Shows

Friday May 31
Westcott Theater
524 Westcott Street
Syracuse, NY 13210
(315) 299 - 8886
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Saturday June 1
Red Square
388 Broadway
Albany, NY

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Friday June 7
The Lizard Lounge
1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138
617-547-0759/1228
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Sunday June 16
Disc Jam
Hyland Orchard, Brewery and Disc Golf Course
Sturbridge MA
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Friday June 21
The Lizard Lounge
1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138
617-547-0759/1228
click for details


Friday July 5
Earthlands 39 Glasheen Rd
Petersham, MA
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Friday July 12
The Lizard Lounge
1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138
617-547-0759/1228
click for details


Friday July 26
The Lizard Lounge
1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138
617-547-0759/1228
click for details



Store

JUST RELEASED
Electric Moroccoland/
So Below Double Disc
available here


News

Club d'Elf Press


Jazz Times Album Review

Sept 12, 2011
Jazz Times
Review of Electric Moroccoland/So Below
By Mitch Myers

A Boston-based instrumental collective whose talented cast revolves mostly around the vision of bassist/founder Mike Rivard and drummer Erik Kerr, Club d’Elf is, to say the least, multifaceted. On the first half of the ensemble’s new double-CD set, Electric Moroccoland, Rivard draws deep from the Gnawan sounds of North African trance music. It’s an incredible series of jams featuring a disparate assemblage of musicians, including Rivard on a three-stringed instrument called the sintir, keyboardist and Club d’Elf associate John Medeski, oud player Brahim Fribgane, turntablist Mister Rourke, violinist Mat Maneri and guitarists Randy Roos, Duke Levine and David Tronzo. Gnawan singer Hassan Hakmoun contributes a delightfully exotic vocal on the band’s interpretation of “Sunshine of Your Love,” and the disc ends with a haunting homage to Rivard’s friend Mark Sandman via a cover of Morphine’s “Rope on Fire.”

Things are a bit more conventional on the latter disc, So Below, but just a bit. Playing an Americanized psychedelic jazz-fusion with funk and dub overtones, Rivard and company improvise freely and sustain an intense, mesmeric vibe throughout. DJ Logic contributes some smart turntable sounds, and even rock guitarist Reeves Gabrels makes a bracing appearance. Club d’Elf certainly isn’t above using the blues as a sonic template, and the group’s hypnotic version of “I Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down” is right on. Rivard re-emphasizes his connection with Sandman on the title track, blending Sandman’s own tracks into the mix. Overall, this stuff is simply world-class fusion, with excellent production value to boot. So join the club.


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