Russ Escritt, expert photographer and gig-goer who sends me his pic of the week each Sunday night, has posted his favourite music, both recorded and live, of 2010.
As promised here are my favourite albums of the year and my favourite gigs of the year. The albums are just based on those I have managed to hear. I’m not going to write about them all but do want to say a few words about the Little Women album as the band aren’t well [...]
The list is now complete: thejazzbreakfast’s favourite 50 CDs of 2010 with the really cherished Nos 10 to 1 now added. They are all here.
Patsy Fuller with Andy Hamilton & The Blue Notes at the Rush Hour Blues session in Birmingham’s Symphony Hall foyer bar on Friday. It’s Russ’s picture of the week and his final picture of the year. Just click on the picture to find Russ’s website with loads of his other pictures plus his blog. At present he is showing his favourites of 2010, and on his blog you can find his top CDs of the year.
Russ has a new book of his photographs available to buy. It’s called A Jazz Year In Birmingham and covers September 2009 to August this year. Get a preview of this and also of his previous collections here. Ideal Christmas presents, of course!
Barber Institute of Fine Arts
17-12-2010
Reviewed by JJ Wheeler
Two factors made this concert tricky to attend. One was the bitterly cold and precariously icy weather we seem to be settling into, the other (more localised) was the horrendous traffic around Edgbaston Park Road due to a combination of road works, general end-of-term university traffic and King Edward’s Girls School breaking up for Christmas all at the same time. However, those who managed to park (or chose greener options of travel) were rewarded with 50 minutes of superb music from the Kit Downes Trio (for free!).
Now familiar faces to anyone remotely interested in the jazz scene, the trio found themselves facing a rather more “academic” audience, much more used to Mahler than Monk. The ornate, embellished surroundings of the concert hall provided an incredible setting, with the bandleader quick to comment “We’re more used to playing dingy bars and cellars”. Interestingly, although it is no secret that Kit draws upon many ‘classical’ influences, the first two tunes (the trio’s anthemic Jump Minzi Jump segued into the lesser known Johansen) seemed to be played in a much more classical style, with plagal harmonies, pedals and ornamental techniques employed by Downes and bassist Calum Gourlay whilst James Maddren plugged away (occasionally Tony Williams-esque) underneath. Johansen felt particularly dark and diminished, building up suspense as Maddren caressed a trance-like groove out of the drums.
Soon enough, the mood changed as the trio pulled the time around, often playing in three different directions at once on a tune called Fritzy Patsi. The muddle of sound came together to create a dirty blues that felt as unpredictable as a Reliant Robin on an ice rink. Finishing the set with Mad Dog – a playful tribute to the trio’s drummer – the audience had been treated to a feast of largely unreleased material.
However, the most interesting aspect for me was to hear how well the group adapted to this context. Rather than taking a gung-ho attitude of saying “this is how we play, deal with it” the trio seemed to accommodate its less jazz-orientated audience, incorporating aspects of more familiar styles into their playing. Equally, they didn’t go so far as to lose the identity and sound that makes the trio so unique and adored by many. A finely balanced equation, which leads me to ask if we’ll ever see Kit Downes Trio perform in quite the same way again?
We’re getting to the cream beneath the goldtop now, with numbers 20 to 11 of the Festive 50. Some big and well established names in here along with some remarkable younger talents. See what you think – just click here.
