Monthly Archives: April 2011

Preview 2: Cheltenham Jazz Festival

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Well, Easter’s over, those long walks in the country and long evenings in the pub garden can give way to some sitting inside and letting the head fill with some of the finest jazz there is. Yes, it’s time to head south, down that M5 all the way to 51.890 degrees north, 2.078 degrees west.

For those, so Wikipedia helpfully informs us, are the co-ordinates of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival – and it is already underway.

This will be the second year of eschewing the Everyman Theatre in favour of the tented village in the Imperial Gardens behind Cheltenham Town Hall that is Jazz On The Square. And this year, whether by Royal appointment or by sheer luck, it looks like the sun will shine on this semi-al fresco venture.

In fact, that wedding will be screened in the gardens tomorrow, but we will draw a veil over that in favour of much more important things.

Jamie

There are some nice themes this year, including the ongoing strong relationship between Norway and Cheltenham, which means the Tord Gustavsen band, Susanna (she previously of the Magic Orchestra) and Stian Westerhus will be appearing, and the Trondheim and Birmingham jazz colleges are combining their considerable student skills.

There is also a focus on piano trio music, very much a hallmark of the current jazz world. To this end, the very strong line-up includes: Jasper Hoiby’s Phronesis, the Neil Cowley Trio, Tom Cawley’s Curios, and Kit Downes’ trio which now might look like a sextet but is in essence a trio with horn accompaniment.

There are two more pianists at the heart of this festival. One is possibly Britain’s best-known current jazz export, and the other is, in my humble opinion, the most important British jazz musician of the last 50 years. Yes, we’re talking Jamie and Django here.

Jamie Cullum is a guest director at Cheltenham and his own gig sold out within hours if not minutes of going on sale. It’s the fact that he also puts his name behind some of the more exploratory music on offer at this festival that makes his presence so vital.

Django

Django Bates appears twice, with his Beloved Bird trio in tribute to Charlie Parker, and with a concert which presents him first as solo pianist and then leading a nine-piece for a new BBC Radio 3 commission. The band is called The T.D.Es, which is, I’m guessing, an honour Cheltenham’s artistic director Tony Dudley-Evans will always treasure above all others.

Django is also present as part of another, less discernible but nevertheless hugely important strand to this festival this year, and that is as a former Loose Tube. Other members of that ground-breaking jazz orchestra of the 1980s include Julian Arguelles, appearing with John Taylor, Martin France, leading his band Spin Marvel, and Chris Batchelor and Steve Buckley, co-leaders of Big Air. These and other Loose Tubes alumni have, of course, influenced many of the younger players at this festival, too.

There has been a change to one of the headline bands at Cheltenham. Due to an illness in the family, Dave Holland is no longer able to appear with the Overtone Quartet. His place has been taken by Larry Grenadier, making this band – Jason Moran on piano, Chris Potter on saxophone, Eric Harland on drums – still an all-star one.

There is bags of other great stuff going on right from now until Monday (the fun actually started last night), including a comprehensive programme of free fringe events. Find out all you need to know at www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz

Gig review: Paradigm Shift

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Michael Janisch's Paradigm Shift at The Cross (Picture: Russ Escritt)

The Cross, Moseley, Birmingham UK
27-04-2011

The band takes its name from a Paradigm Shift in bassist Michael Janisch’s life – the birth of his first child – and in the way he composed a four-part suite of the same name, played here in what Michael called its “world premiere”.

Instead of writing at the piano or at the bass guitar and starting with chords pretty early on as he usually does, he wrote the Paradigm Shift Suite by playing around on the double bass until he came up with a riff or motif that he was happy with, then the drum rhythm, the trumpet and saxophone parts, and the piano arrangement all came from that.

It made for an intense and pretty high-powered 20  minutes or so, with Janisch leading into each section with the bass in a remarkably wide range of moods, from funky to spacey to abstractly bowed.

It was not easy music, and the players Janisch has chosen for this music and this tour are the sort who thrive upon difficulty, just as their leader does. The first half had shown off their composing abilities too, and all were impressive.

Tenor player Paul Booth was on finer form than I have ever heard him, playing impossibly complex patterns with a real emotional intensity and heart, and a great muscular tone which filled the room without the need for amplification.

Behind him drummer David Lyttle stirred up some assault and battery. He did lots of fine things, especially with his hands and with the brushes, though I found his sound a little harsh for the room, and his subversive snare thwacks a little too predictable by the end of the evening. He locks in really well with Janisch, but could be a bit more sensitive to the soloists, to my ears.

Pianist Leo Genovese, over from the US, played some amazing solos with an acoustic piano sound, and on the Paradigm Shift Suite he used electric sounds with great funkiness and great taste, turning in a remarkably fine electric piano solo, packing the notes in while always keeping a flow and a feeling of structure.

Trumpeter Jason Palmer, also from the US, glittered and sparkled with extraordinary facility at high speed. His own piece, Crash, cleverly interleaved fast trumpet led sections with slower tenor led interludes, and brought out the strengths in both hornmen, while also keeping the rhythm section on their toes.

Michael Janisch’s energy and articulacy feeds through all his music and invigorates all those he plays with. He’s a real life-giver.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening, then, with a bunch of superb musicians, playing only their second gig as a band, and delighting in playing dangerously with fresh material. As a band they may be smoother on some of these tunes by the end of their tour, but the really special thing about hearing them now was to feel the excitement of their risk-taking. Like watching a high-wire team trying out a new routine for the first time without the safety net!

Many thanks to Cobweb Collective for putting this gig on. To see the other dates in the tour and useful links, see preview here.

Bobby Previte by Russ Escritt

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Russ Escritt went along to see the Miro exhibiton at the Tate in London last week. And that got him to thinking about drummer Bobby Previte and his 23 Constellations Of Miro, that his band played at the CBSO Centre back on 6 February 2004. And here he is. 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: Kairos 4tet

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Statement of Intent
(Edition Records)

From the first soprano saxophone-stated bustling melody with a Middle Eastern tinge, into the beautifully articulated double bass solo and on to the determinedly building piano solo that opens this disc – it’s the title track – it is clear that this is going to be as enjoyable ride as the band’s first disc, Kairos Moment.

The band feels even tighter, probably as a result of quite a bit of touring in between, and the character of saxophonist Adam Waldmann’s music is even more clearly defined. His compositions are strong with not necessarily just one good tune apiece.

Take Maybe Next Year, for example. It has lyrics written by Rupert Friend and sung by Emilia Martensson, and moves through verses, bridges and choruses that each contain enough melodic and harmonic material for one good song each on their own. And what a pleasure to hear contemporary lyrics to a jazz tune that don’t sound either too arch and contrived or too twee and simplistic.

Martensson turns in a very fine, restrained performance, too. There is a second vocal piece, The Calling, with lyrics by the singer herself, and though it’s not quite as strong as Maybe Next Year, it’s still pretty good.

And what of the majority of tracks, all instrumental from the quartet of Waldmann, pianist Ivo Neame, double bassist Jasper Hoiby and drummer Jon Scott? Well, they are uniformly enjoyable and satisfying.

The moods change, from the spiky Hicks to the floating-across-the-beat consideration of Philosophy of Futility, from the minimalist overlaying lines of Box Set Anti-Hero to the deceptive, apparent simplicity of Simpler Times, but the ability to bring serenity to busy rhythms and urgency to gentler ones, reveals not only the sophistication of the musicians but also the depth of the writing.

Do, I urge you, get hold of a copy of Statement Of Intent – it has broad appeal and is sure to find its way into your disc player as often as it has into mine. The right music for any time of day and for all but the most heavy metal of moods. Another fine recording from Edition, too.

Find out more about Kairos 4tet, including the tour they are are currently in the middle of, and which brings them to The Chapel in Stratford-upon-Avon on Sunday 5 June, here.

Preview: Cheltenham Jazz Festival

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There’ll be not one but two Cheltenham Jazz Festival previews this week. Mine will be up here on Thursday, but first, thejazzbreakfast’s Man-On-The-Cheltenham-Beat this year, JJ Wheeler, shares his expectations.

Wedding? What wedding?

Surely the biggest, most eagerly anticipated event happening this weekend is Cheltenham Jazz Festival, booked way in advance of any royal potatoes securing a date at Westminster Abbey.

Kit Downes

Cheltenham has many great features, all contributing to its reputation as one of the most exciting, family-friendly festivals in the world. No wonder musicians and fans alike flock to be part of the action year after year.

With close to 50 ‘headline’ events, ranging from traditional Big Band Swing nights hosted by Michael Parkinson, free improvisation from Alan Wilkinson Trio, pop-tinged superstars such as Jamie Cullum to the cutting edge of contemporary jazz such as Outhouse and Phronesis, Cheltenham has it all.

And if you don’t feel like spending money, or simply want to chill out on the grass in the family area outside of Town Hall, the festival features a ‘Fringe Festival’, equally diverse in genre, all events of which are free to attend! This year’s fringe includes some of Britain’s hottest talent both inside and outside of jazz, including Rachel Musson’s Skein as part of BBC Introducing’s contribution to the festival on Sunday afternoon (See previous review here). To watch this band in London you would be paying at least £10 per ticket, but nip down to Cheltenham and you can catch them for free. That’s great value.

Pharoah Sanders

Personally, I am relishing the chance to see the all-stars of the Overtone Quartet (Larry Grenadier depping for Dave Holland alongside Jason Moran, Chris Potter & Eric Harland), Django Bates’ collaboration with Troyka (cross-generational genre defying jazz-anarchy guaranteed), Kit Downes Sextet (everybody’s favourite pianist returns with added front-line), Spin Marvel (Electro-acoustic soundscapes given shape and interest by stalwarts of the jazz scene, this year featuring Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones), Big Air (a meeting of some of the world’s most intuitive improvisers) and Pharoah Sanders (a true giant of Jazz).

However, there’s plenty more happening. I’m gutted that I can’t make events on the Friday and Monday, mostly Outhouse Quartet and the spellbinding Phronesis. Julian Arguelles and John Taylor meet in what should be a wholly satisfying and joyous occasion to witness at the Town Hall on Saturday, before an intriguing collaboration between Kit Downes and animator Lesley Barnes at The Playhouse.

Another exciting event at The Playhouse is the Trondheim-Birmingham Collaboration at 1.30pm in The Playhouse on Saturday. A shameless plug from myself (involved as drummer within the project), this initiative couples the top students from Trondheim Conservatory (Norway) with those from Birmingham Conservatoire, creating three highly charged quartets fusing ideas and concepts into what should be an explosive three sets of music.

There’s loads more going on at the festival, which you can find here… and hopefully the weather will hold out.