It's quite rare these days that one comes across a guitarist that plays the blues on the twelve-string, which is why it was so startling to hear Oregon founding member Ralph Towner insinuate a blues theme on his booming 12-string guitar. It turned out not to be any old 12-bar figure, though, but a soulful recital of bassist Charlie Mingus' blues-ballad, 'Goodbye Porkpie Hat'. The American guitarist's solo set was replete with such instances of wonderful unexpectedness.
The evening was hosted by not one, but two guitar giants, both displaying two very different approaches to the instrument. Brazilian virtuoso Egberto Gismonti (pictured) was Towner's counterpart in this rare double-bill, and he took to his instrument like a rally driver takes to his car, swerving crazily at breakneck speed through various techniques, barely pausing for a moment's rest. Towner, on the other hand, valued breathing space and subtlety over relentless instrumental stunting. In all honesty, the idea of sitting through two back-to-back solo recitals can seem like a bit of a drag. But any apprehensions were dispelled by Towner and Gismonti's masterful grasp of their art, both of whom created vivid, intricate and constantly fascinating sound worlds from the wood-and-strings simplicity of the humble acoustic guitar.
Towner utilised his self-confessed 'beautiful' 12-string on three brilliant occasions; on the aforementioned Mingus cover, on a reworking of Bill Evans' 'My Foolish Heart', and on the almost-geologic power of 'Solitary Woman.' With its deeply resonant drones and vertiginous sense of space, the folk-rock tinged latter conjured mind's eye images of America's great canyons. After finishing the song, Towner highlighted the drawbacks of his 12-string: "It's a beautiful instrument, but it murders your fingernails". He then pulled out an emery board and proceeded to file his picking fingers. Aptly, from beginning to end, his was a smooth, well manicured set. While Towner took excursions into arid soundscapes, he ultimately seemed at home amid the pastoral splendour of 'The Prowler' and lucid Oregon classic 'If'.
Egberto Gismonti's frenetic set was as wild and free as the frizzy hair that streamed from under his trademark red head gear. Gismonti didn't utter a word throughout, instead allowing his 10-string guitar and piano to do all the talking. And they not only talked, but, in Gismonti's hands, seemed to froth maniacally.The self-confessed "piano player that plays guitar"set about blending Brazillian choro music, classical and jazz via turbulent, melodic crosswinds. This was definitely music to get swept away by. In the end, though, it was Towner's calming, suggestive tones that really took your breath away.
– Jamie Skey
Gritty, urban and fiercely contemporary, Jazz Nursery is one of London's most exciting new venues. Established in 2012 as a platform for the capital's emerging talent and still something of a well-kept secret, gigs are held on the first Thursday of every month beneath the bare brickwork of a Southwark railway arch. The clientele are young, beautiful and disconcertingly hip but the atmosphere is friendly and the acoustic is surprisingly good given the cavernous space.
It was an appropriate setting for the sounds of Dice Factory, an up-and-coming quartet led by tenor saxophonist and Loop Collective veteran Tom Challenger, who delighted the assembled hipsters with a richly inventive set of originals. Anchored by mesmeric pedals and vamps that evoked the music of Steve Reich, tracks from their self-titled debut album, released in 2012, had an industrial edge that seemed right at home amongst the cracked tiles and the reclaimed furniture. In the opener, an off-kilter number entitled 'Gooch', Challenger's stuttering staccato honks and broken melodies were counterpointed by the metallic scrape of cymbals and bare piano strings. 'Eternal Sleep' saw the pulsing, insistent grooves of Empirical bassist Tom Farmer set the pace before showcasing swirling motifs from pianist Dan Nicholls. Contributing a thoughtful solo, Challenger soared into the upper register, playing fast and loose with the time and fighting with the insidious rhythmic undertow.
Drummer Jon Scott (of Kairos 4tet) was excellent throughout, orchestrating sudden stops and changes of intensity and driving the band on as the trains rumbled overhead. A suite of new pieces drew things to a close and it was here that the group's mathematical and highly structured approach to writing was most evident. 'Coincidental Design', its melody derived from a set of four pitches reordered and refracted by the ensemble, was among the highlights of the set, blending beauty and internal logic.
A quartet led by young trumpeter and Guildhall School of Music graduate Will Rixon were more conservative in their choice of repertoire. The band's first half performance was dominated by classic standards including 'September in the Rain', 'Song for My Father' and 'Change Partners'. Tom Farmer seemed less at home in a straight-ahead setting but there were some nice touches from the group, with latin breaks from drummer Josh Morrison and shimmering, impressionist solos from the in-demand Kit Downes on piano. Exploring and manipulating the melodies, Rixon's sound was impressively varied: at times dark and smoky, at others strident. Despite the well-worn material, the band kept things edgy and fresh which, after all, is what the Jazz Nursery is all about.
– Thomas Rees (@ThomasNRees)
For more info go to www.jazznursery.com
The stars, planets and weather lined up for the 2ndBristol Jazz and Blues Festival this weekend. As the sun came out the crowds flocked in to hang out in the foyer of the city’s Colston Hall, lining the soaring staircase, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying some of the 70 events featuring over 400 artists whether it was the free foyer programme or the diverse series of ticketed gigs.
They ranged from funk legends Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley (pictured above), through a fizzing set of standards from an Alan Barnes/Howard Alden led band, a double bill of the contrasting lyricism of Dan Messore's Indigo Kid, the bluesy soul-jazz of New Orleans star Lillian Boutté (pictured top), and Get the Blessing in riotous form and a wind it down, improvised set from Andy Sheppard (below) and Italian percussionist Michele Rabbia that closed the festival in the smaller of the two concert halls, The Lantern. On the way there was the mass particpation of a Gershwin Spectacular with a colorful choir of 200 and the more intense meeting of classical and jazz with the premiere of Kate Williams and Will Goodchild's Interplay project.
There was a tremendous buzz and frequent outbreaks of dancing all weekend. The jam sessions on the foyer stage ensured that the night-owls were able to keep going until the early hours. Diaries are already being marked in hopeful anticipation of another festival next year.
– Mike Collins
– Photos © Tim Dickeson
If ‘too many piano trios’ is a bellyache that has rumbled around the jazz body politic for some time, this was a dose of strong medicine against it. Hailed for its performance at last year’s Vision Festival, Kris Davis’ outfit provided a quite gripping example of how fresh the format can be, presenting a sound that, while marked by the sensibilities of New York’s improvised music scene, had an individuality and sense of purpose germane to the Brooklyn-based, Canadian pianist.
The bulk of the music was drawn from the current album Waiting For You To Grow, which was inspired by her experience of pregnancy, and the expectations, projections, imaginings and above all physical realities of new life. On many occasions the compositions vividly conveyed all of the above, none more so than the quite startling ‘Hiccups’, a piece in which Davis’ responsive and dynamic partners, double bassist John Hébert and drummer Tom Rainey, came into their own. As the title suggests, this was an evocation of bumps, jolts and little kicks inside, but Davis did not reduce the form to anything as transparent as a succession of broken grooves or melodic tease and tickle. The hyper-rockabye derived more from a sharp tension between different implications of tempo and meter by each player, as if they were in a post-Ornette/Blackwell marching band where the idea is to move in spirals and circles rather than straight lines. The rub being that the points of overlap were dramatically precise, and that the second half of the piece, where the trio settled into a more regular beat, didn’t forego the playful internal jockeying that had marked the first.
If that composition showcased the band’s quality in expansive mood, then there were moments where the onus was on spare phrases. But they often grew. At one point Davis played a skewed, walking line in the low register, and then turned each note into a deliciously dense chord to create a sensation of weight gain amid forward motion. Elsewhere her right hand work was slightly glacial but not bloodless. While the oblique character of some of her songs may prompt the tag of avant-garde, Davis’ idiomatic range is too wide for that, and in this respect she joins a group of stellar pianists – Taborn, Lossing, Delbecq – for whom the key creative ethos is ‘traditions’, not tradition.
– Kevin Le Gendre
Much is made of Chris Barber’s longevity; after all, he’s in his eighties now and he and his band seem to have been on the road since the dawn of time. Surely, ennui must set in at some point. Try telling that to the expectant crowd that thronged this imposing hall, part of the rather splendid array of buildings that make up the St Paul’s school campus in Barnes.
The enthusiasm of those packed in to Wathen Hall knew few bounds and Barber responded – after all, he is one of their own, having attended the school himself, albeit a lifetime ago – with a cleverly constructed set of small group numbers and expanded pieces, all moving along at a fair old pace.
Choreographed and pre-defined (the sequence of songs exactly matched those observed at an earlier concert) it all may be but that was no matter for an audience so suffused by the rosy glow of nostalgia. While it remains pleasurable to hear clarinettist Richard Exall recreate ‘Petite Fleur’ so exultantly, there were perhaps greater rewards in observing the big CB band as they got their teeth into their chosen Ellington compositions, paced by the expert wa-wa trombone of Bob Hunt.
With a wide stage, the bandsmen (and one woman, saxophonist Amy Roberts) lined up abreast, stepping forward to solo as each piece followed upon another. Given this predictability, it’s easy to locate Barber and his cohort of brilliant musicians among the various show bands that throng the variety circuit. Maybe so, but that is to downplay the verve and the sheer musical class of these performers, typified by new-ish recruit Bert Brandsma, soaring on clarinet on ‘Wild Cat Blues’ or the zesty precision of trumpeters Peter Rudeforth and Mike Henry on ‘Rockin’ in Rhythm’ and the startlingly effective flute playing of Roberts on the penultimate ‘Saints’. What is clear is that Barber’s desire to perform this crowd-pleasing combination of New Orleans staples and Ellington originals is apparently unquenchable, the concern for ensemble dynamics, and for order and structure, coupled with the joyful professionalism on view still noteworthy after all these years.
Given this invitation to an ‘old boy’ to fly the flag for jazz, it’s pleasing to report that alto-saxophonist Tom Smith, a present-day pupil at St Paul's, is listed as a finalist in the BBC’s inaugural Young Jazz Musician of the Year. Call it continuity or coincidence, either way it’s a feather in the cap for Tom and his instructors. He joins the Royal Academy of Music course in September.
– Peter Vacher
