-the-Pooh
Comics
Music inspired by the
Northwest
Peter Mulvey at
Sam Bond's Garage
8:30 p.m., $7
Friday
ALO: Animal Liberation
Orchestra
WOW Hall
8:00 p.m.
$12 at door
Saturday
Eddie Spaghetti (of the
Supersuckers)
John Henry's
9:00 p.m., $8
TOP 5 MOVIES
1:"TheFog"($12.2M)
2:"Wallace and
Gromit: The Curse of
the Were-Rabbit"
($11.7M)
3:"Elizabeth
town"($11M)
4:"Flightplan"($6.47M)
5:"lnHer
Shoes:"($6.1M)
NYTIMES TOP 5
FICTION
1: Michael Connelly,
"The Lincoln Lawyer"
2: Nora Roberts,
"Blue Smoke"
3: Diana Gabaldon,
"A Breath of Snow and
Ashes”
4: Gregory Maguire,
"Son of a Witch"
5: E. L. Doctorow,
"The March"
ITUNESTOP5
IrKanye West (feat.
Jamie Foxx),
"Gold Digger"
2: Black Eyed Peas,
"My Humps"
3: Nickleback,
"Photograph"
4: Chris Brown (featur
ing Juelz Santana
"Run it!"
5: Ashlee Simpson,
"Boyfriend"