The Ring Modulator

Henry Threadgill Zooid + John Escreet - London Jazz Festival 2011

2011-11-20T12:36:00.008Z

Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank, London. Saturday 19th November 2011.

John Escreet is a New York based pianist originating from the northerly English environs of Doncaster. It's tempting to think these cultural juxtapositions are reflected in his music, as he quietly drew us into his short set, using some carefully chosen sparse bleak long notes, that slowly developed into angst ridden arpeggio flourishes. From here, we knew where this was going, Escreet attacking the keys to deliver rapid fire dense note clusters. Following a sort-of twisted psychotic rag, Escreet finally sweetened the harmony, but even then, expected resolutions were frequently side-stepped. It's difficult material, but Escreet's precision and conviction make it very engaging.

Without the fluid central groove of Elliot Kavee’s brilliant drumming, the relentless harmonic tension generated by Henry Threadgill’s ‘Zooid’ would have overwhelmed most brains used to a least the odd chord resolution here and there. The icy solo cello introductions from Christopher Hoffman were the most effective element, managing to convey strong statements within the constraints of Threadgill’s interval block system. Bass player Stomu Takeishi was engaging to watch, but unfortunately the instrument was too loud in the mix for the most part. The trombone and tuba of Jose Davila, and the guitar of Liberty Ellman played more of a supporting role, at least sound mix wise, but both managed to shine when given enough harmonic space to get their lines through. Threadgill mainly took on the role of overseer, but his distinctive contributions on alto sax and bass flute really added to the dynamic, so it would have been good if he’d taken more of a playing role.

The Zooid experience is exhausting, albeit in many ways worthwhile. I can’t deny that at times, my ear begged for a solid funky bass line to lock in with the gorgeous drumming. I do also wonder that, although Threadgill’s interval block serialism is an interesting original approach, its constraints give rise to the same sort of difficulties Steve Reich had with Schoenberg’s twelve tone serialism, in that it’s difficult to “sneak in some harmony”. I suspect I’ll continue to muse on this one.

Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone and the London Vocal Project - London Jazz Festival 2011

2011-11-17T13:45:00.003Z

St James’ Piccadilly, London. Wednesday 16th November 2011.

It would be a sour soul who wasn’t just a little moved by the joyous atmosphere inside the St James’ Church, Piccadilly last night for an evening with Kenny Wheeler and the London Vocal Project. To get us in the mood, we were treated to the world premiere of ‘Horizons’, a piece written specially for a young singer, Kwabena Adjepong, by pianist Gwilym Simcock. I don't mind a bit of sentimentality at all, but there was a tad too much for me here (or I wasn't in the mood). The deep richness of Adjepong’s voice does however, promise much for the future.

There was an appropriately reverent reception when the great Kenny Wheeler approached the stage for this rare performance of the ‘Mirrors Suite’, a setting of poems by Stevie Smith, Lewis Carroll and W. B. Yeats for band and choir. It was really magic stuff. To hear classic Wheeler harmonies performed by the great players Nikki Iles on piano, Mark Lockheart on sax, Norma Winstone on vocals, Steve Watts and James Maddren on bass and drums, along with the 20-piece London Vocal Project led by Pete Churchill was an absolute treat.

The suite contains all the best of the Wheeler compositional devices, with rich modal harmonies sweeping their way through waves of sequences over silky swing beats. Wheeler delivered a number of his classic searching solos, firing up into the high registers of the flugal horn in that way only he does. Iles was rhythmically really on it tonight, delivering some really exciting punchy lines. Lockheart sounded the best I’ve heard him, especially when on soprano sax, his tone being quite delicious, and his lines strong and coherent, with every note counting.

I hope this wonderful piece gets recorded at some point, preferably with this same band and choir. It would be a sin if it wasn't.

Phil Robson IMS Quintet featuring Mark Turner - London Jazz Festival 2011

2011-11-16T12:31:00.021Z

Purcell Room, South Bank, London. Tuesday 15th November 2011.

A themed concert seems to be a rare thing in the world of jazz, so it was really interesting to hear London based guitarist Phil Robson describing how all the tracks played tonight would reflect elements of communication, this occasion being the launch of his new album, ‘The Immeasurable Code’ from which all the tracks were taken. An impassive looking Mark Turner on saxophone, flown over from New York specially, joined Robson, along with the rest of the contributors to the album, Gareth Lockrane on flutes, Ernesto Simpson on drums and Michael Janisch on double bass.

Unresolved sequences of dense chord clusters were the order of the day for opening track, ‘Nassarius Beads’, Robson and Turner delivering appropriately spiky solos. ‘Telepathy and Telecommunication’ opened with a gorgeously exotic interplay between Lockrane and Janisch leading into Robson’s stark and unsettling arpeggio sequence. The foreboding latin tones of ‘Telegram’ were the highlight for me of this delightfully troubled set of tunes, its romantic 1940s mood being mixed with just a touch of menace. The fast swing of ‘Instant Message’ was another chance for Turner to shine with some harmonically rich note sweeps through a fast and fluid solo. Robson once again impressed with a forceful boppy solo demonstrating his pure round tone.

Simpson expertly grooved some tricky time signature changes on ‘Immeasurable Code’, Turner sweetly delivering the whirling soprano sax melody, before launching into more dense note cascades. Lockrane’s urgent biting flute then upped the energy levels, more than meeting the Turner’s gauntlet. On the graceful ‘Serenade’, Robson demonstrated he’s not immune to some classic guitar chord melody playing, with Lockrane’s flute playing perfectly complimenting the warm richness of the guitar. The track’s mood asked for a thoughtful double bass solo, and sure enough, that’s we got in-exemplar from Janisch.

I haven’t always been taken with Robson’s approach in the past, but I can happily say I’m now convinced. The playing and writing here is strong across the board. ‘The Immeasurable Code’ is definitely the right album for those dark nights of the soul, and that’s most certainly a credit in my book.

You can hear ‘The Immeasurable Code’ on Spotify.

Steve Swallow Quintet + The Impossible Gentlemen - London Jazz Festival 2011

2011-11-16T12:09:00.012Z

Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank, London. Sunday 13th November 2011.

So it is, that the Impossible Gentlemen take to the Queen Elizabeth Hall stage with one change to the album line-up: Pat Metheny’s double bass player, Steve Rodby in place of the usual Steve Swallow. Walker’s vulnerably bright and almost brittle sounding solo guitar opened the always-warming ‘Clockmaker’. The long round resonance of Rodby’s bass initially unsettled an ear used Swallow’s distinctive approach, but this was soon adapted to, Rodby visibly relishing Swallow’s seat. For me, pianist Gwilym Simcock is best heard on the beautiful solo piano introduction to Walker’s touching ‘When You Hold Her’. The guitar didn’t quite tip over into the blissful feedback sustain we hear on the album version of this track, but Walker still managed to deliver enough heart-wrench to make drummer Adam Nussbaum seem not far from tears. As usual, the groove section of ‘You Won’t Be Around to See It’ made for some tasty funky stuff from both Simcock and Walker, with Nussbaum’s groove-meistering being especially sweet tonight.

It was a brave move scheduling the incendiary paced ‘Laugh Lines’ to be the last song of the last date of the band’s current tour, and a smidgeon of raggedness was audible. However, it gave Rodby a good opportunity to prove his mettle, holding things firm in the lower registers. Tonight’s concert was another generous and high-spirited performance from the gents, and one that clearly went down well with the South Bank crowd.

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the best scheduling decision to have the Steve Swallow Quintet following what was likely to be a typically high-energy performance from the Impossible Gentlemen. In many ways, it was a little hard to know what to make of this set of new material from Swallow, written with Carla Bley on the Hammond B3 in mind. There’s no doubt the ethereal Bley looked amazing on the throne of the beautiful vintage B3, but the result was a little disappointing. Much of the music consisted of quite complex long through-composed pieces that would probably need a few listenings to get to grips with, and I suspect would have worked better before, rather than after the Impossible Gentlemen’s set. I am partial to the sort of Hammond organ atmospherics we know Bley does so well, such as on the classic ‘Elevator Over The Hill’, but the organ just didn’t seem to work that well tonight, perhaps as it doesn’t sit so well with Swallow’s material.

Guitarist Steve Cardenas, drummer Jorge Rossy and saxophonist Chris Cheek fulfilled there’s roles in perhaps the way Swallow was thinking, but none managed to add much in the way of energy or excitement. Some of the writing did sound promising, so I would want to reserve judgement for another hearing, but I can’t deny that tonight’s set from this composer and player we admire so much, was disappointing.

McCoy Tyner Trio - London Jazz Festival 2011

2011-11-15T12:47:00.006Z

McCoy Tyner Trio featuring Jose James & Chris Potter + Blues and the Abstract Truth. Scene Iceland - London Jazz Festival, Barbican, Saturday 12th November 2011.

My London Jazz Festival kicked off with a trip to Iceland via the Barbican foyer, starting with the graceful piano sounds of Sunna Gunnlaugs, followed up by the country funk quirks of guitar player Ómar Guðjónsson, the best of which was a dirty wah-wah Hendrixy track. Iceland’s New Liberation Orchestra then delivered a selection of fab ‘In a Silent Way’ style grooves topped of with some imaginative sample textures from Pétur Grétarsson. This excellent round trip finished up with the super funky grooves of the Samúel Jón Samúelsson Big Band. Clearly Iceland is punching well above its weight in terms jazziness per capita.

The evening took us into the Barbican Hall for the McCoy Tyner Trio supported by a tribute playthrough of Oliver Nelson’s ‘ Blues and the Abstract Truth’ album. The openers set a high bar, with some sharp playing all round, trumpet player Byron Wallen and pianist James Pearson especially catching my ear with some great phrasing. Other duties were more than ably performed by Nathaniel Facey, Alex Garnett and Jean Toussaint on saxes, Sam Burgess on bass, and Shane Forbes on drums.

I have to say, I was really was taken aback with reverence when McCoy Tyner appeared from behind the curtain, as was the entire Barbican Hall. This was after all, the man who played with John Coltrane on ‘A Love Supreme’. Such legendary status can lead to over-expectations, but I can report that Tyner was totally phenomenal. That he can still generate such a level of intensity left me somewhat in awe. Graceful, almost classical flourishes would make way for characteristic high intensity surges that commanded the attention, being equally matched by the enticing knotted lines from saxophonist Chris Potter. Rhythm sectioners, Gerald Cannon on bass and someone I didn't catch the name of on drums, standing in for the great Eric Gravatt, more than kept up and held the pace. For me, the selection of tracks with singer Jose James taken from Coltrane’s collaboration with Johnny Hartman were a distraction, so it was great to hear the modal comping we know and love closing the set on ‘African Village’. This gig will stay in the memory for a good while I’m sure.

Manchester Jazz Festival 2011

2011-08-01T13:50:00.010+01:00

So another Manchester Jazz Festival is over, as quick as a flash it seemed this year. I wasn’t able to make it to as many events as in previous years, but I still got a good dose of what was another great year.

My first outing was to the Posé-Roper-Salvador Trio and Pascal Schumacher Quartet double bill in the festival pavilion on the Saturday night. The Posé-Roper-Salvador Trio set the festival tone admirably with their joyful Spanish tinged sound. My favourite track consisted of some tasty riffing over an infectious Weather Report groove. The Pascal Schumacher Quartet had more of a through-composed complex arrangement style, somewhat like a Steve Reich biased EST, with time signature trickery in evidence aplenty. A highlight for me was the contemplative ‘Sept Fontaine’, complete with some lovely mute plucked piano harmonics of a kind I’ve not heard before.

On Tuesday evening it was over to the Band on the Wall for this years ‘MJF Originals’ commission, Adam Fairhall’s ‘Imaginary Delta’. Certainly an oddity this one, the Imaginary Delta being a fragmented deconstructive take on early jazz and blues. Familiar vintage sounds would arise, only then to suddenly side step and twist, quirky bar length disjoints appearing almost offhand in all sorts of places. A John Cage style prepared piano, and an overlay of electronic whooshes added to the disorientating surrealism.

Adam Fairhall

Wednesday night at the Royal Northern College of Music was the setting for another major festival event, the launch of Stuart McCallum’s new record, ‘Distilled’. Stuart has made a specialty of producing hypnotic layers of echo ambient arpeggio sound washes, that he’s now crafted to a fine art. Tonight’s dreamy set of star gazing tracks filled the large space of the RNCM hall perfectly. Dave Walsh on drums caught my ear, with some fine fast groove work. The music was accompanied by stills and videos from Linder, a local visual artist. The stills worked OK, but I found the videos seemed ill matched to the sound, and in all honesty, quite an annoying distraction to an otherwise top evening.

My favourite gig of the festival award has to go to the short set from the brilliant Dave Stapleton Quintet, as part of the Edition Records double bill at the Band on the Wall. Pretty much all of Stapleton’s compositions really did it for me, and were backed by some strong no nonsense playing from the band. It was “like a double espresso, a Guinness, and a double vodka all in one” according to Supertramp sax player, John Helliwell, and who am I to disagree. Stapleton’s set was followed by a stormer from the tour-de-force intense virtuosity of the Marius Neset Quartet. I’m not sure the compositions work for me, but it was impossible not to be affected the grab-you-by-the-neck force and energy of the playing. The set went down a storm with the crowd, a blown away Mr Helliwell describing Neset as “the Jimi Hendrix of the saxophone”.

On Friday it was back to the pavilion for Richard Iles’ Miniature Brass Emporium featuring Iain Ballamy. I’ve got a lot of time for Richard’s writing, and it was great to hear some new compositions as part of a suite based on the seasons of the year. I like the way Iles combines an ear for a great melody and harmony, but is also up for a simple funky blues groover where it's needed. No doubt due to rehearse scheduling headaches with a band of this size, the playing could have been a little sharper, and it lacked a little energy in the earlier part of the set. Guitarist Mike Walker took the situation in hand towards the end, with some forceful high paced playing that really kicked the band into gear. A slightly bemused looking Iain Ballamy certainly seemed to dig it.

And so it was to the final Saturday in the Pavilion for a reunion of a band who played the very first MJF, the John Ellis Big Band. I’ve heard some tracks from a recording of that set from way back, and was looking forward to a good one. There was some great stuff here, John being a good tunesmith along with some of the other band members who contributed to the set. I personally would have a liked a few more of the soul funk tracks I know John can do so well, the one track they did in this vein being the best of the bunch for me, with some great horn riffs over a tasty swing vibe. A few more solos here and there would’ve been a nice added treat too. Guitarist Mike Outram really did the business on that front with a great bluesy solo on one of the tracks. A fine festival closing night performance. Onwards to next year.

Full details on all the gigs mentioned are available on the Manchester Jazz Festival website.

CD Review: The Impossible Gentlemen

2011-06-14T17:01:00.008+01:00

From the outside, the Impossible Gentlemen album promises to be something a little different, its music hall psychedelia come Escher-Magritte cover avoiding the jazz conventions of the monochrome Nordic landscape and the uncomfortable photo session band shots. On listening, we discover the results of an impressive four part collaboration between UK guitarist Mike Walker, pianist Gwilym Simcock, and the American classics, Steve Swallow on bass and Adam Nussbaum on drums. Walker and Simcock take on the lion’s share of composition duties, Nussbaum contributing the one closing track. A truly fine record it is, surely now raising the profile of the relatively unknown Walker, who’s frustrating under-heard phenomenal guitar playing and compositional abilities undoubtedly form the core force of this great record. Continually rising star, Simcock, is on top form as ever. Swallow and Nussbaum once again show why they are such highly rated players.

The incendiary paced opening track, ‘Laugh Lines’ immediately grabs you by the jugular, its ultra precise boppy head played in unison by Walker and Simcock. An interlaced solo follows from the same, Walker’s jagged recursive lines having a strangely disorientating effect. The soothing introduction to next track, ‘Clockmaker’ eases any disquiet, widening out to a warm and embracing tune statement that Swallow picks up and channels through into a sweet high register solo, with Simcock’s sweeping harmonic flourishes then adding to the richness. All is well in the world.

The wistful elegance of Simcock’s opening to ‘When you Hold Her’ is a quite beautiful piece of playing, perfectly setting up the piece’s introspective grace. The open arms and open heart of the tune section slowly builds to a deeply moving and near-heartbreaking feedback-sustain guitar solo from Walker. This spine-tingling encapsulation of the essence of upstanding human dignity is an undoubted highlight of the album.

The mood intensity is then moderated by the cheeky perkiness of ‘You Won't Be Around To See It’. I’m not entirely at home with the tune head on this track, but all is forgiven when the track kicks with a bit of tasty muted piano string riffing from Simcock. Walker’s solo gets nice n’outside on us, all the while maintaining a driving forward momentum, stitched together with the mean groove emanating from Nussbaum and Swallow.

A regular from the Walker live set, ‘Wallenda’s Last Stand’ is given a French sounding twist, with some melodica playing from Simcock, which works perhaps surprisingly well. Walker is especially under-stated here, the directness of the playing making way for well-crafted and richly melodic improvisation. Swallow and Nussbaum apply just the right accompanying balance to make the whole thing work. The unashamedly sentimental tone of next track, ‘Gwil’s Song’, nods to the very best of Metheny. First up for a solo, Swallow sounds especially lush, continuing in the spirit of Walker’s airy melody statement.

A short introduction from Nussbaum sets up the pace for the neo-boppy ‘Play the Game’. Following the crisp tune head, Walker delivers line after line of decentred firecracker improvisations that seem to twist and writhe in on themselves to great effect. Swallow’s driving bass comes through warm and strong to assist, as Simcock then takes over the reigns with some intricate but perfectly coherent improvising.

The deep dark blues of closing track, ‘Sure Would Baby’ takes quite a different tack to the rest of the album, the Chicago blues mood delivered by Walker’s thick overdriven tone with a road hardened slurriness, eventually taking on an edgy outsideness. The playing here has a depth of feel and expressiveness all too little heard in the jazz guitar sphere, much to its detriment in my opinion.

This is a really great record, no argument. It deserves to become an Anglo-American classic. Here’s to hoping it will. Buy it. You won’t be disappointed. The Impossible Gentlemen are on tour right now. Don’t be a damn fool and miss them now will you? Details are on the Impossible Gentlemen tour page.

More reviews of the record available on the Impossible Gentlemen album page.

Etherology

2011-04-14T12:49:00.014+01:00

North Wales International Jazz Society Guitar Weekend, Wrexham, Wales

I had a really interesting time at the Wrexham jazz guitar weekend. The main attraction for me was the opportunity to learn from the ace british jazz guitar legend, John Etheridge. The first evening consisted of getting up and knocking out a standard with John and the fab Bill Coleman on double bass. I got up for ‘All The Things You Are’ and did a pretty decent job of it I think. He got us trading fours, which almost caught me out, but I just about got away with it.

The next morning we looked at approaches to chord melody playing, something I don’t do a whole lot of, but keep meaning to have a better look at. John suggested starting with the melody, and then adding the chord root notes. Next it’s a case of adding some chord fragments on the third and fourth strings where you can , but the melody and bass come first.

We then looked at the Joe Pass method. John mentioned that it’s very much a harmonic as opposed to melodic or rhythmic system. Joe Pass didn’t think in terms of scales at all, the system generally being all about chord substitutions, the tones from the chords, and passing notes as the basis for comping and improvising. John suggested that with bebop playing generally, it’s all about chord tones and passing notes, not scales.

On Sunday John talked about some of the improvisation techniques used by players such as John Scofield and Pat Metheny. One scalar approach favoured by himself and Scofield is the use of the half-whole diminished scale on static V7 chords, giving a strong sense of tension. Its sound is not dissimilar to the altered scale, but the natural fifth in the half-whole diminished works well on a static V7, as the flat fifth in the altered scale wants the V7 chord to resolve to its I.

He then talked about the use of primary triads built on harmonised scales. This approach is particularly useful in modal vamp situations such as on ‘So What’, where triads can be used to add interest to comping as well as in the improvising. He then explained the use of fourth or ‘quartal’ voiced suspended chords, and scales harmonised in fourths such as used on Miles’ ‘In a Silent Way’. He said that as long as you have a note from the relevant pentatonic scale on the top of a voicing, you can play pretty much any suspended chord voiced in fourths below, and the harmony will take it. This approach works well with modal vamps too.

To finish up, John summarised his practice approach to new scales and harmony:

Get all the notes of the scale all over the neck
Play the scales over a looped groove, such as using the Line 6 delay pedal or the iRealBook.
Work out the harmonised triad chords
Only when the above is mastered, bring in and practice non-scale passing notes
Then put a sequence of chords together in a loop and run the scales together in the same area of the fingerboard

Having attended these schools a few times a number of years ago, I was fairly familiar with the material Trefor Owen covered. Having said that, the information on the use of the whole tone scale on V7 chords was something I was aware of, but hadn’t gotten around to looking at. Trefor also took us through some approaches to improvising on the changes to ‘Autumn Leaves’ and ‘One Note Samba’ type sequences.

At lunchtime each day there was a well organised jam in the bar which I had fun at, playing with Giles Barratt, backed by Bill Coleman and a drummer I have to confess I didn’t get the name of. On the Saturday there was a concert with John, Trefor, Andy Hulme, Bill Coleman, violin player Don May and the drummer. John’s playing was great, especially on his loop backed solo performance.

So that was about it. A great weekend and a few more tricks up my sleeve.

We Got It

2010-11-21T13:59:00.006Z

Gary Burton Quartet + Scottish National Jazz Orchestra - London Jazz Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London. 17th November 2010

Following a warm up week in New York, tonight’s concert was the first major outing for Gary Burton’s new quartet, and compelling stuff it was too, hitting the pocket from the off. As early as the second tune, ‘Last Snow’, the band already has us with some deep sensitive playing off the back of its gorgeous melody. Guitarist Julian Lage immediately impressed, seducing us with luscious arpeggio sweeps, before showing us his chromatic bop mettle on drummer Antonio Sanchez’s angular blues, ‘Did You Get It’. Sanchez made the most of his own piece, the odd number bar lengths handled with a sure-footed confidence further exhibited on a late era Monk tune, ‘Light Blue’.

Lage’s playing throughout was something to behold, especially on a jaw dropping extended solo intro to ‘My Funny Valentine’, his speedy semi-quaver precision only ever being at the service of a soulful sensitivity that was a sheer delight to bask in. Double bass player Scott Colley took his moment in this track, laying down some thoughtful lines sculpted with a fine lyrical grace.

Mr Burton wasn’t to be overshadowed though. His improvising was so effortless and relaxed, even at the high tempos, that at times we were overwhelmed with the musical treats. I wanted to press pause so I could soak it all up better.

After the break, Burton joined the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra led by ex-Burton band tenor player, Tommy Smith. This was less successful than the first set, the energy level in the hall having dipped somewhat and the Orchestra seeming a little tired after their four gig stint at the festival. Nevertheless, there was enjoyable stuff here, notably on the Wayne Shorter classic, ‘Speak No Evil’, and ‘Virgo Rising’, when the orchestra were definitely grooving. Burton’s best stuff came through on the ballad ‘Infant Eyes’, and Smith got nice and Coltraney on an enriched arrangement of ‘Footprints’.

Lots of good stuff here, but the guitars have it.

Gary Burton photo courtesy of The Queen's Hall

Murc Off

2010-11-21T13:54:00.006Z

Murcof and Francesco Tristano - London Jazz Festival, Queen Eliizabeth Hall, Southbank, London. 16th November 2010

There was promise here for sure. The combination of Fernando Corona aka Murcof’s minimalist electronica grace and the idiosynkrasia of 'not'-pianist Francesco Tristano ought to have delivered something special, but I’m not sure it did. Things started promisingly enough with Tristano scattering some deeply reverberated quizzical piano notes. Murcof then faded in a deep bass thrum overlaid with a thin shade of white noise. And, … well that’s where it stayed for quite some time. Tristano’s harmonic pepperings were more or less of the same ilk throughout. He did start to work on the piano’s acoustic textural potential, leaning in to mute pluck and scratch the strings inside the piano body creating those familiar avant-classical shimmerings. He then slapped, tapped and banged the frame, inducing various rhythmic effects, all swathed in just a little too much digital reverb. It was interesting stuff, but it needed to go somewhere somehow.

Murcof set up an even low rhythm thud on the second piece, the accompanying retro analog sounding arpeggios really reminding me of Phaedra era Tangerine Dream. Again, there was something really quite good about it, but it seemed to need more. The volume increase and aural thickness left Tristano’s continued piano body rhythm attacks somewhat outgunned, though he did later respond with some high velocity sweeps across the full range of keys that managed to cut through and make some impact.

The final piece had something approaching a groove, the lithe and partially effete Tristano swaying accordingly to the low beat emanating from Murcof’s laptop. Good this, but once again, it overstayed it’s welcome. A not insignificant number of the audience had already voted with their feet at this point, and the notably short set was not extended with an encore. Not good value I suppose, but I’m not sure too many were complaining.

These Funky Things (Remind Me of Sco)

2010-11-21T13:45:00.005Z

John Scofield Trio + Scottish National Jazz Orchestra – London Jazz Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London. 15th November 2010

Hurray! I finally managed to get to see John Scofield last week. Through some bad luck with timings and being based in Manchester, somehow it’s taken me this long. Technically I did see him many years ago at the Jazz Café, but illness on my part meant an early exit after a few tracks.

Although I’ve got time for most styles of jazz guitar, Scofield’s slurry bluesy playing is pretty much bang on for me (and I guess what I try to go for in my own playing). There were no disappointments either, as Scofield was on funky fine form. The scratchy groove of ‘Chicken Dog’ was bloody great, drummer Bill Stewart’s fluid laidback feel nudging up against the lightly overdriven double stop bends that are Scofield’s trade mark. It wasn’t all bump and grind though. The trio delivered a sweet and sensitive take on ‘These Foolish Things’, Steve Swallow playing a most heart rendering bass solo up in the high upper register of his five string. Most of the tracks were of the bluesy groove variety with a little country twang thrown in for good measure. Scofield’s distinctive use of raw altered and chromatic harmony wasn’t neglected however, being in evidence aplenty on the dirty grit of ‘The Low Road’, it’s tough density enhanced by the use of delay sampled guitar self-accompaniment.

Scofield joined the Scottish National Jazz Band after the break for a set of big band arrangements led by tenor player, Tommy Smith. A highlight was ‘Groove Elation’, the big band managing to get the energy across well, with Scofield’s improvising punching through nicely. On a similar note, Miles Davis’ ‘Splatch was a good one too. The big band set wasn’t an unqualified success, the sound mix being messy at times, and the horn mix balance wasn’t quite right. Even so, it worked well in the main, with Scofield’s groove slotting in really well, and perhaps better than one might have expected within the formality of large arrangements. Top marks London Jazz Festival programming for making me a very happy bunny tonight.

Beyond Good and Evil

2010-11-19T17:00:00.014Z

Esperanza Spalding Chamber Music Society + Zoe Rahman – London Jazz Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London. Saturday 13th November 2010

I’d heard lots of good things about pianist Zoe Rahman in recent years, so I was really pleased to see she was opening this double bill playing solo. The plaudits are justified, as she was great. Her playing is strident and strong, with heaps of dynamic and harmonic variety. There was plenty of tasty swing bluesy phrasing in there, but also lots of ethnic piquancy that really adds to sound palette. She really worked the timbral and textural potential of the piano into her playing too, making for an engaging solo set that many couldn’t match without accompaniment.

Zoe Rahman

Terms such as ‘prodigy’, ‘natural’, ‘gifted’ and so on get bandied around all too easily (sometimes by myself), but the amazing Esperanza Spalding has a fair right to those labels. At the concert she mesmorised the entire Queen Elizabeth Hall with ease from the start. She frequently sings either solo or accompanied just by her own double bass, and on these occasions you could hear a pin drop over the quiet hum of the hall’s sound system, it’s mains noise filters not usually exposed to such scrutiny by an audience listening so intently. What makes this even more remarkable is that much of her material is complex and quite difficult listening. Her melodies are constantly surprising, going off in all sorts of directions, and rarely follow conventional resolutions. Although they’re very different artists, it’s the same ability Polar Bear have to make what might be heavy listening very accessible.

Esperanza Spalding

A case in point would be the track ‘Knowledge of Good and Evil’, where Spalding sang a melody that dipped and weaved over a fairly hard to grasp chord sequence, but she made it work wonderfully. Same with the restless ‘Chacarera’. The technical ability required to deliver the tricky lines is demanding enough, but the way she manages to breath life and soul into them is stunning.

A minor but not insignificant downside was that Spalding’s star quality appeared to inhibit the band somewhat. Leonardo Genovese on piano and Richard Barshay on drums were perfectly acceptable, but never really sparkled. Similarly, the string trio of Olivia de Prato (violin), Lois Martin (viola) and Jody Redhage (cello) got the job done perfectly well, but didn’t catch one’s ear. Guest star Gretchen Parlato was closest to giving Spalding a run for her money when she joined for a delightful vocal duet on Jobim’s ‘Inútil Paisagem’. I’m not usually inclined to use the word, but this performance was awesome in the true sense. Spalding returns for concert at the Barbican in April next year that would be worth checking out.

Zoe Rahman and Esperanza Spalding photos copyright © 2010 Emile Holba.

The Theatre of the Absurd

2010-11-17T17:10:00.006Z

Simcock Meets Charnock - London Jazz Festival, Purcell Room, Southbank, London. 12th November 2010

Well this was new and strange – improvised jazz with improvised movement, Gwilym Simcock on the piano with maverick Nigel Charnock on 'movement'. Initially the whole thing seemed somewhat absurd. Simcock started with some very quiet and reflective playing that Charnock soon started contorting to. The thud of his feet on the stage was really quite loud relative to the quiet piano, and after having adjusted to the absurdity, I then became frustrated at this audible intrusion. After a short while though, it all started to make sense and became quite good fun. After the first piece Charnock explained his hyperactivity, admitting that he’d been dreading the performance, and it’s true that the intensity did seem a strange partner to Simcock’s contemplative opening gambit.

Charnock began to calm down, partly through exhaustion I suspect, and the improvisatory interplay between the two started to gel and make more sense. Simcock did a good job of trying to match Charnock’s movement with a few rhythmic punches, but there were quite a few misfires. It was hard not be won over by Charnock’s natural wit and playful vulgarity, and he raised quite a few laughs, especially on his several trips out into the audience, at one point climbing some ladders at the back of the room and banging on the sound booth.

In the second half Simcock was joined by his regular trio partners Yuri Goloubev on double bass and James Maddren on drums for some tracks from the ‘Blues Vignette’ record. Maddren is just getting better and better, managing to combine a very fluid underlying pulse with an understated busyness that matches Simcock’s harmonic density deftly. Goloubev seemed a bit bemused, having missed the rehearsal due to flight delays, and wasn’t at his most fiery, but still did the job. He seemed a little wary when Charnock reappeared to join the trio for a few tracks, but stoically got on with it.

This evening was a fun proposition and came off well as a one-off, but I did find the movement distracted much attention from the music, ultimately the music being a poor loser. Also, much of the success of the event came from Charnock’s witty asides. In some ways we were won as much by the comedy as the movement, which did get repetitive, Charnock appearing to struggle for ideas from about half way through. A good time was had by many nonetheless.

Impossibly Good?

2010-11-03T12:20:00.005Z

Courtesy of Mr Walker himself, I've just found out that the Gwilym Simcock, Mike Walker, Steve Swallow & Adam Nussbaum quartet have the new moniker of 'The Impossible Gentlemen'. There's a new album and tour to look forward to 2011 too. A tad more info on Gwilym's website. Their sellout concert at the RNCM was reviewed on the Modulator below.

Kind Folk

2010-11-02T11:11:00.008Z

Kenny Wheeler 80th Birthday Concert, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, Saturday 23rd October 2010

A lovely evening was had at the RNCM last week for the Kenny Wheeler 80th Birthday concert. It's been a while since I've seen Wheeler, back in the days when I was living in London. I managed to catch him quite a few times at the Vortex, then on Stoke Newington Church St, and I really remember shuffling past him practising on the stairs.

Wheeler's lost none of his modest charm, opening the set in quartet formation, himself of course on flugelhorn, Manchester ex-pat John Taylor on piano, Chris Laurence on double bass and Martin France on drums. A tentative and vulnerably beautiful 'Kind Folk' was followed by a steadier 'Everybody's Song But My Own'. The UK stalwarts continued to appear, with sax players Stan Sulzman, Julian Arguelles joining next, then with Evan Parker for a top sounding short free improv banter with drummer France. Vocalist Diana Torto entered with the rest of the big band for a great set of characteristically fulsome Wheeler arrangements conducted by Pete Churchill.

Wheeler's compositional skills are in fine form, the band treating us to a series of gorgeous new pieces. 'Canta No.6' was a highlight, with some great gusto improvising from Torto and a touching autumnal solo interlude from Taylor, who was on sparkling form tonight. Catching Taylor was an extra treat for me, as I've been wanting to see him play for some time, having heard many versions of his UK standard, 'Ambleside Days' (and having put in a good few hours on it myself).

On the whole the solo improvisations were quite short and to the point, the musical centrepiece of the concert being Wheeler's warm and rich arrangements. I was really impressed with Torto who made the most of her opportunities to shine. A heart warming evening, and a great lead in to John Taylor's gig with Torto and the RNCM Big Band.

Uncanny Reveries - Manchester Jazz Festival Day Eight

2010-08-08T12:20:00.020+01:00

The Golden Age of Steam and TrioVD, Pavilion. Les Chisnall, St Anns Church. Orca Trio, Pavilion. Friday, 30th July 2010.

I made it in the nick of time to take my pew for Les Chisnall's solo piano recital at St Anns Church. I'm no stranger to Chisnall' playing, but this was the first time I've had the opportunity to see him solo. This was really wonderful stuff and undoubtably a highlight of the festival for me. Chisnall walks the perfect line between the best of classical, while allowing improvisations to take the pieces in new directions without the constraints of written notes. Chisnall explained that he believes Chopin was one the great improvisers, then treating us to a simple two chord Chopin piece whereafter Chisnall took the harmony in all sorts of strange and wonderful directions. There were all sorts of classical references in here, ranging from Bach to Debussy, all filtered through Chisnall's introspective Bill Evans tinged harmonic lens, culminating in a luscious improvisatory take on a Chisnall fave by english composer John Odgdon. The set concluded with the now familiar Mike Walker standard, 'Clockmaker', summarising a great set perfectly.

It was another 'mjf introduces' triumph from the 'Orca Trio' in the pavilion. I hadn't come across the relaxed confident playing of pianist Dominic Marshall before today, so this was another new one for me. There were some great Evans inspired composition skills on show here, and Marshall's lyrical playing was a delight. The band exhibit a very mature sense of the importance of space in the sound, giving the trio a lovely open and inviting texture. Drummer Dan Gardner knows a thing or two about how to groove as well.

Friday evening promised to be challenging, opening with the Golden Age of Steam, a trio complete with Mercury Award nominated Kit Downes on Hammond Organ. I was initially on my guard due to the off the mark self-conscious quirky humour from bass clarinet player James Allsopp, but the band did have an intriguingly wandering sound. The ruminating harmony seemed to stagger about, but far from in a typical free jazz way. It had much more of a Freud like uncanny familiarity that was a little disturbing, but also curiously inviting. It was like you knew where you were, then all of a sudden you realised you didn't. Downes enhanced the Hammond tones with some deep echoes and reverbs, sounding at times very reminiscent of the early Pink Floyd. The band definitely take you for a walk on the surreal side. Like an early morning reverie that you can't quite capture, but want to experience again. A gig here in York ought to be a must.

I saw TrioVD at the London Jazz Festival last year, and wasn't all that taken if I'm honest. Never having been a metal fan, I suppose it wasn't likely to work for me. However, perhaps I was more attentive this time, but I definitely got much more from their Manchester performance. It's full on aggro for sure, but extremely tight and delivered with head-slicing force. Squeals and grunts rained down aplenty from the saxophone of Christophe de Bezenac whilst guitarist Chris Sharkey scratched angular shards and fired machine gun note cluster attacks with a hefty distortion. Chris Bussey provided the necessary muscular force on drums to balance this fearsome energy powerhouse with some gripping bombast.

It really struck me seeing them this time that there's striking echoes of the King Crimson approach, something I've heard in a number of the bands at this year's festival. Maybe that's inevitable when you play heavy with odd time signatures and dark tonalities perhaps. Not for everyone this lot, but they're doing their own thing and well worth checking out. It might just be you.

Party to the End of the World - Manchester Jazz Festival Day Six

2010-08-04T15:34:00.034+01:00

Phil Bancroft’s “Home, Small as the World”, RNCM. mjf introduces: Andrew Woodhead Quartet, Pavilion. Edward Barnwell Trio, Bridgewater Hall Foyer. Jim Faulker Group, St Anns Square. Wednesday, 28th July 2010.

There's nothing like a bit of hard edged avant jazz to get your lunchtime appetite going, and the Jim Faulkner Group were happy to oblige on Wednesday. Most of the set consisted of an extended single piece ranging through different moods. The first part had something of a Miles Bitches Brew era feel, with lots of free ambient textures, mainly emanating from the guitar of Jim Faulkner. As the track's energy built, Sam Healey on saxophone roared in with some searing atonal Coltranesque arpeggio flourishes.

The next Scofield-like section provided some harmonic relief with some tasteful modern guitar voicing from Faulkner. Electric bass player Grant Russell stood out on a fast swing tune that followed, with an effective two hand tapped repeating intro, after which Healey got all intense on us again. Faulkner responded with some blues tinged deep overdriven tones, navigating the changes of this quite King Crimson like jazz rock section. The intensity continued to cycle upwards, Faulkner side-kicking the harmony with some brave 'out' phrased sequencing. Drummer Rob Turner's chance came to have his say proper with an aggressive and fiery solo that met Healey's and Faulkner statements head on. Great stuff this. Challenging for this time of the day, but they pulled it off with aplomb.

It was then a quick dash over to the Bridgewater Wall to see pianist Ed Barnwell. His rhythm section of Rob Turner and Grant Russell somehow managed to beat me there, set up and get changed as well. Barnwell has a flowing and lyrical sound that's quite delicious. He brings in classical tonalities to add to the mystery, darkness and melancholy. His compositions are strong, and wide ranging in style, as are his improvisational skills which were on show aplenty, particularly on a latin groove assisted by some great percussive hand drumming from Turner.

Next stop the pavilion for the day's 'mjf introduces' session from the Andrew Woodhead Quartet. This band had a nice easy and relaxed feel, quite unusual for a set of musicians this age. Sam Rapley on saxophone in particular was in especially laid back mode, his feel and phrasing matching pianist Woodhead's chord placements beautifully. There were plenty of well chosen standards new and old here, but the highlight for me was the Woodhead composed 'Rings'. This was a very mature sounding slowish swing track with a laconic and contemplative vibe reflecting the quartet's overall sound. A pleasing set of changes nodding to the EST sound were delivered in a delightfully unhurried way. Another strike for the young guns.

Phil Bancroft's 'Home - Small as the World' promised to be a most unusual evening at the Royal Northern College of Music, and sure enough, it was. The was the second performance of a project originally commissioned by the Edinburgh Jazz Festival last year, and originally inspired by the homecoming. The concept behind Bancroft's project is about reflecting on what 'home' means to us today, looking at how it connects with subjects such as nationalism and war, and how the internet has affected the home. The project invited people to interact via its website, and the performance included stills, film, sofas and some audience participation.

The performance began with a short home movie to give us a sense of Bancroft's home life, this being followed by a flowing contemporary groove piece. 'Home - Small as the World' was next, a really effective piece consisting of a simple repeating sequence accompanied with pictures of people in their home settings contributed through the website. There was something surprisingly affecting about how this worked, and I found it quite moving.

Next we were treated to surprise guest Mike Walker dialling in from his home in Haslingden over Skype. There was something quite surreal and somewhat big brother like about Bancroft chatting to a larger than life Walker on the big screen. After showing us a little of his lounge, including the telly, Walker joined in for the next piece, bravely improvising over the Skype connection. The simple Steve Reich style minor figure was doubtless chosen partly to keep things manageable for the remote participation, but sounded great nonetheless. The idea was that Walker would join in for two solo improvisations, but he kept playing and somehow managed to keep in time as the piece restarted despite the web latency, something Bancroft described as 'genius' when I interviewed him after the gig. You can get a flavour of this from the video below, though it is a bit rough and ready. Very curious and very cool.

The second set treated us to an audience participation musical housework race accompanied by quirky game show music from the band. The highlight of this set was a long track based around a metrical metronomic guitar line played by guitarist Graeme Stephen which transformed into a Rhodes soaked groove, Paul Harrison doing the honours on the keys. Stephen's warm valve enriched guitar tone was really sweet at this point, sounding great on some angry angular fluid soloing over a restless harmonic base. Fiddle player Aiden O'Rourke then eased us down to a warm ending with some great playing that expertly bridged the tension between angularity and traditional harmony.

After another break the band returned in bizarre home made space suits. The mood initially got heavier, the visual theme addressing issues of war and nationalism, all with an eerie phased drone backdrop driven by the double bass of Mario Caribe. Fiddle string scratch textures, atonal squeaks from Felicity Provan's cornet and percussive oddities from drummer Stu Ritchie all added to the foreboding. Sometimes it's hard to beat a drone for sheer sadness, and with some masterful melancholic tenor sax playing from Bancroft laid over the top, the sentiment of the track was expressed well. The piece segued into a dark groove before ending with all players contributing to the cacophonic aural angst. The evening closed on a green note, with Bancroft playing us a video warning from the future before ending on a high with the super funky 'We've Trashed the Earth So Let's Go Party'. An irresistibly groovy way to end a most curious evening. All good and most memorable.

I interviewed Phil after the concert about the ideas behind the project. You can have a listen here:

Adrian Stevenson talks to Phil Bancroft for the mjf by manchesterjazz

Howlin' Gwil and Big Mike Walker - Manchester Jazz Festival Day Five

2010-08-02T21:47:00.005+01:00

Simcock/Walker/Swallow/Nussbaum, Royal Northern College of Music. 27th July 2010

Following Monday night's Jazz on 3 taster, the Simcock Walker Swallow Nussbaum group were over at the Royal Northern College of Music for a full set on Tuesday. It seemed like the entire North West jazz community were here for this sold out gig, as well as a few from Midlands and South. It was clearly a key gig to be at, with guitarist Mikes Walker always attracting a loyal crowd, pianist Gwilym Simcock now making significant waves, and bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Adam Nussbaum being of legendary status.

Clockmaker once again opened the set, with Swallow delivering another sweet and memorable solo. The sad and achingly beautiful 'When You Hold Her' was the highlight of the first set, Walker's guitar feedback wails perfectly capturing the calling anguish of the tune's sentiment. Nussbaum was especially bracing on another superfast take on 'Laughlines', all the while remaining rock steady and true throughout both sets.

Nussbaum came forward to introduce 'Hey Pretty Baby', one of his contributions to the group's songwriting efforts dedicated to the great blues legends such as Howlin' Wolf and T-Bone Walker (and Big Mike Walker as Nussbaum added). Down deep grooved it was too, being a slow burner based on a simple blues riff. Walker roared with some weighty thick and long bent BB style notes. The set ended appropriately with a smiling and tender version of Swallow's 'Ladies in Mercedes'. Simcock soared throughout the two sets with highly energised and fullsome solos. Walker wasn't as on it tonight as I know he can be, and was clearly a little underpowered, but still produced many great moments. All in all, a great night at the RNCM and a great success for the Manchester Jazz Festival with such a good turnout and response from the audience.

Passion, Grace and Fire - Manchester Jazz Festival Day Four

2010-07-31T11:58:00.013+01:00

Arun Ghosh Quintet, Stuart McCallum and Simcock/Walker/Swallow/Nussbaum, Band on the Wall.

mjf introduces: Sam Rapley/Adam Chatterton Quintet, Festival Pavilion. Monday 26th July 2010

This was the first of the 'mjf introduces' series of mid afternoon concerts showcasing new jazz talent from around the UK. A great start it was too from the Sam Rapley/Adam Chatterton Quintet playing some classic straight ahead standards. I've seen this group a few times now, and they always do a cooking version of Wayne Shorter's 'Witch Hunt', today being no exception. Trumpet player Chatterton's solo was strong and strident, and there some nice prodding outside the harmony soloing from piano player Mathis Picard.

The band have a great affection for the tunes of the great Kenny Wheeler, treating us to a take on his 'Everybody's Song But My Own'. They captured the typically Wheeler wistfulness really well with thoughtful solos from Sam Rapley on the sax, and Chatterton on flugelhorn. Drummer Calum Lee continues to get better all the time, being strong and fluid throughout, and bass player Tom McCredie got a chance to show us his mettle on the vulnerable sparsity of 'Blue in Green'.

It was over to the Band on the Wall in the evening for BBC Radio 3’s Jazz on 3 live broadcast with the Arun Ghosh Quintet, a solo premiere from Stuart McCallum and the Simcock/Walker/Swallow/Nussbaum group. There was a really fantastic buzz in the place for this slightly different to a normal gig setup. It was interesting in itself to observe how Jazz on 3 go about organising things so that a concert can go out live over the air. There was a little rehearsal for us the audience, so we knew when the show was actually live, and it was interesting to see the Jazz on 3 team doing their best to cue the bands in for the end their set. Not easy.

Arun Ghosh can be pretty intense any night of the week, so not unsurprisingly he was really fired up for this one, the band delivering a whirlwind of a set leaving the audience stunned. Corey Mwamba on vibes and Myke Wilson on drums played with such force I'm surprised their respective instruments survived the session. The sheer energy kick of this performance alone was enough to make it hugely enjoyable, but it did come at the expense of the music to a certain extent, the brooding darkness of the usually majestic 'Uterine' in particular being somewhat lost through a slightly overcooked performance.

It was up to Stuart McCallum to prevent the intensity levels from getting out of hand with his premiere ambient loop suite, something he managed expertly. It was classic dreamy McCallum complete with echoey washes of sound over some simple repeating sequences. The piece is intended to be a response to the over-complexity that much of jazz exhibits, and the simple and fairly static harmony reflected this aim well.

Guitarist Mike Walker's contemplative solo introduction to 'Clockmaker' continued the reflective mood for a few minutes more before the band joined in for the warming tune melody. Legendary bass player Steve Swallow was straight in for a delightful melodic and quite guitary solo. Next up was pianist Gwilym Simcock's 'You Won't be Around to See It' based on the idea of Swallow's 'Real Book' album that takes the chord sequences to standards and puts new melodies to them, in this case to 'Softly As In A Morning Sunrise'. The edgy angular head section of the tune soon gave way to a gorgeous bluesy groove. Walker never misses the chance to make the most of these opportunities, and dug in with some sparkling pinched harmonics and arpeggio flourishes. Simcock took the track in a more swing feel direction opening the way for a cruising solo from drummer Adam Nussbaum.

The band rounded off with Walker's boppy 'Laughlines' counted in at such a high tempo by Walker that he almost outpaced himself on the complex tune head. Simcock matched the velocity with a blistering high energy solo, the track ending the evening on the high that it began. A good one in the bag for Jazz on 3 I think.

You can hear the broadcast for a few more days at the Jazz on 3 website.

Folk, Funk, and a Firestorm - Manchester Jazz Festival Day Two

2010-07-27T15:12:00.009+01:00

Magic Hat Ensemble, Glazz, Tony Woods Project, Huw Jacob, Liane Carroll Trio. Festival Pavilion, Albert Square, Manchester. Saturday 24th July 2010

What can you say about the Magic Hat Ensemble? Always good. Always fast. Always lots of tempo changes. It's straight ahead boppy stuff, if a little twisted and mangled, all delivered with panache and wit. Maybe a tad scrappy here and there, but all very charming and most enjoyable. Good start.

Glazz, a trio from Spain were for the most part a rock funk thing, overlaid with lots of overdriven blues from the guitar of Jose Manuel Recacha. There were fewer prog rock sounds in their than their influences might have suggested, though I heard a few Pink Floyd quotes on one tune in particular.

The most unusual and interesting part of their sound came from the addition of flamenco dancer Lucia Ruibal, sister of the drummer Javier. The sound engineers had somehow managed to amplify the stage so you could hear Lucia's complex flamenco foot tap rhythms clearly set against Javier's steady grooves. The set in many ways could have done with a bit more of this, as Lucia only came on for two songs. Though I prefer not to label things, I'd say the main 'jazziness' came via an homage to King Crimson called 'Stressreo', the metrical figures clearly referencing Crimson's 'Discipine' era. Glazz are not entirely my thing, but they have a strong sound nonetheless.

Returning to jazz festival after a three year break, the Tony Woods Project delivered a fine fettle of folky, free and funky sounds, perfect for a lazy Saturday afternoon. You get lots of even precise lines delivered in what you might called a folk type rhythm, but the harmony is always much deeper, albeit referencing classic modal folk sounds. The precision interplay on the tune heads between Tony Woods on sax and Mike Outram on guitar was frequently delightful.

'Prayer', the final track, was a warming highlight complete with ambient textures and some warm bowed vibes from Rob Millett. The track mutated from it's homely beginning into bluesy groove, enhanced by some fade-in echo feedback from Outram, before he dug in proper with some tasty mute picked bends.

The evening session opened with a tuneful set of tunes from Huw Jacob and his band. This is all about the songwriting and the lyrics, with some well crafted sequences and lush harmony vocals nodding to the classic pop of Squeeze and the Beatles. The sound was especially ear-catching when it opened up enough to let Jamie Safiruddin's sweet and fresh piano playing come through. Some great tunes here for sure.

I hadn't actually heard or seen much about the Lianne Carroll Trio before tonight if I'm honest, and I wasn't at all prepared for the firestorm of a performance we got. Suffice to say, they totally stormed it. The massive energy kick pushed out from the stage by Carroll and the band from the very first note was worth a good many strong coffees (if not something stronger). The jury is still out for me on whether some musicians have 'natural' talent, but when you see someone such as Carroll who can perform so well and so effortlessly, I do wonder. The material is what you might call mainstream, but it's delivered with such vigour and joy, you have to be something of a sour old goat to not raise a smile. A fantastic upbeat ending to a great opening Saturday night.

Space Is The Place - Manchester Jazz Festival Day One

2010-07-26T18:22:00.008+01:00

Ralph Alessi with the Jim Hart Trio, Festival Pavilion, Albert Square, Manchester. Nat Birchall Quartet. Friday 23rd July 2010.

Marshall Allen & James Harrar’s Cinema Soloriens and the Cosmo-Drama, Band on the Wall. Friday 23rd July 2010.

So it was finally here, the launch of the fifteenth Manchester Jazz Festival. The proceedings started in a novel way with Supertramp sax player, John Helliwell officially launching the festival playing a melody of notes stuck to a stave by members of the audience. I think John may have taken a liberty or two with the notes, but it was a lot of fun.

Vibes player Jim Hart and trumpeter Ralph Alessi got us going proper with a healthy dose of some fairly classic sounding medium swing. There was a particularly nice touch when the players synched in with the town hall bell bringing in the hour. 'Morbid Curiosity' caught my ear with it's Steve Reich'ish 'Different Trains' quality, always a winner for me. Hart's vibe sound is quite delicious, and his attack and phrasing were well on it tonight.

It was then a quick dash over to the Band on the Wall for the last few tracks of Nat Birchill's set. This is very much the sound of Coltrane's long modal vamps (or at least the tunes I heard were). Nat and his band really know how to get that sound down perfectly, and it came across really well along with the pensive piano of Adam Fairhill, and the contemplative double bass of Gavin Barras. 'Many Blessings' was suitably longing, with gently rolling piano arpeggios and ecstatic saxophone flourishes. Bang on if you like this sort of thing.

We were straight over to 1967 Haight Ashbury for the free jazz cosmic psychedelia of the Cinema Soloriens, complete with bell bottom green satin flares worn by guitarist Kamil Kruta. This was fascinating stuff, at least for the first thirty minutes or so. Ex-Sun Ra star, Marshall Allen, when not playing alto sax, was playing some kind of electronic flute. The vocals from James Harrar really reminded me of the Can sound on 'Tago Mago', and I was really quite enjoying it.

At the risk of retorts from free jazz fans, I have to say I can't help thinking that the band had run out ideas after about half an hour, and then it all became a bit repetitive. Although it may be considered to conflict with the ideas of free jazz, it's hard not to think that a bit of listening to the other players and responding for the good of the overall sound would have improved things no end. One might say they were, but not in a way I could detect. One might say, why should they? In which case, yeah, OK I guess, if that's what you're in to. A bit more …, ironically, space in the sound would have helped keep the interest level up, or at least some more shifts of shade, colour and pace. Space is indeed, the place I think, and I would have loved more of it. The overall groove from drummer Ed Wilcox was great, but it didn't change much for the whole single piece set. I believe I may now have been banned from Saturn.

Manchester Jazz Festival Is Go

2010-07-23T16:26:00.003+01:00

Yes it all starts today! Get yerselves down. It's gonna be mega.

http://www.manchesterjazz.com

... and I need a new reviewing pad ASAP. I'll be getting reviews up here as fast as I can.

Sketches From Spain

2010-07-03T18:27:00.007+01:00

Interview with Mike Walker in Andalucia, Spain. 22nd June 2010

The new Manchester Jazz Festival website includes a fifteen minute interview with Mike Walker that I managed to get while I was on Mike's advanced Jazz Guitar Master Class Retreat in Andalucia, Spain recently. I thought I'd include it here as well.

Mike talks about how the Simcock Walker Swallow Nussbaum tour came about, and how he went about writing material for this group of musicians, as well as what it was like improvising with such legendary players as bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Adam Nussbaum. He also reflects on 'Ropes', his 2008 commission for the Manchester Jazz Festival, and the upcoming mjf date at the Royal Northern College of Music. There's also exciting news on some upcoming planned new CD releases.

Give the interview a listen here:

Mike Walker Interview 22nd June 2010 by manchesterjazz

Manchester Jazz Festival Website Now Live

2010-07-03T18:06:00.003+01:00

Red hot off the Wordpress! - full details on the 15th festival, the biggest to date. Loads of extra goodies including an interview by me with Mike Walker. Go there now:

http://www.manchesterjazz.com

Manchester Jazz Festival Announces The Full 2010 Line Up

2010-07-01T15:43:00.003+01:00

As some readers of this blog will know, I'm involved with the annual Manchester Jazz Festival that's coming up very soon now. Our lovely team have just put out a press release, so I thought it'd be handy to include it here. The fest is gonna be a goodun:

Manchester Jazz Festival (mjf), celebrates its 15th anniversary with the biggest festival to date, Fri 23 - Sat 31 July 2010

Over 80 bands will play across 8 city centre venues, at all times of the day and night - indoors and out! mjf is all about trying something new - and this year it's easier than ever to discover a world of new music, unlike any other on the jazz festival circuit.

2010 includes musical firsts from Britain and abroad, including the mjf originals commission Surroundings, a new antiphonal suite for jazz orchestra composed by Manchester trumpeter Neil Yates. International debuts come from Spanish pianist Baldo Martinez and Franco-German duo Daniel Erdmann and Frances Le Bras. Other highlights include jazz 'supergroup' Simcock/Walker/Swallow/Nussbaum, featuring Salford-born guitarist Mike Walker, and Phil Bancroft's multi-media Home - Small as the World which features one musician's contribution beamed directly by wi-fi from his Manchester home.

As you’d expect, Band on the Wall, Manchester’s legendary live music venue, is one of mjf’s main venues, with performances from the Indo-Jazz fusions of ex-Mancunian clarinettist Arun Ghosh, to the city’s most revered DJ, Mr Scruff. Even ’80s icon Kid Creole makes a comeback! Also at the venue, the BBC’s flagship jazz radio programme Jazz on 3 will broadcast live from the festival on Monday 26 July.

A multitude of jazz vocalists, all with their own personal approach to jazz, feature in the line up: Terri Shaltiel has the blues, Rodina an Irish lilt, Monika Lidke her Polish folk songs, Alice Zawadzki her Jewish folk songs and An Jacobs her French chanson.

At the other end of the spectrum, there is music for the jazz aficionado too: mjf champions artists who are crossing the boundaries and pushing the music to new limits: The Golden Age of Steam features an unusual line up of bass clarinet, organ and drums, and their soundworld – nothing to do with trains! – evokes swirling soundscapes and contemporary classical music. Jim Hart studied an unusual instrument - the vibraphone - at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester; now he’s one of the UK’s leading exponents and he’s joined forces with Ralph Alessi, the innovative New York-based trumpeter, for his gig to launch the festival on 23 July.

A whole day is also devoted to the energetic and vital rhythms of Afro-Caribbean music. From 2.00pm on Sunday 25 July, take part in special percussion and dance workshops in the Festival Pavilion in Albert Square, and at 8.00pm catch the double bill featuring two of the north west’s foremost ensembles of this genre: Diáspora, a young 11-piece band with dynamic orchestrations, and Mojito, with authentic Cuban vocalists and a lively percussion section. All you need to add is the rum and the cigar…

mjf introduces continues in the afternoons with 6 new young artists from Greater Manchester launching their careers at the Festival Pavilion in Albert Square. New to the festival this year is a series of afternoon tea events in the award winning French restaurant at the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel.

Steve Mead, mjf’s Artistic Director, says: “There’s an incredible amount of wonderful music in this year’s festival – and so much for free. Not only that, but such a wide mixture of sounds and styles, from twice BBC Jazz Award-winner and singer/songwriter Liane Carroll, bringing her relaxed pop and blues influences into the mix, to the most challenging of artists at the cutting-edge of jazz, like Stuart McCallum (Cinematic Orchestra) and the punky Trio VD. mjf guarantees you a memorable time, whatever your taste.”

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http://www.manchesterjazz.com

BBC3 Jazz on 3 - register for tickets at http://www.bbc.co.uk/tickets.

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Heading South West South North in Vienna

2010-06-29T10:20:00.034+01:00

Simcock Walker Swallow Nussbaum, Porgy and Bess Jazz Club, Vienna, Austria. Sunday June 6th 2010

Last month I was lucky enough to catch the 'Simcock Walker Swallow Nussbaum' group in Vienna at the Porgy and Bess Jazz and Music Club (seemingly implying jazz isn't music?) . Once out of the Vienna sunshine and down deep in the basement of the club two floors underground, it seemed surprisingly unstrange to be bumping into a few familiar faces.

The set opened with guitarist Mike Walker's warm and welcoming 'Clockmaker', further enhancing the homely feel. The legendary Steve Swallow on electric bass went straight in for a solo, feet apart to anchor himself to the ground while leaning forward, his fingers wrapping the fretboard where the neck joins the body to project flowing and melodic lines.

Pianist Gwilym Simcock is rapidly gaining an enviable reputation, and on the basis of tonight's performance, it's not hard to see why. His tune, 'You Won't Be Around To See It' grooved with a satisfying angularity that really dug in when both Walker and Simcock laid some punchy and aggressive lines over the top.

The band delivered the incendiary bop of Walker's 'Laughlines' at hyper-real speed, leaving the audience almost literally gasping for breath. The precision, pace and power of the complex tune head and the improvisations from Walker and Simcock had to be heard to be believed on this one, with all members playing out of their skins.

It was over to bluesy street for a fine take on 'Hey Pretty Baby' written by drummer Adam Nussbaum, a tune based on a simple blues riff in homage to legends such as Howlin' Wolf. Walker overlaid the sound with some fade-in textures before biting in hard with piercing overdriven string bends and feedback sustained harmonic headslices. Walker has a masterful ability to coax the guitar and amplifier to find the feedback sweetspot seemingly with ease. Simcock responded with a side-swiping almost Bach-like figure before taking the harmony down a delightfully airy dorian avenue. Nussbaum all the while cruised the deep groove, always resonating sympathetically to the group's ebb and flow. His dynamic range and sensitivity seems to extend beyond human hearing.

The evening concluded with the Steve Swallow favourite, 'Ladies in Mercedes'. Simcock led us in with some muted piano string percussion before Swallow treated us to a liquid gold flowing solo. A warm ending to a great jazz evening in the capital of classical music.

I grabbed Mike for an interview about the tour while I was on his advanced Jazz Guitar Master Class Retreat in Andalucia, Spain last week (highly recommended!). I'll be posting that in a few days.

Simcock Walker Swallow Nussbaum will be on tour again very soon and will be playing at the Royal Northern College of Music on the 27th July as part of the Manchester Jazz Festival. One not to miss me thinks.

Astral Week Days

2010-05-21T12:19:00.019+01:00

Alice Zawadski & The Sky Project, Beats and Pieces Big Band, and The Rapley/Chatterton Quartet. West Didsbury Club, Manchester, 20th May 2010

There was a great buzz to be felt last night over in West Didsbury at the local Conservative club for a swiftly organised coalition of wide ranging jazz party members.

The Rapley/Chatterton Quartet opened the debate on this barmy night with a relaxed and well measured take on Wayne Shorter’s ‘Witch hunt’. Some smart and virtuoistic playing exuded from Mathas Picard on the keys, especially evident on the solo intro to Kenny Wheeler’s ‘My Old Man’. Chatterton delivered some thoughtful flugalhorn lines on this track too, with just the right touch of endearing vulnerability. Harrison Wood's double bass came through crisply on the intro to ‘Blue in Green’, Rapley’s tenor sounding especially sweet over this great tune.

The 15 piece Beats and Pieces Big Band kicked up the volume and energy levels straight off with ‘Bake’, a fast driving tune with a distinctly funky flavour. Sam Healey on alto sax matched the pace aplenty with a precise and intense solo, one of many highlights in the set. Whether intended or not, there’s a definite Starsky and Hutch seventies'ness to the band sound, as Ben Cotterill, conductor and arranger of all pieces and composer of most, indicated other reviewers have picked up on. This can only be a good reference for my part. ‘Yaffwa’ opened with an engaging repeating figure, expertly played by the tight and Corea’ish Patrick Hurley on the keys, Fin Panter on drums underpinning things with a tasty latino-funk groove. ‘Toan’ had a stompy Tom Waits/Polar Bear quality ending in a gorgeous cacophonic collective improv. Sam Andreae on tenor was particularly bracing on the following Radiohead triptych. All through, the arrangements were precise and coherent, with just the right amount of complexity, dynamics and space. The band were sounding bang-on tight as well, the overall effect clearly catching the audience’s attention. This was the first date of the band's tour, so make sure you catch 'em while they're hot.

I was intrigued to hear what the Alice Zawadski Big Sky Project would be about, as we don’t get many vocalists coming along on the jazz scene. Top stuff it was, Zawadski having very much a sound and feel of her own on top of all the craft and vocabulary of a classic jazz vocalist. Scat vocal improvising is a definite danger zone as far as I’m concerned, but Zawadaski more than got away with it on the opening ‘Austin Flowers’, accompanied by some punchy wah-wah sax improv from the twitchily intense Phil Meadows. Their take on Mike Walker’s ‘Wallenda’s Last Stand’ was somewhat tentative, and I’m still not sure if the character of the tune suits a big band arrangement. 'Cat’ was the highlight of the set for me, a Zawadski penned track about ‘drug-fuelled sex and spiritual possession’. The sparse bass and unexpectedly twisted vocal intro was really quite disturbing, this being followed by some comfort zone classic swing to let us down, only to be disrupted by a psychedelia-tinged free improvisation. Towards the end of set the band delivered a pensive and genuinely quite moving version of Neil Yates’ ‘Chance Melody’. Zawadski sounded quite beautiful here, conveying the lyrical sentiment in an entirely convincing way, with Graham South’s tender flugalhorn lines matching the moment perfectly. With the Sky Project being a new entity, there are things that need working on, and I’m not sure the set as a whole works just yet, especially when compared to the well-honed Beats and Pieces. There is real promise here though, so I hope Alice and the band keep the thing moving forward. Some more cats please.

Fun Fun Fun Till Her Daddy Takes the Locrian #2 Triads Away

2010-04-27T10:55:00.000+01:00

Following the latest lesson with my guitar tutor and good mate, Mike Walker, I've being doing a lot of practice using the triads from the harmonised scale of locrian natural 2 and the altered scale. These are actually modes of the same scale, the melodic minor being the usual parent scale mentioned. I don't really know quite why, but I seemed befriend the locrian nat 2 scale before I quite knew what it really sounded like. It's quite an ambivalent mysterious one, apparently used by Debussy in 'La Mer' and on the soundtrack to Hitchcock's film, 'Rebecca'.

Anyways, it's been a great month or two, as I'm starting to see how you can improvise using chords and chord fragments. This used to seem like it was impossibly difficult, but I can see now how this is a great way in.

Swiss Precision Engineering

2010-03-20T16:59:00.012Z

Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, Band on the Wall, Manchester, 9th March 2010

Mike Chadwick, promoter of the Band on the Wall introduced 'Nik Bärtsch's Ronin', saying he was well chuffed to get the band to Manchester for their first gig in the city, and we were too. T'was another grand night.

They call it 'zen funk', and I guess that's about right. I'm thinking the even meter lines of Steve Reich and Philip Glass sitting on a cool groove, so I reckon that's about the same kinda thing. If you're into your modes, think lots of dorian with a dash of melodic minor. Andi Pupato's especially esoteric percussion set-up was an impressive sight, and he made great use of the range of sounds, all seasoned with some tasteful reverb. The other worldly Nik Bärtsch looked suitably zen-real, swaying slowly back and forth as he tapped out the spatial piano patterns, sitting behind a carefully placed fluorescent water bottle. Björn Meyer on the six string electric bass was really something else kicking out his complex lines, but always with a great sense of feel and groove. Kaspar Rast's gorgeous lazy feel on drums meshed nicely with the bass, counterposing the tight piano structures and thus giving rise to Ronin's distinctive sound. Sha on bass/contrabass clarinet was perhaps a little on the quiet side to my ears to make a decent judgement of his input, but when I could hear him in the quieter bits, it added a useful layer of harmonic meat to Bärtsch's lines.

The subtle fluorescent green strip lighting effects were really quite engaging in a gentle sort of way. It's quite refreshing to see a bit of effort going into the presentation here, something you don't usually get on a 'jazz' gig. The sound also was really impressive again tonight. The deep bass thud from one of the drum percussion instruments really took your breath away, possibly being a shade too much for me, but it highlighted the power of the great sound system the Band on the Wall has to shift some air.

Top night. Nice one Mike C.

It Cuts Both Ways

2010-01-31T08:58:00.025Z

Fencing For Losers, Studio Theatre, The Lowry, Manchester. 30th January 2010

This is the first review of a play here on the Ring Modulator, but we do like a few excursions from time to time. Having never reviewed a play before, I hadn't really thought about how it's different to reviewing music. For starters, it doesn't seem on to be scribbling on a notepad during the performance. There's also the issue of plot spoilers, so I'll try not to give too much away.

Suffice to say 'Fencing for Losers' was a really engaging play with a great story. On the surface it's a variation on posh girl meets rough bloke. In this case a successful PR woman from Cheshire, Susan, is running a fencing evening class to which unemployed Salford rough diamond, Danny shows up. Rob Johnson's excellent script calls for precise and crisp articulation of the dialogue to deliver its rhythmic punch, and actors Szilvi Naray-Davey and Phil Briggs don't let it down. Naray-Davey conveyed the complexity of Susan's haughtiness expertly, revealing the layers of repressed vulnerability with a well paced slow burn. Briggs got Danny's threatening swagger bang on, the cutting wit of his one-liners pitched with a biting Salford accent. The bantering between the characters cleverly drew out their hypocrisies and prejudices, eventually pushing Susan to reveal a raw truth. This leads to a proposition from Danny, the moral ambivalence of which makes us wonder where this is all going.

The simple staging met the shifts of mood from lightness to darkness very effectively, and there were some great soundtrack choices too, especially the Andrews and Jules version of 'Mad World', always perfect for those melancholic moments.

The play's on again tonight, so get yourself down for that last show of this run at The Lowry. More info on further shows from this great local theatre company on the Ignition Stage website.

Podcast Yer Xmas

2009-12-22T16:39:00.002Z

Inspired by guitarist Mike Outram's 'Electric Campfire' blogpost, '19 great books about music, musicians, artists and the creative process', I thought I'd share a couple of links to some great audio and video resources that I've been looking at recently:

There's the Georgia State University 'History of Jazz' podcast available via ITunes U. It's best to search for 'history of jazz' in ITunes for that one, but you can go to the RSS feed directly. I've listened to a few of these now and they're a great free resource.

There's also the Yale University 'Listening to Music' course that also available as a podcast via ITunes U or via the Yale website. It's a classical music course, so not a jazz thing, but very useful nonetheless.

Ade

Some Other Time

2009-12-21T15:33:00.015Z

Some Other Country, Band on the Wall, Manchester, 17th December 2009

We were treated to a bit of a one-off at the recently re-opened Band on the Wall last week in the form of a re-grouping of 'Some Other Country', a Manchester fusion band from the 1990s. The band are the stuff of myth and legend for those who weren't around to see them back in the day, the only documented references being from a passing mention on guitarist Mike Walker's website and in a wikipedia piece.

Well, what a great start, for this listener at least. The band opened up with a loosely improvised version of Miles' 'Shh/Peaceful', Roy Powell on keys dropping the distinctive chord sequence in to hook the tune down. It's great to hear this kind of vibe. If only we got more of it. A lovely piece of echo loop backed Rhodes introspection from Powell seduced us into 'Heavy Bastard' before Steve Gilbert on drums and Gary Culshaw on electric bass nailed a thick and tasty deep groove tight to the floor. Walker skanked, scratched and shimmied before laying some thick and creamy Boogied Bergundy 335 guitar on us. Feedback sustain guitar was the order of the day, Walker coaxing and stroking the sympathetic overtones with great deftness.

The last tune of the first set was another chunk of fusion-tastic goodness. The smouldering groove supplied by Gilbert was pure delight, providing a counterfoil to Walker's gnarling knitted lines. The Metheny-like lightness of the melody section gave Culshaw a chance to add some period flanged bass.

The sonorities of the Eno-style ambient synthesiser and guitar feedback shots on 'Fortune Cookie' wouldn't have been amiss on a prog rock album, though the raw piquancy of a few sharp ll and major 7 notes from Walker reminded us of just where we were. The track then opened out, and Walker provided enough feedback sustain delights to keep a Hendrix fan going through the dark winter nights.

The fast groove of the Powell penned 'Mump Beak' closed the set, complete with its keyboard stabs and clipped guitar riffing. Once again Walker turned the thermostat up a few degrees with an intense angular overdriven sortie. Powell retorted with some caustic synth lines, Gilbert and Culshaw all the while keeping the fire stoked in the engine room. Some sustained applause brought the band back for a reprise to end a touching and really quite heart-warming evening. It's really great to see this truly historic Manchester venue open again. The sound tonight was bang on, and there was such a lovely vibe in the house. Hats off and lets have some more please.

A photo of Some Other Country from back in the day:

The Ecstatic Kaleidophone

2009-11-30T09:14:00.028Z

Tortoise + Cluster, Royal Festival Hall, London Jazz Festival, Sunday 22nd November 2009

Well what a treat and a half this inspired bit of programming from the jazz festival looked to be, and sure enough it didn't disappoint. I've been a big fan of both of these bands for a good few years. I was a krautrocker in my teens (and still am), so I've been up for a bit of Cluster since then. I picked up on Tortoise from my London days and have seen them three or four times, but not for a few years. I was actually quite surprised to see them playing such a big venue as the Festival Hall.

Via the wonders of Spotify I'd been able to check out Cluster's first record in over a decade, 'Qua' before the gig. Whilst Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius aren't exactly breaking new ground here, it is a fine record. With a combined age of over 140, there's a certain regal charm to their presence on the stage, but somehow the music they produced tonight didn't quite seem to grab me. Given the sound Cluster make, I'm certain its lack of impact wasn't helped by the low volume and constant distraction of having people walking past going in and out. The Festival Hall wouldn't allow this for classical concerts and most of the other jazz concerts, and I think the same respect should have been given to Cluster. Tortoise shuffled onto the stage to join them for last ten minutes which was a nice respectful touch.

The mutual respect was returned after the break when Cluster joined Tortoise for a short ambient jam before the set started proper. With our ambience quotas boosted, it was time for a kick, and Tortoise did the job with an incendiary version of 'High Class Slim Came Floatin' In' from their new record, 'Beacons of Ancestorship'. It's all there in this track, the twin drum driving groove, the square-on-the-beat arpeggiations, all topped off with a gorgeously fat moog lead line. Two changes of tempo, and we're into a surging Stereolab metronomic powerhouse ending much reminiscent of the anthemic 'French Disco'.

The centre stage twin drumming is a key part of the Tortoise sound, and one they make work so well. Drum duties are shared more or less equally by John McEntire, Dan Bitney and John Herndon, with the deep groove pulse being at the heart of many of the tracks. It works brilliantly on everything from the packing case thrash of 'Northern Something' to the narcotic shambling haze of 'Monica', the latter tune being mesmerically phenomenal tonight. Doug McCombs keeps the bass backbone true and Jeff Parker fills in with guitar sheen, overdrive bite and metrical synth lines in varying mystical proportions. This is no fixed configuration however, with all players sharing rhythm, lead, harmony and textural tasks to cook up the timbral alchemy. They make the punk clatter of 'Yinxianghechengqi' sit side by side with the mournful latino twang reverb of 'The Fall of Seven Diamonds Plus One'. The cymbal splashy fast shuffle groove of 'TNT' was, as usual, messianic, and 'The Suspension Bridge At Iguazú Falls' a marimba-vibraphonic delight. At times this felt like an illicit kaleidophonic ecstasy.

They encored with a mature and graceful take on the majestic 'I Set My Face To The Hillside' that oozed pure solar coziness, following up with a punchy quarter/triplet fooling 'Charteroak Foundation' to conclude a dream-like evening. Quite brilliant stuff. Truly a dream come true.

'Monica' live in Barcelona:

Total Bollani

2009-11-27T17:49:00.018Z

Stefano Bollani's 'I Visionari', Kings Place, London Jazz Festival, Saturday 21st November 2009

Pianist Stefano Bollani had a busy week at the London Jazz Festival, being in residence over four nights at King's Place with a different set of musicians each time. The I Visionari Sextet was the last of these on the final Saturday night. There's no doubting Bollani has considerable ability and technique, but I'm not sure things fell into place this evening. There was a sense that it wasn't gelling, and the players looked tired despite putting in a sterling effort. The ability of players to come together for an evening is one of the great things about jazz, but it can also be one of its frustrations, and sometimes there’s no beating a well rehearsed group. I don’t know how often these players get together, but it didn’t feel tight. One of the things I like about Polar Bear for example, is that they play together all the time, and the consequent rock solidity knocks you over the head from the first bar.

So to the music. Well of course there was some great stuff in here. The simple uplifting opening ditty based around a major to minor-major movement was pleasing enough. There was some great playing from Enrico Rava on the second tune, and a gripping dark double bass solo on the third. Other tracks paid their dues to requisite angular quirkiness, and a ‘Black Orpheus’ style latin groove track was one of the highlights of this second set. Bollani then introduced us to a soundtrack suite to close the evening, one that apparently has been rejected by the producers of the film it was intended for. The first section revolved around a rising bass line beneath a minory groove, appropriately portraying a late night jazz feel. The main section consisted of a two chord groove that didn’t quite happen and flagged from being over long. A highpoint was what seemed like an afterthought encore solo piece that did contain some very impressive playing. The final track demised into some awkward humour that seemed staged, and is probably best forgotten.

Sir Gwilym and the Gorgeous Freedom

2009-11-27T10:17:00.021Z

Gwilym Simcock & The Voice Project, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London Jazz Festival, Saturday 21st November 2009

From the off this was a spine tingling performance. The opening quartet based track, 'Longing to Be', was a thing of beauty, its solo piano introduction creating a delicate and subtle balance of the best of contemporary jazz with touches of classical tonalities. The drumming from the continually surprising James Maddren was also quite phenomenal here.

Simcock then introduced the singers from the Norwich based Voice Project for the London premiere of 'I Prefer the Gorgeous Freedom', a full-length work for choir and jazz quartet, which premiered in May in Norwich as part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. The second piece of this, 'Homeward Bound', was really something special, being inspired by a poem written by a Guantanamo Bay detainee. The track began with some free and fragmented playing abound with saxophone squeals conveying a real sense of foreboding. The track mutated through a number of moods, the sound containing an almost overwhelming wealth of riches. Following a kind of operatic section with some great singing from the soloists, the space opened out for another exquisite solo piano section of dark and profound beauty.

The third piece started with a distinctly celtic sounding whistle melody, expertly played by reeds player Klaus Gesing, accompanying a vulnerable single voice part. When the piano joined in, the familiar melody was set against some classic jazz harmony to shift the context, giving the line a very different mood. It was moving stuff that produced some genuine tears from this listener.

A straight soul snare drum backed a slow steady drone from double bass player Yuri Goloubev and Simcock to open the concluding piece. A mighty storm was kicked up, with some great liquid improvising from Gesing, perfectly enhanced by the interplay from Maddren and Goloubev. Simcock was also at his fearsome best with a blistering fast note attack leaving the audience breathless. A really top concert. Chick Corea describes Simcock as a "creative genius". Who am I to disagree?

Overtone Patterns

2009-11-22T13:28:00.027Z

Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Jason Moran & Eric Harland Overtone Quartet, London Jazz Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Friday 20th November 2009

One can be forgiven for being a little awed by the sense of presence when the stately Dave Holland takes to the stage. This man is ex-Bitches Brew era Miles after all. He introduces the band in such a relaxed and self assured manner, you know this guy knows what he’s doing. Holland then headed us straight for saxophonist Potter’s composition ‘Outsiders’. A great start too, loosely hinting at the lilt and circular lifting sequence of Corea’s ‘500 Miles High’. There was some lovely lyrical playing from pianist Moran, and an immediately seductive deep fine groove from drummer Harland. The bass and drum introduction to Holland’s ‘Walking the Walk’ was a gorgeous treat with some fine sprinkle washes of Fender Rhodes keyboard setting up a bluesmeister bass solo. Holland combines a strong weighty pulse with a precise articulation that ensures every note counts.

The Harland composed ‘Patterns’ hosted the first appearance of some metrical trickery, albeit being well disguised by the loose grooved drumming. The intensity slowly upped and upped, giving Moran and Potter the opportunity for some fearsome trading spurred on by the rhythmic surge. A track from the classic ‘Conference of the Birds’ album, ‘Interception’, took us into hardcore fast manic angular territory, Potter at times squawking through both soprano and tenor sax simultaneously. It takes quite some listening to this, but respite occurred with a two-note groove lockdown giving us a temporary breather. Some fluid side stick drumming accompanied by a quite overwhelmingly fast and precise bass section was a marvel. The aural space then opened out to expose a rumbling low kick drum thud, this clearing the path for a relentless and highly percussive drum solo from Harland.

We were eased down gently with the introspective encore track, ‘Sky’. Some gentle bowed double bass, decorated by sympathetic brush and bell strokes from Harland calmed our neural firestorms, and readied us for the journey home. Exhausting at times, but well worth it. You know your world is better for it.

This Is The Sound Of America

2009-11-22T13:07:00.030Z

Bill Frisell, Mike Gibbs & The BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Jazz Festival, Barbican, Thursday 19th November 2009

This gig had all the hallmarks of being a really special evening, but somehow it didn’t quite happen.

The BBC Symphony Orchestra set the evening in motion with Copland’s grandiose ‘Appalachian Spring’. Images of great American landscapes and windblown plains were divvied up aplenty, and it was all very epic. Perhaps it was never going to do it for me, but it set an appropriate tone for an evening of classic American sounds. The piece had some interesting dark flourishes, but was too twee on the whole.

Charles Ives' ‘Three Places in New England’ was a definite improvement. The first movement was melancholy, mysterious and pensive in all the right ways. The second movement clattered a pastiche of musicals over a chromatic underlay, the melody lines delighting in leading you in predictable ways, but then twisting away at the most unlikely times and places. Some fearsome cacophonous climaxes were crashed over some cross cutting familiar themes.

After the break the paternal presence of a cosy checkered Bill Frisell joined the orchestra along with composer/conductor/arranger Mike Gibbs, and drummer Joey Baron for the premier of ‘Collage for a Day’ commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for the festival. The piece had an over-arching classic country blues tone that was set right from the off, Frisell coming in over a suspenseful opening section with characteristic twangy tremeloed swampy blues lines. There were some tasty deep resonant cello parts in a waltzy section that followed, and Frisell decorated these by digging out some pinched harmonics with a grittier guitar sound. Some aspects echoed 1970s John Barry film scores despite the general American tone. A stark strident crash chord then set up a reversed loop backdrop which Frisell used to scatter more overdriven grit liberally across the chugging bolero rhythm.

The second movement opened with a promising Hitchcock-like short intro, this being followed by a biting rock blues riff accompanied by some great percussive finger drumming from Joey Baron. The strings then picked up the line and Frisell hit the echo reverse overdrive. It was gripping stuff, but could have done with a change of direction a little sooner, as it did start to flag. The heart rendering pathos of the next section invited us to fall into the warmth of its open voiced wide intervallic abstractions.

Frisell’s improvising was especially exploratory tonight, and just a shade on the wrong side of ponderous. A tad more commitment to the ideas would have gone a long way, though the approach maybe suited some of the more playful references. The romantic slow waltz of the next movement had some nice minor-major chord side kicks embellished with a thick Fripp-like tone, it all ending in a satisfying modal wash.

The encore tune was the finest of the evening, shades of sadness being contrasted and counter posed with dark ominous harmonies. A poignant and pensive end to an evening of mixed emotions.

Blue Monks

2009-11-20T09:37:00.008Z

Mass in Blue, St George's Singers with Tina May, and the RNCM Jazz Collective, RNCM, Sunday 8th November 2009

A slightly different outing for me this one, Will Todd's 'Mass in Blue' being "an exuberant jazz setting of the latin mass for choir and twelve piece band". The evening kicked off with a selection of standards from the youthful RNCM Jazz Collective led up by the spirited and somewhat feverish conducting of Mike Hall. The group's improvising did exhibit some scruffiness at the edges, and perhaps a degree of youthful naiveity, but nontheless there were some great sections here. I especially liked the contemporary sounding 'Beneath the Underdog', a piece by Dean Sorenson which contained some sweet spacious modern harmonies and voicings.

After the break we were back for 'Mass in Blue' complete with the St George's Singers and jazz vocalist Tina May. It was immediately quite strange to hear the latin words in 'Kyrie' over a very strong and classic bluesy setting. Tina May's vocal inflections were well delivered, and as classic as they come. A rousing 'Gloria' took us into fast swing territory, and was followed by the laid back Summertime-like shuffle blues of 'Credo', rounded off with some call and response between May and the choir towards the end of the piece. The tempo was back up to fast swing for 'Sanctus', the pace of which gave the St George's choir a good workout. The overall effect of this and the previous pieces was inevitably reminiscent of American gospel choirs, and the effect was as warm and uplifting as you would expect. 'Benedictus' was the first significant shift from the definitive blues harmonies of the previous movements, being something closer to a ballad. This gave the choir the first opportunity to really shine with some rich deep resonant harmonies and contrasting lines that really showed what they could do. 'Agnus Dei' was May's show piece, starting with touching piano accompaniment that followed through into a show closing rousing fast shuffle.

Overall this was good stuff and came across well. I had presumed the composition would be more of a fusion of jazz/blues harmony with classical harmony, and this would have been really interesting to hear. However that's clearly not what Will Todd had in mind with his actually quite reverential composition. Appropriately reverential for what is after all a Mass one might think.

A Little Ray of Charles

2009-11-13T17:44:00.011Z

A Tribute To The Music Of Ray Charles: Sassoon, Bentley And Friends, Cinnamon Club, Bowden, Manchester, 30th November 2009

I couldn't make it to this one, so here's a guest blog post from the lovely Mrs Ring Modulator:

The Cinnamon Club provides a rather unlikely location for catching up with some of the local jazz talent. The large hall often echoes to the sounds of cha cha chas or waltzes, with the ever-popular ballroom dancing classes. But it was recently turned over to an evening paying tribute to the legendary Ray Charles. For those who attended the Manchester Jazz Festival, there was a similar event in St Ann's Square, which went down a storm. This was essentially a repetition, but being covered, there was no change of any other kind of storm dampening the scene.

The evening commenced with a set by Jem Sassoon and Paul Bentley, long-time collaborators. They have an album coming out and they ran through some of the classic tunes that they have recorded, including 'Amazing Grace' and 'I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel (To Be Free)', which is the TV theme tune for the Film programme lately hosted by Barry Norman. This was fairly standard fayre. It got the evening going nicely, but was a little tame for me. However, the highlight was our first taste of the full compliment of musicians on a rockin' version of the 1970s Spiderman cartoon theme tune. I used to watch the cartoon when I was young, and the theme tune was really the best thing about it.

My biggest gripe about the evening was the very long interval. We started thinking we might give up and go home when the band eventually appeared at about 10.30. It was worth staying for. The arrangements by Iain Dixon were really superb, sometimes giving the impression of a much larger horn section that the two saxophones, trombone and trumpet and achieving a fine balance between all of the component parts of the band. I particularly enjoyed 'Let the Good Times Roll' and the whole thing stepped up a gear when the backing singers came on to give a particularly fine performance on 'Hit The Road Jack'. One of the highlights for me was Mike Walker's guitar solo on 'Heat of the Night'. The sound was beautifully sweet and immense and the playing was, as usual, awesome. But all of the musicians really gave it some and their enjoyment of the music really came across to a very receptive audience.

Mind the Gap (or the Sea of Subjectivity)

2009-10-22T09:12:00.011+01:00

Tord Gustavsen Ensemble, RNCM, 21st October 2009

Concert going is a funny thing. You bring yourself to it, you the subject. It's swimming in a sea of subjectivity. It's part where you're at, the day you've had, your specific brain chemistry at this moment that is you. So relating meaningful expression is probably somewhat futile.

... but still we try. If there's any hope of sense and meaning, it's lost in the deferring / differing context [différance even]. We fall through the cracks.

And then there's the gap to mind. The physical gap, phenomena versus the ever elusive, always shirking away, end of the rainbow noumena. We never get there. The mental gap, the psychological gap, the sensual gap...

So what of the Tord Gustavsen Ensemble? Well, you know, I don't know if I know. I was lost in all the above. The first twenty seconds were suitably delicate. But the gap was wide tonight, and I fell down much of the time. Gustavsen's thing is languid and diffuse. It's his thing, it's part of the appeal. The breathy song introductions stage an unconvincing reverence. Much of it is good I think. 'Being There' was there, but the piano needs much more space in this sound, as so much effect is in subtle specific nuances. The meanderings of sax player Tore Brunberg sadly rode roughshod over these, masking and obliterating the fragile piano textures and harmony. There was an interesting solo from double player Mats Eilertsen with some nice fast argeggiated plucked chords resonanting with distinctly folk tones.

At some points the TG Ensemble visibly kicked, Gustavsen swaying and sliding across the piano stool in seeming abandonment, but the aural effect was, even then, surprisingly restrained. There was just about enough energy to rouse a few genuine post solo rounds of applause here and there. Drummer Jarle Vespestad played his part, tinkling, tapping and scratching in all the usual places. It adds to the overall wash, but doesn't engage much despite a tasteful, if reserved, solo.

A not unpleasant evening but as I say, lost in the gaps.

September in October

2009-10-17T09:28:00.006+01:00

MusicMusicMusic, Nefertiti Jazz Club, Gothenburg, Sweden. 16th October 2009

In another one of my occasional reports from further afield, I caught the really rather fine MusicMusicMusic last night at the splendid Nefertiti club in Gothenburg, Sweden. This piano led trio is headed up by the suitably quirky looking Fabian Kallerdahl on the grand piano and Zawinul style mono synth. He looks a little like a cross between Monk and Bugge Wesseltoft, and that’s not a half bad pass at describing the music neither.

The group have a fine sense of swing when the mood takes them, and there’s plenty of satisfyingly chop and change metrical trickery in just the right amounts. I particularly loved drummer Michael Edlund’s groove, especially on the last track that reminded me of the grace of later Talk Talk (soz dunno what the song was called, my Swedish isn’t up to it). Double bass player Josef Kallerdahl was bang on too, favouring the use of a bow for many of his high register solos which worked a treat. The last song before the encore was a real nice n’ tasty rework of the funk soul classic ‘September’ that went down famously with the packed Nefertiti. The club has a great vibe too. Well worth a visit if you’re in this neck of the woods.

Madhouse Back in the House

2009-10-09T09:46:00.013+01:00

Mike Walker Sextet, Band on the Wall, Thursday 8th October 2009

The occurrence of a welcome return to the newly reopened and refurbished Band on the Wall happened last night for an initially somewhat phased looking Mike Walker with his Sextet. The place doubtless now has a different atmosphere, one which Mike admitted threw him for a song or two, with him having many strong memories of the place in its previous less reverent guise.

Mike showcased much of the material from the 'Madhouse and the Whole Thing There' album, as well as material from last year's Manchester Jazz Festival commission, 'Ropes' and a couple of new tunes. The set opened with a familiar cover of Steve Swallow's 'Ladies in Mercedes'. Keyboard player Malcolm Edmonson's synth was a bit plinky for my taste on this whilst the overall sound was bedding down. A fast angular take on 'Solar' followed to warm things up. Mike announced that the next song, 'A Real Embrace' was for Annie, his mum, the solo guitar introduction of which was really quite familially moving. A gorgeous duo version of 'Clockmaker' from Mike and Les Chisnall on the grand piano was wistful and reflective in a suitably autumnal way. The pace and fire then upped for a complex new song, 'Laugh Lines'. Some fast bop playing from Iain and Mike hit the sweet spot, and the closing unison head was delivered with satisfying precision.

The expansive 'Madhouse and the Whole Thing There' track opened the second set. This is a personal fave of mine, and it gives Mike a great opportunity to stretch out and blow with real force. Others at the Band on the Wall last night clearly agreed, as this track was the best received track of the night. The time signature metrical tricks of 'EAminG' gave drummer Pat Illingworth a chance to earn his money and kept double bass player Steve Watts honest to boot. I wasn't entirely convinced by this track so I will reserve judgement for another hearing. The unison horn and guitar line did have a certain digital pitch shift quality not unlike our blessed ring modulator. The keyboard strings worked best on a charming version of 'Wallenda's Last Stand', the parts sounding convincing capturing the wind gust effect that knocked poor Wallenda off his rope for the last time. Les Chisnall was once again a delight on this one. Some more bristling fire storm guitar from Mike finished a fine evening on the, once again, wrong footing meter of 'Dad Logic', and the encore sweetness of 'Safe Home' sent us home with smiles on our faces.

P.S. Despite a bust amp requiring a loan replacement from a local mate, last night's gig at The Continental in Preston (Sat 10th October) was phenomenal. Mike was a good as you'll ever hear him, particularly on the 'Madhouse and the Whole Thing There' track. Really glad I made the effort to go. The Continental's a great venue as well.

Die Manchester-Maschine

2009-07-03T09:08:00.018+01:00

Kraftwerk & special guest Steve Reich, Manchester Velodrome, 2nd July 2009

I couldn't let machine-metronomic-electronic masters, Kraftwerk pass through this city of the industrial revolution without a visit and review, especially given this blog is named after a vintage electronic instrument after all. I've been a big fan of this lot for more years than I'd care to mention now, although in many ways, more the very early stuff from Kra ftwerk I and II. I've also got a lot of time for Steve Reich, especially the Kronos Quartet and Metheny's 'Different Trains' album which gets a regular outing on my iPod.

There's been a great sense of excitement around the Manchester International Festival this year, building up a head of steam going into last night's gig at the unusual and highly appropriate Manchester Velodrome cycling centre. Kraftwerk are big cycling fans, and the Tour de France starts tomorrow, so it all makes perfect sense. The excitement is palpable on twitter #mif09.

On walking into the velodrome I was immediately impressed with the setting, but did wonder how Reich's minimalism would come across. What we actually got was 'Bang on A Can All-Stars' performing a new Reich piece, '2x5'. Anyone hoping to see Mr Reich would have been disappointed, but the music was undoubtably excellent being some of the best of his stuff I've heard. The delivery in rock convention mode of two electric guitars, electric bass, piano and drums worked extremely well. It was obvious that many at the gig were really there for the main course, but it made a decent impact even so.

After a short break and with 3D glasses at the ready (given to us when we arrived), a deep bass synth throb and red man-machine screen projection got us lined up. The curtain pulled back to the opening bleeps of 'The Man Machine' and so there they were in classic Kraftwerk straight line podium configuration. Germanic black attire and russian constructivism aesthetic projections made for a quite overwhelmingly impressive effect, Kraftwerk no mistaking. Onwards we were taken on a no nonsense tour de la Kraftwerk classics, all accompanied with sartorially and visually authentic accoutrements. On 'Tour de France' we got an extra treat with the olympic gold cycling team appearing onto the velodrome circuit and giving us a few laps.

'The Model', as always, was charming. After a short curtain call, the skinny robots appeared for a great version of 'The Robots'. It was then 3D glasses on so we could take in the numeric eins-zwei-drei projections of 'Computer World'. The 3D effect didn't always quite work where I was stood at least, but on many tracks it was quite amazing. 'Computer Love' was endearing and 'Trans-Europe Express' was suitably cruising. The sound overall was spot on, with the pin-point precise arpeggiated lines all coming across cleanly. The 3D projections on 'Vitamin' were especially impressive. Some of the latter tracks off 'Electic Cafe' weren't quite so effective perhaps, but it was still quite an incredible concert. The efficient one-by-one exits by the group to 'Musique Non Stop' was fitting. You know these fellas don't do encores.

Unforgettable.

'The Model' (thanks to @eldamo)

Strathclyde University Big Band featuring Mike Walker

2009-03-22T10:18:00.015Z

The Cinnamon Club Lounge, Bowdon, Friday 13th March 2009

I was a little on the late side making it down to the The Cinnamon Club to be met by a packed house for the Strathclyde University Big Band featuring guest star Mike Walker. Very glad I did too, as it was a fab night with a great buzz.

The second set kicked off with a personal fave, the perennial classic 'Maiden Voyage'. I thought the horn arrangements on this one slightly odd, but it featured a kicking solo from the ever reliable Mr Walker, and got the set off to a driving start. The funky 'Chameleon' was delivered with panache, the dual guitar attack of guitarist Nigel Chadwick and Mike Walker giving the tune a swaggering kick. Nigel treated us to a tasty overdriven solo that Mike picked up and rounded off with gusto. 'Work song' was another hard swinging treat, the rich and punchy horn lines hitting the spot nicely. The dusky tones of vocalist Stephanie Lawrence were a great addition to some vocal led tracks that went down especially well with the club lounge audience I felt.

After the big band set, Nige Chadwick invited us local jazzers to an after hours jam, so I joined in along with Jamie Saffers, Frank Le Bass, Bennet Longman and a few of the horn players fom the big band. It was a tad rough at the edges, a beer or two having dimmed the brain cells somewhat, but I think we knocked out a half decent version of 'All The Things You Are'. All in all it was a great night and I'm sure owner Neil Hughes will have been well chuffed with how it went.

Little Ray and Soy Un Caballo at Hedge Folk

2009-02-24T16:58:00.016Z

I spent a most pleasant evening over at the Carlton Club at one of the sweet little Hedge Folk sessions last Friday. I know it's not jazz, but this blog does say ".. or anything else that feels right at the time". It's fair to say I do like lots of other music despite the fact that this has ended up being mainly a jazzy affair.

The first thing you notice is how nicely those lovely Hedge people lay the place out with flowers on the table and such. The general ambiance was very warm, easy and welcoming. First up were the really quite charming Little Ray. They opened with a touching version of the song 'Little Ray', the vulnerable voice of singer and guitar player Louise Shiels immediately capturing the rooms attention. The songs were generally quiet and minimal pieces graced by some sweet harmony vocals from Danielle Galway and Nigel Bunner. The thoughtful and simple lines from guitarist Matt Kelly, and the straight n'steady drumming from Dan Best complimented the wistful textures perfectly.

The decidedly more quirky Soy Un Caballo followed with a sort of easy listening electro-pop amalgam. There were some quite sophisticated arrangments from the pair of Aurélie Muller on vocals, vibes and bass, and Thomas Van Cottom on vocals, guitar and electronics. It was another really charming set consisting of unusual and catchy-in-a-good-way tunes. The songs are well put together and backed by some great playing from these two. A high point was 'Robin', its metronomic vibes introduction seducing us into its irresistably melodic and groovy heart.

I couldn't stick around for the final set from John Fairhurst so that'll have to wait for another time. A fab evening even so.

Jim Faulkner Quartet featuring Steve Berry

2009-02-11T08:27:00.004Z

I made it down to the Sand Bar last night to catch the 'Jim Faulkner Quartet featuring Steve Berry' at one of the Sand Bar Jazz evenings. It was good catch Jim properly for the first time in some ways, as I've only actually seen him play twice before, both at the Manchester Jazz Festival with Mrs Columbo. Last year's said gig was a little tentative, but last night's was a much stronger performance.

There were more well worn standards than I was expecting, but they were delivered with enough force and freshness to give the tunes life. Steve Berry was ace on the double bass as expected. Ed Kainyek on sax was more upbeat than he can sometimes be, and Rob Turner on drums responded to the energy levels well. Jim goes for quite a classic forties/fifties'ish clean guitar sound (tonight at least), and is great at interspersing his lines with chord fragment comps that sound quite Joe Pass inspired. There's not much in the way of milking the single notes with string bending or overdrive, but that's all fine with me. Probably the best performance came on the self-penned 'Stuck in a Lift', with Jim really kicking in and pushing the solo's momentum sweetly. He didn't exactly sell the tune to us, describing it as 'MOR' if I recall, but it had far more grace and power than that.

Jazzwise 'Write Stuff' Winning Entry Announced

2009-01-12T16:18:00.007Z

Blimey, where I've been? Neglecting this blog again it seems yes. Coming off the back of the ace London Jazz Festival and doing the Write Stuff jazz journo mentoring scheme, it feels like I've been ill ever since. Well so has everyone else in the UK it seems, so no sympathy deserved I know. Anyways, I think I'm more or less back on track and figured it's time to get this thing going again. Not easy, as I've not really been out and about that much due to aforementioned bug. I shall be endeavouring to in good time.

I can at least report that the best review winner of the 'Write Stuff' was announced earlier this year. Sadly for me, it's not me. However the very worthy winner is Howard Caine from Manx Radio. All us Write Stuffers reviewed the same Roy Hargrove gig during the festival and submitted it a few weeks later. It was then judged by Jazzwise magazine's editor Jon Newey and journalist Kevin LeGendre. I can't point you to the review as it's not online yet, but it is in this month's Jazzwise magazine (Feb 09). Nice one Howard.

Sibongile Khumalo & Jack DeJohnette’s ‘Intercontinental’ - London Jazz Festival day 8

2008-11-28T12:31:00.004Z

Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, 21st September 2008

The surfacing of stellar talent Sibongile Khumalo by drumming legend Jack DeJohnette is something to be grateful for. Tonight’s concert provided an opportunity to air their ‘Intercontinental’ project, the result of a collaboration founded during a residency at Aldeburgh in Suffolk, an unlikely setting for the development of some unlikely music.

It’s easy to have preconceptions about South African jazz. Surprising it may be then, that ‘Priestess Mist’, the opening piece of a truly incredible concert, would be perfectly at home on a classic 1970s Krautrock album by the likes of Neu!, or the very early Kraftwerk. Jack DeJohnette opened the evening by taking a handheld microphone close to his cymbals, then lightly tapping them to amplify the complex harmonics and create a ghostly texture. Sax player Jason Yarde then added some Steve Reich-like ambient loops triggered from his soprano and Byron Wallen’s trumpet.

The second track launched with a skull slicing art noise terror attack, envelope filter and ring modulator effects liberally applied by Yarde. The track initially had a distinct avant-garde classical feel, which then mutated into a latin groove, Khumalo’s vocals clearly echoing Flora Purim from the first ‘Return to Forever’ album. The sound space then hollowed out, leaving Khumalo scat vocal drumming along with DeJohnette’s high tempo triplet-within-triplet side stick improvising.

Khumalo composition, ‘Little Girl’, began with a neatly executed descending chord sequence over a classic swing feel. Initiated by some unpredictably placed heavyweight accents from DeJohnette, the track evolved with the aid of a Coltrane inspired scalar blitzkreig from Yarde. Pianist Billy Childs’ ‘Hope in the Face of Despair’ was a good vehicle for his outstanding technique, the tune's rich harmony nodding to the sound of the great musicals. Every piece tonight consisted of several parts, this one shifting through some contemplative phases leading into DeJohnette’s centrepiece solo. His magnetic centrifugal pulse underpinned some subtle improvising on the base elements of snare, hi-hat and kick drum. It was a lesson in how to do things your own way.

An incredible solo from Khumalo, combining jazz, classical and operatic elements to phenomenal effect ended the last track, and brought the Queen Elizabeth Hall to its feet for a standing ovation. We were left quite in awe.

Review reproduced courtesy of the London Jazz Festival and Jazzwise Magazine.

Ben Allison’s ‘Man Size Safe’ Quintet - London Jazz Festival day 7

2008-11-28T12:12:00.006Z

Pizza Express Soho, 20th November 2008

An intriguing band name for starters. “Apparently Dick Cheney has a man size safe in his office, something I find both comical and scary” bandleader and double bass player Ben Allison informed us. 'Man Size Safe' is Allison’s folk americana outlet, with tonight’s set featuring most of the tracks from their new album, ‘Little Things Run The World’. Totally engaging the tunes are too, capturing the audience's attention within seconds of the first track’s slouchy groove shuffling itself into the air space. It was heartening to see guitarist Steve Cárdenas embracing unextended open string chords, all too often dismissed as ‘cowboy chords’ by some jazz guitar players. The harmonic progressions were deceptively sophisticated, leading us down well trodden folk and country music paths before yanking us sideways, and prodding us with angular stabs.

Sax player Michael Blake excelled on the twitchy ‘Respiration’, his nervous squeals instilling a real sense of fear and foreboding. We were taken down gently by the sparse blues beauty of ‘The Language of Love’, this time trumpet player Ron Horton taking his chance to snarl his spurned love story at us with some fine edgy playing.

‘Roll Credits’ reaffirmed the influence of modern americana songwriting on the group sound. Paul Cárdenas’ guitar once again surprised us with a cross between a slurry John Scofield and the clipped rock n’ roll of Scotty Moore. It’s great to hear music clearly operating within the jazz/improvisational space, but without feeling the need to be reverential of the classic American songbook and swing/bebop.

The band closed with a track taking the group’s name, ‘Man Size Safe’. The tune switched between a neat metrically placed melody line, and some majestic free funk. The lithe grooves shimmying out from the limbs of drummer Michael Sarin were reminiscent of the Cinematic Orchestra’s Luke Flowers at his best. A tasty and most satisfying accompaniment to a spicy Pizza Americana.

Review reproduced courtesy of the London Jazz Festival and Jazzwise Magazine.

Manu Katché Band - London Jazz Festival day 4

2008-11-28T11:34:00.011Z

Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, Monday 17th November

The Manu Katché Band deliver their own brand of pristine grooves with such consummate ease one cannot help be seduced, and give in to the warm vibe. From the moment the opening track 'November 99' hit cruising speed, the battle for hearts and minds was already won.

The set consisted of tracks from the 'Neighborhood' and 'Playground' albums, the simple arrangements of which are a masterclass in understated and economical tune writing. The tracks were lovingly played, each note shaped, caressed and gently passed over to us. Norwegian players Mathias Eick on trumpet and Trygve Seim on saxophone executed the graceful horn lines with crystal clear precision and just the right amount of intensity. Jason Rebello was a revelation on piano. Making almost continuous eye contact with Katché, he steered the music's harmonic backbone expertly with crafted quotients of soul, mystery and muscle, all metered out in perfect proportions. The energy levels notched up a gear during a surging grooved interlude where Rebello took the opportunity to do his funky blues thing. Double bass player Jerome Regard nailed down the bottom end with minimum fuss and maximum impact.

A minor slip for me was the centrepiece drum solo. There's no disputing Katché's fabulous feel, but the solo improvising was a little unimaginative, and just a tad too rocky. On the plus side, the solo followed through into a great version of 'So Groovy', complete with bang-in-the-pocket trumpet and piano solos. Rebello went from strength to strength and was really flying towards the end of the set. A sustained standing ovation was rewarded with a restful version of 'Rose' sending us calmly home. Unpretentious and inspired stuff.

Review reproduced courtesy of the London Jazz Festival and Jazzwise Magazine.

Rudresh Mahanthappa's Codebook plus Arun Ghosh - London Jazz Festival day 3

2008-11-28T11:04:00.010Z

Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, Sunday 16th November

London based Manchester exile Arun Ghosh has had quite a year, releasing his debut album ‘Northern Namaste’, and being selected for the ‘Take Five’ artists development scheme. As a new batch of ‘Take Five’ musicians get ready to carry the torch this week, we reaped the rewards of this year’s scheme tonight at the Southbank Purcell Room.

Ghosh took to the stage with his trademark swagger and launched into a fierce solo introduction to ‘Aurora’. As the band joined in however, the track was missing some of its usual impact, essentially due to the absent piano and saxophone heard on the record and previous gigs. Special guest Corey Mwamba's vibraphone provided tonight’s chordal architecture, the soft attack of which lacked the depth and punch of the piano, but he played with great charm and energy. After a few tunes my ears did adapt to the altered sonority, but there was a little too much timbral overlap with Ghosh’s clarinet.

Nevertheless, the bengali scale based ‘Deshkar’ and ‘Bondhu’ tunes were, as always, truly joyful and uplifting. New track ‘Mint’, a collaboration with composer Fumiko Miyachi, commissioned for tonight as part of the SPNM Shorts scheme, was largely successful having a noticeably different feel to the rest of the set, the chords and rhythm being more in a classic pop vein.

Dr Das’ electric bass playing was a little woolly and unsubtle compared to the double bass we often hear in Ghosh's line up, but it played its part adequately. Pat Ilingworth on drums had a lightness of touch that synched quite exquisitely with Rastko Rasic’s darbuka. By the second half of the set the band had staked out their turf, and we were treated to some forceful playing all round. Mwamba almost fell over backwards at one point with the momentum of his improvising.

Saxophone player Rudresh Mahanthappa’s ‘Codebook’ acoustic quartet was an altogether different affair. The opening ‘Killer’ was true to its name, being a full on attack reminiscent of the sixties avant-garde. The drumming of Dan Weiss was about as un-grooved as it’s possible to get, but his in-your-face machine gun snare was highly engaging nonetheless. ‘Playing with Stones’ was the only overtly indo-jazz track, being surprisingly similar to Arun Ghosh’s ‘Deshkar’. The most effective piece was the sax and piano duo track ‘Common Ground’, with Vijay Iyer‘s impressionistic piano flourishes complimenting Mahanthappa’s outfield sonic excursions perfectly. It was hard to judge the complex double bass playing of Carlo de Rosa in the aural mush.

Much of the material was fast, free and busy, but fundamentally lacked impact for all its bluster and bravado, often being indistinct and overbearing. Many made for the exits, and in all honesty I wasn’t entirely unsympathetic however uncomfortable that always feels. Codebook provided a few moments of insight here and there, but on the whole they weren’t a good buy.

Review reproduced courtesy of the London Jazz Festival and Jazzwise Magazine.

Frøy Aagre, Herbie Remixed and Drugstore Cowboy - London Jazz Festival days 2 & 3

2008-11-28T10:54:00.016Z

Frøy Aagre, Ray's Jazz at Foyles, Saturday 15th November 2008.

I just made it to Ray's Jazz Cafe in time to catch the nordic sounds of the Frøy Aagre acoustic quartet, for a three track 26 minute taster, partly hosted to entice us to her gig at the Spice of Life with Kenny Wheeler. The first track, 'Long Distance', began with a traditional um-pah rhythm before shifting into a reflective and quite sparse folk conclusion. The mysterious arpeggiated piccolo introduction to second track, 'Cycle of Silence', had a distinct pensive and pleasing Garbarekesque ethereal quality. Industrial machine rhythm emulating piece, 'Factory', ended a charming, if frustrating, short set. As keen as I was to see the Spice of Life gig, it wasn't to be. A definite one check out again.

Herbie Remixed, Clore Ballroom, Southbank Centre, Saturday 15th November 2008.

Over then to the Southbank for 'Herbie Remixed', an afternoon of interpretations of Herbie Hancock tunes. The programme comprised of a series of up and coming young acts including 'Jazz Alive', 'Super Best Friends', Ping Lee's trio, 'Ran', and Manchester's own 'Riot Jazz'. It was a mixed bag for sure, with 'Ran' delivering a fifteen minute improvised funk groove that was especially lacking in ideas. Ten piece brass band, 'Riot Jazz', put in the most convincing performance, with some tight and well written arrangements including a convincing version of 'Chameleon', despite being a little rough at the edges themselves. Good efforts on the whole, but we await the finished products.

Drugstore Cowboy, Spice of Life, Leicester Square, Sunday 16th November 2008.

Classic Blue Note sounding stuff this, delivered with panache and buckets of energy. Branden Allen's 'Drugstore Cowboy' whipped up a veritable storm in the basement of the Spice of Life pub, the becoming atmosphere of which corrected our vision to the black and white of a fifties jazz record cover. The appropriately named opening track, 'Open Sesame', locked things into gear instantaneously, demonstrating a well rehearsed set by a group of players who clearly love playing. Suit, polo neck and plimsolled sax player Allen was on the mark throughout, and a real joy to listen to. Trumpet player, Quentin Collins matched Allen the whole way with his gritty bop lines. On 'The Misadventures of Duck Peter', Allen's already high intensity levels racked up an extra few degrees, the raised energy levels resulting in Allen shuffling around the small stage area with a dandyish quivering swagger.

The second set continued apace, keyboard player Ross Stanley's Hammond Organ placing the walking bass lines forcefully. Enzio Cirelli was quite something on the drums, his relaxed, but always driving swing feel matching the momentum of the horn players perfectly. Allen described the last tune, 'Unfinished Sympathy' as anthemic. I'm not sure I could quite tell why, as it's style seemed as much in the classic swinging jazz blues vein as much of the rest of the set, but with such a rivetting performance, no one was arguing. Compositionally, Drugstore Cowboy aren't tearing down any boundaries, but who cares when they do what they do so well?

The Andy and Jo Show

2008-11-08T16:07:00.019Z

I made an all too infrequent trip to the cosy and lightly regal Cinnamon Club lounge bar on Friday 24th October for a second hearing of the Andy Schofield Jo McCallum Jazz Orchestra. The evening gently geared up courtesy of the Jamie Safirrudin Quartet. Their set consisted of bunch of well trodden standards delivered with a youthful vigour often missing from renditions by more seasoned players. An assured 'Canteloupe Island' hit the spot pretty sweetly, and a cruising version of 'Maiden Voyage' maintained it's forward momentum, ably assisted by some fullsome improvising from Jamie on the keys.

The Andy and Jo Jazz Orchestra immediately kicked with a distinctly stronger performance than the previous one at this same venue. There was some powerful and tightly meshed horn line playing on a great version of brother Stuart McCallum's 'Austin Flowers'. The arrangements in general really captured an authentic vintage big band sound as well as any I've personally heard. There was an abundance of cool muted trumpet lines evoking a real forties feel, with the Cinnamon lounge enhancing the ambience.

The band didn't wallow in its nostagic moments though, and confidently sailed us through a fifties'ish 'Round Midnight' with some classic Cizerace Chisnall improv on the piano. Onwards then into the seventies for a Starsky and Hutch like '6.49am'. The impertinent bass honks emanating from the horns of Suzanne Higgins and Sam Andreae were most welcome. Richard Iles' 'Silence Again' sent us home with a suitably local hug.

Nothing But A Dreamer

2008-10-22T14:56:00.014+01:00

I'm still not sure about Brad Mehldau. Courtesy of the 'Write Stuff' scheme I got another chance to see the Brad Mehldau Trio at the Barbican in London on Monday the 20th Oct. I saw this same trio with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums at the RNCM about a year ago and I preferred this one for sure.

Brad cuts a graceful figure, politely bowing his head to receive applause with his trademark self-assured calmness. The trio hit an easy feel straight from the off with a delicate groove on the first track, 'Dream Sketch'. A early highlight was the jammed ending to the latin 'Samba Amour'. It's straight and simple chord voicings outlined an enticing seventies style repeating sequence that left plenty of harmonic space for some really expressive improvising from all the players.

My main problem with Brad's playing generally is that it can be overly dense, both harmonically and rhythmically, often leaving little room for anything else. This problem was in evidence tonight, but about half the material worked well for me. A definate plus point is his penchant for interpreting tunes from well outside the jazz sphere. A version of Sufjan Stevens' 'Holland' was another high point from a generally mixed affair.

Ring Modulator Visits The Deep South

2008-10-22T08:30:00.008+01:00

Well I missed out on the MCR Blog Awards this year, but this has been made up for by successfully winning a place on the 'Write Stuff', an initiative between the London Jazz Festival, Serious music producers, BBC Radio 3 and Jazzwise magazine. The scheme "aims to give aspiring music writers the opportunity to work with professional journalists to improve their writing skills, receive insights into career paths and develop an understanding of jazz criticism". It looks like it will be really useful to someone such as myself.

So I went down to the Barbican a few days ago for the initial meet and greet session with Cameron Reynolds from Serious, writer and broadcaster Kevin LeGendre and the other seven students. We all got on really well from the off and it looks like it's going to be a great experience. Afterwards we were given our first journo perk of a guest spot for the Brad Mehldau gig straight after. We'll also get to see and review gigs during the London Jazz Festival, so I hope manc jazzers won't be offended by my widening of the ring modulator frequency range for that week. It's all in a good cause.

Bloggers Of The World Unite

2008-09-18T13:00:00.006+01:00

I spotted a few weeks ago that Sarah Hartley of the Mancunian Way blog and Manchester Evening News was organising a bloggers social and trip round the MEN news room. Seemed like a good opportunity to meet a few MCR bloggers, so I signed up and went along last night. Great evening it was too, being described by Sarah as a "landmark media event". I was expecting 20 min dash round the building and off to the pub, but it turned out to be a properly organised event complete with tea and biscuits.

It was interesting to get an angle on the how the web affects MEN's timing of news delivery. Paul Gallagher explained that most news goes straight onto the website, but any potential exclusives are held over for the print addition so those sneaky folk at the nationals can't nab the story. So it appears that despite the impact of the web, the print edition is still seen as the key medium.

After the tour we had a discussion with the deputy editor Maria McGeoghan where we got an insight into what makes a good story. Certain issues such as the congestion charge and a recent story about two girls getting drunk on a plane are guaranteed to get people going and generate lots of comments. There was some talk about the pros and cons of blog moderation. One person suggested that the Guardian's policy of not moderating their 'Comment is Free' section has allowed it to become a "seething pit of hatred", damaging the Guardian's brand.

It was then off to the pub where we got a chance to have a chat. It was nice to talk blogspeak with justhipper and TheLedge from The Indie Credential, MartinSFP from 14Sandwiches, Joe Gravett, jonmford from Shoplifters, Craig McGinty of This French Life and also catch up with old mate Jon Clements of the cryptically named PR Media Blog. There was talk of a crimbo get together so hoping I can make that one.

The Dappled Cat - The Music Place Jazz Summer School 2008

2008-08-26T18:43:00.024+01:00

About two weeks ago I once again attended the annual Music Place Jazz Summer School hosted by the kind folk at The Cinnamon Club in Bowdon. It was another exhausting week of scales, arpeggios, triplets, grooves, vibes and mixed emotions. Don't get me wrong, it's a really great week but it can expose the raw side of one's ego when you realise what you (still) can't do, though it's all too easy to forget what you have actually learnt. I have to say I found this year quite a tough one as I wasn't really all that happy with my playing during the week. That's not to say I didn't have a good time and learn a good deal to boot. The evening jam sessions in particular were excellent, being expertly facilitated by Suzanne Higgins.

I had originally made the decision not to attend this year as I went on Mike Walker's fab guitar retreat in Andalucia, Spain. However my other 'arf, Jane has taken up jazz ivory tinkling and decided to do the course this year so I figured I'd go along partly to keep her company. The set up for most days is 'sectionals' in the morning which is based on your instrument, and ensembles in the afternoon roughly grouped by standard. The course tutors this year were Mike Walker (guitar), Iain Dixon (horns), Andy Schofield (horns), Les Chisnall (keys), Caroline Boaden (drums) and Alec Dankworth (bass).

Having been on the summer school before and having had one to one lessons from Mike, I suspected the guitar classes might be going over stuff I'm fairly familiar with but it was a pleasant surprise to find that he took a different tack this year. One thing that's been noticed is that the general standard has improved over the last few years and the bar has definately been raised. In the guitar class everyone had attended the course at least once before so we were able to look at some new areas including the finer subtleties of triplet swing feel. We went into this in quite some detail and it was clear there's a lot to getting this feel spot on. Mike employed the phrase 'Dave the dappled cat' to good effect to help master the timing of the swung '2 and' beat of the charleston groove landing on the word 'cat'.

Some interesting exploration of the melodic minor scale was very welcome too, with it's altered and lydian dominant modes useful over certain applications of dominant chords, and the Hitchcock/Debussy favoured mystical locrian natural two mode. For sure no one was left in any doubt as to how to swing the metronome on the 2 and 4.

There were some great players in my group for the afternoon ensemble sessions. This was good for keeping me on my toes and I was sometimes left for dead if asked to play the melody for a tune. Mike had us running down the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th notes of each chord of 'Solar' [I never got his "they say so-la in Liverpool" joke] and I came up with some particularly tasty 'clams' [= very wrong notes] when forced to improvise just using these notes of the scale. It's surprising sometimes how the slightest rearrangement of a scale or arpeggio brings you to a grinding halt. We did a lot of work on swing feel in the ensemble class as well, alternating between playing all of the '1 and a, 2 and a' triplet beats and then dropping playing but still feeling the 'and's to get the quaver swing feel.

The final evening of the week is always the school concert to which family and friends come. A nervous Jane did really well trading eights and fours on an Abdullah Ibrahim tune in Alec Dankworth's ensemble. In the end I think I chickened out a little by choosing to solo on the straightforward blues of 'Thing's Ain't What They Used To Be' a la BB King. Nevertheless it seemed to go down well so I guess it must have come across OK. The rather shattered tutors then sent us home with some mellow renditions of a few standards. Now it's time to practice...

This Charming Manchester - Manchester Jazz Festival day 9

2008-08-05T21:46:00.015+01:00

So it was tears all round on Saturday 26th July for the last day of this years Manchester Jazz Festival. The sun hung in there again for first act of the day, the Tim France Quintet in St Anns Square. The festival guide promised "a no-nonsense straight ahead repertoire" and this is exactly what we got, delivered to the highest standards from some great Manchester players including Tim on sax, Richard Iles on trumpet, Pete Turner on bass, Eryl Roberts on drums and George King on piano. This was great stuff actually. All the playing was bang on providing us with a really entertaining start to the day. A particular treat was 'Fistful of Haggis', a Horace Silver style latin groove featuring some fab slurry mute trumpet playing from Richard. Other goodun's were Wes' 'SOS' and Julian Adderley's 'Jive Samba'.

Terri Shaltiel followed with some classic style powerful blues material mixed in with a few soul classics. She's a decent enough singer for this type of thing but some of playing was a bit rough at the edges and it didn't do a great deal for me.

On the face of it putting the Wizards of Twiddly in to close the afternoon looked to be a brave and foolhardy move by the festival organisers. Judging the book by it's cover you'd be forgiven for expecting a death metal set from this lot. Sure enough there was plenty of unabashed widdly twiddly playing and some was indeed on the heavy side but there was plenty of light and shade there as well. In the end I think a cross between the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Peter Gabriel era Genesis was fairly near the mark. Some curious almost folky melodies popped out amongst the politically motivated tunes such as 'Big, Bigger, Bigot'. Including this band was stretching the festival 'jazz' brief again but they succeeded in getting the Saturday St Anns crowd on their side. For pogo improvisations this band definitely have it.

In the evening it was over to the festival one-off pavilion tent venue outside Urbis. The venue worked really well I thought and it was nice to be somewhere a little different. The sound and lighting was pretty good and I quite liked the feel of it. The first part of another double bill was a tribute to the late Emily Remler from guitarists Deirdre Cartright and Kathy Dyson. Despite being a guitar player myself I'm not normally a big fan of guitar duos but these two did have a certain something. The crowd seemed attentive and well disposed which made for a friendly atmosphere and a quite charming little set. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this one.

The final act of the evening was latin band 'Apitos' with it's 'Made in Manchester' set. I think this was a one-off festival special, the band normally going for an authentic latin thang. The gig consisted entirely of latin versions of Manchester pop and indie classics from the likes of The Smiths, the Happy Mondays and M People. Fun it was meant to be and fun it was too. Hearing a latin version of 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' was certainly quite a strange experience complete with it's percussion breaks and the full works. It took them no time at all to get the dancing going and the band went down a veritable storm. This man was charmed too.

Flamenco Sketches - Manchester Jazz Festival day 8

2008-08-05T15:24:00.016+01:00

Another Manchester regular, Paul Farr kicked off another not so regular even sunnier Friday morning 25th July with his cryptically named Paul Farr Band. This was another quite funky bluesy Scofieldly affair with some tasty 335 guitar playing of exactly the sort I like, nicely overdriven when appropriate and teasingly just sneaking off into controlled feedback sustain at Paul's leisure. There were some good tunes too though they were perhaps getting a little samey sounding over the course of a full hour.

This was the first time I've seen Neil Yates added to this band who's great line up consisted of Luke Flowers on drums and Sylvan Richardson on bass. Neil was using a delay unit very effectively to overlay multiple horn lines creating a horn section of sorts. He also providing some nice ambient drone layers to backdrop the guitar and some general swirling reversed and pitch shifted sound effects enhancing the overall aural pleasure. This really added to the impact of the band and the material. Probably the best guitar improvising came on a slow tune near the end that I wasn't so keen on overall but it provided a good foil for Paul to kick on. It was good to hear a band that seemed well rehearsed and really on it as well.

In the same spot a good few hours later the rather odd looking Crill Bones took to the stage with fake blood stained torn dinner suits. In the course of the set guitarist Jasper Wilkinson alluded to the stage attire hinting that the story behind it may be libelous so we'll have to imagine that one. Great fun they were too. Good time vibes with some nice grooves and decent lines and horn hooks over the top. Some nice and solid funky stuff too from Ollie Collins on bass, especially on a track featuring some Parliment style wah-wah sounds and a nice bit of improv. Jasper was a very entertaining frontman and quickly got the afternoon crowd on his side.

It was over to the Green Room for the evening double bill. First on was the solo piano of Robert Mitchell. Robert has a highly impressive and enviable technique but the material left me cold. It was harmonically very complex and too dense and rich I found. It's possible that it would reward repeated listening but was too much to take in one go. Even so I still think there was too little variation in the density and I was wishing for some of the sparsity and thoughtful note placement of Les Chisnall. That well worn adage comes to mind.

The second half of the bill brought a dramatic shift of gear with the shamelessly retro fusion of the Polo Orti Quintet. It was a loud and high energy set featuring some nice playing from ex Manchester based sax player Fermin Rivero, now based back in Spain. Well there was no disputing it was classic 70s jazz-fusion through and through and received a mixed response from the audience though many clearly loved it. I think again it could have done with a bit more variation in approach for me, particularly from Polo's keyboard sounds. He clearly loves his Herbie style synth tones and stuck with them for the whole set. An entertaining enough evening but I guess I probably wouldn't end up checking these acts out again I suspect.

Raw Power - Manchester Jazz Festival day 7

2008-08-05T14:26:00.007+01:00

Back again to some real proper hot sunburny sunshine in St Anns square for day 7, Thursday 24th July. I've only seen Mrs Colombo once before and it was in this exact same spot two years ago. They were one of the better acts that year and I was keen to check them out again. On that occasion the line up included the excellent Sam Smith on piano but he's now based in London I believe and it was left up to the addition of Jo McCallum on sax to help fill the gap. There was interesting material here but the band seemed quite hesitant and the performance lacked a bit of sparkle. The material did also sound quite sparse without the keyboard though guitar player Jim Faulkner did his best to fill the gap. What I think was the newer material worked best, especially 'Vague', a King Crimson style guitar workout not dissimilar to Crimson's 'Ladies of the Road'. The pulled off a passing version of 'Prudence vs Provocation' but again it lacked the piano. Potential here but needs a kick up the proverbial.

My affection for 'The Blessing' is well documented on this blog and tonight at Matt and Phreds they again hit the spot, though I was a bit disappointed that regular drummer Clive Deamer wasn't in attendance. No big deal it turned out as the replacement (didn't catch his name I'm afraid) did a great job with some fab high energy beating of the beats. The raw bass riffing of Jim Barr was even rawer than usual and horn players Pete Judge and Jake McMurchie kept the energy levels high and momentum moving forward apace. If anything it was a sliver of a smidgen too raw, possibly from the extra force coming from the drums but still a great gig and another highlight of the festival.

Chords That Bind - Manchester Jazz Festival day 6

2008-08-01T11:17:00.012+01:00

There are moments when things align. The frequency and interval varies. It may take months. It may take years. It may happen in a fleeting moment or take many millennia. Everywhere there is scale and relativity. Particles line up and resonate in mutual empathy. Broken clocks tell exactly the right time. Birds migrate. Some alignments are intentional, some occur by chance. Most events conjoin these opposite and coincident bedfellows.

And so we happened upon one such event on the evening of Wednesday 23rd July 2008 at the Royal Northern College of Music. Such was the sense of occasion and expectation for ‘Ropes’, a specially commissioned piece by the guitarist Mike Walker for this year's jazz festival. Whilst he has a long established and enviable reputation as a premier guitar player on the UK and world jazz stage, it has only been this year that we've finally had an opportunity to hear Mike’s compositional skills in full, first with the recent release of the ‘Madhouse and the Whole Thing There’ album in May and now with the epic ‘Ropes’. The suite employed a twenty two piece string section alongside the clarinet of Mike’s long time collaborator and friend Iain Dixon, the piano of Les Chisnall, the double bass playing of Steve Watts and the drumming of the mighty Adam Nussbaum.

Ropes met the occasion and surpassed it, sweeping us along with its soaring beauty and near overwhelming intensity. A touching version of ‘Still Slippery Underfoot’ from the Madhouse album opened the set, its mysterious opening piano chords accompanied by the haunting cello of Hannah Roberts before giving way to the main melody on the clarinet. Headbound followed, opening with a dark and pensive repeating piano sequence. A soft cymbal accompaniment from Adam Nussbaum eased its way in, lifting the dynamic and opening the way for some classy improvisation from Iain and Mike with some graceful cushioning from the string section.

A harmonics enhanced solo guitar introduction from Mike steered us into the warm and latin-tinged wistful tones of ‘Wallenda’s Last Stand’. The tune seemed to capture a certain sense of regret and isolation in parts, a mood deepened by the plaintive solos from the violin of Ben Holland and the sax of Iain Dixon.

Another short sweeping solo introduction from Mike opened the smiling nostalgia of the swing feel based ‘Clockmaker’. A fluid solo from Iain set Les up for a particularly joyful response that warmed the heart. The closing melody created a good feeling all round, returning the hope that ‘Wallenda’s Last Stand’ had doubted. A subtle and savvy dynamic drum intro from Adam Nussbaum kicked off the fast swing and metrical melodies of ‘Last to the Line’. There was some really sweet, clean and boppy improvising from Mike on this tune.

After the break Mike introduced ‘Moored to Water’, a collective free improvisation from the string section. To hear a 20-piece classical string section improvising was both a surprise and very effective. Mike explained a little about the layered concept behind ‘Ropes’, the broad theme being the lines on a music stave and the harmony of the chords as ropes hanging down like threads. The music also evokes many of the uses of ropes, both good and bad, from the light sounds and harmonies of sea shanties to the darker sounds for the darker history.

The first movement of Ropes opened with a series of short block string chords of varying lightness and darkness. A solo clarinet introduction of an upright folk melody then got the movement going, leading into a lush string wash and some punchy lines delivered with panache by the string section. Ropes part two began with a metrical piano phrase that became the outline for the tune’s repeated sequence and its slightly off kilter rhythm, hinting at the sounds of Steve Reich. The really quite sublime Ropes part three featured the marvellous playing of Iain Dixon on clarinet, backed by sweeping strings and evoking some intense emotions of melancholy, longing, reflective contemplation, quiet and calm resolution, reconciliation and the happiness of meeting old friends. So much was evoked by the piece and all echoed in the sense of occasion of this special evening. A long shared moment of return, closure and beginning again.

A sustained standing ovation brought the musicians back for a reprise of ‘Headlong’. A lightness and relief opened the space for an incredibly relaxed, gentle and dreamlike seductive start to the track. The momentum slowly built with Mike eventually burning us up with the most searingly powerful improvising of the evening. A really amazing, emotionally exhausting and truly unforgettable evening.

Frankly Mr Funkly - Manchester Jazz Festival day 6

2008-07-31T09:15:00.008+01:00

We were awaken with the mighty funk of the MK-Ultras on the Wednesday morning back in St Anns Square. I've known the guitar player Nick Mellor for a few years now but for some reason this is the first time I've managed to see him play. A great slurry bluesy feel he has too reminiscent of Larry Carlton and John Scofield as outlined on a tasty version of Scofield's 'Do Like Eddie'. Much of the material had a decidedly New Orleans Meters thing going on and I quite enjoyed hearing some no nonsense grooving in the context of the jazz festival. Jonas Backman as always was great on drums and suited this style of playing perfectly. Not surprising as it turns out, as Nick informed me that the funk groove thing is where Mr Backman's true heart lies. Sound and solid stuff too from Chris Cliff on the bass and Nick Steed on the keys and vocals. As slightly odd choice for first act of the day but good stuff nontheless.

It was great to see 'Drumcake' leader and Manchester ex-pat Aaron Liddard back in the city. I've played with Aaron at a few jams going back a few years now down at the Band on the Wall and Arch Bar - both venues sadly closed at the moment though the Band on the Wall should be reopening at some point. This was another intriguing sounding prospect, the band having the two drummers Marc Parnell and Myke Wilson at either side of the stage in victoria sandwich drum cake formation. The cake filling consisted of the cream and fruit of Aaron on sax, Scott Bayliss on trumpet and keys, Stuart McCallum on guitar and Jon Thorne on bass. As promised in the program the set was largely a hard-edged groove based affair with some complex and witty tunes. I think it's fair to say this was a fun outfit with the material not meant to be taken too seriously.

They more or less got away with it but I sensed the outfit had probably had few (if indeed any) rehearsal and it did show in the scrappy delivery. At times the grooves locked and clicked and the music picked up nicely but all too often the momentum was squandered. The intentionally incongruous combination of a super fast drum and bass groove dramatically switching to classic swing and back was knowingly amus(o)ing enough but ultimately dissatisfying. 'Mayhem', the last tune was another complex angular workout that stumbled to halt in confusion. An unfortunate way to end a set that did have some high points.

Tuneful Tuesday - Manchester Jazz Festival day 5

2008-07-31T09:01:00.011+01:00

It was back to the Bridgewater Hall foyer on Tuesday lunchtime to join the Troubadours with Kirsty Almeida, many of them back here too from their concert in the main hall a few days ago. I've tended to associate bass player Matt Owens and Kirsty more or less solely with latin music from La Gran Descarga and also from their latin jam session down at Lamarrs in the Northern Quarter.

Consequently it was really refreshing to hear some country, folk and well, just some good songs emananting from this band of merry minstrels including co-songwriter John Ellis. There was some genuinely beautiful and touching material here from these two, in particular the wistful 'Josie Brown' and the crafted Joniesque 'Cool Down Unwind'. It was an extremely relaxed, warm and welcoming performance with guest spots from Kenji Fenton playing the steel drums and a nice solo from Olivia Moore on the violin. Steve Buckley was again inspiring on the electric and pedal steel guitars. His trademark bottle necked pinched harmonic technique was used to great effect to create some soaring singing high notes. A really nice one this.

Following this I trooped over to the new Leftbank stage near the river to see 'Alex Douglas and John Ellis'. A slightly unusual spot nested in a walkway gap between a couple of cafes but it seemed to work OK. The gig however didn't really work for me. Alex Douglas on sax sounded consistenty a little out of tune to my ear. There were some quite nice versions of a few Beatles songs but the improvisations from Alex on 'Blue Monk' sounded all a bit wrong. Still, I heard someone saying to one of the festival organisers that it was the best thing they'd heard at the festival so far so what do I know?

The evening triple bill in the RNCM Studio sounded like an interesting proposition all round. First on was Olivia Moore's 'Owl Ensemble'. This looked to be a promising one consisting of a string quartet accompanied by piano, bass and drums. There was definate promise in the material but the performance was a bit timid and seemed a little under rehearsed. An admittedly brave drums and piano improvisation didn't really work, partly as Olivia's unamplified violin was inaudible at this point. It would be nice to see how this unit progresses but I think it needs some more work.

Following this was a very free and very intense performance from the riotous 'Grew Quartet'. I think it's quite amusing that free improvisation can sound almost as formulaic as your good ol' X factor winners pop tune with it's own cliches a la jerky and frantic playing of the back, side or underneath of instruments. There were elements of this classic 'free' playing in the Grew sound but nevertheless they were hugely enjoyable to listen to and indeed watch. The quiveringly neurotic percussion playing of Phillip Marks was particularly entertaining with Phillip frequently dropping or knocking instruments over and then fishing in his bag for the next thing to hit. Ping pong balls, paper and screwdrivers were duly rested on piano strings to add a nice dissonant clang to the proceedings. It left me with a smile for sure.

The duo of Graham Clark on violin and dance music legend Graham Massey on laptop, electronics and dusty old ARP synths etc. closed the triple bill set. Not that I'm one to pigeon hole what jazz is or isn't as I find such debates anal and pointless, but this set was quite unusual for a jazz festival and one would presume equally at home at something like Creamfields. I've got quite a soft spot for Krautrocky droning synth stuff so I was quite looking forward to this. Well it wasn't bad, but a little disappointing. Some parts reminded me of the fabulous Harmonia but most of it left me cold if truth be told. My main problem was the insistency of the violin which in this setting I found detracted from the sweeping electronic soundscape. It may have been a concession to give the sound a more jazzy edge but it got in the way for me. Some violin would have been fine but it was in there the whole time and by the end was proverbially doing my head in. Oh well.

Electronic Sunshine - Manchester Jazz Festival day 4

2008-07-28T16:38:00.012+01:00

I was looking forward to seeing the Arun Ghosh Indo-Jazz Sextet down at Matt and Phreds on the Monday 21st July as soon as I saw the mjf festival program. I caught Arun's fab CD launch gig at the Contact Theatre a few months ago. That one was an amazing gig but this one managed to surpass it.

Arun started the evening with a surging solo improvisation that immediately grabbed the audience's attention and more or less hushed a packed Matt and Phreds, no mean feat and not something I've witnessed before. The band then launched into a punchy and forceful version of 'Aurora', the first track on the new CD and the perfect set opener. Arun really is a captivating and hypnotic performer with real star quality in addition to being a great song composer and lovely improviser on the clarinet. The brooding and intensely epic 'Uterine' was once again a highlight for me with the electronic tanpura accompanied timeless tune leading into a great modal vamp and some ecstatic improvising from Arun and tenor sax player Idris Rahman.

The second set opened with a guest appearance from the omnipresent John Ellis on piano joining in on a simple and expansive South Indian tune that John had introduced to Arun some time ago. Another highlight from the CD was the joyous and life enhancing 'Bondhu' delivered with such swaggering confidence and vigour that by this point the band were so much in the zone they could do no wrong. There were some great moments all through from Kishon Khan on the piano and the rhythm section players Sylvan Richardson on bass, Rastko Rasic on darbuka and Myke Wilson all aquitted themselves admirably.

It was an honour to be a witness at one of the highpoints of this years festival for sure.

Radio Free Europe - Manchester Jazz Festival day 4

2008-07-27T18:55:00.009+01:00

Monday 21st July kicked off with some decent weather for multi-euro starred 'EU3 + 1'. The set consisted largely of mellowish contemporary original tunes with fairly sparse arrangements, the bulk of the modern chordal harmony delivered by Uli Elbracht on the guitar. Some quite sophisticated tunes and an appropriately understated delivery all round set us up nicely for the day. I was disappointed there was no referendum at the end of the set.

It was then over to the Bridgewater Hall foyer for some american country sounds from Billy Buckley's 'Waggon Train'. I've seen Steve (Billy) a few times now and have always enjoyed his playing. He has great touch and feel and gets some gorgeous valve amp enhanced deep sounds out of his collection of electric and pedal steel guitars. The set comprised of mainly blues and country tunes but there was some lovely modal jazzy playing on one of the latter tunes. Festival stalwarts John Ellis on piano, Matt Owens on bass and Eryl Roberts on drums hit the spot nicely providing a good sympathetic backdrop to Steve's playing. Nicely written tunes to boot made for a great Monday lunchtime.

I had been looking forward to some contemplative solo piano from Danilo Rea as part of the evening double bill at the Royal Northern College of Music but sadly Danilo had a heart attack the night before and was unable to perform. I hope he's now recovering OK. The Gabriele Mirabassi Trio stepped in for Danilo by playing two sets. This was what you would call a nice quiet one with the acoustic classical guitar of Peo Alfonsi and the double bass of Salvatore Maiore accompanying Gabriele's vibrant and sinewy clarinet playing. The style was quite varied wandering from folk melodies to latin jazz. Gabrielle clearly loves playing and despite the band all being seated he was frequently half up on his feet swaying around with the sheer joy of playing. I would like to have heard a bit more of the guitar featured as Peo was also a lovely player but I wasn't disappointed overall despite the relavatively short sets.

Spirit, Form and Frolics - Manchester Jazz Festival day 3

2008-07-22T09:45:00.009+01:00

I've never quite managed to get a seat for a Sunday at the festival in the Bridgewater Hall Foyer in previous years so I made it down a good half hour early and still only just managed to get one. It's great to see so much support. As the festival Director Steve Mead said in his introduction to the first band, there was a risk of ODing on jazz today but I figured I'd risk it anyway.

First up was the Gareth Roberts Quintet from Cardiff. Some cool Horace Silvery grooves were mixed with takes on traditional Welsh folksongs amusingly introduced by cheeky chappy trombone playing band leader Gareth. The rhythm partnership of brothers Chris and Mark O'Connor worked really well, the drummer Mark having a pleasing lazy feel exemplifed on the groovy (man) 'Mop Dancing'. The improvisations from Gareth, trumpet player Gethin and piano player Paul were a tad rough at the edges but were made up for by the good feeling the boys were getting across and the strength in the tunes.

The Alcyona Mick Quintet were a different proposition entirely. The material was fast and fullsome from the off. Alcyona is a graduate of the Birmingham Conservatoire and has very impressive technique as do all the players in this group. Most of the tunes were both rhythmically and harmonically complex and frequently delivered at quite a pace too. The music was nevertheless still exciting and accessible and didn't sound academic as can be the danger when students have almost too much technique and knowledge.

By many accounts Free Spirits were the act people to check out in the foyer today and it sounded very promising as I'm quite partial to a bit of indo-jazz as readers of this blog may have spotted. I'm told sitar player Dharambir Singh and tabla player Bhupinder Singh Chaggar are leaders in their field on their respective instruments. I have to confess however that this set left me cold. To my ears the sitar playing was a little unconvincing and lacked ideas, and I didn't get a whole lot from the bass or tablas either. I felt it was left to Lewis Watson on saxophones to give the music a bit more depth and variety and he was doing more interesting stuff harmonically for me at least but the backing only allowed him to go so far.

After a couple of hours break we were in to the double bill of La Gran Descarga and Roberta Fonseca in the Bridgewater main hall. I have a bit of a love hate realtionship with latin jazz so I wasn't sure how I'd take to the evening performances but I was happy to go with an open mind. I'm really glad I did as well as La Gran Descarga put in a great performance and went down really well. This is a big 22 piece band and did they a good job of filling the stage and hall. They cooked up a tasty rhythmic brew with some great horn riffs arrangements from double bass player Matt Owens, some good solos all round with a particularly good solo spot from Neil Yates. Some gusty singing from Kirsty Almeida rounded the whole thing off nicely. Some of the audience were itching to get on their feet and a fair few didn't need asking twice when invited by Kirsty for the last song. Shame they couldn't have asked sooner. A standing ovation from the entire hall made it clear this had been a fab gig. It must be good also for Manchester jazz and the festival. I hope the Bridgewater Hall promoters took note.

Roberta and his group had quite a tough act following the energy and good feeling set up by La Gran Descarga. They did a good job of it on the whole and there was lovely high energy playing but I think I was pretty spent by then. It didn't really sustain it's interest for me for the whole set though there were some great tunes in there and they're clearly a good bunch of players. I think was a bit jazzed out so I need to reserve judgement until I get a chance to listen to some more material.

Phew, so that was Sunday.

La Manca Latino - Manchester Jazz Festival day 2

2008-07-21T15:30:00.011+01:00

Blimey, so it's here again already, the thirteenth Manchester Jazz Festival and always the highlight of the Manchester jazz year - where did the year go? I couldn't make the opening Freedom Principle night at trof3 but by all reports the Bits and Pieces big band were especially kicking.

So I made my way down to St Anns Square on Saturday morning for the first full day. The event kicked off handsomely with Suzanne Higgins' 'Bossa Nouvelle'. Some great sunshiney sounds were proferred to fend of the mixed weather, bringing smiles aplenty to the dedicated crowd who refused to budge despite the frequent rainy spells. There were some tasty arrangements of classic latin tunes such as 'How Insensitive' and even a version of the much loved 'Girl from Ipanema' - quite brave I thought. It was good to hear a full band arranged version of this classic that can so easily sound a bit cheesy in it's usual dinner jazz duo setting. I especially liked there closing number that added a bit of a funky edge to the latin flavours and featured a ballsy bluesly solo from ever energetic Mike Walker.

This was swifty followed by the 'John Ellis Band' complete with steel drums from Kenji Fenton taking the uplifting mood set up by Bossa Nouvelle in an African and folky direction. The first track was an extended and quite jolly rolling piece that was enjoyable to begin with, but I was beginning to feel it needed to move somewhere. An irritating headache due to lack of food was doubtless not helping my appreciation though.

I returned after gaining some sustenance hoping to see '12twelve', the final act in the square. Not sure why, but they went on about 40 mins late so I was only able to catch the first track. A shame, as it sounded like it was going to be a good one. Following the great success of last years spanish import, MJF decided to play the same card again in more or less the same slot. It looked to be equally promising, the low strung guitar of Jaime Pantaleón indicating this was going to be a bit different, and the mention of krautrock giving an extra frisson of excitement.

True enough when the first track got going the free jazz and psychedelic elements were immediately present over a cruising swing beat and swaggering bass line from the rhythm section. A nice bit of echo pedal excess from guitarist Jaime reminiscent of Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii was fab to hear in a jazz context. Must check their MySpace me thinks.

Sad News

2008-06-18T20:17:00.002+01:00

I've only just heard the tragic news that the great Swedish piano player Esbjörn Svensson died a few days ago aged 44 on the 14th June 2008 in a scuba diving accident in Stockholm. I'm a big fan of the EST record 'Viaticum' and was lucky enough to see the group play at the Bridgewater Hall a few years ago. Very sad news indeed.

RIP.

A xx

Harpin' On

2008-06-15T15:59:00.016+01:00

I caught the last set of Matt Halsall's gig last night at Matt and Phreds. It kicked off with a punchy rendition of 'Sending My Love', a tune I particularly like and one of the tracks on Matt's fab new CD of the same name. You can now buy the CD from his also brand new Gondwana Record label. The website shop isn't live yet so you'll need to email the label to get a copy at the moment. The band line up now frequently includes a harp and last night there was some exquisite playing from Rachael Gladwin. She treated us to gorgeous extended solo introduction to the Cinematic Orchestra classic 'Ode to the Big Sea' making for a beautific and rousing end to the set. Some tasty Tranesque playing from sax player Nat Birchall warmed the ol' cockles nicely too.
I also bumped into Manchester Jazz Festival marketing maestro Fanny Guillaut down there, which reminds me I should mention that the full programme for the festival is now listed on the mjf website. I'll do a proper festival preview taster in another post I think. The mjf also has a MySpace page and Facebook group you can join if you prefer these alternative modes of communication. The jazz festival is the highlight of the North West jazz year and is always a brilliant week. I remember chatting to Cinematic Orchestra drummer Luke Flowers last year and he was enthusiastically comparing the festival vibe to what New York must have felt like in the 50s and 60s. I suggest you go study the website this minute and get the festival week (18th to the 26th July) blocked out in your diary right now if it isn't already.

Longsight Calling

2008-05-30T11:56:00.008+01:00

I'm late getting this review out but I figured it was well worth as it was such a great gig. Matt Halsall has mentioned a few times to me about Arun Ghosh who has been playing regularly at the Royal Exchange Theatre. I still haven't made it to one of those but I did finally get down to the 'Northern Namaste' album launch gig at the Contact Theatre on the 17th of May. Damn glad I did as well as it was a really phenomenal gig. The band for this one was Arun's Indo-Jazz Sextet. Though I'm no expert, indo-jazz describes the overall sound well but there's a fair mix of different styles in there, much of it in a classic hypnotic modal vein. I particularly liked the track 'Uterine' reminiscent of a great Pharoah Sanders slow modal vamp. Another fave of mine was the CD opener 'Aurora' which is quite a tasty uplifting track that sets the mood and tone for the CD well. You can hear a number of the tracks on Arun's MySpace.

Arun is also visually captivating, swaying back and forth with one foot in front of the other propelling the notes forward with extra momentum. He frequently wanders off mic and out of the light adding a distant backdrop to the soloists. There was some great playing all round from the other players with Led Bib Bass player Liran Donin and keyboard player Kishon Khan standing out. I picked up a copy of the CD afterwards and I can highly recommend it. Buy one now.

In Through the Outram

2008-05-18T08:53:00.007+01:00

I've been feeling a bit rough this week but made the effort to catch Dylan Howe's Unity4 down at The Cinnamon Club in leafy Bowdon. The band is essentially a homage to the classic Unity album by Larry Young, one I have to confess I wasn't previously familiar with. I was keen to make it as the quartet features Mike Outram on guitar. He's another one of our local boys made good, now being firmly ensconced as a premier fixture on the London jazz scene and is currently also a Professor of Guitar at Trinity College of Music - not bad eh?

It was a great outfit and there was some pretty impressive playing. Some of the tune heads were very complex and seemed incredibly hard to play but the players brushed them off with apparent ease. Some great improvising all round from Tony Kofi on sax, Dylan Howe on drums and Ross Stanley on Hammond. I like Mike's sound and feel, and he can nail a tasty fast run or two. I have a bit of a love hate one with the Hammond but Ross Stanley's swirling thick chords didn't overwhelm the sound. The Hammond is a key feature of the Unity CD and essential part of this group so I can't really complain. A good way to spend an evening down in Bowdon.

Small Objects Moving Very Quickly

2008-05-11T09:21:00.008+01:00

So the hot weather has finally returned to this fine city of ours. I spent much of yesterday in the garden working on improvising through 'Autumn in New York'. I rather rashly suggested doing this song for a couple of duo gigs I've got coming up at the Southport Jazz Festival with Hannah Peel at the end of May. The song sounds simple enough on a surface listening but is actually quite complex in places, rapidly shifting between major, harmonic minor and melodic minor keys with a healthy dose of altered 7th chords and a whole bunch of other things going on as well.

The weather and the need to practice (and the thought of an early evening beer in the garden) all made me partially regret having got a ticket to see Bill Bruford and Michiel Borstlap at the RNCM last night. I did however make the effort and it was really worth it. Just before the Bruford gig was an RNCM student showcase of Terry Riley's minimalist masterpiece 'In C'. They started a little tentavively but soon got going and gave a great rendition of the piece which was suitably hypnotic and a good aperitif for the main course.

The Bruford/Borstlap duo immediately hit the spot for me with a great percussive intro instantly characteristic of the Bruford approach and sound, Borstlap drumming along with his fingers on the piano lid. The set was more or less entirely improvised with Borstlap wandering liberally between classic swing jazz sequences, Monkesque jagged blues riffs, Herbie style suspended chord grooves, contemplative nordic introverted sections and a whole lot more. There's just something about Bruford so that is so captivating. He sits more or less bolt upright and the playing is extremely precise but at the same time flows and grooves gorgeously in a way that's quite addictive to listen to. He can get very busy when he wants to but for me he's most engaging when he gets a strong pulse going and throws in his sneaky sporadic sideways jabs and cuts that make the whole thing so exciting. Bruford introduced quite a few of the tracks at length and he does come across just a tad public school pompous but he's interesting none the less so I think he can be forgiven for this.

Overall a really exciting and excellent concert. My only criticism really was that the pianist could have held back a little a times to allow the full Bruford effect to come across but it's a minor point. I hope I get a chance to see these two again and would recommend missing a few hours of rare UK sunshine to see them any day.

The Boy With The Thorne By His Side

2008-04-22T17:43:00.011+01:00

I played a Freedom Principle gig down at the Revise Bar in Chorlton last Saturday with Sam Andreae on sax, Fin Panter on drums and late substitute Jon Thorne (Lamb) on double bass - we don't really have a name as yet. It was intended to be a loose low key improv thing with Sam providing us with a few recorded grooves and we just do as we see fit, so we hadn't really rehearsed. We figured as Jon had come in at the last moment however that we better do a few standards so we threw a few in for the first set.

It was a really cool gig and went down really well, even if I do say so myself. The first set was more standards based and had it's moments but I think we really hit the spot in the second set when we went for the groove improv thing big time. There was plenty of intense Miles style Bitches Brew digging in over some jazzy funky grooves from Fin. A take on Bonobo's 'Between the Lines' and a version of the Mr Scruff / Moondog 'Get a Move On' went down particularly well. A somewhat scruffy encore slant on a White Stripes track rounded the set off nicely.

Everyone in the band seems keen so we're intending to take it forward and get some more gigs. Jon promises to bring some effects pedals for the next one so that should be interesting. Thanks to Joe Jones from the Moss Freed Sextet for being especially positive and everyone else who made it down for this first outing. Join the Freedom Principle Facebook group if you want to hear about any future gigs.

A bit of rough and ready video from the gig:

Mike Walker Interview on ALL FM

2008-04-21T17:51:00.006+01:00

A world exclusive tonight on mine and Sam Andreae's EXR Jazz Unsigned radio show on ALL FM. We've got guitarist Mike Walker coming in with sax player Iain Dixon. Mike's new and first CD, 'Madhouse and the Whole Thing There' is at last finally completed and will be available soon from Jazz CDs. We'll be interviewing Mike and Iain about the new CD and playing some tracks. This will be the first time any of the material from the CD will have been aired so we're really excited to have this exclusive. Mike is not one short for words and there's quite a story behind the CD so we should be in for an entertaining show.

We'll also be playing tracks from a couple of new Manchester jazz ska bands, Skamel and Baked A La Ska . Like buses these new jazz ska bands. There'll also be the usual listings for the next couple of months and a few previews from the last two.

Listen online or tune in if you can. The show runs from 11pm to 1am tonight.

Happy-Go-Mike-Leigh

2008-04-09T14:41:00.011+01:00

I've been in film mode for the last couple of days. Yesterday I went to the Cornerhouse to check out the new Mike Leigh film, 'Happy-Go-Lucky' which was introduced by the director himself and followed by a Q&A with Mike and one of the actresses, Kate O'Flynn who played Suzy in the film.

I'm pleased to report that it's a great fun film with a lot of laughs without being flippant and overly light. It tells the story of Poppy, a thirty year old primary school teacher renting a flat in Finsbury Park who goes about being happy, positive and generally getting on with life. A quite intentional aspect of the film is that she at first appears quite surface to the point of being annoying but you soon realise that she has great wit and intelligence and has a very positive influence on her friends and the world around her. Actress Sally Hawkins who plays Poppy gives a great performance full of charm and humour whilst delivering the more serious scenes with the perfect balance. The film was also a fab little nostalgia trip for me as it was set very near where I used to live in north Camden.

It was interesting to follow with a question and answer session that illuminated on some of the themes of the film. Mike confirmed that he wanted to show a more positive outlook than portrayed in many of his previous films but without ignoring the fact that Poppy is living in the same tough world, the difference being that she deals with life's difficulties in her own way. He also talked about his method of film making using improvisation around ideas and themes, in this case for six months before doing any filming. One questioner suggested that the film is quite feminist potraying women as succeeding in coping with life and the men the one's struggling, a view that Mike agreed with. He also talked about the somewhat ironic fact that he's seen by many as the London film maker despite being from Salford. He said that he'd like to make more films in the north but that it's too expensive up here and actually cheaper in London. This does seem very surprising but he didn't explain why this is the case. It would be a great shame for film making in Manchester if this is generally true. All in all it was a great evening and I'm really glad I went along.

The film theme unexpectedly continued into today. I've just got back from having lunch with my other half and a good mate Helle at the Continental Cafe in West Didsbury where lo and behold, legendary director Ken Loach was there having lunch as well. There were rumours he would be at the Q&A last night as he's in Manchester making a film at the moment. I'm not sure what the film is about or where this is happening. Somewhere near West Didsbury perhaps? Maybe some film buff could let me know.

A Tale of Two Cities

2008-03-04T16:23:00.008Z

I'm on a brief trip to New York staying with an old friend Frank (François) in the Lower East Side. Frank has been living here for quite a few years now and we've had a few conversations about the rapid gentrification and dramatic change of his neighborhood. The New York Time Out guide suggests the locale is now being referred to as 'BelDel' (short for below Delancey St), much to Frank's horror. It seems like a similar story to the development of our Northern Quarter with bars and cafes replacing the shop fitting stores and clothing wholesalers, and the moniker of 'BelDel' being somewhat like our various new 'quarter' names. There's an implicit assumption that this is a bad thing driving rents up and forcing the artists out but I'm not sure this logic applies to Manchester. Having said that, everyone I meet in New York seems to be a film maker, model or musician so it doesn't seem too bad. Frank is a film editor on a reasonable income but still needs the assistance of a protected rent scheme to afford to stay, a legacy of the fact that he's been here since the area's pre-hip days. In Manchester's case maybe there's more positives than for the Lower East Side and I welcome at least some cafe culture appearing.

That aside I'm having a great time hanging out here, writing this post in one such hipster cafe, Brown on Hester St (pic above). Great coffee and baked eggs. I also checked out guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel at the Village Vanguard and spent a night in the Chelsea Hotel which was quite an experience. Some strange folk and great artwork but I still sensed an element of dated artificiality to it's rather forced bohemia.

No Static at All

2008-02-24T16:41:00.005Z

I'm far too late getting the word out that I'm co-presenting a radio show with Sam Andreae from the RNCM starting tomorrow Monday 25th February on south Manchester's ALL FM 96.9. It's a late one running from 11pm to 1am so I'm not sure how many people will be listening but it should be good fun. It's part of a series of EXR Unsigned shows on ALL FM covering all styles of music. The shows will hopefully be available from the website as a 'listen again' but there's one or two things to sort out before this can happen I believe. Initially it's only going to be every other month so we'll see how it goes.

We'll mainly be playing tracks by unsigned local artists and we'll be getting in some of our local jazz talent for interviews and live sessions. On the first show we'll be interviewing sax player Andy Schofield and pianist Les Chisnall about their fab new CD 'Another Place' just out on the Cinnamon Club's new record label. We'll also be interviewing Anton Hunter about his free improvisation night at Fuel Cafe in Withington, The Noise Upstairs (reviewed below).

So give us a shout if you're doing the jazz thing and have tracks you'd like us to play and/or gigs to mention in our listings section. My EXR email address is ades@exr.org.uk.

Cor Baby That's Really Free

2008-02-15T08:23:00.011Z

Having promised I would many times, I finally made it down to Anton's free improvisation soirée at Fuel Cafe in Withington last night, The Noise Upstairs - "An evening of uncomposed sounds... combining our backgrounds of jazz, contemporary classical and electro-acoustic music". Good fun it was too with the democratic principle of drawing three names out of a hat to form each improv trio being adhered to.

It was interesting to hear the different 'free' styles. The first trio consisting of a drummer and two saxes was clearly reminscent of classic 1960's free jazz, reminding me a little of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. It was especially effective when the two sax players came together for a long unison note and then drifted microtonally apart giving a bitter tasting atonal whining clash.

The second trio was a cello, violin and a mic'd muted trumpet through a series of multifarious effects units. I'm not at all familiar with classical free improv (any good suggestions?) but this trio again reminded me of stuff I've heard and seen in TV documentaries on people like Stockhausen. Anton joined in for the final ensemble of the evening on mandolin (ok it was a quartet to give everyone a bash). With the addition of violin, french horn (I think!) and electric guitar, much staccato stabs and scratching of bows on the back of violins made for a wholesome aural brew.

I joined in myself (see pic above) for one trio session and had scratch about on a few guitar strings running through buckets of delay and wah wah to create a back wash for my trombone and violin ensemble partners. This went into a heavily delayed Terry Riley'ish arpeggio thing that seemed to go down well with a few folk. Nice evening and highly recommended.

We Wuz Robsoned

2008-02-13T18:49:00.005Z

Tedious, academic, disconnected and flat would have been the sum total of my review of the Phil Robson Quartet with legend Dave Liebman at the RNCM on Thursday the 31st of January 2008. So bad was it that I was planning my escape from my mid row seat, as I doubted I could take much more than about 10 minutes.

However I stuck it out, and the fourth slightly bluesy track was executed with a smidgeon of desperately needed feeling, albeit still barely registering on the Richter scale. The tracks largely consisted of harmonically complex but structurally basic repetitive forms. Liebman's playing felt unconvincing and uncommitted. The obligatory fast runs, outside lines, squeals and grunts were all dutifully in attendance but were delivered with such disconnectedness they registered no impact other than irritation. Some respite came from a pipe solo introduction to a version of Coltane’s ‘India’, this being the best part of the set by miles along with a decent bass solo from Aiden O'Donnell. Once the band joined in after the intro however, the energy once again died. Jeff William’s drumming was overly busy and lacked any sense of dynamic intensity. Phil Robson’s terse and unenthusiastic introductions were at least consistent with the music.

You're Never Gonna Do It Without Your Fez On

2008-02-13T18:35:00.004Z

Word had clearly got around that this visit to Matt and Phreds on Wednesday 30th January 2008 by Bristol based quirksters 'The Blessing' was worth checking out. Being favoured by luminaries including Portishead and Robert Plant no doubt assured a degree of interest from outside the usual jazz rank and file. I caught The Blessing down in Bath a few weeks ago and was very impressed but uncertain whether they could whip up a similar storm on an away match. My fears were unfounded as they put on another great, if ever so slightly less intense show. The general vibe and a few specific motifs referenced the Polar Bear sound but there's a distinctly grittier funkier groove than the Londoners go for. The drummer Clive Deamer's drive and feel was quite delicious, pushing the whole thing along with an uplifting and smiley vibrancy.

The Blessing have no overtly chordal instrument in the line-up. This gives the sound a sense of openness and provides plenty of harmonic freedom for the mash and interplay of the lines from sax player Jake McMurchie and trumpeter Pete Judge. I loved the shamelessly bright and aggressive tone of bassist Jim Barr. It's refreshing to hear such unabashed plectrum riffing in the context of a jazz set. Much of the material had Caravanesque 'fez' minor movements reminiscent of Parker's 'Night in Tunisia' and tunes of that ilk. One or two rockabilly shuffles sneaked in occasionally and there was some prodigious use of noise terror delay effects to keep the tonalities suitably off balance. Pizza referencing track titles delivered with suitably laconic dryness from Mr Barr completed the left field nudge of this cool little combo.

Mysterious Traveller in a Stolen Caravan

2008-01-30T08:17:00.002Z

Another one of those special big little gigs last night the 29th January down at the Carlton Club as part of the EXR jazz nights series. A last minute word of mouth text alerted me to what promised to be a good one with the Cinematic Orchestra's Luke Flowers on drums, ex-Cinematics John Ellis on piano and the Oedipal Jon Thorne on double bass. It was the first time I've managed to make it down to the Carlton Club and I was immediately taken with it's somewhat jaded boho vibe.

I presume due to the last minuteness it turned out to be a small affair. This made for an intensely personal and intimate gig in ours and a small quota of the MCR jazz community's honour (Whackabas' Jonas Backman and Gavin Barras joined us at the front table). Everyone was very quiet and one could almost hear the shuffling of Luke's denim in time with his kick drum swagger. I was recently enlightened to Luke's alternative monicker of 'Mr Tickle' which I have to say does seem very suitable given his lithe style and extensive reach.

The set opened with a classic sounding untitled song for a mysterious person by John Ellis. Jon Thorne announced a song he'd written for Mr Flowers called 'Cool Hand Luke' that fittingly featured some graceful and potent playing from the said man. John Ellis gave a great blues stomper rendition of 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' with some mighty singing from himself. Just before the end of the first set Jon Thorne shared with us that his main means of transport, a VW caravan had been stolen at 11.20pm the night before, adding an ironic twist to a forceful and fast version of 'Caravan'. The second set ended with a touchingly vulnerable rendition of Richard Iles' 'Old Friends' also sung by John with really quite moving words from guitarist Mike Walker.

This was kind of what it's all about really. Memorable.

Praise the Lord

2008-01-28T15:09:00.000Z

A tip for what should be a good one this Wednesday 30th January at Matt and Phreds. I caught The Blessing a couple of weeks ago at The Bell in Bath and I was mightily impressed. They were on home turf and had a great crowd down that made for a brilliant atmosphere. Quite Polar Bear'ish, but with distinctly more funky style drums and bass than those influential Londoners. Comprising players favoured by Portishead and Robert Plant to name just two, they whipped a storm that I hope makes it up to Manchester this week. Bring your anoraks.

The Long, the Tall and the Shorter of it

2008-01-07T10:28:00.000Z

It's been far too long since I've posted here so apologies. It's one man operation so it can be tricky to keep it moving along. A combination of a starting a new job, crimbo and illness have kept me away though I have sneaked out from time to time.

I swept the cobwebs out on Saturday the 5th of January with a visit to Liverpool to check out Wayne Shorter playing at the grand, if somewhat old fashioned feeling Liverpool Philharmonic Hall as part of the Fresh Festival. I'd hadn't realised until entering the hall and wondering if I was at the wrong concert that he was playing with the full size Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and not just a quartet as I was expecting. Wayne looked stately all in black and cut an elegant if modest figure in amongst the orchestra. He was a man of few words, only communicating once with the audience in a somewhat enigmatic manner, but there was no feeling distance despite this and the atmosphere was warm.

Not surprisingly given the set-up, the tunes were heavily arranged pieces and much of the time sounding very classical. I wasn't familiar with the material but it worked really well, particularly the second track, also appreciated by my Liverpool based mate, the kinetic Hannah Peel who came along to the gig with me. In many ways the focus wasn't on Wayne or the quartet but the orchestra and the overall compositions. Wayne's short improvisations were quite uncommitted and he seemed more focussed on taking in the overall impact of his orchestrations. This lack was made up for by the other members of the quartet, drummer Brian Blade, John Patitucci on double bass and Danilo Perez on piano, all playing with force and vigour.

An appropriately 'short' set at one hour plus an encore but a good one.

Moss Freedom Jazz Dance

2007-11-23T13:50:00.000Z

The Moss Sextet played down at Manchester's ubiquitous Matt and Phreds on Friday the 16th November. I spotted this gig courtesy of musician friends I've hooked up with in Facebook, being duly informed by my news feed that a few of them were attending the 'Moss Sextet'. On clicking through a few links I spotted that band leader Moss Freed is Berklee Alumni and eventually made it to their MySpace.

The Sextet have some really interesting tunes and Moss has clearly worked hard on the sophisticated arrangements. There's elements of Philip Glass style minimalism at the start of 'Obstinato' which rapidly shifts into a classy contemporary chord sequence in 5/4 with a violin adding to the overall jazz classical piquant fusion. 'Crimes' hits you in the face with a fast sharp angular line and then catches you with a warm and comfy funk groove provided by Luke Flowers of the Cinematic Orchestra. Moss goes for quite a twangy trebley guitar sound that I can't decide if I think works, but full marks for going for something different to the usual mellow thuddy jazz tone. I suppose I go for something imbetween, Moss being more at the Mark Ribot end of the spectrum.

So all looked promising for the gig. It was their debut and it's fair to say this showed. It was a nervy performance that was rough at the edges but nevertheless the promise of the material showed through. Many of the tunes are complex and I suspect more rehearsal would have helped but the spirit and vibe hit the spot much of the time. I've seen sax player Kenji Fenton a few times and have always rated his playing but he was on especially good form tonight and really digging in to his solos with some powerful muscular playing. Keyboard player Ed Barnwell's playing was nice and sharp as well. The Sextet have got more gigs coming up so I'm looking forward to seeing them becoming a sharp and well honed act on the Manchester jazz scene that ought to be a force to be reckoned with.

Garbled Wrek?

2007-11-19T11:52:00.000Z

... and so it was on Saturn's Day the 17th in the novem month of the year 2007 the mighty Jan Garbarek came to Manchester. An expectant public filed into the Bruntwood Theatre at the RNCM to honour the impressive line up consisting of Manu Katché on drums and Rainer Brüninghaus on piano/keyboards. Eberhard Weber was due to be in attendance on bass but this wasn't to be and the spot was filled by Yuri Daniel. Am I the only one who finds it annoying that jazz groups feel they can switch the line up unannounced. It's somewhat ironic that this happens routinely with jazz in particular, as the individual musicians are frequently considered to be as important as the group. I'm sure some people were there to see Eberhard Weber and would doubtless have been disappointed. I was keen to check out Manu Katché and would have been furious if he had been replaced. The irony is that this would utterly unacceptable in the pop and rock world. Imagine the uproar if Led Zeppelin were to show up without Jimmy Page and Robert Plant on the forthcoming tour.

Anyway, to the gig. Jan strode on looking every bit the handsome Nordic God that you might say he is, the rest of the band looking striking in black also. The gig began really well with the first track veritably blowing me away. It started with a moody synth wash and some speculative reverbed sax line fragments. The track then developed through a number of sections with some fantastic playing from drummer Manu Katché. He has a delicious lazy feel that's truly engaging and delightful to bask in. His playing is also precision perfect and never loses drive and force the way many laid back players do. The track was quite a long orchestrated piece all the while slowly building momentum and after a few shifts of gear finished on a knockout high. The mood and feel of the concert carried on more or less the same which worked for another couple of tracks but after this it did start to flag. Garbarek clearly has a different and individual approach but it can start to sound a bit samey after a while and the high register playing was getting quite wearing in the latter part of the set. Much of the piano playing was quite gorgeous with Brüninghaus having a distinct classical twist giving some of his improvised melodies a quaint innocent period charm. As with Garbarek, the sonorities of his playing are noticeably European with far less blues and bop than is usually heard in music going by the name 'jazz'. This is refreshing to hear but can wear thin if it's overdone as I think it was here.

On the whole this was a good gig and it appeared to connect with the audience judging by the atmosphere and applause. Perhaps just a little more variety in the harmony and compositional approach would have made it a much better one.

Maiden Voyage (Slight Return)

2007-11-15T09:23:00.000Z

After faffing about and making excuses of one sort or another I finally dragged myself down to the Matt and Phreds monthly jazz jam run by sax player Ed Kainyek last Monday. My first experience of this was a good year ago now and hadn't gone too well but that's the way it goes with jams I guess.

This Monday went pretty well I'm pleased to say. First up was a slightly funky version of 'Maiden Voyage' that I think was great. I'm historically a trained funkster having been part of the London 'Acid Jazz' scene when I had the luxury of being a full time musician. Not surprisingly then, this sort of vibe sits nicely under my fingers and I can generally pull it off pretty well. After this track Gavin Barras joined us on bass. We agreed it was nice to finally get to get to play together after having met a little while ago. He seemed into the Maiden Voyage vibe which was good to hear. We then had a crack at 'My Favourite Things'. We did the straight form version without the Coltrane E-7 to F#-7 long modal vamp so it was medium concentration all the way. It's quite a long form without many harmonic signposts so fairly easy to get lost in, but it more or less hung together. By no means my most inspired improv but no disgrace either.

It was great to catch up with pianist Sam Smith of Mrs Columbo, recently returned to Manchester after a years sojourn at the Birmingham Conservatoire. He was a great player before he went and continues to get even better. We had a good chat about various inspirational books on music. It was the first time I've come across house band drummer Ben Gray who seemed a pleasant chap. On the last track of the second set (can't remember it's name) I got up with Jo McCallum and local stalwart, drummer Rob Turner. It was another groove track that I hadn't played before with a few key shifts but looked manageable. It ended up being a long version so I passed on the improv (or I had my head down at the wrong time or something).

All in all a pretty good evening and I'm looking forward to getting out again. Next stop I think will be Ed's weekly jam at The King's Arms in Salford if it's still going.

Polar Bears Melt the North Pole

2007-11-08T09:31:00.000Z

A special one down at Matt and Phreds last night. Polar Bear visited us up here in the dark wet and windy North pole of England. I saw this lot at the Cheltenham jazz festival last year and was mightily impressed so I was looking forward to another good one. They have such a distinctive style and sound that their particular Polar Bear vibe is established within seconds of the first tune starting.

What really impresses me about this group is that they manage to be very original and really quite avant garde and yet maintain a high level of listenability. There's no thick chordal instrument in the line-up muddying the middle range which helps, allowing the fast saxophone flights of fancy, grunts and squawks the space they need to be heard. The arrangements are frequently quite sparse and some of the horn lines almost childishly naive and simple, all adding to the freshness. A good example is 'Fluffy I want You', essentially a rhythm driven track with a simple two note figure that gets shifted and pushed about in various oblique ways. Dramatic changes of intensity along with gaping empty pauses all add to the curious plot.

Every player has there own unique take on their instrument. Band leader Seb Roachford kicks out a wide repertoire of styles from rockabilly, marching band and funk through to some classic swing and laid back blues with an upright indie band style swagger. Double bass player Tom Herbert gets full marks for being the first double bassist I've heard who manages to get every single note audibly across. He has a cool slightly shy funky feel as well. Both tenor sax players Pete Wareham and Mark Lockheart combine the ability to knock out punchy simple lines and yet can get raucous at will. The sheer intensity of Pete's playing sledge hammered the audience into submission in the second set and grabbed the band some of the biggest applause I've heard down at Matt and Phreds in quite a while. Leafcutter John came across much better than I remember from last time. He was busy sampling his mandolin and Pete and Mark's sax to create sweeping echoed pitch shifted drones for the sax players to launch off from. At other times he was using a games console to trigger some electronic blips and beeps . This sort of thing can sometimes sound a bit random and incongruous but he managed to get it to sit in the polar sound perfectly on the whole.

More please!

Northern Uproar

2007-11-01T10:52:00.000Z

It's been a busy few months on the MCR jazz front. The RNCM is having a particularly good run with 'name' acts Tord Gustavson (great gig, but too short at 1 hours 20 mins), Jan Garbarek and Mike Gibbs as well as a host of home grown acts. Last night was the turn of the Tim Garland Northern Underground Orchestra to shuffle onto the stage. As Tim mentioned many times, the group includes many of our local players such as Mike Walker, Andy Schofield, and Richard Iles. It was another really good one and the first chance I've had to check out pianist Gwilym Simcock who was really excellent. I found his somewhat somber and stern manner amusing and the playing was wonderful. Tim talked about a composition contest he'd set up where he invited entries arranged for big band in a 'Steely Dan' style. They played two of these compositions giving Mike Walker the perfect excuse to let loose with some fiery overdriven Dan'esque style guitar soloing. No thuddy mellow jazz guitar tone here. For my money it was the best I've heard Mike play since the Matt and Phred's gig at the 2006 Manchester Jazz festival. Andy Schofield and Paul Booth on sax and Barnaby Dickinson on trombone were also hitting the sweet spot.

I don't know what it is about jazz singers but for me this was the only bit of the set I wasn't so interested in. There's no doubt vocalist Hannah Jones is a good singer but it just doesn't grab me. One aspect is that I sometimes feel a bit uncomfortable with dodgy jazz lyrics. Interestingly though I often find the singing too predictable in it's style and approach. I don't know if this is just a prejudice of mine and I'm not hearing the subtleties in style I think are present with other instruments or whether I've got a point. I'm not suggesting this is the case for all jazz singers either, although I can't actually think of any I like to listen to. To my ears I hear much more interesting vocals in other forms like popular music (whatever that means) and folk - Liz Fraser and PJ Harvey to name just two female examples from the indie sphere. Maybe I've just not managed to recover from the Fast Show's 'Stepney Green and the New, not quite as good as the old, Headhunters', the "most popular exponents of dinner jazz in the US today". You can hear this fine vocalist in the video below from 7:30 mins in:

Man With the Movie Camera Phone

2007-10-29T11:29:00.000Z

Saturday saw the return to Manchester of part local band The Cinematic Orchestra. Drummer Luke Flowers and guitarist Stuart McCallum are regulars on the Manchester jazz circuit and have been mentioned numerously on this blog already. The bass player Phil France is mcr based as well I think and the Cinematics used to have both local boys John Ellis and Steve Brown on keys at different times in the past. I'm a really big fan of the Cinematic Orchestra but to a certain extent I wasn't looking forward to the gig as much as I might as I'm not a fan of the Manchester Academy venues at the best of times. They are essentially little more than sports hall spaces that utterly lack atmosphere to my mind. I'm also if I'm honest a bit disappointed with the latest record 'Ma Fleur' that I don't think matches the previous two records, albeit having a few really great tracks. Nevertheless it wasn't a bad gig. The band are near the end of a long tour and looked a bit haggard but the playing had energy.

They are a much more improvisational group than I've seen in the past which some folk may see as a step in the right direction, but I really liked the tight and sparse arrangements of the 'Man With the Movie Camera' era. As much as I love the guitar (being a player of one), I'm not sure it adds to the their sound. In many ways what I liked about the Cinematics was that they sounded very different to most other groups, being both er... 'cinematic' and 'orchestral' as per their apt name and I think this has been lost to some extent. Overall the sound is much more dense and busy. Still, this may be welcome to some and there's now more homage to the 'Art Ensemble of Chicago' influences with a few quite intense free improvisation sections in the set, latterly in the 'Man With the Movie Camera' track itself. Mr Flowers was, as usual, excellent and clearly lapping up the applause at the end of the show. In summary, good but I know can do better.

Short extract of 'Child Play':

She Got a TV Eye On Me

2007-10-16T10:29:00.000+01:00

I mentioned the '2008: Man with a Movie Camera' experiment in database cinema' in a post below that was part of Manchester Urban Screens 2007. I uploaded an image as I suggested I might and it's nice to see it is being used as part of an extract demonstrating the project. It looks like the project was very successful with the New York based electronic media artist, Perry Bard, being commissioned to contribute to The Bigger Picture touring programme. The uploaded images were shown alongside the original film and it works really well. My own contribution was a photo of my wife's eye and was the first picture I ever took on a camera phone.

P.S. Just noticed Perry has put the picture up on Flickr as well.

Jamming the Whalley

2007-10-08T14:41:00.000+01:00

The jam scene in Manchester continues it's ebb and flow with the appearance of a new one at The Carlton Club in Whalley Range on the last Tuesday of every month. I've not checked this one out myself yet but I'm aiming to as soon as possible. It's free for performers and £2 for listeners, boozers, scenesters etc. The Carlton Club is described as "a big comfortable Victorian mansion. It's a bit worn around the edges but has a cozy feel, two giant snooker tables and offers cheap drinks". Sounds really quite charming to me. I heard about this new jam from a recent NWJazzworks newsletter and initially assumed it was something to do with the Extraordinary Rendition Jazz nights, but they're every other Thursday so it doesn't look like they are. I'm not sure who's behind them.

I've also been meaning to get down to the Hedge folk nights also at the Carlton Club that Jon Thorne mentioned to me after one of his gigs. I notice he's playing there in his folk guise - looks promising. The Hedge nights have been off for the summer I think, but are back from October the 15th. I have to confess that I used to be a bit anti folk but I'm mellowing out these days as most folk do. I've spoken to a few people who've been to the Hedge night and have given really good reports. I believe also that it can sell out so it's probably worth getting down early or at least checking with them on that one.

2.4 Ghz Homing Pigeons

2007-10-04T14:03:00.000+01:00

Just spotted whilst catching up on some tweets that a friend and work colleague, Joel Porter has a screening as part of 'Manchester Urban Screens 2007'. It's the curiously titled '2.4 Ghz Homing Pigeons' screening from 3pm to 5pm on Thursday 11 th October in All Saints Gardens. Not an ideal time of day for working folk but it's near to where I work so I should hopefully be able to catch some of it. Joel describes it as such:

"Based on the original photographic work of Edward Muybridge's study of pigeons in flight this work utilises Bluetooth technology to build an interactive environment in which pedestrians control the number of birds based on the number of enabled mobile devices present within a 10m/33ft range. The pigeons appear to fly over a virtual Manchester skyline while commuting pedestrians travel beneath."

Joel had shown me a sneak preview of this in the summer and I mentioned it in a previous blog post not knowing it was going to be part of such an illustrious event. I'm sure it'll take on a whole new life in this large scale context.

Looks like there's plenty of other interesting stuff going on as well. One thing that caught my attention is the '2008: Man with a Movie Camera' experiment in database cinema on from 9am till 10am the same day - "Individuals are invited to upload shots and scenes based on scenes from the original film, creating a database which then streams as a film". Interesting, as I love this film having been introduced to it by the fantastic Cinematic Orchestra record of the same name (also highly recommended). I may try and contribute to this event as all are invited to by the artist.

My Name is Mike Gibbs

2007-10-03T08:11:00.000+01:00

Went to a really inspiring gig by jazz and film composer Mike Gibbs and his Big Band at the Royal Northern College of Music last night. It was very powerful and potent stuff right from the off and immediately upped the excitement levels. To my ears much of the earlier part of the first set was classic 1960s sounding stuff and had me picturing spy's in black and white movies shuffling about near the Berlin Wall . The star studded cast included guitarist Bill Frisell, bass player Steve Swallow, sax players Chris Hunter and Stan Sulzmann and drummer Adam Nussbaum who were all on great form. Adam was really enjoying himself and the energy in his playing was quite infectious. The second set included some more contemplative and unusual pieces along with some rousing standards including an arrangement of Miles' arrangements of Monk's 'Round about Midnight' and Parker's 'Au Privavé'. 'Matter of Fact', a new track complete with a cool repeating 7/4 figure was stretching Mike's conducting skills to the limit. The picked line from Frisell echoed on the piano concluded the track in a most satisfying way. I'll be buying the record this track is on for sure.

Mike Gibbs is the stuff of legend being born in Zimbabwe and trained at the famous Berklee College in Boston, where he continued as Composer in Residence for many years. He has written and arranged for many of the jazz greats over the years including Pat Metheny and John McLaughlin to name just two.

We went along with guitar tutor Mike. A fair few other members of the MCR jazz posse were in attendance including Andy Schofield, Iain Dixon, Nick Mellor, Sam Smith, Jo McCallum and Anton Hunter. Mike, Iain and Andy have all worked with Mike Gibbs in the past, Mike and Iain having played on the 1996 album 'By The Way'. A few drinks in the RNCM bar after the gig confirmed it was a bit of a classic. Some professed to be very inspired and promised to put pen to manuscript paper or fire up Sibelius on getting home. I had a good chat with Mick and Steve who run NWJazzworks and the Manchester Jazz Festival and who I'd alerted earlier that day to the blog awards and recent press this blog has had. Looks like I may possibly get involved in working with them in some way which would be great. A most pleasant evening all round.