Matt Sciaretta

2009 CMA Music Festival

Hey All,

Just wanted to tell you about some recent gigs.  I had a great time playing with Kristen Cothron and band last night at 3rd and Lindsley. I hope we get to do it again real soon!

Please check my gig calendar for new dates posted. I will be playing at this years 2009 CMA Festival with Dana Romanello and band. We are playing on the Music City Zone stage at 4:00 on Thurs, June 11th.

Peace!

Tags: CMA Music Festival, Dana Romanello, Kristen Cothron

Chris Young and Friends - Tornado Relief Benefit

Tornado Benefit

Hey All,

I will be playing drums with Dana Romanello and her bluegrass band this Friday night at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, TN as part of the Chris Young and Friends Tornado Relief Benefit Concert. We had a rehearsal last night and the band is smokin’ - acoustic and all songs are at light-speed - just like all bluegrass should be!

 You may know Chris Young as the winner of the televised Nashville Star contest. He has moved on from that to form a very successful career. Among his friends that will be performing during the concert is Richie McDonald (from his bio page: “For more than a dozen years, Richie McDonald was the voice and most recognizable face for the platinum-selling country group, Lonestar.”).

Join us to support a great cause!

Tags: Chris Young, Dana Romanello, Murfreesboro Benefit, Murphy Center, Richie McDonald, Tune-Aid-O

Jazz Fans! Support WMOT - Middle TN’s Jazz Station

WMOT

Please support our local jazz station!

They are currently having a membership drive and are suffering from the economy (like everyone else). This station keeps a high standard of jazz pumping through our airwaves. Please send some financial support if you can!

Tags: WMOT

Ben Graves Live at Whole Foods, Nashville

Tags: Ben Graves, Having a Party, Matt Sciaretta, Sam Cooke

Brian Blade

Brian Blade after the show.

The Five Peace Band

Five Peace Band

First, let me say that it was a GREAT show. They played from 7 to 10:35ish with an intermission inbetween the two sets.
The whole night was filled with edgy be-bop, that almost parted the audience into two categories - those who were there for a night out with their dates and true jazz fans who recognize how rare it is to see living jazz royalty like this share one stage. Throughout the night, the musical conversations between the players was independent, yet fed off each others energy. It reminded me much of the Ornette Coleman Free Jazz records I used to listen to in the music library at the Hartt School.
Christian McBride played electric for most of the night. He had a great tone and laid down a solid groove, which allowed everyone else to float freely.

One thing that really grabbed me was the connection between Brian Blade and Chick. Even when they weren’t making eye contact or paying visual attention to each other, they were just tagging each others rhythms the whole night. Brian Blade was absolutely masterful. He played with such dynamics. It was a real treat for me.

Kenny Garrett sounded amazing, though he looked a bit standoffish. He would blow a solo, then promptly move from his placeholder on the stage into the background behind the stage lights. He blew one solo that was perfectly crafted. It was breathtaking! It started out very melodic, with full mellow longtones. The band supported his dynamics with each graduation. The solo crescendoed with raging chromatic phrases. After the solo, he moved off the stage and never really exposed that kind of musicality to the audience for the remainder of the night.

John McLaughlin is obviously a great technician and composer. His compositions  fit the title of his last release - Industrial Zen. They were technical, brash at times and yet organic. When he soloed, he was so chop heavy that it kind of lost my interest after a while. He would play a fury of notes, one after another, hardly taking a breath inbetween.

The audience started to fatigue during the second set and people started leaving two by two. This is actually when it got good for me. The audience really split in two at this point in the night, because the band wanted to keep playing longer than the average listener wanted to listen. I say average listener with kindness. Wives dragged by their husbands. Older yuppies who thought they were gonna hear a bunch of standards or Chick’s Elektric Band cuts. Finally, those people left when the band was done. Chick thanked the audience for coming, but I detected a slight bit of sarcasm.

Once the hall filtered out, we moved up and sat in those $175 seats and got the treat of the night. The band came back out and played one last gem. Chick’s tone when addressing the audience changed dramatically to a very sincere tone, as did their playing during the last cut. They know exactly who their audience is.

Tags: Brian Blade, Chick Corea, Christian McBride, Five Peace Band, John McLaughlin, Kenny Garrett

Mexican Breakfast Burritos

Things you should know about me:

1. we live in the country outside Nashville, TN
2. TN is a landlocked state - the closest thing we have to a Mexican beach is Kenny Chesney, and that’s pretty sad.
3. I commute an hour each way to work. This means that when I get home, I don’t want to leave again. I curl up into a ball.

Our weekdays are jam packed. So, when the weekend rolls around I have been turning into a goopy vegitative mass. This past Sunday morning, I really slept in (oooo, until 7:45 a.m.!). Maybe it’s the Corona beer commercials and their Mexican beach inspirations that have finally got to me… not sure, but I love making Mexican inspired dishes on the weekends. I have made this a couple of times, but I think I’ve finally got it blended the way I like. It meets my two cooking requirements: pretty common ingredients and it’s easy to make. Give it a try!

Ingredients:

• (4) 10″ flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup medium salsa
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup chopped green peppers
•  1/2 cup shredded mexican blend cheese
• a pinch of cilantro
• a dash of seasoned salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil

1. in a pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium-high heat
2. add the onions and peppers to the pan and sauté until the onions and peppers soften a bit
3. spray a separate pan with nonstick cooking spray and heat on medium-high. Once hot, add the 5 eggs to this pan. you can scramble them. I tend to like mine over-easy
4. add the salsa and cilantro to the onions and peppers. reduce to medium heat.
5. once the eggs are no longer raw, add the salsa, pepper and onion mixture to the egg pan. sprinkle in the seasoned salt.
6. add the cheese. reduce heat to low and mix everything together
7. take the flour tortillas and dampen a paper towel. place the paper towel over the flour tortillas and microwave for 20 seconds to soften and warm the tortillas. this will make it them more flexible to fold
8. add 1/4 of the mixture to each of the tortillas

I just made this yesterday for brunch. I made a little side which really brought the meal to life. If you feel inspired, have at it!

Side dish:

• 1 medium fresh tomato
• 1/2 large avocado, pealed
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• bazil
• salt and pepper

1. put two slices of tomato on each serving plate
2. on top of each tomato, layer 2-3 slices of avocado
3. put the basil on top
4. drizzle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar
5. sprinkle with salt and pepper

thanks for checking it out! if you try it, please let me know what you think!

Tags: Mexican Breakfast Burritos

America’s own

So, I go through this Ani DiFranco listening spree about once every 3 months or so. During this listening spree, I realize again how she is amazing. Well, it got me again.. The song “Subdivision“. This song has brought me to tears more than any other song.
There is an entire mass of people in America that get run over every day. We do it to each other. We do it by ignoring simple things that have a major impact on others.

Here are some simple steps to feel like a human again:

1. go to your private place that is quiet
2. put on your music player
3. listen to Subdivision by Ani DiFranco
4. cry like a baby

Rocking the Organic at Whole Foods

Sitting here with my buddy Ben sippin’ the local brew…

Tags: Ben Graves

Easy and completely yummy Chicken Enchilladas

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 can of RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies (or 1 cup of Salsa)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 5-6 flour tortillas (10″)
• 2 large chicken breasts
• chili powder
• garlic pepper

1. pre-cook the chicken breasts with a little bit of chili powder and garlic pepper (I use the microwave, but cook them whatever way gets the job done.. be careful not to overcook it!)
2. pull the chicken apart
3. preheat the oven to 350
4. mix the RO*TEL and the sour cream together in a large mixing bowl
5. dip each side of a tortilla in the RO*TEL and sour cream mixture, completely covering it
6. take some of the shredded chicken and spread it in the tortilla
7. add some cheese
8. place in baking dish with the seam side down
9. repeat steps 4-7 until the 5-6 tortillas are in a row
10. spread the remaining cheese (about 1/2 a cup)  and remaining mixture over the enchilladas
11. bake at 350 for 15 mins uncovered
12. let sit for 5 mins or so
13. enjoy it!

Tags: Chicken Enchilladas