PREVIEW: Ten choice April gigs in the English Midlands

April 1, 2017, 2:00 am

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Sid Peacock and Surge Orchestra - Surge In Spring, mac, Birmingham, 8 April
Photo credit: Marcin Sz

Our resident in the English Midlands, Editor-at-Large Peter Bacon, makes his pick of the April gigs worth travelling for.

Tuesday 4 April

Tom Dunnett Sextet
Jazz @ The Spotted Dog, Digbeth, Birmingham, 9pm, £5 or more donation.
Trombonist Tom Dunnett gets big-band punch from his Sextet. They should do well amid the lively hubbub of this Birmingham jazz hotspot. More here.

Friday 7 April

Pilgrimage
In association with Jazzlines at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham, 8.30pm, £10-5.
The bi-monthly knees-up hosted by Young Pilgrims, this time featuring soul-jazz Trope who have their second EP just out. More here.

Lewandowski/Noble/Clarvis - Waller
Presented by Derby Jazz at The Cube, Derby, 8pm, £10.
The trio of bassist Mark, pianist Liam and drummer Paul play the music of Fats. Are their feets too big? There’s one way to find out… More here.

Zoe & Idris Rahman
Presented by Leicester Jazz at Fraser Noble Hall, Leicester, 8pm, £12.
Music from the pianist’s recent solo piano album Dreamland, with her brother as special guest on clarinet and saxophone. More here.

Saturday 8 April

Surge In Spring
mac, Birmingham, 1pm till late, day ticket £25-20.
Surge Orchestra leader/composer Sid Peacock curates the first Grow Your Own festival with music ranging from gospel and folk to free improv and Indo-Jazz. More here.

Tom Hill’s 70s Jazzfunk Machine
Presented by Shrewsbury Jazz at The Hive, Belmont, Shrewsbury, 8pm, £14
The characterful bassist and his band get deeply into the groove with guitarist Lee Jones along as a special guest. More here.

Wednesday 12 April

Simon Spillett Quartet
Presented by Stratford Jazz at Stratford Artshouse, Stratford-upon-Avon, 8pm, £12.
The tenor dynamo carries the Tubby Hayes standard aloft with a youthful, largely Midland-based band. More here.

Tuesday 18 April

Brice/Dunmall + Schlegel/Ulrich/Pursglove
Fizzle at The Lamp Tavern, 7.30pm, £7.
The home of free improv in the city offers a double bill every fortnight - this one, with saxophonist Paul Dunmall and trumpeter/bassist Percy Pursglove should be one of their best. More here.

Wednesday 19 April

Olly Chalk Trio
Jazz @ the George IV, Lichfield, 8pm, £5.
Recent 1st Class Birmingham Conservatoire graduate, pianist and composer leads a strong trio in the welcoming intimacy of a pub back room. More here.

Friday 28 April

Hans Koller Quartet
Presented by Birmingham Jazz at The Red Lion, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, 7.45pm, £12.50.
The pianist and Birmingham Conservatoire tutor leads an all-star band which includes New York alto player John O’Gallagher. More here.

LINK: Jazz In Birmingham

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REVIEW: NYJO / BuJAzzO / NJJO - Three Nations Under One Groove at Kings Place

April 1, 2017, 4:52 pm

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Martin Fondse of NJJO presenting the three bands on stage together in Nottingham
Photo credit Charles Price
Photos of the Kings Place concert will be added later

NYJO / BuJAzzO / NJJO - Three Nations Under One Groove
(Kings Place Hall One. 30th March 2017. Review by Sebastian Scotney)

This has been quite a week for Europe. In a passionate speech about Brexit and about the 60th Anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, Spanish MEP Esteban González Pons of Spain’s Partido Popular described Europe as "not a market"... but rather "the will to live together, the sharing of common dreams” (link below *). The bringing-together of three National Youth Jazz Orchestras of the UK, Germany and Spain is the kind of project which makes such 'shared dreams' into a reality that can be lived, the kind of opportunity the younger generation needs and deserves.

As the evening at Kings Place progressed, the permutations of the musicians from the three bands became more effortless and seamless. As NYJO Artistic Director Mark Armstrong described the vibe of this week-long collaboration at the beginning of the concert: when a group like this, with young people from several countries meets, "we find we all share the same language and culture of music."

The first half of the concert which I heard presented the three bands separately. The highlight was the Dutch band playing two movements from a suite The Future is Now, written by director Martin Fondse, and finding interesting ways to explore the territory between Kenny Wheeler and prog rock.
My ears were certainly caught by a few individuals. BuJazzO drummer Alexander Parzhuber had that same way of looking totally in control of himself - and of the band - that Jonas Burgwinkel carries with him, or Hans Dekker of the WDR Big Band. From the Dutch band it was bass trombonist Lars de Bie bass trombonist with a sound so full and dependable you would build your house on it. And among the Brits there was the roar of James Davison on lead trumpet, he is a player right in that distinguished British line from Bobby Pratt and Derek Watkins to Noel Langley and onwards, and NYJO guitarist Nick Fitch's soloing again justified a growing, glowing reputation....

Richard Lee heard the whole concert and his notes which he shared with me highlight the "terrific vocal and soprano sax work from three women in the Dutch band in the first half" and from the second half - Cuban Fire - "incredible solo proficiency, and remarkably fluent ensemble playing of fiendish Kenton charts."

Cards on table: I have to confess a certain pride in having had a role right at the beginning of this ambitious project which has developed and grown and now manifestly proved its value. I was attending a jazz education conference in 2012, heard BuJazzO, and provided the original introduction of the (then) brand new General Manager of BuJazzO Dominik Seidler to the Chair of NYJO Nigel Tully. I wrote THIS PIECE - essentially as a way to inform the NYJO team what the similarities and differences were. The two sides duly met, the rest is not just history, but has been an amazing amount of dedicated work in planning, fundraising and logistics. What these two bands - now three - have built is truly impressive.

(*) Full speech by Esteban González Pons (VIDEO)

LINK:The Nottingham concert of this tour was reviewed by Charles Price of Jazz Plus
Review - Freedom and Friendship from 2014
Feature on these three orchestras' 2016 tour

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REVIEW: Christian Scott - Rebel Ruler Album Launch at Birthdays in Dalston

April 1, 2017, 11:35 pm

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The Rebel Ruler London launch
Photo credit: Ethan Saunders

Christian Scott - Rebel Ruler Album Launch
(Birthdays, Dalston - 31st March 2017 - Review by Leah Williams.)

Big day for Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah on Friday - not only was it his birthday (and yes, he made a joke about the fact he was playing Birthdays on his birthday) but also the day his new, astonishing album Rebel Ruler came out.

This album (on Ropeadope) is the first of a series of three - aptly named The Centennial Trilogy - that he’s set to release over this year to mark the centenary of the first ever commercial jazz recordings in 1917 and, if this debut is anything to go by, then it’s set to make waves. Going straight in at no.1 on the iTunes Jazz Charts, Adjuah’s continued popularity is representative of the thirst for such fresh, boundary-crossing, politically representative, all-encompassing, culturally diverse sound. Adjuah’s particular style being coined as Stretch Music: a “genre-blind musical form” that is taking off in a big way with the first ever Stretch Music Festival having taken place in Harlem earlier this year.

Not only is he an incredibly talented musician but he has embraced everything that music can offer in terms of composition, production, experimentation and social impact (or even responsibility). They say it’s never good to meet your heroes and, whilst seeing someone on stage perhaps doesn’t quite count as “meeting” them, if we can use a bit of flexibility with the term here then “meeting” Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah was certainly far from disappointing. Charismatic, down-to-earth, humble, and generous with his words, personality and music, seeing him perform live exceeded expectations. A great leader for the musical revolution that’s underway.

The gig was much more than a reproduction of the album. He promised the audience: “we’ve got a lot of new stuff to play with up here so I hope y’all don’t mind us experimenting on you tonight” and experiment they did, in the most sublime of ways. There were so many soundscapes, amazing solos and improvisations that kept the spirit of jazz innovation well and truly alive whilst also giving a great insight into the soul of his new album.

The chemistry on stage was so palpable and synergetic that it was no surprise when he dedicated a whole 15 minutes to introducing each band member along with a funny story about his long relationship with them (the stand out of the night being the fact that drummer Corey Fonville had been ‘bugging’ him to join the band since he was 13 by prank calling him “literally every day” pretending to be his grandmother - we were then treated to a hilarious on-the-spot rendition of this). Keys player Zaccai Curtis, bassist Max Mucha, and alto saxophonist Logan Richardson, also seemed to have long musical histories with Adjuah, and the time he dedicated to putting their talent and personalities across really added an extra element when listening to them play.

The final tune was the standout piece and will surely have resonated with the audience long after the final note was played. The Last Chieftain is inspired by a life-changing lesson he learnt from his grandfather as a child: “you don’t build tribes with hate, you build them with love.” It is a message with strong resonance and relevance for our time, which deserves to be heard.

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PREVIEW: The Golden Age of the British Big Bands, (Cadogan Hall, April 23rd)

April 2, 2017, 12:13 am

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Jack Hylton, Ted Heath, Tubby Hayes, John Dankworth...
All represented in The Golden Age of the British Big Bands at Cadogan Hall

The Jazz Repertory Company has a new show, "The Golden Age of the British Big Bands." The premiere is on St George's Day, April 23rd, at Cadogan Hall. The concert will present a programme selected from a large repertoire and long tradition; the earliest arrangement is from 1928, the last from 1980. Peter Vacher explains this great heritage and the background to the concert. He writes:

While we may accept, reluctantly perhaps, that the Golden Age of the big bands, British or American, is a thing of the past, it’s clear that the desire to play in a collective situation continues to exert its pull on jazz musicians, here and elsewhere. Consider the number of rehearsal big bands that exist up and down the United Kingdom, as well as the professional touring orchestras that re-create, say, the repertoire of Glenn Miller. The challenge of executing complex arrangements in an exciting fashion must be a source of great satisfaction to those who meet it: witness the many fine players who have been recruited by Richard Pite and Pete Long to perform for the Jazz Repertory Company’s concert series and the excellence of their achievements.

This time, the challenge is even more considerable – how to replicate and re-energise music as varied as that performed by the Spanish-Filipino pianist Fred Elizalde and his band of US expatriates in London in 1928 and then by the concert’s end, to recall the smart-sounding innovations of John Dankworth in the 1960s? In thinking back to the Elizalde era, it’s perhaps timely given our impending exit from the European community to reflect on the welcome contributions of these overseas musicians, like the Americans, multi-instrumentalist Adrian Rollini and trumpeter Chelsea Quealey who settled here and enlivened Elizalde’s recordings and engagements.

And then again it’s instructive to recall the periods spent in Britain by a number of the commanding figures in jazz when their presence helped to make between-the-wars London such a hot-bed of musical adventure. The great US tenor-saxophonist Coleman Hawkins appeared and toured with Jack Hylton’s band in the 1930s and it’s their version of ‘Melancholy Baby’ that is included in the Cadogan Hall programme. Benny Carter, too, was in town, arranging for the Henry Hall radio orchestra and pianist Fats Waller toured our variety theatres. How sad that the British Musicians Union’s desire to protect UK jobs should then have led them to ban American jazz musicians from working here for the next 20 years or so, thus depriving local musicians and British audiences of the chance to hear the world’s greatest players in their prime.

Bands like those led by Hylton, Ray Noble and Ambrose had already earned their popularity by appearing at top hotels and night-clubs where the glitterati of the day would dance the night away, never giving a fig for any putative jazz talent that might or might not adorn their bandstands. They just wanted a good time and these bandleaders saw to it they had just that, adding to their fame with radio-hook-ups and many recordings. These leaders were the ‘celebrities’ of their day, courted and feted by the elite. Another such band and an unusual one at that was led by Guyana-born dancer Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson and consisted of the very best West Indian players then resident in London. Their break- through engagement was at the Café de Paris but sadly their triumph was short-lived for Johnson was killed outright when a German bomb hit the Café mid-performance on 8 March 1941. It’s their version of ‘It Was a Lover And His Lass’ that adorns the programme with Spats Langham recalling the mellifluous tones of vocalist Al Bowlly, another whose career was so sadly truncated when he too was killed in a WW2 air-raid just two months after Johnson. Fittingly for a St George’s Day concert the words are by our national playwright, William Shakespeare.

Easily the most prominent big band of the 1940s and 1950s was that led by former Ambrose trombonist Ted Heath, a canny operator who knew how to keep the pop charts ticking over with popular numbers featuring his star singers Lita Roza and Dickie Valentine, while allowing his superb sidemen their chances to shine with numbers like Bakerloo Non Stop. Like Heath, Dankworth had started his orchestra as a touring ensemble taking residencies and playing one-nighters up and down the country. Gradually, though, as touring opportunities began to dwindle and the demand for social dancing began to wane, Dankworth transferred his exceptional compositional skills to the creation of evocative TV signature tunes and masterly movie soundtracks, his band only re- convened for the occasional tour or one-off engagement. Other bands were re-imagined as ‘tribute’ ensembles and more specifically, as in the case of the Tubby Hayes and Stan Tracey bands, whose music will also be heard at Cadogan Hall, as vehicles for the special jazz arrangements produced by band members. No dance hall gigs for them; here it was the bravura of the compositions and the creativity of the soloists that carried the day.

Our big band journey takes us from the ‘hot’ dance bands of the 1920s catering to the ‘beautiful people’ of the day through to the touring ballroom favourites of the 1930s and beyond and alights finally in to the specialist world of these ‘jazz’ orchestras. From Crazy Rhythm to Tomorrow’s World, you could say, and this all accomplished by Long’s scintillating team and their attendant vocalists, Spats Langham, Chris Dean and Janice Day. And reverting to our opening paragraph, Long’s men will conclude the concert by paying a heart-felt tribute to the National Youth Jazz Orchestra as they recreate NYJO’s 1980s arrangement of Marie Lloyd’s timeless My Old Man Said Follow The Van. This selection underlines the extraordinary contribution made by NYJ0 in their 50-year existence to keeping the British big band tradition alive and well. NYJO alumni have rightly taken their place on the world big band stage and helped to foster and renew the big band tradition. So, bravo the British big band scene old and new: who said the golden age was over… it’s just been resting, that’s all! (pp)

LINK: Details and Bookings on the Cadogan Hall site

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CD REVIEWS: Jan Nijdam Kwartet – Bij De Dieren Thuis and Blue Lines Sextet – Live at the Bimhuis

April 3, 2017, 5:44 am

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Jan Nijdam Kwartet – Bij De Dieren Thuis
(Sollasiututut 001)
Blue Lines Sextet – Live at the Bimhuis
(Casco Records 005)
CD reviews by Brian Marley

Although jazz is a language spoken internationally, regional variations abound. Here we have Dutch, known for its theatrical elements, a tendency to subject musical structure and form to loving abuse, and, of course, humour. That’s not to say it’s not a serious undertaking.

When the Jan Nijdam Kwartet lurches out of the briefly stated head of Ad Nasum into free play, there’s no pussyfooting, and no mistaking how closely the musicians are listening to each other. Double bassist Jan Nijdam composed all the pieces on Bij De Dieren Thuis (which translates as 'at home with the animals'), but although he’s the bandleader he’s not placed under a spotlight. This is a group effort, in which everyone pulls their weight.

Tobias Delius, tenor sax and clarinet, is perhaps the best-known player in the quartet, but drummer Alan Purves (who, as far back as 1982, made an excellent duo disc with Ernst Reijseger) and pianist Michiel Scheen have equally strong credentials. Delius plays tenor with excited yips punctuating his phrases, à la Oliver Lake, and his tone on clarinet is pure silk, especially on the ballad Whimsical Elf, which, after a statement of the theme, opens up into a laconic free improvisation that in an instant travels light years from where it began, only to have the theme reappear when least expected.

The music is, in other words, tighter than tight, even though you may be led to believe otherwise. Tracks are generally short, only one topping the six-minute mark, the compositions are memorable and the improvising is first class throughout.

The common factor between the two CDs under review is pianist Michiel Scheen. He, Raoul van der Weide (double bass, crackle box, found objects) and George Hadow (drums) comprise the Blue Lines Trio which, on Live at the Bimhuis, is augmented by Ada Rave (saxophones, clarinet) Bart Maris (trumpets, cornet, bugle) and Wolter Wierbos (trombone).

Apart from two pieces from jazz repertory – Silence by Charlie Haden and Goodbye Pork Pie Hat by Charles Mingus, the theme of which is sneaked up on from behind artfully woven thickets of free improvisation – all compositions are by Scheen, and they tend to be collected into small suites with sequentially numbered improvisations. Four of these pieces – Solid, Idols, Stumble and Sigh) can also be found on the trio’s 2014 recording.

Scheen’s playing contains elements of Guus Janssen and the late Misha Mengelberg, both of whom drew inspiration from Thelonious Monk’s jabbing style of pianism and his love of a well-placed dissonance to spice up the music, but he’s his own man, a superb improviser who never overplays his hand.

In fact, a certain pithiness is characteristic of both Live at the Bimhuis and Bij De Dieren Thuis. Of the reed and horn players in the sextet, the fruity tone and exuberant exclamations of Wolter Wierbos stand out, but, quite frankly, they all shine brightly.

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REVIEW: Barb Jungr - Barb Jungr sings Bob Dylan at Pizza Express Dean Street

April 3, 2017, 6:01 am

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Barb Jungr - Barb Jungr sings Bob Dylan
(Pizza Express Jazz Club, Dean Street. 29th March 2017. Review by Jane Mann)

Linn Records have just released a 15th Anniversary edition of Barb Jungr’s 2002 album Every Grain of Sand: Barb Jungr sings Bob Dylan, including a version on vinyl. Since its original release Jungr has continued to study and to perform Dylan songs, and her back catalogue of his work is extensive: Shelter From The Storm– Songs Of Hope For Troubled Times (2016); Hard Rain - The Songs of Bob Dylan & Leonard Cohen (2014); and Man In The Long Black Coat (2011). It is worth mentioning, and, as she announced, every record that Barb Jungr has ever released is still available.

To celebrate the elevation of Every Grain Of Sand to “cult classic”, Jungr is currently touring her Dylan material. She played most of the tunes from this album, plus a handful of others. She was skilfully supported by her regular accompanists Jenny Carr on piano and Dudley Phillips on double bass.

She opened the show with an energetic Things Have Changed, packed with a rapid succession of arresting visual images (..There’s a women on my lap, and she’s drinking champagne…) and we were off. Jungr’s enunciation is perfect – you get every word, which is very handy when it comes to the more recent Dylan material with which I’m less familiar. Clearly with Dylan, recent winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the lyrics are important. She has a good time with the line “Gonna get low down, gonna fly high”, dropping right down the scale for the “low” and swooping up to the “high” - there is a Nina Simone feel to this. Jungr covered some of Nina Simone’s work, including her takes on Dylan songs, on Just like a woman - a hymn to Nina (2007) so there is an affinity there.

She moved on with Ring Them Bells, with sweet harmonising backing vocals from Jenny Carr at the piano, and melodious bass playing from Dudley Phillips, and somehow the three of them managed to conjure up a whole gospel choir backed by the ringing of bells. What a voice Barb Jungr has! It is gospel rich, with a vast vocal range, and her technique is flawless. She is a compelling performer, but refreshingly un-diva-like in her interaction with the band and the audience. Her introductions to the numbers were engaging and informative, a couple of personal anecdotes here and some references to the gloomy state of affairs today there.

She spoke of Dylan’s happy love songs and bitter love songs, the former usually presented as “idylls, but with a time limit” before plunging into a touching If Not For You. When Jungr produced a harmonica and gave us a blistering solo in the middle of Born In Time, my companion, a major Dylan fan (or “Bobcat”, as they style themselves), remarked that Barb Jungr was the better harmonica player. There were lots more songs, in a dazzling variety of styles – a slow yearning waltz, a country ballad, a torch song, a tango, the mood changing from driving urgency to joyfulness and to despair. By the time we got to Shelter From The Storm, each of the many verses arranged to have its own distinct musical character, I was very impressed. Every element of the show – the arrangements, the playing, the singing, requires and demonstrates the sophistication and sensitivity of this trio.

The last song Hard Rain, was most recently sung by Patti Smith in Stockholm, when she accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in Dylan’s absence. Jungr gave us her powerful version, and did not stumble once. As an encore, she invited us to join her in the chorus of Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, which we did, a great reviver after the mental anguish of Hard Rain. As the last song ended the audience cheered and gave the trio a richly deserved standing ovation.

LINKS: CD Review - Every Grain of Sand (2017)
Interview with Barb Jungr and Laurence Hobgood (2016)
CD Review - The Man in the Long Black Coat (2011)
Live review from 2013

Barb Jungr and her band are on tour, and are back in London at The Other Palace on 25th May 2017.

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APP REVIEW: jazzlondonlive

April 3, 2017, 6:11 am

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≪ Previous: REVIEW: Barb Jungr - Barb Jungr sings Bob Dylan at Pizza Express Dean Street

Editor-at-Large Peter Bacon clicks through the screens on the what's-on application for London and the wider South East.

The final Jazz In London, the printed leaflet that had become the bible for anyone wanting to find some live jazz in the city, came out on 1 April last year. If you've been waiting for its shiny, bright digital replacement, jazzlondonlive, to be available on iPhones and iPads, that wait ended a few weeks back. So what does it look like?

And how do you review an app? Well, unlike the album or the live gig, where some background knowledge of the artist, some widely open ears and an equally open mind are necessary, reviewing an app probably works best from a starting point of complete ignorance, aided and abetted by a little stupidity and ineptitude. Ideal for this reviewer, then. br/> Does it look nice? It does. Musicians Sarah Chaplin and Mick Sexton, with the help of Agicent Technologies, have carried over the pinks, purples and greens from the website.

Does it work quickly? It certainly seems to - and that's on my sometimes sluggish iPhone 5. It's perfectly simple to use, which is what an app should be, I reckon.

Does it have want I want? It does, with the What's On listings the first stop and likely to be most of the time. It lists 16 gigs happening this evening, from Ronnie's and The Vortex to the Bull's Head and Le Quecumbar.

Does it do more? Yes, with added points of entry being a list of Jazz Venues, list of Jazz Artists and a News & Reviews section. Particularly good is the style of the Jazz Artists entries, which not only give you a picture and a short biog, but the opportunity to click on a When Are They Playing Next? button and from there to a list of their upcoming gigs. Similarly the Jazz Venues list does the same with the button asking What's On This Month?

I know the old Jazz In London leaflet built up great affection, especially among musicians - I only have to mention it to Birmingham Conservatoire's Head of Jazz and frequent freelance musician Jeremy Price for his eyes to go all dewy - but really, jazzlondonlive's app does seem to be the future. And, as new venues, musicians and links to reviews are added, it's only going to get better.

Oh, and it's free.

LINKS:
News piece about the last run of Jazz in London in 2016
Mary Greig celebrates 40 years of Jazz in London in 2011
jazzlondonlive

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PHOTOS: NYJO, NJJO, BuJazzO - Three Nations Under One Groove at Kings Place

April 3, 2017, 7:38 am

≫ Next: REPORT: ACT Label 25th Anniversary Celebration Day and Gala Concert in Berlin

≪ Previous: APP REVIEW: jazzlondonlive

David Healey (NYJO) takes a tenor sax solo.

Photographer Kat Pfeiffer was at the Three Nations Under One Groove concert reviewed by Sebastian HERE. Her pictures, in sequence, show first the three orchestras perfoming separately, and then their combining....

All photographs are credit and © Kat Pfeiffer Photography

NYJO directed by Mark Armstrong

Martin Fondse presents NJJO

Kika Sprangers, Anna Serierse and Martin Fondse (NJJO)

Jiggs Whigham congratulates the sax section of BuJazzO

Gerben Wasser (NJJO), Ian Cleaver (NJJO), Alistair Duncan (BuJazzO) - three soloists
in Mark Armstrong’s jazz Concerto Grosso ‘The Hunt’

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REPORT: ACT Label 25th Anniversary Celebration Day and Gala Concert in Berlin

April 3, 2017, 9:51 am

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The end of the ACT Family Band Gala Concert
Photo credit: ACT / Gregor Hohenberg

ACT 25th Birthday Celebration and Gala Concert
(Konzerthaus Berlin. 2nd April 2017. Report by Sebastian Scotney)

"You have moved me deeply and made me profoundly happy," said ACT founder Siggi Loch to the assembled musicians at the end of a day in celebration of the label's quarter-centenary. "And", he added, "I have no idea how I am going to be able to sleep during the next ten days".

The audience at the Konzerthaus
Photo credit: ACT / Gregor Hohenberg

The ACT Berlin day at the Konzerthaus was in four parts, culminating in a gala concert by the 'ACT Family Band'. The date marked precisely twenty five years and one day since the label issued its very first CD – by Klaus Doldinger – in 1992. It has, since then, produced more than 500 albums and, as was noted, has thus been present on the scene to document and to influence a quarter of the hundred-year history of jazz itself.

Siggi Loch holding the Heinz Sauer / Michel Wollny
duo album in the opening introduction

1pm: INTRODUCTION

The first event was a lunchtime talk by Siggi Loch, serving as an introduction to the day. The story he told is of a label which grew out of a passion for jazz from once, as a teenager, hearing Sidney Bechet. He told of how, once he had taken the plunge, it was a case of one thing leading to another. He gave several examples of how musicians who had come into the orbit of the label had then recommended others, and so both the story and the strategy of the label have evolved. He spoke with particular affection of a duo album by veteran Heinz Sauer and pianist Michael Wollny, and with strong emotion as he remembered the unforgettably awful moment when he learnt of the tragic death of Esbjörn Svensson in 2008.

Torsten Goods
Photo credit: ACT / Gregor Hohenberg

2pm: THE YOUNG GERMAN JAZZ CONCERT

One of the main strands in what the ACT label does is to provide a platform for jazz in Germany, and in particular for young musicians. An early highlight of the day was a very convincing set from singer/guitarist Torsten Goods. He cites George Benson but, hearing Goods' confident voice and his utterly convincing yet apparently laid back way of shaping a song, a musician who kept coming to mind as I listened was Van Morrison. Goods (born Gutknecht – his stage name was apparently the idea of Les Paul) has not just a strong voice but also a wide repertoire. He described the past year as a year of fate, during which he has suffered from illness – but he seemed in superb, confident form.

The act with the tough task of opening the proceedings was the Wasserfuhr brothers whose recent album with Donny McCaslin and Tim Lefebvre has been well received. They were followed by an intense short set from Natalia Mateo.

Three Fall with Melane (centre)
Photo credit: ACT / Gregor Hohenberg

The trio Three Fallof bass clarinet, trombone and drums work with the German-Congolese singer Melane and produce a surprisingly complete and satisfying band sound. Their lively set was extremely popular with the audience, and much talked-about in the corridors afterwards...

Siggi Loch presenting a bouquet to Youn Sun Nah

4.30pm: Double bill – Youn Sun Nah / Ulf Wakenius and Tears for Esbjörn

The now long-standing duo of Youn Sun Nah and Ulf Wakenius started off the proceedings in the main hall. The Korean singer showed the contrast between her most fragile – singing an introverted These Are My Favourite Things with her own playing of the thumb piano to accompany her – and her most forceful – in an extended Momento Magico. All of the artists thanked the label and its founder but Youn Sun Nah went one better and thanked all seven employees of the company individually and by name.

Two sons of Esbjörn Svensson taking a curtain-call
Noah (drums) and Ruben (guitar)

The afternoon concert segued into a tribute to Esbjörn Svensson, with Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala as master of ceremonies and musical lynch-pin. It brought guests such as Polish violinist Adam Baldych – "I couldn't not be here – even with my broken leg" – and a large number of Swedes. At one point there was a not just a Landgren (Nils) on stage but also a Lindgren (saxophonist Magnus) and a Lundgren (pianist Jan). Swedish singer Viktoria Tolstoy was also there; her association with ACT is that she was singing with Svensson's trio at the time the pianist was starting his highly fruitful relationship with the ACT label.

This Swedish bias is understandable, given the fact that the ACT label is the most successful exporter of Swedish jazz. The whole set was underpinned by the masterly bass playing of Lars Danielsson. The climax of the set was 'Dodge the Dodo,' for which Esbjörn Svensson's sons – guitarist Ruben guitarist and drummer Noah – took to the stage.

The exterior of the theatre with the ACT posters between the concerts

8pm: GALA CONCERT BY THE ACT FAMILY BAND

The main event was a gala concert, MC'd by Nils Landgren and with a programme chosen by him and Michael Wollny. There were any number of entrances and exits, but most of these musicians left their mark. Is there a combination where the participants have as much fun as a duo of bassists? Dieter Ilg and Lars Danielsson struck the right balance of entertainment and pathos. For sheer manic energy, there was nothing to match the duo of Joachim Kuhn and Emile Parisien in full flow.

Nils Landgren was an urbane and witty MC. He had a selfie moment with full house lights up – presumably that was planned. And when the moment came for Out of Land to enter, Landgren showed quite how well he knows to work a German crowd: he asked the audience to give them "the kind of warm welcome that only Berliners can deliver". So as a point of pride, and to prove the point, they duly obliged.

Another high energy highlight was drummer Wolfgang Haffner's duet on Sing Sing Sing with Michael Wollny. The coup de grace was We Are Family, in a sing-off led by Ida Sand, bringing a happy, upbeat, musically satisfying day celebrating the label-as-family to a rousing close.

Loudly welcomed and much appreciated: Out of Land. L-R Michael Wollny,
Emile Parisien, Andreas Schaerer, Vincent Peirani

FULL LINE- UPS

Young German Jazz

JULIAN WASSERFUHR- trumpet
ROMAN WASSERFUHR - piano
MARKUS SCHIEFERDECKER - bass
OLIVER REHMANN - drums
TORSTEN GOODS - guitar /vocalist
NATALIA MATEO - vocalist
THREE FALL & MELANE
LUTZ STREUN - saxophone/ bass clarinet
TILL SCHNEIDER - trombone
SEBASTIAN WINNE - drums
MELANE - vocalist

Double bill - Youn Sun Nah / Ulf Wakenius and Tears for Esbjörn

YOUN SUN NAH - vocalist
ULF WAKENIUS - guitar

IIRO RANTALA - piano
JAN LUNDGREN - piano
VIKTORIA TOLSTOY - vocalist
ADAM BAŁDYCH - violin
MAGNUS LINDGREN - tenor sax and flute
LARS DANIELSSON - bass
MORTEN LUND - drums
and surprise guests

GALA CONCERT BY THE ACT FAMILY BAND

NILS LANDGREN - trombone / vocalist
MICHAEL WOLLNY - piano
JOACHIM KÜHN - piano
IIRO RANTALA - piano
CÆCILIE NORBY - vocalist
IDA SAND - vocalist
ULF WAKENIUS - guitar
ANDREAS SCHAERER - vocalist
NGUYÊN LÊ - guitar
EMILE PARISIEN - saxophone
VINCENT PEIRANI - accordion
ADAM BAŁDYCH - violin
CHRISTOF LAUER - saxophone
DIETER ILG - bass
LARS DANIELSSON - bass
WOLFGANG HAFFNER - drums
ERIC SCHAEFER - drums

Sebastian does freelance translating and writing for ACT.

The ACT25 celebrations will be featured by BBC Radio 3's Jazz Now - TX date yet to be announced

↧

ROUND-UP REPORT: 2017 Gateshead International Jazz Festival

April 3, 2017, 11:21 pm

≫ Next: REVIEW: ICP Orchestra at the Vortex

≪ Previous: REPORT: ACT Label 25th Anniversary Celebration Day and Gala Concert in Berlin

Instant Composers Pool at the 2017 Gateshead Festival
Photo copyright John Watson /jazzcamera.co.uk

Gateshead International Jazz Festival 2017
(The Sage, 31st March - 2nd April 2017. Report by Peter Slavid. Photos copyright John Watson/jazzcamera.co.uk

This was my fourth year visiting the Gateshead Jazz Festival, which has quickly become one of my favourite trips. It's partly the venue – the Sage Gateshead holds four different performance spaces inside the one building; there's a short walk or shuttle bus into Newcastle Town Centre, and next door is the Baltic Arts Gallery.

But of course it's mostly the music. Gateshead manages to tread that difficult line between the popular and the innovative. There are the big concerts to fill the large main hall by bands like Clare Teal and her Hollywood Orchestra, GoGo Penguin, and a big Jazz Africa/Jazz Cuba Triple Bill. There are top quality European artists in the second hall and I don't think any other UK festival would risk centring it's programme around the avant-garde Dutch Instant Composers Pool (ICP) who did a concert, a talk, a family concert, a film, a photo exhibition and a workshop over the weekend. More of that later.

Trish Clowes at the 2017 Gateshead Festival
Photo copyright John Watson /jazzcamera.co.uk

As with most festivals it's impossible to see everything because events clash, often four at the same time, so I can only report on the bits I got to see. What was interesting was that there were a number of themes running through the festival and I picked three to focus on.

Nikki Iles and Stan Sulzmann at the 2017 Gateshead Festival
Photo copyright John Watson /jazzcamera.co.uk

British female instrumentalists was a welcome feature – with Laura Jurd,Nikki Iles and Trish Clowes all prominent on the main stages, and many more appearing on the free stage.

Modern European Jazz was another including three National youth orchestras from UK, Holland (outstanding) and Germany. And then there were the more established Europeans with Daniel Herskedal and Tomasz Stanko. However the highlight for me, and a gig I'll remember for a long time, was the spectacular double bill that featured the veteran Dutch ICP Orchestra alongside the young Paris based Garibaldi Plop. Both bands recently performed separately at the Vortex to rave reviews, and together here we saw an evening of fierce improvisation and witty experimentation that was exhilarating to watch. The show was preceded by an equally entertaining, often absurdist conference talk in which the 75th birthday boy Han Bennink dominated the proceedings.

Garibaldi Plop at the 2017 Gateshead Festival
Photo copyright John Watson /jazzcamera.co.uk

The third, and in some ways the most important focus of the festival was on the free stage. It's an important part of this festival, in part because it can attract new audiences and also because it offers a taste of what's on in the main venues. Set in the centre of the spectacular Sage Atrium it runs throughout the weekend and it's programming is much more interesting than might be expected. There's a lot of young local talent, there's big stars – programmed by Radio 3 on the Saturday, and some more established local bands programmed by the adventurous jazz north-east on Sunday.

The free stage was always crowded as audiences listened to the delicate duets of Nikki Iles and Stan Sulzmann with equal attention to the young local power trios and the Sage students.

Binker and Moses at the 2017 Gateshead Festival
Photo copyright John Watson /jazzcamera.co.uk

Elsewhere I enjoyed Binker and Moses who had delivered a ferocious set on the Friday Night in a bill alongside the electronic thrashing of the Strobes – but then toned it down just the right amount for the free stage on Saturday. The only disappointment for me was Miles Mosley who seemed to have a fine band but an over-amplified bass – none of which seemed to bother the rest of the audience who loved every minute.

Gateshead is a terrific festival with something for everyone, lets hope it goes on to even greater things in 2018.

Peter Slavid broadcasts a radio programme of European jazz at www.mixcloud.com/ukjazz

LINK: Gateshead International Jazz Festival website

↧

REVIEW: ICP Orchestra at the Vortex

April 4, 2017, 1:33 am

≫ Next: INTERVIEW/ PREVIEW: Sarah Buechi / Intakt Festival at the Vortex (Apr 16-27)

≪ Previous: ROUND-UP REPORT: 2017 Gateshead International Jazz Festival

Han Bennink at the heart of the ICP Orchestra's residency at the Vortex
Drawing By Geoff Winston. © 2017. All Rights Reserved

ICP Orchestra
Vortex, 28 and 29 March 2017; review and drawings by Geoff Winston

'Never mind the bollocks, listen to our wonderful European friends, the ICP Orchestra!' Such was the Vortex MC's introduction on the evening of the Brexit trigger, the second night of their residency at the Vortex.

The ICP (Instant Composers Pool) Orchestra is one of the great institutions of European jazz, improvisation and anarcho-swing. An institution, maybe, by way of longevity and their continuing commitment to creativity, musical complexity and the challenges of bridging a variety of genres - but institutional they most definitely are not!

The ICP's concert tour, celebrating 50 years since the orchestra's inception, delivered two blisteringly joyful nights of their unique brand of music at the Vortex, one of their favourite venues and host, in 2013, of co-founder Misha Mengelberg's final appearance outside the Netherlands. Sadly, after a prolonged spell of dementia which has been well documented, Mengelberg passed away earlier in the month, yet his presence was very much in evidence. As spokesperson for the band, bassist Ernst Glerum, said as they celebrated his outstanding, inventive compositions and arrangements in their eclectic and demanding repertoire, 'His scores are still here on our music stands!'

Emerging from the counter-culture and art school environments of the 60s, embracing the restless, anarchic spirit of the Dada movement of the early 20th century, the ICP has a history of over 50 recordings released on their eponymous record label taking in solo explorations, and a host of duos, small group and full-on, large group blasts.

Their current 10-piece incarnation has been as stable and solid as a rock for some time. Han Bennink, a more-than-sturdy, 74 years-young, master percussionist keeps burning bright the flame that he, Mengelberg and Willem Breuker ignited back in the mid-60s. Four of the longest-serving ICP members, cellist Tristan Honsinger (his first ICP recording was in 1977), trombonist Wolter Wierbos and saxophonists Michael Moore and Ab Baars (recording for ICP since the early 80s) made their highly individual impressions on proceedings alongside bassist Ernst Glerum, saxophonist Toby Delius, trumpeter Thomas Heberer, and violinist Mary Oliver, each associated with the IPC since the 90s, and old friend, pianist/composer Guus Janssen taking over from where Mengelberg left off.

In their own, inimitable way they kicked off on both nights with a gleefully, cacophonous fanfare. As Wierbos has said, their roots are partly in the 'Fanfare' brass bands of his home country and over the two nights they covered everything from latin, swing, syncopated ragtime, loony tunes and trad to custom-cut arrangements of Ellington, Dolphy and Herbie Nichols plus some vocalese which might have had its roots in Kurt Schwitters Ursonate.

The ICP's performances are all about chemistry and versatility. Mengelberg's sensitive take on Ellington's Solitude, subtly re-engineering the jazz standard, and his Hypochristmutreefuzz, immortalised on Last Date, the historic recording he and Bennink made at Hilversum with Eric Dolphy, were complemented by Wierbos's demonstrative, virtuoso improvisations and Honsinger’s off-the-wall mimes which opened up the surreally humorous side of the ICP. They swung from a march dedicated to Alex von Shlippenbach to a three clarinet, eardrum-splitting, alarm signal and Honsinger's recitation of text in Charles Ives' Slow March, commemorating the burial of a beloved dog. The brass and woodwind section work was breathtakingly tight, whipping up an infectious, rocking train rhythm complete with horizon-evoking horns and both nights were peppered with glorious solos across the board - Delius and Moore powering away on saxes, Bennink scraping the Vortex's steel column, and Oliver getting in to expressively fluent improvisation mode – to mention just a few.

Fittingly, they closed the second night on an emotional note with the whole group humming Mengelberg's a cappella Psalm which he and Bennink would often end on after successful performances. Wonderful!

↧

INTERVIEW/ PREVIEW: Sarah Buechi / Intakt Festival at the Vortex (Apr 16-27)

April 4, 2017, 7:20 am

≫ Next: REVIEW: Steve Coleman and Reflex at Pizza Express Dean Street

≪ Previous: REVIEW: ICP Orchestra at the Vortex

Sarah Buechi. Photo credit: Song XH

Swiss-born vocalist and composer SARAH BUECHI is one of the artists performing at the Intakt Festival, an event which takes over the Vortex for twelve nights later this month - full programme and dates below. She has lived and worked or studied in India, in Ireland and in the UK, and is now based in Zurich. In this interview she talks about the two projects she is bringing to the Vortex, and about the festival in general, which will also feature Barry Guy, Irene Schweizer, Ingrid Laubrock , Louis Moholo-Moholo , Alexander von Schlippenbach, Aki Takase, Evan Parker. ...Interview by Sebastian:

LondonJazz News: Sarah not everyone knows the Intakt label - please tell us about it?

Sarah Buechi: Intakt Records has been called ‘‘small in budget, but immense in quality‘‘ (All About Jazz, New York) and it has been named as one of the few European record labels that have ‘‘chronicled the totality and adventurousness of the avant-gard‘‘ (Downbeat, USA)

Patrick Landolt is the founder and was recently recognized officially by the city of Zurich for his important contribution to music, and a ‘‘General Cultural Merits Award" was bestowed on him.

Independent labels are much appreciated by musicians and listeners who are never tired of re-exploring, re-discovering and re-defining contemporary jazz. I believe `Intakt Records` is a label that represents these kind of musicians and listeners alike.

LJN: What else in the Festival / which other concerts would you say people definitely have to go to ?

SB: Highlights of the festival will be Swiss musicians that have for decades formed, innovated and kept alive the spirit of Jazz in Switzerland and beyond, like the amazing Irene Schweizer who has dedicated her life to the avant-garde or Barry Guy who will celebrate his 70th birthday during this festival. And some amazing Jazz musicians from the London scene are playing as well, i.e. the legend Evan Parker, who will be playing with his powerful saxophon voice, or Ingrid Laubrock who will be flying in from New York and many more.

LJN: What is your own involvement with Intakt Records?

SB: I am a young member of the 32 years old Intakt Records label since joining it in 2014. Since then I have released two albums on it with my Swiss quartet of Stefan Aeby on piano, André Pousaz on double bass and Lionel Friedli on drums. We have worked together for almost ten years now and each one of them has created a name for himself in and out of the Swiss jazz scene. They are brillant musicians and I am very happy for their wonderful commitment to my musical adventures.

We recorded a debut album called THALi (Unit Records, Switzerland, 2010) which was influenced by my studies in India in 2005-2006 and 2008. After that, the first album released at Intakt Records was called Flying Letters (Intakt Records, 229), which I composed while living in New York. The second album Shadow Garden (Intakt Records 259) I wrote while living in London.

LJN: And tell us about your two concerts...

SB: I will be involved in two performances at the Intakt Records Festival London 2017. The first performance will be with my Swiss quartet Shadow Garden. For the second performance I was tasked to create a collaboration with musicians from the London jazz scene. This is an important factor of the festival, to bring together Swiss musicians with like-minded musicans over here in London.

Since my husband has been working in London for 3 years, I have been forth and back to London. and over the last two years I have met cellist Hannah Marshall and vocalist Lauren Kinsella – the latter I have known since 2008 when I lived in Dublin. I wanted to work with two string players and another vocalist and so they asked John Edwards to join us and I am very delighted to get the opportunity to work with these brillant musicians. It has really been a fantastic experience so far to rehearse with these wonderful people.

LJN: Is there a fundamental difference between the two projects?

SB:

- For the first collaboration with London-based musicians on Friday, 21st of April. I have written some sketches of music with lyrics to create a flow and storyline, respectively to weave our improvisations into.

The first and the last song Luna and Breath of the Moon are dedicated to the moon and the powers which humanity has ascribed to her. My song Nova guides us through the birth of a star and the song Poseidon`s Throat describes the actual event of a rebirth. As you see they are clearly all material for avant-garde music.

- Shadow Garden will be playing on Saturday, the 22nd of April. We will play mainly the music from our present album called Shadow Garden. This music has been described as a light-footed approach to the big issues, orbiting around existential matters with poetical texts and rediscovering itself in streams of words, vocalese, sounds and rhythms.

We ll also play a few tunes from the older CD and might give a quick preview of the music of our up-coming album that will be a septet (the existing quartet with three string players added.

LINK: The complete Intakt Festival Vortex programme

↧

REVIEW: Steve Coleman and Reflex at Pizza Express Dean Street

April 5, 2017, 1:07 am

≫ Next: INTERVIEW/ PREVIEW: Sarah Buechi / Intakt Festival at the Vortex (Apr 16-27)

≪ Previous: INTERVIEW/ PREVIEW: Sarah Buechi / Intakt Festival at the Vortex (Apr 16-27)

Steve Coleman in 2004. Photo credit: Patrícia Magalhães. Public Domain

Steve Coleman and Reflex
(Pizza Express 3rd April 2017. Review by Alison Bentley)

It was a thrill to hear the great Chicago-born alto player Steve Coleman in the intimate atmosphere of Pizza Express, in the middle of the trio's European tour. ‘It’s hard to overstate Steve’s influence,’ Vijay Iyer once wrote, and there were lots of young musicians in the audience hanging on Coleman’s every note.

Sean Rickman opened with delicate, almost decorative drumming. Coleman himself was almost hidden behind a pillar, but there was no mistaking that clear impassioned tone. UK-born Anthony Tidd’s electric bass sometimes echoed his phrases, sometimes held the groove (you may remember Tidd from the UK band Quite Sane). Coleman’s pulled against the harmony, high over the grungy, funky groove and resounding cowbell. Phrases in 6 then 5 flew by- Coleman likes to think not in time signatures but repeated, interlocking phrases in what he’s called a ‘stuttering movement’. The piece changed mood urgently, with lopsided rhythm - restless, urban, rarely settling. A little quote from Coltrane’s Resolution had the audience whooping.

The next piece opened pensively - Coleman was perhaps improvising riffs (he believes in ‘spontaneous composition’). It was as if he and Tidd were stalking each other in the dark; every so often their notes would collide and they’d stop for a second as if in surprise, then continue circling each other. (Coleman is a fan of boxing.) They burst into quadruple time, over the rushing sound of the rivets in Rickman’s cymbals. Coleman grew up preoccupied with the inventiveness of Charlie Parker. You could hear some of that in Coleman’s phrasing - shaped like Parker’s but as if a familiar turn of speech had been made with different sounds. Every speeding note was articulated, rushing ahead with perfect discipline. A ballad followed, Coleman playing a slow solo intro as if he had lyrics in his head. (Tidd later told me it was Crazy He Calls Me.) Tidd’s own solo bubbled as he almost strummed the strings, and Rickman drummed his fingers on snare and cymbals.

The next two pieces recalled Coleman’s 90s M-Base Collective work - angular shapes on the sax, a low grooving counterpoint on the bass and wonderfully unbalanced funk. Coleman took some phrases up to a high, emotively keening vibrato, with hints of bop phrasing and Parker’s Confirmation. Rickman’s solo sizzled under an off-beat clave on the cowbell. The last piece of the set had an impossibly groovy back beat. It built to a high tension then dropped back into Rollins’ Pent-Up House, stretching out some notes and compressing others - more of an exploded house.

The second set opened with strong swung funk, long loping lines that stopped suddenly and unexpectedly. Coleman’s solo sax started the next piece, breathy tumbling arpeggios that could have owed as much to Debussy as jazz. The boppiest groove they’d played that night developed, Rickman dropping bombs on his bass drum at unimaginable speed, trading 8s (or was it 7 1/2 s?) with the others. A strutting bass feel took over - it felt deliciously destabilising, like walking on a conveyor belt that kept changing direction.

When a high note cracked in Coleman’s intro to the next piece, he laughed as if sharing a joke with his sax. He played high sweet flights over the low grooves, sometimes locking in, sometimes pulling away. He called out what sounded like African chants, full-voiced over Tidd’s still presence and Rickman’s shifting, nervy rhythms. The next piece sped up and slowed down, as if the sax was trying to paint on a moving canvas. The wild thrashing drums cooled down into the chords to I Got Rhythm, Coleman’s harmony pulling almost to breaking point. Long, meandering but taut lines were broken by Coleman’s rhythmic vocal sounds (a reminder of his work with rappers on Metrics, for example). The encore was a brilliantly arrthymic variation on Alfie’s Theme.

It was inspiring to hear Coleman at 60 still developing his own language of improvisation, with its spiky yet fluid intervals, and expressive sound. As Coleman once said: ‘Don’t worry about understanding it - just by repeated exposure, can you feel it?’ The audience’s cheers said it all.

↧

INTERVIEW/ PREVIEW: Sarah Buechi / Intakt Festival at the Vortex (Apr 16-27)

April 5, 2017, 2:51 pm

≫ Next: REVIEW: Tomasz Stańko at Unterfahrt in Munich

≪ Previous: REVIEW: Steve Coleman and Reflex at Pizza Express Dean Street

Sarah Buechi. Photo credit: Song XH

↧

REVIEW: Tomasz Stańko at Unterfahrt in Munich

April 6, 2017, 2:20 am

≫ Next: INTERVIEW: Zac Gvi (CD Father Tongues release 2nd May)

≪ Previous: INTERVIEW/ PREVIEW: Sarah Buechi / Intakt Festival at the Vortex (Apr 16-27)

Tomasz Stańko
Photo credit: Ralf Dombrowski

Tomasz Stańko
(Unterfahrt Munich, 4th April 2017. Review* and photos by by Ralf Dombrowski)

When Tomasz Stańko started playing, jazz still had a long way to develop. There are TV recordings from the sixties which show the young trumpeter, slightly nervy but evidently musically voracious, playing in the group of the renowned pianist and composer Krzysztof Komeda, and putting himself under pressure to find new possibilities, to add something individual and personal to the band‘s musical texture. He kept fixed on his task, he traversed phases of free playing, of an elegaic modern style, he developed masterful control of the flux of artistic energy - all of which taught him one lesson above all others: that it is important to let music evolve and to run its course.

The trumpeter, now approaching his 75th birthday, is back on the road, and was showing the current state of his explorations to the audience at the Unterfahrt. He offers a mixture of openness and structure, of freedom and experience. On the one hand there is his sound – strong and clear, soft despite its heft and scale, with a preference for legato phrasing. And then there is his recognizable compositional manner – reminiscent of Ornette Coleman - forming lines, building the dramaturgy of a song with a plan. He also shapes phrases using the cycle of breathing – inhale, rest, exhale.

Alexi Tuomarila
Photo credit: Ralf Dombrowski

On the other hand he surrounds himself with musicians who are strong characters capable of complementing and extending his approach, and not undermining it.

Reuben Rogers
Photo credit: Ralf Dombrowski

Pianist Alexi Tuomarila is the most restrained character in the team, taking care that Stanko‘s music is framed in harmonic colour, with the romantic leanings of chamber jazz, but also transparency. The strong pairing of bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Gerald Cleaver by contrast is rhythmically and melodically detached; they could just as well be playing a concert without the lead instruments. The intrinsic strength of the band's sound, the multiplicity of different musical options, set against a background of calmness made Stanko's concert something particularly inspiring.

Gerald Cleaver
Photo credit: Ralf Dombrowski

(*) This is a translation of Ralf Dombrowski's original German review in the Süddeutsche Zeitung LINK

↧

INTERVIEW: Zac Gvi (CD Father Tongues release 2nd May)

April 6, 2017, 2:32 am

≫ Next: NEWS: Geoffrey Keezer to headline TW12 Jazz Festival (2nd - 4th June)

≪ Previous: REVIEW: Tomasz Stańko at Unterfahrt in Munich

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Zachary Gvirtzman (Zac Gvi) is a founding member of F-IRE Collective. His album of spontaneous solo piano meditations "Father Tongues" is released on 2 May. AJ Dehany asked him about the background to the album.

LondonJazz News: There’s a companion piece to the album, a poem also called Father Tongues that was published in Different Skies last year. What's the relationship between the poem and the music?

Zac Gvi: I think of the relationship between the music and the text as two aspects of the same piece, or two attempts at conveying a set of meditations on the same themes. Having made the music first, it felt like there were some things that I wanted to make explicit in the way that needed words. I like the idea of the texts as sorts of illustrations, as pieces that stand next to the music, independent but interconnected.

LJN: The poem and album reflect on themes of family experience: responsibility, authority and love. Are your family musicians too?

ZG: My dad plays the piano and was my first teacher. There's also other music in the family - my step-dad plays blues guitar and got me into jazz, my grandma played the cello and her dad had a jazz band in Darlington in the 1920s (!), my other grandma used to play ukele and sang and my mum and step-mum also used to play a bit - so everyone's a bit musical.

LJN: You’re deeply involved in F-IRE Collective. Is F-IRE another kind of family?

ZG: The F-IRE Collective is a family in the sense that we share a lot of the same values about music making - prioritizing creativity, the intention to explore complex forms, the importance of making music in the community. Growing up in London in the '90s and '00s, F-IRE and the music I associated with it was a really instructive and mind-opening group to be around particularly Barak Schmool but also musicians like Ingrid Laubrock, Jonathan Brateoff, Maurizio Ravalico and lots of others.

LJN: To me the album title suggests the inheritance of our languages (musical and verbal). Is it something like that for you?

ZG: I think the first thing about the phrase "father tongues" is that it's ambiguous. The meaning feels familiar, being so close to "mother tongue", but at the same time there's an otherness to it because it's not a commonly used phrase, which I think gives it an element of distance or alienation. There's also, as you rightly suggest, a level on which it's about the passage of language through time and across generations.

One thing that's especially significant to me about this process is the multiplicity of tongues or languages, whether musical or verbal, that are at play. Part of what I wanted to do with this project is to explore those some of those different languages, how they might interact and also how they could be opened up to include things they wouldn't normally. Lastly, I like the connotation of "talking in tongues" that the phrase can have, which I think illustrates what the process of making the record was for me.

LJN: Thelonious Monk is the obvious father of one of the tracks, Brother Thelonious, but who are the other musical fathers for you? (I mean, music is music, but you know what I mean...)

ZG: Yes, Monk is definitely one of my musical fathers/brothers/relatives - I've got a new recording which will be coming out later in the year of his music in fact. Morton Feldman is also someone who I saw as a musical role model at one time and still do to some extent. In terms of other influences on my music, there are of course many but I think with any recording of this format, being mainly solo piano improvisations, Keith Jarrett's work is a point of reference.

LJN: How do you feel about previously perceived lines between 'classical' and 'jazz' paradigms - are these something you're conscious of working through or against?

ZG: I think that more broadly speaking, I'm less interested in the distinctions between classical/jazz or improvised/composed and more interested in finding a form that encompasses all of those elements at once. Something that really resonated with me is the distinction Glenn Gould made in his later writings between pre- and post-Renaissance music. In my understanding, his main point was that before the Renaissance music was much more a part of peoples' lives than it is now because they were able to embody it more, whether through singing or through other means.

I think that in most other musical traditions this is still the case even where there are complex structures and ideas at play. My aim isn't to try to go back in time or to just play folk music - which I do also play - but to make new music that takes on board the ways which people have developed of listening, whether it's using complex harmonic or rhythmic material or abstract structures, and that also speaks to people plainly in a way that they can relate to in their bodies and in their lives.

LJN: You say the selections/tracks are essentially unedited but it has taken several years to get to this stage from playing to release. Was this an extended period of meditation on the material or more intensive with editing?

ZG: I wanted the album to be an honest reflection of the music that I recorded from the beginning so I didn't make any significant edits to it at all. When I started selecting the tracks I had quite a bit of material which I was considering using. So the process was really about working out what the best form was and what the strongest ensemble of pieces would be.

I think in the end I decided to go for the most diverse set of pieces out of what was available in terms of lengths and forms. It took quite a bit of time for me to work out what I think is the best way to do it and I think part of that was needing a lot of distance from the material, especially with this recording!

LJN: Further to that, when the selections have been made and the record produced, are the improvisations now compositions or are they still improvisations?

ZG: I've been thinking of the tracks as spontaneous compositions, apart from 2 Blind Elephants and Atticus which are actually compositions of mine with improvised parts. Another way I've been thinking of them is just as musical meditations, somewhere between music and language.

LINK: Zac Gvi's website

↧

NEWS: Geoffrey Keezer to headline TW12 Jazz Festival (2nd - 4th June)

April 6, 2017, 7:57 am

≫ Next: CD REVIEW: Two Of A Mind (Chris Biscoe and Allison Neale) - Then and Now

≪ Previous: INTERVIEW: Zac Gvi (CD Father Tongues release 2nd May)

Geoffrey Keezer

This June's TW12 Festival in June has a coup, the appearance of US pianist / composer / arranger GEOFFREY KEEZER, who headlines on the Sunday night with singer Gillian Margot.

As a teenager, Keezer was in the last line-up of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, worked for three years as a member of Ray Brown's trio - there is a lovely story of how that started on the video below at [15:30]

Singers he has worked with include Diana Krall and Dianne Reeves, there has been work with Chris Botti, Sting, Wayne Shorter. He has recorded projects in his own name for Motema and Sunnyside, Dreyfus, Telarc... has three GRAMMY nominations.... (Biography Here)

Keezer and Margot will also be running a workshop. The festival programme also has the Gareth Lockrane Big Band, Brandon Allen's Gene Ammon's project (feature) . Full festival listing is below

FULL PROGRAMME

PARKSHOT RICHMOND
Friday 2nd June

The Link
17:00 - 19:00 Jam Session

Queen Charlotte Hall
19:30 - 22:00 Gareth Lockrane Big Band (with interval)

RIVERSIDE ARTS CENTRE SUNBURY
Saturday 3rd June

16:00 - 17:00 Dom Pipkin

17:30 - 18:30 Tony Barnard Duo

19:00 - 20:00 Janet and Friends

20.30 - 22:30 Brandon Allen Quartet Plays Gene Ammons (with interval)

HAMPTON HILL THEATRE, HAMPTON
Sunday 4th June

14:00 - 15:30 Workshop with Geoffrey Keezer and Gillian Margot

16:00 - 17:00 Richmond Youth Jazz Band

17:30 - 18:30 Alexander Bone Quartet

19:00 - 20:00 TC4 featuring Roberto Manzin - Play Mike Brecker

20:30 - 22:30 Geoffrey Keezer Trio Featuring Gillian Margot (with interval)

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CD REVIEW: Two Of A Mind (Chris Biscoe and Allison Neale) - Then and Now

April 6, 2017, 11:50 pm

≫ Next: CD REVIEW: Carmen Lundy - Code Noir

≪ Previous: NEWS: Geoffrey Keezer to headline TW12 Jazz Festival (2nd - 4th June)

Two Of A Mind (Chris Biscoe and Allison Neale)- Then and Now
(Trio Records tr597. CD Review by Patrick Hadfield)

As well as taking their inspiration from collaboration in the late 1950s and early 1960s between Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond, saxophonists Chris Biscoe (baritone) and Allison Neale (alto) also named their band after one of Mulligan and Desmond's records.

Playing a mixture of standards played by Mulligan and Desmond, including arrangements transcribed by Neale, and new compositions based on them, Biscoe and Neale's quartet with drummer Stu Butterfield and bass player Jeremy Brown have a light, effortlessly swinging touch.

Rooted in the past, it feels timeless. Butterfield has a gentle, subtle approach, much of the time on brushes, and Brown is spot on, but it is the interaction between Biscoe and Neale that make this recording so pleasurable. At times they seem to gently circle each other, at others one will speed off on a solo. They playfully nudge each other along, as if playing a game of catch.

Mulligan and Desmond mostly recorded as a quartet, though they were joined by guitarist Jim Hall on a few tunes. Two of a Mind is similarly augmented by Colin Oxley on guitar for several tracks. This changes the dynamics slightly, making the music even more swinging. Oxley provides additional texture, adding to the rhythmic impulse.

Despite looking back over the decades, this music isn't nostalgic: it feels very much in "the now". Perhaps it is that character that makes tunes such as How Deep Is The Ocean and The Way You Look Tonight standards. The latter closes this album: taken quite fast, Brown's bass positively buzzes along, setting the pace; Biscoe's mellifluous baritone weaving in between Neale's fluid alto. A cracking way to finish a very enjoyable album!

Patrick Hadfield lives in Edinburgh, occasionally takes photographs, and sometimes blogs at On the Beat. Twitter: @patrickhadfield.

LINK: Sleeve note by Sebastian intended for the album Then and Now
Then and Now at Trio Records

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CD REVIEW: Carmen Lundy - Code Noir

April 7, 2017, 12:00 am

≫ Next: REVIEW: This Joint is Jumpin' at The Other Palace

≪ Previous: CD REVIEW: Two Of A Mind (Chris Biscoe and Allison Neale) - Then and Now

Carmen Lundy Code Noir
(Afrasia Productions AFP13822. CD Review by Peter Jones)

Carmen Lundy’s fifteenth album under her own name is a complete joy. Songwriter, pianist, guitarist, producer, arranger, label boss and (of course) singer, she is also apparently a gifted actress, painter and teacher. Yes, some people just have too much talent. Personally, I would be happy just to listen to her sing, since she is that rare commodity, a real, proper jazz singer. It’s also worth mentioning that every song on Code Noir is her own composition. The album is all jazz, all richly melodic, covering a range of styles, from the angry, Gil Scott-Heron-like Black And Blues to the ethereal opening track, Another Chance, with drifting Bill Frisell-style guitar from Jeff Parker, and the mellow, blissed out I Keep Falling.

Speaking of Gil Scott-Heron, Code Noir is somewhat reminiscent of Charenee Wade’s brilliant, contemplative ,Offering from 2015, which not only reinterpreted but greatly enriched Scott-Heron’s songs. Like Wade, Lundy has surrounded herself with fine musicians – in this case, Patrice Rushen on piano, Ben Williams on bass and Kendrick Scott on drums. And like her, she commands the material with effortless authority.

Now in her Sixties, Lundy has a gentle, relaxed voice with an impressive range and a distinctive vibrato which never becomes mannered or irritating, even when she indulges in a spot of melisma, as on the soulful 6/8 Live Out Loud. She varies her vocal style from track to track, and on I Keep Falling and You Came Into My Life she scats gorgeously over slow tempos, something that only the most accomplished singers can pull off. The overall songwriting quality is consistently high, including a couple of sambas - The Island, The Sea, And You and Have A Little Faith.

If I was desperate to find fault, I would tut-tut at some rather predictable lyrics on Whatever It Takes– which has proved no barrier to regular airplay on Jazz FM in recent days. And fear not the closer, Kumbaya– it’s not what you think.

LINK: Review of Carmen Lundy at the 2014 Revoice Festival

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REVIEW: This Joint is Jumpin' at The Other Palace

April 7, 2017, 3:17 am

≫ Next: LP REVIEW: Bill Evans – Another Time – The Hilversum Concert

≪ Previous: CD REVIEW: Carmen Lundy - Code Noir

Michela Marino Lerman and Joseph Wiggan in This Joint is Jumpin'
Photo credit: Darren Bell

This Joint is Jumpin'
(The Other Palace. 6th April 2017. Review by Sebastian Scotney)

The opening was a surprise. The joint was...tapping. Before we hear a single note of music in This Joint is Jumpin’ we see two tap-dancers happily hoofing it, and it is they who set this “theatrical fusion of live jazz, tap dance, and storytelling” in motion. The evening’s very strong backbone is seventeen songs and tunes by Fats Waller. Essentially, Joint is a music-and-dance revue, these great and immortal songs providing the pretext for all kinds of excursions, solo turns, and some rather laboured plot twists. That said, it is an energetic, fast-paced, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable show performed by a committed, happy and well-rehearsed cast.

The prominence of the tap-dancing might well be explained by the fact that one of the roles of producer Hoagy B Carmichael (yes, son of, and the B stands for Bix) was co-founder of the American Tap Dance Foundation. The two dancers Michela Marino Lerman and Joseph Wiggan are very good indeed, and - as my companion reminded me - there must be a lot more people in the world who like tap dance routines more than - say - drum solos.

Musically, standards are very high. French-Malagasy pianist Mathis Picard is a young player whose interesting path has already taken him from France via Chetham’s in Manchester to Juilliard, the Montreux Foundation and the Marsalis/ Lincoln Center set-up. The Musical Director credit goes to Michael Mwenso, for whom this is a very welcome return to London. He is a live-wire performer who has thoroughly absorbed a range of vocal styles from Joe Williams and Clark Terry “Mumbles” to the present day. His solo feature Truckin’ was one of the highlights of the show. He also harmonized deftly with promising light-voiced highly musical young South African Vuyo Sotashe. The other main singer was Lillias White a vastly experienced performer. Her sassy Keepin’ Out of Mischief complete with high kicks, and her emotionally wrenching What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue? were worth the price of the ticket on their own.

Those expecting period jazz, or historically informed performance practice will find the R&B melisma off-putting; stylistically the arrangements of Fats Waller songs are often seen through the prism of Motown and Stevie Wonder - or in one case Marty Paich cool - and are all the more enjoyable for it. The jazz playing is not rooted in the twenties either; Ruben Fox deployed his slinky chromatic improvisation language to good effect. The other musicians all made good contributions. Mark Kavuma plays clean lines, and drummer Kyle Poole was brilliant at all that stop-chorusing, starting and stopping with clear crisp cues and innate timing and theatricality.

The plot twists in the show are from the Janet-and-John school of keeping the action going, with people running on with urgent letters and a rather odd story about a call on a mobile phone from an agent; I suspect that by the end of the run the cast will have found entertaining ways to ironize them. Desiree Burch as Sammy Slyde kept that side of the evening in motion, but it still needs work.

The studio theatre of The Other Palace (known as St James Theatre until being taken over by Lloyd Weeber’s Really Useful group) is a close-up and intimate venue, and the proximity and authenticity of the action are also a big plus.

This Joint is Jumpin' is at The Other Palace till April 15th

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