Backbone > Ear Whacks
Nightlife Highlights 9-03
by DJ Wavy Davy

BILLY MINTZ’S TWO-BASS BAND
SEPTEMBER 5. Drummer Billy Mintz joins that unique club of jazz players (à la John Menegon and Dave Holland) who extend naturally from the rhythm section into composition and bandleading. Mintz, a sideman for years with Mose Allison, “The Merv Griffin Show,” and others, finds a new voice in his non-tet with original compositions like “Shmear” and “Revenge.” The line-up, featuring a Noah-like duplicity of instrumentation (two each of trombone, sax, trumpet, and bass, with Mintz on drums), is described by the Village Voice as “drifting through the waves while [Mintz] steers the ship.” (On September 13, don’t miss Peter Fagiola’s world-vibes with Jago.) 8PM. $12. The Uptown, Kingston. (845) 339-8440.
WWW.BILLYMINTZ.COM

THE MICHAEL DELL ORCHESTRA
SEPTEMBER 13. Fans of swing and other styles of “touch” dancing (va-voom!) will enjoy a spin around the floor at the bucolic Williams Lake resort, off Binnewater Road in Ulster County. Supper clubs, once a nightlife mainstay, offer a sophisticated alternative to club-hopping, so grab your best guy or doll for a twirl. Michael Dell belongs to the Poughkeepsie family dynasty of musicians who can play anything, anywhere, and his dance-floor darlings include the ubiquitous Jeff Carano, perhaps the most-listed musician at hvmusic.com. 6:30PM. $39.50 all-inclusive. Rosendale. (845) 658-3101.
WWW.WILLYLAKE.COM

PAUL BRADY
SEPTEMBER 14. Brady, born in Strabane, Northern Ireland, and raised in County Donegal, single-handedly brought Irish music to a world-wide audience by combining his love for American rock’n’roll with traditional Celtic songwriting. Brady’s contemporary work has been recorded by many artists including Mark Knopfler, Tina Turner, and David Crosby. Brady also penned the title track to Bonnie Raitt’s 1991 Grammy-winning Luck of the Draw, and hometown Woodstock hero Bob Dylan lists Brady as a songwriting idol. With a style very much his own, Brady will have 35 years of material to draw from for this special Kleinert-James booking. 8PM. Woodstock. $20 ($15 Woodstock Guild members). (845) 679-2079.
WWW.COMPASSRECORDS.COM

PINETOP PERKINS’S 90TH BIRTHDAY BASH
SEPTEMBER 19. Pinetop Perkins’s 2002 appearance at the vintage Stissing House was noted in this space, but his landmark birthday party is worth a re-visit. Perkins’s status as a blues legend can’t be denied (he played with Muddy Water’s band for years, even after the singer’s passing), but to really dig him you have to hear him play. His fingers extend across the ivories so beautifully you’ll have to remind yourself they call it the blues. With guests including guitarist George Kilby Jr. and opening act, the exquisite Madeline Peyroux. 7:30PM. $20. Pine Plains, NY. (518) 398-8800.
WWW.UPSTARTBLUESPRODUCTIONS.COM

JIMMY CLIFF
SEPTEMBER 20. Jimmy Cliff may not be, as his Web site declares, the “last living Reggae icon” (Bunny Wailer lives in Jamaica and Lee “Scratch” Perry still tours), but his impact on the genre is undeniable. Even before starring in 1970s smash film The Harder They Come and composing most of the platinum-selling soundtrack, Cliff had collaborated with Bob Marley and Desmond Dekker. His “Many Rivers to Cross” is landmark for the ease with which Cliff emotes a gospel tribute in a rude-boy setting. As part of the Bardavon’s Hudson River Arts Festival in Waryas Park, Cliff’s performance will transport anyone down the Hudson River to Montego Bay. 7PM. Free. (845) 473-5288.
WWW.BARDAVON.ORG

XOCH
SEPTEMBER 26. Apologies to Xoch’s guitarist and partner Vince Ripper, who maintains that seeing the full band is the best way to experience this flame-haired starlet-in-waiting. But these Dutchess dynamos play out constantly so the next show won’t be far off. Meantime, chill out to an acoustic evening of Xoch and the Ripper as they bless the Cubbyhole Coffeehouse with some true star power. The duo, who struggled for 10 years as The Fuzzies, have newfound success as Xoch, scoring a European label deal and copious Internet buzz. Catch ‘em now before their new single “The One” zooms up the charts. 9PM. $4. Poughkeepsie. (845) 483-7584.
WWW.XOCH.COM