When he gets to lead the band, the bicoastal bassist Todd Sickafoose writes lushly textured, slowly developing music for a unique instrumental ensemble. Swamped in horns and violin and twin guitars and rock rhythms, Sickafoose and Tiny Resistors lift the lid on some unreleased tunes.

Todd Sickafoose, backstage.

John Rogers for NPR / johnrogersnyc.com

Jonathan Goldberger largely played rhythm guitar and pedal effects.

John Rogers for NPR / johnrogersnyc.com

Jenny Scheinman.

John Rogers for NPR / johnrogersnyc.com

Steve Cardenas played more of a lead guitar role.

John Rogers for NPR / johnrogersnyc.com

Ted Poor.

John Rogers for NPR / johnrogersnyc.com

Todd Sickafoose.

John Rogers for NPR / johnrogersnyc.com

Todd Sickafoose performs at the 92Y Tribeca.

John Rogers for NPR / johnrogersnyc.com

John Ellis played tenor sax and clarinets.

John Rogers for NPR / johnrogersnyc.com

Todd Sickafoose performs at the 92Y Tribeca.

John Rogers for NPR / johnrogersnyc.com

Tiny Resistors: Live From 92Y Tribeca

John Rogers for NPR

Bassist Todd Sickafoose is heard often in two cities — his native San Francisco Bay Area and his adopted New York City. Ani DiFranco fans know his sound, too, as he worked with the singer-songwriter for the better part of a decade. In 2008, he released Tiny Resistors, a lushly textured record that put him on the map as a composer and bandleader. Swamped in horns and violin and twin guitars and rock rhythms, Tiny Resistors the band has become an expansive compositional outlet for Sickafoose.

Tiny Resistors followed Stephan Crump's Rosetta Trio on stage at 92Y Tribeca in downtown New York, as part of the WBGO concert series The Checkout: Live. WBGO and NPR Music presented a live radio broadcast and online video webcast of both sets. For the full concert archive of this series, visit npr.org/checkoutlive.

Set List

All compositions by Todd Sickafoose

• "Storm Rattle"
• "Ceiling Fan In A Spoon"
• "Kora Song"
• "Bye Bye Bees"
• "Whistle"
• "Climber"
• "Blues For Dan Morris"
• "Everyone Is Going"

Personnel

• Todd Sickafoose, bass
• Jenny Scheinman, violin
• John Ellis, tenor saxophone/clarinets
• Alan Ferber, trombone
• Steve Cardenas, guitar
• Jonathan Goldberger, guitar
• Ted Poor, drums

Copyright 2013 WBGO-FM. To see more, visit http://www.wbgo.org.

Filed in:

• Concerts
• Music