Monthly Archives: February 2011

CD Review: Matana Roberts

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Live In London
 (Central Control CCI014CD)
Reviewed by JJ Wheeler

Chicago born, New York based Matana Roberts was first exposed to the music of Albert Ayler aged five. If only we all were.

Live In London, Roberts’ second release, displays a set of tight-rope walking, knife-edge improvisation from a group who (with the exception of the bandleader) apparently had never rehearsed, heard or even seen most of the music before. What results, somewhat surprisingly, is over an hour of intelligent, fluidly developing music.

Recorded in front of a full house at that beloved of London jazz clubs, The Vortex, simple themes expand, bloom, then curve away onto new paths with great panache, most of the time directed by the superbly controlled, although occasionally gritty saxophone of Roberts.

Supported by bassist Tom Mason, solid and responsive, Chris Valataro on drums and Robert Mitchell on piano, Roberts is in fine company, the latter playing a particularly key role in colouring the often-repetitive statements a diverse range of shades. Valataro swings and grooves like any great drummer from New York, as well as having the wherewithal to drop out when appropriate, or add his own textures through cymbals roll and drum strokes.

At times one can hear a distinct searching quality to the music, somewhat similar to mid-’60s Coltrane, at others points homage to the jazz heritage, including incredibly bluesy moments on Duke Ellington’s Oska T and set closer Exchange. Pieces Of We grooves like nobodies business, one of the most beautiful, yet exhilarating lines I’ve heard in a long time used as a setup.

There’s nothing that new within the format of this music; it’s been done before. Nonetheless, the standard of musicianship and the high level of interaction make this an intriguing album, only added to by the story behind the recording.

Nick Jurd by Russ Escritt

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Russ Escritt ‘s pic of the week is of Nick Jurd and Sam Wooster in support at the Tony Levin tribute gig last Wednesday at the Rainbow. Just click on the picture to find Russ’s website with loads of his other pictures plus his blog. 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 2010. Get a preview of this and also of his previous collections here.

CD review: Cyminology

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Saburi
(ECM 275 3891)

This is the second ECM disc from the multi-cultural Berlin-based band fronted by Iranian-German vocalist Cymin Samawatie. Pianist Benedikt Jahnel was born in France but grew up in Germany, bassist Ralf Schwarz is German and percussionist Ketan Bhatti was born in New Delhi but also moved to Germany at a young age. Their cultural backgrounds are assimilated into the band’s sound and music in an organic and  subtle way.

Samawatie says she never wanted this to be a political band “but I am Iranian and affected by what’s happening”. So lyrics like “My hands can’t play what my ears are hearing/ Nor words describe what my eyes see” have an added resonance when we bear television witness to strife on the streets of Tehran.

Jahnel has studied with John Taylor, Richie Beirach and Jenny Werner but it is Beirach he most reminds me of – richly voiced chords, a melodic disposition and a fairly direct way with a solo. Both Schwarz and Bhatti interact with him well, Bhatti bringing an almost orchestral range to his percussion sounds (that he writes for theatre productions is audible in his versatility).

I sometimes find it’s a fine line for Samawatie between getting those Arabic inflections and melodic decorations into her voice and not quite singing in tune, but that might just be my ears.

Shakibaai has a particularly affecting melody and mood, and concise lyrics – just four lines. The mainly instrumental Norma reminds me initially of the Tord Gustavsen Trio, with its space and subtle brushwork, Samawatie adding a wordless vocal floating above the piano melody. The Norma in question is, of course, that queen of the wordless jazz vocal, Norma Winstone. At one point in it Samawatie almost sings the tune of In A Sentimental Mood.

My favourite, for its dramatic arrangement and slightly unsettling air, is As Maa, which includes the lyric: “How much of you is in the picture I have of you? How much of yourself do you want me to see?”

The band  may be based in Germany but the mainly Persian lyrics and the images they conjure up bring a hotter, dustier atmosphere out in the instruments and in the music.

Paul Dunmall by Garry Corbett

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Here is saxophonist Paul Dunmall in full cry at the gig at the Rainbow last Wednesday to remember his old sparring partner, drummer Tony Levin, who died earlier this month. It’s the latest in what I hope will become a regularly updated gallery of images from Midland based photographers, interpretations of what jazz looks like to them.

For more of Garry Corbett’s fabulous photographs, including more from this session, go to his flickr site here.

JJ Wheeler: Life On Tour Part 2

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Bandleader, drummer and occasional thejazzbreakfast contributor, JJ Wheeler is currently taking his quintet round the country. In the second instalment of his tour diary he has Psychology on his mind:

Four out of nine dates down, we are currently on a weeklong break, which gives time to reflect on the tour so far. Since my last entry, focussing mainly on the role of promoters, we have played at The Hive in Shrewsbury (courtesy of Shrewsbury Jazz Network) and the very swanky COPA in Oxford (part of Oxford Uni Jazz Society).

As a jazz musician, it is very easy for performances to vary. This is largely down to the nature of improvisation within the music. Fortunately, The first three dates of our tour have seen successful performances, particularly in Cardiff and Shrewsbury. However, I must admit that we were all fairly disappointed with our performance in Oxford. Yes, the standard was acceptable, we had many positive comments from the audience and we “got through” the tunes, but nothing took off like it had previously. As a band we reverted largely to previously explored ideas, never really finding anything new in the music to excite ourselves, or subsequently, those listening.

For me, this dip in form boils down to one key aspect of performance (particularly improvisation); psychology. George Gallwey’s Inner Game of Tennis, a revered text on performance psychology, alludes to this formula:

Actual Level of Performance = Potential – Interference

Interference can mean a lot of things, although typically includes negative thoughts, nerves, thinking too much or distractions beyond the control of the performer.

Unfortunately, the level of interference in Oxford was huge. For starters, the venue we played was actually impossible to reach by car (legally) unless you are a bus or taxi, due to the lovely one-way system and restrictions in place. However, the main problem was that my car broke down, one road away from COPA. Having set off and arrived in plenty of time, I was now nervously stranded in a car park with a very expensive clamping system from a private security firm in operation, just off one of Oxford’s busiest roads.

This was only worsened by incompetence from my breakdown service who, first, couldn’t find my details on their records (landing me with a potential £80 call-out charge!), followed by a string of calls to a premium line asking where their recovery vehicle was (a “maximum” 45-minute wait turned out to be over 90…).

By the time I arrived at the venue, freezing cold from an hour and a half on my own in a car with no heating or entertainment and, understandably, hacked off, we were an hour overdue on our first set. With no warm-up or even a chance to put my tie on, we had to run onto the stage and kick things off.

As I say, we played solidly, with competent soloing and very few mistakes. For this my hat must go off to Ralph, Charlie, Chris and Tom who had even carried my kit to the venue and set it up for me. However, after such an exciting first three gigs of the tour, in which our music had taken great leaps in development, I had to feel disappointed that playing felt more like going through the motions here than pioneering or exploring.

On a positive note, Ralph seems to have cracked the keyboard situation with hardly a word of discussion! Either we’re getting used to playing with a keyboard, or (more likely) his newfound use of different sounds available from a keyboard (including a lovely, dirty Fender Rhodes module and use of pitch bend!) has served to add to the mood of the music, creating and intensifying certain characteristics, especially on what seems to be our crowd-pleaser, Cider Mickey.

Also, I must mention what a delight it was to work with Sam Wooster, a “dep” for Chris Maddock on Saturday in Shrewsbury. To lose such a strong soloist as Chris for a gig was initially a daunting prospect, but the anticipation I felt when booking Sam was fully justified. Sam has a very distinctive voice and way of improvising on the trumpet, taking our music in new directions whenever he played. The energy and creativity this created seemed to radiate into a packed audience in this wonderful setting, making for one of the best performing experiences I’ve ever had.

Next weekend sees our “northern” weekend (I know, it’s not that far north… but most of the band are southerners, after all), in which we play nine sets in four cities over 52 hours (nearly eight hours playing time!). It’s going to be mayhem. Bring it on.

Remaining dates on the tour are:

Friday 4 March: Bradford Irish Club (Bradford Jazz At The Priestley), Rebecca Street, Bradford, BD1 2RX, 01274 820666, 8.30pm, £7/5 www.mypriestley.org.uk

Saturday 5 March: Matt & Phred’s Jazz Club, 64 Tib Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 1LW, 0161 831 7003, 9pm, £5 www.mattandphreds.com

Sunday 6 March: Seven Arts Centre, 31 Harrogate Road, Leeds, LS7 3DP, 0113 26 26 777, 1.30pm, £5/4 (U16s FREE) www.sevenjazz.co.uk

Sunday 6 March: Dalton Rooms, 14 Dalton Square, Lancaster, LA1 1PL, 01524 845 785, 8pm, FREE www.daltonrooms.co.uk

Friday 11 March: Symphony Hall Foyer, Broad Street, Birmingham (Birmingham Jazz), B1 2EA, 0121 224 7380, 5.30pm, FREE www.birminghamjazz.co.uk or www.thsh.co.uk

For more info, audio, video and photos, see www.jjwheeler.co.uk