Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog

Marc Ribot

American guitarist Marc Ribot knows his way around every style without losing his identity. His trademark grainy riffs seem to fit everywhere, from Cuban to country and from punk to klezmer. He’s widely known for contributing to albums by Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and The Black Keys. He began his career in the New York underground, playing with Lounge Lizards and John Zorn. As a self-confessed outsider in jazz, he nevertheless headlined the New York jazz temple Village Vanguard for a week, joining a select club of band leaders.

Ceramic Dog

Marc Ribot has set our venue alight many times with Ceramic Dog. This energetic trio can easily move from angular songs to exuberant rock riffs, whimsical jazz, and anything in between. Multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily (who played with Will Oldham and Colin Stetson) can switch from distorted bass guitar to cheerful organ. And drummer Ches Smith alternates tight backbeats with electronic experiments. The recently released Connection is their best album to date, according to Ribot himself. The music is chock-full of references, from The Velvet Underground to Gang of Four.