Monthly Archives: March 2010

Late reminder: Troyka tonight

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Rising star of the jazz keyboard Kit Downes, who recently played a superb Rush Hour Blues gig in Birmingham with his acoustic piano trio, returns to the city this evening, this time plugged in as organist with the jazz/prog trio Troyka.

Completing the line-up is Chris Montague on guitar with Joshua Blackmore on drums.

One review called them “King Crimson for the i-Pod generation” which neatly refers to their occasional prog-rock leanings. There is a lot of complex post-jazz harmony in there too.

The band is said to be very powerful live, so they should create quite a stir in the Rainbow Courtyard from 9pm. Entry is £4 on the door and this a Jazz Club event from Birmingham Jazz. More info on the gig here and my review of their album here

Disc of the day: 23-03-10

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Manu Katche: Third Round (ECM 273 2131)
The French drummer’s third album for ECM and another new band. This time he brings in a fellow Sting band member, Jason Rebello, on piano, Pino Palladino on bass guitar and Tore Brunborg on saxophones. There are also briefer appearances by guitarist Jacob Young and singer/trumpeter Kami Lyle.

Brunborg was most recently heard playing both on CD and live with Tord Gustavsen. He is often called a Garbarek-like player but while Garbarek might be the daddy of all these great Scandinavian saxophonists round these days, the younger generation combines Garbarek’s conversational, folk style with a less acerbic tone. Brunborg is one of the most lyrical and lovely to listen to and heard to great effect throughout this disc.

In many ways it is business as usual here, and fans of the first two Manu Katche ECMs will want this one too. However, in early listening I think it may be superficially prettier than those first two but it is also perhaps a little more shallow, especially when we get to the song sung by Lyle.

So, I haven’t yet really felt many great depths here. And one of the previous pleasures that gave those depths was his use of subtle harmonies in saxophone/trumpet lines (first with Garbarek and Tomasz Stanko, then with Trygve Seim and Mathias Eick), whereas this time the saxophone is out front alone, albeit often nicely supported by Rebello.

I am sure it will grow on me, and there is still a lot here to like – all the players are good, the melodies catchy, the dynamics meticulously controlled and the rhythms have that lovely forward motion we have come to expect from Katche – but  if you haven’t any Katche in your collection, maybe start with Playground (ECM 173 7321), which remains my favourite.

Russ’s pic of the week: 22-03-10

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Here is one from Russ Escritt’s archives:  saxophonist Soweto Kinch with Robert Mitchell  on piano and Corey Mwamba on vibes at the Flyover Show in June last year.

Russ has hundreds more like this – in fact when it comes to jazz musicians, if they’ve played in Birmingham he has probably taken their picture. And they will soon all be seen on Russ’s new website which is here. It’s still in the construction phase at the moment as Russ consolidates the content from his previous two sites and moves it all to the new one. And now there is the added bonus that you can search for a particular musician. Russ also has available three books of his photographs: two of general pictures and one dedicated to the legendary great grandaddy of Birmingham jazz, Andy Hamilton. Go to the ABOUT section of the site for more details.

Disc of the day: 22-03-10

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Nicolas Meier: Journey (MGP, distrib Cadiz MGPCD002)
There are all kinds of musicians who try to overcome the limitations of their instruments. There are saxophonists who try to deny the need to pause for breath by fooling their throat, nose and lungs into that unnatural thing called circular breathing. And there are guitarists who use pedals and sustain to deny the inevitable staccato effect of plectrum or finger against guitar string. And then there is Nicolas Meier who eschews effects pedals and instead plays so fast and fluently that all those notes – what are they? 32nds? 64ths? – blend together to make a continuous snaking line. Just listen to his solo on Mountain Baba, this CD’s track three.

Or Part III, to be more accurate, since not only has Meier brought back jazz fusion, he has brought back the concept album too! Journey is just that, as the UK-based Swiss guitarist dedicates the album to his Turkish wife with whom he celebrates “this beautiful life journey”.

Also sharing the journey are Gilad Atzmon on clarinet and saxophones, Pat Bettison on bass, Jose Reinoso on piano and Asaf Sirkis on drums.

There is a strong Middle Eastern feel to the album, with Atzmon exploiting the microtonal possibilities of clarinet and soprano saxophone, and all the playing has that effortless virtuosity that leaves the listener taking for granted in the end the extraordinary techniques being brought to bear on the music, and concentrates instead on what is being said.

And what is being said is both beautiful and powerful a lot of the time. At the climax of Part V: The Summit, Atzmon builds and builds to soar and then fall back into the blisteringly quick sax/guitar theme at the piece’s centre. Sirkis is also very strong here, managing to be both quick and hit hard too. Part VI, Promenade In The Lantern Garden (yep, the title could have been nicked from a Gong album) has Meier using his glissentar fretless guitar so he can bend notes and play the microtones just like Atzmon.

Undoubtedly Meier’s best CD so far.

Gig review: Charlotte Glasson Band

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Symphony Hall Foyer Bar, Birmingham UK
19-03-10
We get so accustomed to the piano, double or electric bass and kit drums rhythm section, and I love it as much as the next jazz fan, but isn’t it a pleasure just occasionally to have a break from it? Such was the feeling yesterday evening.

Sam Glasson, sitting on a Cuban cajon (the seat that is a also a drum), tapped out the beat on his bongos and foot-pedalled percussion block, while Dave Holdsworth played snaking and pumping bass lines on the tuba. Jason Henson added the appropriate guitar fills, and trombonist Mark Bassey and Charlotte on tenor blew the melodies.

Charlotte also played flute, melodica, saw and percussion during the hour and a half, though she might also have played violin when I wasn’t looking. And Dave Holdsworth switched from the giant tuba to the tiny pocket trumpet for a couple of tunes.

It was all orginal stuff, but what a range! There was Cuban music, Argentinian tango, South African kwela and Jamaican ska. Oh, and Charlotte managed to squeeze some Charlie Parker in in the middle of the title track of the band’s latest album, Charlotte’s Worldwide Web.

A lovely band playing lovely music with warmth and a sense of carnival about it – any rumours that the age of good-time jazz were behind us have been thoroughly quashed. The ska-inflected When You’re Feeling Down deserves to become a Rush Hour Blues theme tune for all time. Written by a man named Jolly it had exactly that effect.