# Raffi Garabedian Octet at Joe Henderson Lab, November 19, 2023

[SFJAZZ](https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/23-24/raffi-garabedian/) presents the [Raffi Garabedian](https://raffigarabedianmusic.com/) Octet performing _the Crazy Dog_  
[Joe Henderson Lab](http://www.sfjazz.org/center)  
[SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=SFJAZZ+Center,+205+Franklin+St,+San+Francisco,+CA+94102+USA&hl=en)  
6:00 PM, Sunday, November 19, 2023

[[2023-11-18|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2023|Up to the 2023 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2023#November_events|Up to the 2023 event list!]] ☸ [[2023-11-19-2|On to the next event!]]

## One Set

[6:00 PM] {house announcements, performers out; MS begins on flute}

01. [6:02 PM] _The Armenian Question_
02. [6:05 PM] _A Mother's Letter_  
[6:10 PM] {greetings from RG}
03. [6:11 PM] _Escape to Erzurum_
04. [6:19 PM] _The Closet Playwright_  
[6:27 PM] {RG partial band introduction; MS swaps from flute to tenor saxophone}
05. [6:28 PM] _Three Gold Liras_ (RG) » [6:30 PM] {MS swap back to flute} »
06. [6:34 PM] (vibraphone solo) » [6:36 PM] _March 17, 1927_ » [6:40 PM] {MS swap back to tenor saxophone} »
07. [6:43 PM] _Ten Acres_
08. [6:46 PM] _First Trip to Fresno (1931)_
09. [6:53 PM] _Contrapuntal Bewilderment_  
[6:59 PM] {set ends; Raffi introduces everyone, then we bolt for Miner Aud...}

## Performers

* Rashaan Carter: bass;
* [Mark Clifford](http://www.markcliffordmusic.com/): vibraphone;
* [Raffi Garabedian](https://raffigarabedianmusic.com/): tenor saxophone, vox;
* [Ben Goldberg](http://www.bengoldberg.net/): clarinet;
* Danny Lubin-Laden: trombone;
* Sean Mullins: drums;
* Marcus Stephens: tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute.
* [Danielle Wertz](http://www.daniellewertz.com/): vox;

## Notes

Tonight's opening show was quite interesting. The biographical subtext -- the story of Raffi's family's immigration from Turkish Armenia to California a century ago -- made for an interesting lyrical base, while the large ensemble allowed for lots of variation in sound textures. I was a little disappointed that Scott Amendola was replaced by Sean Mullins -- one of those unannounced changes between onsale and the performance date -- but given that Sean was the drummer on Raffi's 2022 recording of this material, maybe that was a change for the better? My compliments to Mark Clifford: I really enjoyed his contirbutions tonight!

## Photos

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

{{gallery>:2023:2023-11?20231119-*.jpg}}

{{:wip.png?nolink}}  **Whoa!**  This section is incomplete for now, sorry! {{:wip.png?nolink}}

{{tag>music Raffi_Garabedian Ben_Goldberg Danny_Lubin-Laden Danielle_Wertz Joe_Henderson_Lab Rashaan_Carter Mark_Clifford Sean_Mullins Marcus_Stephens}}

[[2023-11-18|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2023|Up to the 2023 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2023#November_events|Up to the 2023 event list!]] ☸ [[2023-11-19-2|On to the next event!]]