A Love Electric©Andrea Canter

“I am not a fan of scenes or genres. I just genuinely enjoy expressing, being playful, celebrating the possibility in music.” – Todd Clouser

When guitarist Todd Clouser signed with the Royal Potato Family, he planned to bring out three recordings by his A Love Electric ensemble by the end of 2012. The band’s label debut, 20th Century Folk Music, was released early in the year. Now they’re ready to celebrate #2, Entre: Selections in Garage Jazz. And what better way to celebrate than as part of a double-header, with Clouser cohort Adam Meckler and his orchestra opening the evening at the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis? The fun begins at 8:30 pm on Friday, June 22nd.

Todd Clouser and A Love Electric

Todd Clouser©Andrea Canter

A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Clouser has studied with Marc Ribot, Jonathan Kreisberg, David Fiuczynski, Medeski, Martin and Wood, David Tronzo, Peter Sprague, and Berklee professors Jim Kelly and Mike Ihde. He has performed with Keb Mo, members of the Billy Joel Band, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and guitarist Jack Sonni (Dire Straits) and has collaborated frequently with Grammy nominee, slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein, who has been featured with A Love Electric. Clouser spends most of his time these days in Los Cabos, Mexico, where he performs regularly at the area’s top venues, teaches privately and through local schools, and is the founder of Arts Day Out, an annual free event to celebrate and inspire the youth of Los Cabos through the arts, without money or fundraising.

Over the past year, Clouser has toured extensively with A Love Electric bandmates Adam Meckler (trumpet), Bryan Nichols (keyboards), Chris Bates (bass) and Greg Schutte (drums) throughout the U.S., and with bassist Aaron Cruz and drummer Hernan Hecht in Mexico. Other ongoing projects include The Beautiful Organ Trio with Roberto Blanco and Pedro Cervera, and The Hope Tonic with Twin Cities drummer JT Bates.

A Love Electric adds Clouser to a generation of jazz guitarists melding rock (particularly 70s style), groove, and hard boppin’ jazz, creating a sound both nostalgic and forward-moving through waves of 21st century technology. But why three recordings in one year? “The entire series, though not initially intended to do so, really serves as a commentary on the irrelevancy of genre and division between musics and the resulting animosity between people,” explained Clouser in an interview earlier this year. “It’s nonsensical how segmented we've become, and its the direct result of the human desire to ‘belong,’ to have an identity. Our fear of being invalid has been capitalized upon by the powers of marketing, and many of us have adopted a false self, an ego-driven self….We, this band, mean to demolish that, any pretention, by offering music that means hope. That celebrates the believer, the unique in all of us, and dismisses the accepted cynical nature of, again, boundaries. We will make a bold dance record [forthcoming later in 2012], tell the truth about what folk music can be [20th Century Folk Music], and take jazz to the garage [Entre], in one year. It’s all meant to inspire…Age confronts us with certain realities, financially, physically, intellectually, so on. This music is to forget about all of that… There are other projects that everybody has in the band, that I have—with this band it’s all about joy, celebrating the unique personalities in the band.”

Twentieth Century Folk Music was recorded in Mexico City, Brooklyn and the Twin Cities with a cross-cultural octet that has become the core ensemble of A Love Electric. Despite its title, Folk Music offered interpretations of a diverse set of tunes that Clouser defined as “folkloric,” meaning “traditional music—a lot of traditional folk songs, campfire songs, whatever it may be—the melodies are all really strong,” said Todd. “That offers a great starting point to build a tune around… really just the music of the people. Who’s to say Kurt Cobain wasn’t writing folk songs just as much as Malvina Reynolds was?”

Entre: Selections in Garage Jazz

Entre

There’s definitely a more consistent funk-rock orientation on Entre relative to the earlier Love Electric outings. Yet there is considerable range in the moods Clouser creates, from the sounds of an urban traffic jam with bird calls on the opening “No Luck Woodpecker” and playful interaction among strings and horns of “Mob Walk” to the off-quadrant, cooly elegant intro to “This Means Love” that shifts into a grungy American fusion. “That Was the World To Me” is one of the jazzier, funkier tracks, starting off with haunting bassline from Cruz and evolving into a catchy melody that serve as a film soundtrack; Meckler shines with his far-reaching regal trumpet phrases. But my favorites are the two most gentle tracks, both suggesting Metheny-ish country meanders, “The Taxi Driver” and the closing “Unbreak the Morning,” the latter allowing Clouser to display his delicate side as guitarist and composer; it’s a lovely slow dance.

So what’s the plan for the third recording? “The third record is going to be more of the forward-looking record,” says Todd. “That’s the one that we haven’t tracked yet but we’re going to go record it in Woodstock, New York in June, at this residential studio up in the woods.It’s going to be a…maybe a dangerous word to use, but a ‘dance’ record. I want to make a jazz/dance record, like Sly & the Family Stone, Fresh…that hits with joy but sacrifices no artistry.” There’s surely been no artistic sacrifice to date from A Love Electric! Joining Todd at the Ritz Theater will be his Minnesota edition of the band, including Adam Meckler, Bryan Nichols, Chris Bates (bass) and Greg Schutte (drums).

Adam Meckler Orchestra

Adam Meckler©Andrea Canter

Few—if any—musicians in the Adam Meckler Orchestra have reached 40, meaning this band could be on the local scene for a long time! Musicians include: Tyler Anderson and Jason Fabus (alto sax); Max Corcoran and Nelson Devereaux (tenor sax); Angie Hirsch (bari sax); Zack Lozier, Tom Krochock, Sten Johnson, Noah Ophoven-Baldwin, Cameron Kinghorn, and Meckler (trumpet); Keith Hilson, DJ Clovis, Pat Lenhertz and Nick Syman (trombone); Bryan Nichols (piano); Chris Bates (bass); Evan Montgomery (guitar); and Pete Hennig (drums).

The Ritz Theater is located at 345 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis; http://www.ritzdolls.com/tickets/ . Doors at 8 pm, show begins at 8:30 pm. Free parking is available after 6:00 pm directly across from the Ritz in the 13th Avenue Municipal Parking Lot. More about Todd Clouser and A Love Electric at www.toddclouser.com; more about Adam Meckler at www.adammeckler.com; band samples at www.amorchestra.bandcamp.com

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