Just back from London this evening, from warm, dry and fairly sunny to cold, windy and extremely wet! Ah, it's nice to be back to Glasgow weather :). The train is a good way to go. I love trains.
The main reason we went down was to see the Sunday night gig, which included Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten. Being an electric bass player, you can imagine my excitement - two legends of the instrument in one gig! It was as good as I had hoped!
First up was Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - the man himself on banjo (the electric one sounded just like a guitar to me), Roy Wooten (aka Futureman) on "drums", Howard Levy on piano and harmonica, and Victor Wooten on electric bass. This group were quite amazing! I'd never heard them before, so wasn't sure how much it would be folk and how much jazz (or other). As it turns out, it's a mashup of various genres, including jazz, folk and fusion. Very enjoyable and varied. We got quite a surprise when Roy Wooten came on - I didn't know he had this persona, Futureman, and it looked like Jack Sparrow had just walked on. The strangeness only continued when he strapped on his electronic drums creation, which looked like something out of Scrapheap Challenge. It didn't have the depth, power and presence of real percussion, but it was OK. He supplemented it with some actual percussion too. I heard someone say he invented it so he could stand out front with the others and not be hidden at the back behind a drumkit!
The harmonica playing of Howard Levy was jawdropping - I don't know much about harmonicas, but I didn't think you could get that many notes out of a blues one! Also, I have no idea how he played chords and separate moving melodies over the top. Amazing.
Victor Wooten was of course also amazing *g*. Brilliant to hear him live. He played some fantastic solos, and the audience all loved it. His dexterity on the instrument is quite something. He played a beautiful solo piece based around the Beatles song Norwegian Wood. I'll need to get a recording of that one.
My favourite number of theirs was probably the last one - I Stand Alone, where Chick Corea joined them on piano. Futureman provided some excellent vocals - I liked his singing better than his percussion! Another song I'd like to get a recording of.
The second act of the night (I wouldn't say either was a support act) was Chick Corea, with Lenny White on drums and Stanley Clarke on bass - he was playing string bass tonight, not electric, so I was a little bit disappointed, but not for long! They were playing material from Return to Forever, but I'm not familiar with that. It was more straight ahead jazz that Bela Fleck, but virtuosic. Stanley Clarke played some amazing solos, including rhythmic sections hitting the fret board that the audience loved! It's all about the tricks with audiences *g*. Chick Corea played beautifully as always - we heard him earlier in the year in a solo recital in Glasgow where he played very different material - this is more the sort of thing we'd expected to hear on that occasion, and we enjoyed this performance more.
At the end, the two groups joined up for a mass jam - it sounded like something possibly from Chick Corea's My Spanish Heart album, or something in the same vein. It was great - especially the bass solo stand-off between Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten - and they looked like they were having a blast!
This gig was in the Barbican on the Sunday night - the same gig had taken place earlier in the day, although by the look of some other reviews, there were some differences (there was no guest saxophone with Chick Corea's group, for example). Here is a review from LondonJazz, and here is a shorter review from the Guardian, both of the afternoon gig.
We were fortunate in getting a hotel within walking distance of the Barbican (which, by the way, is a concrete jungle we couldn't find the way into initially) - we got one of the surprise hotels on LastMinute.com and got lucky. It was right in the shadow of St Paul's - quite fancy too - the doorman even had a top hat and tails *g*. The only downside was that our room looked into the foyer of the hotel (it was hollow) rather than outside, which was a bit weird.
We saw two more gigs, but I shall continue in another post. Must go and look at some big band charts before rehearsal...
The main reason we went down was to see the Sunday night gig, which included Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten. Being an electric bass player, you can imagine my excitement - two legends of the instrument in one gig! It was as good as I had hoped!
First up was Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - the man himself on banjo (the electric one sounded just like a guitar to me), Roy Wooten (aka Futureman) on "drums", Howard Levy on piano and harmonica, and Victor Wooten on electric bass. This group were quite amazing! I'd never heard them before, so wasn't sure how much it would be folk and how much jazz (or other). As it turns out, it's a mashup of various genres, including jazz, folk and fusion. Very enjoyable and varied. We got quite a surprise when Roy Wooten came on - I didn't know he had this persona, Futureman, and it looked like Jack Sparrow had just walked on. The strangeness only continued when he strapped on his electronic drums creation, which looked like something out of Scrapheap Challenge. It didn't have the depth, power and presence of real percussion, but it was OK. He supplemented it with some actual percussion too. I heard someone say he invented it so he could stand out front with the others and not be hidden at the back behind a drumkit!
The harmonica playing of Howard Levy was jawdropping - I don't know much about harmonicas, but I didn't think you could get that many notes out of a blues one! Also, I have no idea how he played chords and separate moving melodies over the top. Amazing.
Victor Wooten was of course also amazing *g*. Brilliant to hear him live. He played some fantastic solos, and the audience all loved it. His dexterity on the instrument is quite something. He played a beautiful solo piece based around the Beatles song Norwegian Wood. I'll need to get a recording of that one.
My favourite number of theirs was probably the last one - I Stand Alone, where Chick Corea joined them on piano. Futureman provided some excellent vocals - I liked his singing better than his percussion! Another song I'd like to get a recording of.
The second act of the night (I wouldn't say either was a support act) was Chick Corea, with Lenny White on drums and Stanley Clarke on bass - he was playing string bass tonight, not electric, so I was a little bit disappointed, but not for long! They were playing material from Return to Forever, but I'm not familiar with that. It was more straight ahead jazz that Bela Fleck, but virtuosic. Stanley Clarke played some amazing solos, including rhythmic sections hitting the fret board that the audience loved! It's all about the tricks with audiences *g*. Chick Corea played beautifully as always - we heard him earlier in the year in a solo recital in Glasgow where he played very different material - this is more the sort of thing we'd expected to hear on that occasion, and we enjoyed this performance more.
At the end, the two groups joined up for a mass jam - it sounded like something possibly from Chick Corea's My Spanish Heart album, or something in the same vein. It was great - especially the bass solo stand-off between Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten - and they looked like they were having a blast!
This gig was in the Barbican on the Sunday night - the same gig had taken place earlier in the day, although by the look of some other reviews, there were some differences (there was no guest saxophone with Chick Corea's group, for example). Here is a review from LondonJazz, and here is a shorter review from the Guardian, both of the afternoon gig.
We were fortunate in getting a hotel within walking distance of the Barbican (which, by the way, is a concrete jungle we couldn't find the way into initially) - we got one of the surprise hotels on LastMinute.com and got lucky. It was right in the shadow of St Paul's - quite fancy too - the doorman even had a top hat and tails *g*. The only downside was that our room looked into the foyer of the hotel (it was hollow) rather than outside, which was a bit weird.
We saw two more gigs, but I shall continue in another post. Must go and look at some big band charts before rehearsal...
Last night, South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo were playing at the Royal Concert Hall, supported by Netsayi, a Zimbabwean singer.
The place was only about half full - The Old Fruitmarket would have been a much more suitable venue for this gig. The GRCH was really too big and empty feeling - even the stage was too big. The audience was largely older people, 50s and over, but there was a scattering of younger people in the audience. But despite being a small audience, they were very enthusiastic - there were clearly a lot of fans there! Ladysmith Black Mambazo got a standing ovation from about half the house.
I enjoyed Netsayi a lot. She opened (un-introduced) with a completely solo song, which covered the extremes of her vocal range (I assume). She then brought on her side-men (literally - they were either side of her) - a Nigerian guitarist and a Brazilian multi-instrumentalist, including all sorts of random percussion, mandolin (I think) and guitar. Both also contributed vocals. Netsayi herself also played guitar and amplified mbira (what I knew as a "finger harp" until a quick Google provided some further details).
Her style reminded me quite a lot of Joanna Newsom, an American folk singer, but where Newsom's music sounds (to me) very English and American folk influenced, Netsayi's derives from African roots. But the style is not dissimilar. She also reminded me at times of Nina Simone. Her set was very interesting and varied, almost all from her latest album, with the exception of her version of the Irish song Love Is Pleasing (which was probably my favourite song that they did). I got her first CD at the interval, rather than her latest, since the guy selling it said it was more jazz and blues styled. I haven't had a chance to listen properly yet, but what I've heard so far sounds good!
I actually preferred Netsayi to Ladysmith Black Mambazo - her material was much more varied. While Ladysmith Black Mambazo are very good at what they do (traditional South African isicathamiya a capella vocals and dancing), it is all a bit similar in style. Their music is very uplifting, and has a wonderfully rich sonority to it, particularly given the deep bass notes. It's very rhythmic and distinctive too. Their dancing is quite strange at first, but you get used to it. They are certainly very able to do high kicks! They must have to warm up before shows to avoid pulling muscles *g*. Their singing is mixed in with visual and spoken humour, and a little bit of audience interaction. The songs can go on for quite a while, and the visual humour adds interest.
All in all, an enjoyable concert, and not the usual sort of thing I go to hear!
The place was only about half full - The Old Fruitmarket would have been a much more suitable venue for this gig. The GRCH was really too big and empty feeling - even the stage was too big. The audience was largely older people, 50s and over, but there was a scattering of younger people in the audience. But despite being a small audience, they were very enthusiastic - there were clearly a lot of fans there! Ladysmith Black Mambazo got a standing ovation from about half the house.
I enjoyed Netsayi a lot. She opened (un-introduced) with a completely solo song, which covered the extremes of her vocal range (I assume). She then brought on her side-men (literally - they were either side of her) - a Nigerian guitarist and a Brazilian multi-instrumentalist, including all sorts of random percussion, mandolin (I think) and guitar. Both also contributed vocals. Netsayi herself also played guitar and amplified mbira (what I knew as a "finger harp" until a quick Google provided some further details).
Her style reminded me quite a lot of Joanna Newsom, an American folk singer, but where Newsom's music sounds (to me) very English and American folk influenced, Netsayi's derives from African roots. But the style is not dissimilar. She also reminded me at times of Nina Simone. Her set was very interesting and varied, almost all from her latest album, with the exception of her version of the Irish song Love Is Pleasing (which was probably my favourite song that they did). I got her first CD at the interval, rather than her latest, since the guy selling it said it was more jazz and blues styled. I haven't had a chance to listen properly yet, but what I've heard so far sounds good!
I actually preferred Netsayi to Ladysmith Black Mambazo - her material was much more varied. While Ladysmith Black Mambazo are very good at what they do (traditional South African isicathamiya a capella vocals and dancing), it is all a bit similar in style. Their music is very uplifting, and has a wonderfully rich sonority to it, particularly given the deep bass notes. It's very rhythmic and distinctive too. Their dancing is quite strange at first, but you get used to it. They are certainly very able to do high kicks! They must have to warm up before shows to avoid pulling muscles *g*. Their singing is mixed in with visual and spoken humour, and a little bit of audience interaction. The songs can go on for quite a while, and the visual humour adds interest.
All in all, an enjoyable concert, and not the usual sort of thing I go to hear!
I was going to say that for those of you in or near Glasgow on the evening of Sunday 6th December, you can apply for free tickets for the recording of Radio 3's Jazz Line-Up (which is produced in Glasgow) at the BBC at Pacific Quay. However, I've just seen that it's now fully booked - it must have "sold out", as it were, in the last day or so. But you can listen when it's broadcast instead (I don't know if it's live or not - I think it's recorded for broadcast at a later date).
The show will be discussing jazz in the UK outwith London, and there will be performances by the SNJO, pianist Richard Weatherall and guitarist Mark McKnight (whose gig I talked about the other day).
It would also be worth going to if for no other reason than to see the inside of the BBC building - it's hollow and quite Escher-like:
The show will be discussing jazz in the UK outwith London, and there will be performances by the SNJO, pianist Richard Weatherall and guitarist Mark McKnight (whose gig I talked about the other day).
It would also be worth going to if for no other reason than to see the inside of the BBC building - it's hollow and quite Escher-like:
Yesterday saw the Scottish regional section of the National Concert Band Festival (affiliated to the British Association of Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles) at the RSAMD. For many years it was in Falkirk, and some people still refer to is as such, for example, "when is Falkirk this year?" I don't really know why it was changed - Falkirk was actually more central. But I shan't complain - the RSAMD is much handier for me!
Although it's a festival, there are awards, and in many ways it's primarily a competition. But not like a brass band competition thank goodness! There is a wide range of repertoire at each level for the bands to choose from, and there are also (at the national event at least), workshops, gala concerts and recitals as well as the performances in each class. There are also trade stands, a handy way to stock up on your more obscure wind instrument requirements.
There are always lots of school bands, but less in the youth, community and open classes, particularly in the regional festivals. In the community class this year were the newly formed Stewarton Winds (primarily ex-Stewarton Academy, a school with a long history of success at the NCBF, pupils) and Edinburgh Concert Band, who got gold and silver awards respectively. The only band in the open class in Scotland these days, since Motherwell stopped taking part, is the Glasgow Wind Band, who also got a gold award.
The awards have been shifted slightly - gold, silver and bronze are the standard ones, but this year the certificate of merit has been removed and a platinum award added at the top end. However, nobody is quite sure if gold is the new platinum - rumour has it that platinum is a definite invite to the national festival, but gold is discretionary. I'm sure we'll find out in time. Personally, I suspect that it's just a renaming of the same level of ability, since "certificate of merit" is not a very encouraging thing to get (sort of like, "thanks for turning up"), so now those bands can get bronze. The discretionary invite attached to the gold award may also be a way to thin the numbers in the very large school band classes. But these are just guesses on my part.
All things considered, it wasn't one of our better performances, but this seems to happen quite often at these events. We played Javelin by Michael Torke and Sunrise At Angel's Gate by Philip Sparke (the latter of which sounds like an amalgamation of about ten other tunes, in particular Star Trek: Voyager). Some things went wrong that have never gone wrong before. This could in part be to do with the very different acoustics of the performance hall compared to the freezing cold, extremely echoey church which we rehearse in. Everything sounds completely different in other venues, and we can hear all sorts of things we've never heard before, especially gaps which in rehearsals are filled with reverberation! My muted bit at the end of the slow piece went much better than I had expected though - I'd been having serious tuning issues with the mute (the low end was very sharp and the top end very flat) but it came out OK in the end, much to my surprise! I rarely have to play with a mute, so I'm not familiar enough with the change in response and tuning it creates. And it still squeaked when I put it in! I'd wet the corks to prevent that, but they'd dried in the intervening time :).
Although it's a festival, there are awards, and in many ways it's primarily a competition. But not like a brass band competition thank goodness! There is a wide range of repertoire at each level for the bands to choose from, and there are also (at the national event at least), workshops, gala concerts and recitals as well as the performances in each class. There are also trade stands, a handy way to stock up on your more obscure wind instrument requirements.
There are always lots of school bands, but less in the youth, community and open classes, particularly in the regional festivals. In the community class this year were the newly formed Stewarton Winds (primarily ex-Stewarton Academy, a school with a long history of success at the NCBF, pupils) and Edinburgh Concert Band, who got gold and silver awards respectively. The only band in the open class in Scotland these days, since Motherwell stopped taking part, is the Glasgow Wind Band, who also got a gold award.
The awards have been shifted slightly - gold, silver and bronze are the standard ones, but this year the certificate of merit has been removed and a platinum award added at the top end. However, nobody is quite sure if gold is the new platinum - rumour has it that platinum is a definite invite to the national festival, but gold is discretionary. I'm sure we'll find out in time. Personally, I suspect that it's just a renaming of the same level of ability, since "certificate of merit" is not a very encouraging thing to get (sort of like, "thanks for turning up"), so now those bands can get bronze. The discretionary invite attached to the gold award may also be a way to thin the numbers in the very large school band classes. But these are just guesses on my part.
All things considered, it wasn't one of our better performances, but this seems to happen quite often at these events. We played Javelin by Michael Torke and Sunrise At Angel's Gate by Philip Sparke (the latter of which sounds like an amalgamation of about ten other tunes, in particular Star Trek: Voyager). Some things went wrong that have never gone wrong before. This could in part be to do with the very different acoustics of the performance hall compared to the freezing cold, extremely echoey church which we rehearse in. Everything sounds completely different in other venues, and we can hear all sorts of things we've never heard before, especially gaps which in rehearsals are filled with reverberation! My muted bit at the end of the slow piece went much better than I had expected though - I'd been having serious tuning issues with the mute (the low end was very sharp and the top end very flat) but it came out OK in the end, much to my surprise! I rarely have to play with a mute, so I'm not familiar enough with the change in response and tuning it creates. And it still squeaked when I put it in! I'd wet the corks to prevent that, but they'd dried in the intervening time :).
- Mood:
pleased
The Mark McKnight Organ Quartet
Rectial Room, City Halls
Thursday 5th November 2009
In the end, I decided to go to the Mark McKnight gig, partially swayed by the second comment on my previous post! Since it was Guy Fawkes Night, I was going to get the train - the display on Glasgow Green was likely to create parking issues - but I took the car in the end. I got parked OK, albeit in the most expensive and badly designed multi-storey in Glasgow (Q-Park, Candleriggs). I tried to get into three different spaces before I found one I could actually manoeuvre into - you need a Smart car in there!
Anyway, I was in enough time to get a ticket and wander round the corner for 10min to watch the biggest of the fireworks from Glasgow Green over the buildings - shiny!
The gig was not that busy, since it was bonfire night and there was a Celtic game on too, but the smallish selection of seating was about 3/4 full. A mixed audience - some lone older guys, a handful of students, a handful of professional musicians and some randoms like myself.
The quartet consisted of Mark McKnight on guitar, Will Vinson on alto, James Maddren on drums and Ross Stanley on Hammond organ. The set was a mix of Mark McKnight's originals and some standards.
Acoustically, the room has a lot of reverberation, even more so when it's not so full. For loud bands, this is bad, but for this small group it was actually beneficial to my ear. It lent a wonderful smoothness to the sound - combined with the beautiful tone quality of the sax and guitar in particular, the band sounded rather like a cube with rounded edges. In my head, anyway...
Did I mention the tone quality? *g* Yeah, one of the nicest alto sounds I've heard. At some points I wasn't really listening to the notes, just the tone! Same for the guitar - don't know if it's the guitar, the technique or the amp (or some combination of all three) that produces that sort of clean jazz tone, but I wish I knew and could translate it to bass!
The organ added a nice sound too - I'm more used to hearing Hammond organs in funkier music, rather than straight ahead jazz, so it was a bit unusual for me. But it was nice. My favourite parts of the gig were the couple of bits where the band dropped away and the organ was left playing very quiet, interesting harmonies, and playing about with the sounds and effects it has available. I particularly liked the intro to Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. He was also taking on the role of the bass throughout, playing walking bass lines on the left hand. That must be awfully difficult to coordinate with what the right hand is doing, especially when improvising!
On exiting the gig, I passed The Beer Cafe next door where the Michael Dean's Quartet were playing, and it was a lot busier and livelier, but then, it was free and in a a pub! Plus, they'll have benefited from the passing trade of people leaving the fireworks display. An interesting contrast, nonetheless.
Here is a review from Byas'd Opinion, and here is one from Rob Adams at The Herald.
I wonder how the Portico Quartet gig at the Arches was. Rob Adams at the Herald certainly wasn't impressed by them at their Edinburgh gig on the 4th... But John Walters at The Guardian was more appreciative of their London gig. See![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
doughnutdiary's thoughts on the Glasgow gig in the comments for this post.
Rectial Room, City Halls
Thursday 5th November 2009
In the end, I decided to go to the Mark McKnight gig, partially swayed by the second comment on my previous post! Since it was Guy Fawkes Night, I was going to get the train - the display on Glasgow Green was likely to create parking issues - but I took the car in the end. I got parked OK, albeit in the most expensive and badly designed multi-storey in Glasgow (Q-Park, Candleriggs). I tried to get into three different spaces before I found one I could actually manoeuvre into - you need a Smart car in there!
Anyway, I was in enough time to get a ticket and wander round the corner for 10min to watch the biggest of the fireworks from Glasgow Green over the buildings - shiny!
The gig was not that busy, since it was bonfire night and there was a Celtic game on too, but the smallish selection of seating was about 3/4 full. A mixed audience - some lone older guys, a handful of students, a handful of professional musicians and some randoms like myself.
The quartet consisted of Mark McKnight on guitar, Will Vinson on alto, James Maddren on drums and Ross Stanley on Hammond organ. The set was a mix of Mark McKnight's originals and some standards.
Acoustically, the room has a lot of reverberation, even more so when it's not so full. For loud bands, this is bad, but for this small group it was actually beneficial to my ear. It lent a wonderful smoothness to the sound - combined with the beautiful tone quality of the sax and guitar in particular, the band sounded rather like a cube with rounded edges. In my head, anyway...
Did I mention the tone quality? *g* Yeah, one of the nicest alto sounds I've heard. At some points I wasn't really listening to the notes, just the tone! Same for the guitar - don't know if it's the guitar, the technique or the amp (or some combination of all three) that produces that sort of clean jazz tone, but I wish I knew and could translate it to bass!
The organ added a nice sound too - I'm more used to hearing Hammond organs in funkier music, rather than straight ahead jazz, so it was a bit unusual for me. But it was nice. My favourite parts of the gig were the couple of bits where the band dropped away and the organ was left playing very quiet, interesting harmonies, and playing about with the sounds and effects it has available. I particularly liked the intro to Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. He was also taking on the role of the bass throughout, playing walking bass lines on the left hand. That must be awfully difficult to coordinate with what the right hand is doing, especially when improvising!
On exiting the gig, I passed The Beer Cafe next door where the Michael Dean's Quartet were playing, and it was a lot busier and livelier, but then, it was free and in a a pub! Plus, they'll have benefited from the passing trade of people leaving the fireworks display. An interesting contrast, nonetheless.
Here is a review from Byas'd Opinion, and here is one from Rob Adams at The Herald.
I wonder how the Portico Quartet gig at the Arches was. Rob Adams at the Herald certainly wasn't impressed by them at their Edinburgh gig on the 4th... But John Walters at The Guardian was more appreciative of their London gig. See
doughnutdiary's thoughts on the Glasgow gig in the comments for this post.Some gigs of note in Glasgow this week.
Mono Jazz on Wednesday night, 8pm to midnight (free entry), will be presenting a mix of Slovakian, Dutch and Scottish jazz, with group AsGuests (Miroslav Herák and Michal Vaňouček), joined by Paul Towndrow, Euan Burton and Matsko Ushco, playing the first set. The second set will be the house group led by Lorne Cowieson, who will be joined by their various guests as well as, rumour has it, Nigel Hitchcock.
Thursday night presents two possibilities for the discerning listener. At the Recitcal Room in the City Halls, 8pm (£10), Jazz International presents the Mark McKnight Organ Quartet with American saxophonist Will Vinson, and Ross Stanley on Hammond organ, James Maddren on drums.
And at The Arches, 7:30pm (£10), you can see two Mercury Music Prize nominees, The Portico Quartet and Sweet Billy Pilgrim.
So what, if anything, to go and see? That is the question. I had intended to go to see The Portico Quartet, but now I am undecided. Wednesday night is probably not going to be an option, since I have rehearsal until 9:30pm then home to bed - a 5:25am start necessitates an early night. Thursday - I'm undecided. I'm rather tired this week following a very busy weekend of playing gigs and other things, so I may not go out at all. Perhaps I'll decide on Thursday evening... that's the ticket - postpone the decision until the last possible minute!
Mono Jazz on Wednesday night, 8pm to midnight (free entry), will be presenting a mix of Slovakian, Dutch and Scottish jazz, with group AsGuests (Miroslav Herák and Michal Vaňouček), joined by Paul Towndrow, Euan Burton and Matsko Ushco, playing the first set. The second set will be the house group led by Lorne Cowieson, who will be joined by their various guests as well as, rumour has it, Nigel Hitchcock.
Thursday night presents two possibilities for the discerning listener. At the Recitcal Room in the City Halls, 8pm (£10), Jazz International presents the Mark McKnight Organ Quartet with American saxophonist Will Vinson, and Ross Stanley on Hammond organ, James Maddren on drums.
And at The Arches, 7:30pm (£10), you can see two Mercury Music Prize nominees, The Portico Quartet and Sweet Billy Pilgrim.
So what, if anything, to go and see? That is the question. I had intended to go to see The Portico Quartet, but now I am undecided. Wednesday night is probably not going to be an option, since I have rehearsal until 9:30pm then home to bed - a 5:25am start necessitates an early night. Thursday - I'm undecided. I'm rather tired this week following a very busy weekend of playing gigs and other things, so I may not go out at all. Perhaps I'll decide on Thursday evening... that's the ticket - postpone the decision until the last possible minute!
This Saturday (24th) at Brel on Ashton Lane will be a newly formed jazz quartet consisting of Bill Fleming on keyboard, Paul Tracey on guitar, Joe Rattray on bass and Scot Mackay on drums. Entrance is free, 3-6pm, and the guys will be playing music from John Scofield, The Philadelphia Experiment, D'Angelo, Chris Potter and Herbie Hancock amongst others. Should be a good afternoon!
But not all at once *g*.
Last Saturday night there was a Dusty Springfield Tribute Night in aid of charity in Maryhill Community Halls. Some of our friends were playing/singing at it, so we went along. The gear on stage belonged to Belle & Sebastian, from what I could gather, at least one member of which was playing occasionally. I'm not familiar with the band other than by name though, so I would have been none the wiser had it not been mentioned by several other people!
It was an enjoyable night, with music of varying quality. There was a large selection of musicians performing, from soloists to larger bands. The song list had been distributed fairly evenly among them all. I liked our friend's band (The Acetones, plus Nicola on guest vocals - easily the most soulful voice of the night) best of course (well, I am biased, here!) - but I also particularly liked Sparrow and the Workshop - she had a lovely voice.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Yesterday afternoon I heard about a last minute jazz gig at The Vale bar by Queen Street Station. Not somewhere I'd been before, and perhaps an unusual choice, but it was quite nice. I'm not sure the giant angry goat head thing behind the stage quite matched the atmosphere, but it didn't detract.
This gig was, I think, arranged by the guys in Brass Jaw, who are having a wee intermission in their UK tour. They were the support at this gig, with the main act being Spanish alto player Perico Sambeat, with his quartet consisting of Romain Pilon (guitar), Michael Janisch (bass) and Colin Stranahan (drums). They're playing in Pizza Express in London on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, before he heads off to other parts of the world again.
The venue was pretty packed when I arrived just at the end of the first set of the main act (I had a rehearsal until 10pm and couldn't make it along earlier). I missed Brass Jaw unfortunately, but will be going to see them later anyway. It got a little quieter after that since it was getting quite late for a Monday night - I expect some people had to go for the last train/bus/underground. But it was still busy enough. The audience were very appreciative - in fact, it seemed to us that the professional musicians in the audience were the most appreciative and enjoyed it the most. That's probably the sign of a very technically accomplished performance! It was perhaps a little less easily accessible to us amateurs, but I still enjoyed it :). We particularly liked the funky number that opened the second set, and the following slow piece - very beautiful. Perico Sambeat has a very lovely tone.
There was an odd moment where he stopped mid-phase in an a capella section and put the alto down abruptly with a fair thunk on the floor, picked up the soprano, and continued off in a completely different direction. I hope he didn't dent his alto - it sounded like he did...
The guitar was also very interesting. It sounded like nothing half so much as a keyboard, both in tone and comping style. Very unusual. Some very nice solos from the bass and drums also.
So that was Monday night - it's rare I can go out weeknights like that. Fortuitously, I'm on holiday for a couple of days, and making the most of not having to get up!
[Here's a wee review of one the Pizza Express dates from Jazzwise Magazine.]
Last Saturday night there was a Dusty Springfield Tribute Night in aid of charity in Maryhill Community Halls. Some of our friends were playing/singing at it, so we went along. The gear on stage belonged to Belle & Sebastian, from what I could gather, at least one member of which was playing occasionally. I'm not familiar with the band other than by name though, so I would have been none the wiser had it not been mentioned by several other people!
It was an enjoyable night, with music of varying quality. There was a large selection of musicians performing, from soloists to larger bands. The song list had been distributed fairly evenly among them all. I liked our friend's band (The Acetones, plus Nicola on guest vocals - easily the most soulful voice of the night) best of course (well, I am biased, here!) - but I also particularly liked Sparrow and the Workshop - she had a lovely voice.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Yesterday afternoon I heard about a last minute jazz gig at The Vale bar by Queen Street Station. Not somewhere I'd been before, and perhaps an unusual choice, but it was quite nice. I'm not sure the giant angry goat head thing behind the stage quite matched the atmosphere, but it didn't detract.
This gig was, I think, arranged by the guys in Brass Jaw, who are having a wee intermission in their UK tour. They were the support at this gig, with the main act being Spanish alto player Perico Sambeat, with his quartet consisting of Romain Pilon (guitar), Michael Janisch (bass) and Colin Stranahan (drums). They're playing in Pizza Express in London on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, before he heads off to other parts of the world again.
The venue was pretty packed when I arrived just at the end of the first set of the main act (I had a rehearsal until 10pm and couldn't make it along earlier). I missed Brass Jaw unfortunately, but will be going to see them later anyway. It got a little quieter after that since it was getting quite late for a Monday night - I expect some people had to go for the last train/bus/underground. But it was still busy enough. The audience were very appreciative - in fact, it seemed to us that the professional musicians in the audience were the most appreciative and enjoyed it the most. That's probably the sign of a very technically accomplished performance! It was perhaps a little less easily accessible to us amateurs, but I still enjoyed it :). We particularly liked the funky number that opened the second set, and the following slow piece - very beautiful. Perico Sambeat has a very lovely tone.
There was an odd moment where he stopped mid-phase in an a capella section and put the alto down abruptly with a fair thunk on the floor, picked up the soprano, and continued off in a completely different direction. I hope he didn't dent his alto - it sounded like he did...
The guitar was also very interesting. It sounded like nothing half so much as a keyboard, both in tone and comping style. Very unusual. Some very nice solos from the bass and drums also.
So that was Monday night - it's rare I can go out weeknights like that. Fortuitously, I'm on holiday for a couple of days, and making the most of not having to get up!
[Here's a wee review of one the Pizza Express dates from Jazzwise Magazine.]
- Mood:
just about getting warm
Over on the NPR blog, A Blog Supreme, a recent series was run whereby a selection of jazz bloggers chose five albums made within the last ten years that they would recommend to someone wanting to get into current jazz.
In compiling the answers, The Bad Plus came out second most recommend, including albums These Are The Vistas and Prog. I was listening to these again the other day, and while I like them a lot (mostly) I definitely wouldn't recommend them to anyone as starter albums! Given their fairly unique and modern style, they'd be more likely to confirm their worst suspicions about jazz. To a non-jazz fan, I think these would sound fairly abstract, rhythmically and harmonically obtuse, and generally inaccessible. I think they're more of an acquired taste. You know, start with the cheddar, move on to the mature Stilton later...
In compiling the answers, The Bad Plus came out second most recommend, including albums These Are The Vistas and Prog. I was listening to these again the other day, and while I like them a lot (mostly) I definitely wouldn't recommend them to anyone as starter albums! Given their fairly unique and modern style, they'd be more likely to confirm their worst suspicions about jazz. To a non-jazz fan, I think these would sound fairly abstract, rhythmically and harmonically obtuse, and generally inaccessible. I think they're more of an acquired taste. You know, start with the cheddar, move on to the mature Stilton later...
- Mood:
...
Went to see the band our friends play in last night, Soul-Q, at Ivory Blacks (near Central Station). Very enjoyable!
Naturally, their core repertoire is the same as every other soul band in the country! I think what distinguishes all the bands is their choice of additional repertoire - these guys were heading more in the disco direction last night I'd say.
The sound balance wasn't ideal - way too much bass (not often you'll hear me say that!) and bass drum, definitely. But then, this is a venue whose gigs usually feature such things as Norwegian prog power metal (and I didn't just make that genre up). The sound guy maybe wasn't so familiar with soul...
The band are all excellent musicians. There were quite a few guys who also play in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra in the line-up for this gig. In the absence of Ryan Quigley (who is on tour with Brass Jaw at the moment), there was Bill Fleming (usually seen playing various saxophones) on keys with one of those little red Nord synths (I think that's what it was - our keyboard player just got one. It has an awful lot of buttons, slider and dials!). We were loving those sounds! I don't think the band have a regular bass player - I've seen Mario Caribe playing with them, but this gig had Euan Burton. I think he may not have been so familiar with the material - he was playing it pretty safe.
The four piece horn section were sounding excellent! As with last time at this venue, we couldn't actually see Lorraine and John on saxophones - they were hidden behind the massive speakers. But we could still hear them :).
Naturally, their core repertoire is the same as every other soul band in the country! I think what distinguishes all the bands is their choice of additional repertoire - these guys were heading more in the disco direction last night I'd say.
The sound balance wasn't ideal - way too much bass (not often you'll hear me say that!) and bass drum, definitely. But then, this is a venue whose gigs usually feature such things as Norwegian prog power metal (and I didn't just make that genre up). The sound guy maybe wasn't so familiar with soul...
The band are all excellent musicians. There were quite a few guys who also play in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra in the line-up for this gig. In the absence of Ryan Quigley (who is on tour with Brass Jaw at the moment), there was Bill Fleming (usually seen playing various saxophones) on keys with one of those little red Nord synths (I think that's what it was - our keyboard player just got one. It has an awful lot of buttons, slider and dials!). We were loving those sounds! I don't think the band have a regular bass player - I've seen Mario Caribe playing with them, but this gig had Euan Burton. I think he may not have been so familiar with the material - he was playing it pretty safe.
The four piece horn section were sounding excellent! As with last time at this venue, we couldn't actually see Lorraine and John on saxophones - they were hidden behind the massive speakers. But we could still hear them :).
Today was the official launch of the sequel to my all time favourite musical, The Phantom of the Opera! I hadn't heard about this! I will definitely be going down to London to see this next year - it opens in the West End on March 9th 2010. Can't wait!
The sequel is called Love Never Dies and is set 10 years after the end of the first. The Phantom has moved to turn of the century New York, Coney Island to be exact, and has built up power and influence there. But he is still in love with Christine, and invites her (now a famous opera singer) to sing at one of his theatres. She comes, with her son...
Andrew Lloyd Webber presented the press release this morning, along with excerpts from the score. He was rather nervous - not surprisingly, really! A piece called Coney Island Waltz was played, followed one of the Phantom's songs, sung by Ramin Karimloo, who will be playing the role in the West End (and has played Phantom there already). He has a perfect voice for the Phantom! This is good, since Gerard Butler, while looking the part, didn't have the voice for it in the recent film version. Christine will be played by Sierra Boggess - she doesn't sing at the launch.
You can see the whole video of the launch on the website.
I liked that even Andrew Lloyd Webber refers to Raoul as a boring at the launch - he is rather a wet blanket! Does anyone else watch the show and think she should have chosen the Phantom? :D
The sequel is called Love Never Dies and is set 10 years after the end of the first. The Phantom has moved to turn of the century New York, Coney Island to be exact, and has built up power and influence there. But he is still in love with Christine, and invites her (now a famous opera singer) to sing at one of his theatres. She comes, with her son...
Andrew Lloyd Webber presented the press release this morning, along with excerpts from the score. He was rather nervous - not surprisingly, really! A piece called Coney Island Waltz was played, followed one of the Phantom's songs, sung by Ramin Karimloo, who will be playing the role in the West End (and has played Phantom there already). He has a perfect voice for the Phantom! This is good, since Gerard Butler, while looking the part, didn't have the voice for it in the recent film version. Christine will be played by Sierra Boggess - she doesn't sing at the launch.
You can see the whole video of the launch on the website.
I liked that even Andrew Lloyd Webber refers to Raoul as a boring at the launch - he is rather a wet blanket! Does anyone else watch the show and think she should have chosen the Phantom? :D
- Mood:
excited
The not-quite-a-saxophone-quartet Brass Jaw are now on tour - if they're near you, go see them! They're excellent. If you've ever heard a saxophone quartet - forget it, they're far more exciting to listen to! They are Allon Beauvoisin on baritone, Konrad Wiszniewski on tenor, Paul Towndrow on alto and Ryan Quigley on trumpet.
The tour will be promoting their new album, Deal With It, which they said at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival in 2008 was soon to be released, and has now arrived!
The tour will be promoting their new album, Deal With It, which they said at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival in 2008 was soon to be released, and has now arrived!
| 7th Oct | Hawth Theatre | Crawley |
| 8th Oct | Jazz at Dempsey's | Cardiff |
| 9th Oct | National Portrait Gallery | London |
| 15th Oct | St Austell Brewery | Cornwall |
| 16th Oct | Wakefield Jazz | Wakefield |
| 17th Oct | Pontypool Jazz | Pontypool |
| 29th Oct | Jazz Steps | Nottingham |
| 11th Nov | Scarborough Jazz Club | Scarborough |
| 12th Nov | Yardbird Club | Birmingham |
| 13th Nov | Quay Arts | Isle of Wight |
| 14th Nov | Barbican | London |
| 14th Nov | Royal Academy of Art | London |
| 15th Nov | Arts Depot | London |
| 15th Nov | Theatre Royal | London |
| 16th Nov | Rose Theatre | London |
| 16th Nov | Ray's Jazz at Foyles | London |
| 18th Nov | Greenwich Indoor Market | London |
| 23rd Nov | Recital Room, City Halls | Glasgow |
Some friends of ours have recently set up a new musical theatre group, Glasgow Music Theatre. I like their logo - it nicely references the Glasgow coat of arms.
There are a few musical theatre groups in Glasgow already, but it's always nice to have another!
Last Wed-Fri was their debut show, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (beware the instant music on that site - I nearly jumped out my skin!) at the Ramshorn Theatre. The theatre is quite small, but it sold out Wed and Fri, and was very full on Thursday. A very successful show - everyone in the audience loved it.
The cast were fantastic - all wonderful singers and very good actors. The show consists of a series of sketches relating to relationships, some with songs, some without, all very funny. A favourite moment had to be Nicola suddenly appearing from under the covers of the married couple's bed - a surprise well done, considering the minimalist stage setup. There were just a few basic props and a black backdrop. I also liked Nicola's video dating monologue a lot - rather bittersweet, I think.
[Picture courtesy of Charlie Batchelor.]
The cast (there were only four) played all the different roles wonderfully. I'd recommend the show - lots of fun. Although, funny as it is, it does leave you in a bit of despair over the state of all relationships and married life! There was a more positive note in Gregor's song Shouldn't I Be Less In Love With You? That offers some hope to us all. My least favourite sketch was probably the one about the couple with the new baby - I think it's scary because it's true. A lot of people seem to end up just like that when they have children. I hope I don't...
Next up for the company is Little Shop of Horrors - they will need a bigger cast this time! But I don't think there'll be any shortage of people. I'd certainly love to play bass for it. Following that, they're planning to do the epic West Side Story. Now that's ambitious - and I have every confidence in them!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In other news, I've had another remarkably busy music weekend. On Saturday night we (the soul band) played a wedding at the Arrochar Village Inn (up by Loch Lomond). This is the first wedding we've done - it went OK. We've learned a few things we need to polish up on, but I think the guests were all happy! The bar manager was most unhelpful and downright rude though. Big thanks to our sound guy John for putting up with less than ideal conditions! We're all just working the kinks out now from being cramped on a stage so tiny we couldn't move our feet or take our jackets off without bumping into each other.
Sunday afternoon I was playing with the big band at The 78. We had four deps this time, and we're still very short of regular trumpet players. It went much better than I expected though, even Birdland (the Maynard Ferguson version)! Possibly that piece just had so much momentum it couldn't have stopped... Randomly, the pub seems to be having power issues - there's a massive generator running out side with a huge cable running into the pub. I guess their mains power is out.
There are a few musical theatre groups in Glasgow already, but it's always nice to have another!
Last Wed-Fri was their debut show, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (beware the instant music on that site - I nearly jumped out my skin!) at the Ramshorn Theatre. The theatre is quite small, but it sold out Wed and Fri, and was very full on Thursday. A very successful show - everyone in the audience loved it.
The cast were fantastic - all wonderful singers and very good actors. The show consists of a series of sketches relating to relationships, some with songs, some without, all very funny. A favourite moment had to be Nicola suddenly appearing from under the covers of the married couple's bed - a surprise well done, considering the minimalist stage setup. There were just a few basic props and a black backdrop. I also liked Nicola's video dating monologue a lot - rather bittersweet, I think.
[Picture courtesy of Charlie Batchelor.]
The cast (there were only four) played all the different roles wonderfully. I'd recommend the show - lots of fun. Although, funny as it is, it does leave you in a bit of despair over the state of all relationships and married life! There was a more positive note in Gregor's song Shouldn't I Be Less In Love With You? That offers some hope to us all. My least favourite sketch was probably the one about the couple with the new baby - I think it's scary because it's true. A lot of people seem to end up just like that when they have children. I hope I don't...
Next up for the company is Little Shop of Horrors - they will need a bigger cast this time! But I don't think there'll be any shortage of people. I'd certainly love to play bass for it. Following that, they're planning to do the epic West Side Story. Now that's ambitious - and I have every confidence in them!
In other news, I've had another remarkably busy music weekend. On Saturday night we (the soul band) played a wedding at the Arrochar Village Inn (up by Loch Lomond). This is the first wedding we've done - it went OK. We've learned a few things we need to polish up on, but I think the guests were all happy! The bar manager was most unhelpful and downright rude though. Big thanks to our sound guy John for putting up with less than ideal conditions! We're all just working the kinks out now from being cramped on a stage so tiny we couldn't move our feet or take our jackets off without bumping into each other.
Sunday afternoon I was playing with the big band at The 78. We had four deps this time, and we're still very short of regular trumpet players. It went much better than I expected though, even Birdland (the Maynard Ferguson version)! Possibly that piece just had so much momentum it couldn't have stopped... Randomly, the pub seems to be having power issues - there's a massive generator running out side with a huge cable running into the pub. I guess their mains power is out.
- Music:Michael Janisch - "Purpose Built"
My previous post got me wondering how many big bands there actually are in Scotland at the moment. So I tried to find some. I'm not counting single school bands here, or bands that exist solely for functions. And I'm trying to include only ones that are in existence full time (which excludes the Edinburgh Jazz Festival Orchestra, for example) and are currently operating. I'm also counting only full big bands with the usual sort of instrumentation (which excludes Brass Impact). If you know of any more, or if I've listed something wrongly, let me know. Oh, and they're alphabetical within the categories!
Edit (5th Oct): I've removed the distinction between "professional" and "adult" bands - it was too fuzzy. But youth and university bands are a distinct division.
Thanks to Lorne, Jennifer and Byas'd for additions to the list.
Andy Mears Jazz Orchestra
Borders Big Band
Byres Road Big Band
Harry Margolis Big Band
Jazz Bar Big Band
Pete Dyer Big Band
Ryan Quigley Big Band
Scottish National Jazz Orchestra
Tim Barella Big Band
Trossachs Big Band
Youth Bands
Edinburgh Schools Jazz Orchestra
Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra
National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland
Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra
West Lothian Schools Big Band
West Lothian Schools Little Big Band
University Bands
Aberdeen University Big Band
Dundee University Big Band
Edinburgh Univeristy Jazz Orchestra
Glasgow University Big Band
Strathclyde University Big Band
University of St Andrews Music Centre Big Band
University of Strathclyde Jazz Orchestra
Edit (5th Oct): I've removed the distinction between "professional" and "adult" bands - it was too fuzzy. But youth and university bands are a distinct division.
Thanks to Lorne, Jennifer and Byas'd for additions to the list.
Andy Mears Jazz Orchestra
Borders Big Band
Byres Road Big Band
Harry Margolis Big Band
Jazz Bar Big Band
Pete Dyer Big Band
Ryan Quigley Big Band
Scottish National Jazz Orchestra
Tim Barella Big Band
Trossachs Big Band
Youth Bands
Edinburgh Schools Jazz Orchestra
Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra
National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland
Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra
West Lothian Schools Big Band
West Lothian Schools Little Big Band
University Bands
Aberdeen University Big Band
Dundee University Big Band
Edinburgh Univeristy Jazz Orchestra
Glasgow University Big Band
Strathclyde University Big Band
University of St Andrews Music Centre Big Band
University of Strathclyde Jazz Orchestra
- Mood:
thoughtful
A new dedicated BMus jazz course starts this year at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) - up to now, Strathclyde University's BA in Applied Music was probably the course of choice in Scotland for jazz musicians, and had the possibility for more of a jazz focus than the courses offered at the RSAMD. This new course will probably open up a bit of competition between the two, since Strathclyde's degree describes itself as, "the most comprehensive undergraduate study of jazz in the country."
The new course at the RSAMD is led by Tommy Smith, with tutors Ryan Quigley (trumpet), Chris Grieve (trombone), Kevin Mackenzie (guitar), Paul Harrison (piano), Mario Caribe (bass) and Alyn Cosker (drums), and will take on six students this year.
Both institutions put on / plan to put on fairly regular public performances:
Strathclyde students perform on the last Wednesday of each month in Rush Hour Jazz in the Recital Room at the City Halls. From the course is formed the University of Strathclyde Jazz Orchestra. There is also the Strathclyde University Big Band, which is not exclusively BA Applied Music students, but any students from Strathclyde University (and ex-students, and non-Strathclyde students too!). The latter can occasionally be found in Cafe Source, the downstairs section of St Andrews In The Square.
The Applied Music course also supports the Strathclyde Youth Jazz Orchestra (SYJO), for secondary school pupils. Which, by the way, is not the same as the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland (NYJOS), nor the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra (TSYJO)! I know, confusing. There's a lot out there for young people - teenagers get all the fun! There's not so much out there for adults unfortunately. Perhaps the view is that everyone stops learning as soon as they leave school/university...
[While I'm at it, there's also the Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra (FYJO), the Edinburgh Schools Jazz Orchestra, and big bands attached to most (if not all) the universities. I'm getting distracted here... listing all the big bands in Scotland is material for another entry, at another time...]
Anyway. The RSAMD are also going to be putting on public concerts. There will be a series of 12 concerts on Fridays at 1pm in the RSAMD concert hall, featuring staff, students and guests. The inaugural concert is tomorrow (Fri 2nd Oct) and features only the staff, as listed above [Edit: - I hear it involves students to.]. And on Mondays at 6:30pm (so far: 19th Oct, 23rd Nov, 7th Dec) there is a "Blue Mondays" series of concerts with the Royal Scottish Academy Jazz Ensemble (whether the ensemble is staff of students I'm not sure). There is also the RSAMD Big Band, which has previously been associated with the brass department - I don't know if that will change, if it will be absorbed into the jazz course or not.
Two stand-alone concerts from the RSAMD are the Jazz Ensemble and Big Band with guest trumpeter Marvin Stamm on Thu 29th Oct, and the Jazz Ensemble with guest trumpeter Wayne Bergeron on Tue 3rd Nov. More info on the RSAMD's events can be found in their pdf brochure.
I think I've confused even myself now, so I'll leave it at that...
The new course at the RSAMD is led by Tommy Smith, with tutors Ryan Quigley (trumpet), Chris Grieve (trombone), Kevin Mackenzie (guitar), Paul Harrison (piano), Mario Caribe (bass) and Alyn Cosker (drums), and will take on six students this year.
Both institutions put on / plan to put on fairly regular public performances:
Strathclyde students perform on the last Wednesday of each month in Rush Hour Jazz in the Recital Room at the City Halls. From the course is formed the University of Strathclyde Jazz Orchestra. There is also the Strathclyde University Big Band, which is not exclusively BA Applied Music students, but any students from Strathclyde University (and ex-students, and non-Strathclyde students too!). The latter can occasionally be found in Cafe Source, the downstairs section of St Andrews In The Square.
The Applied Music course also supports the Strathclyde Youth Jazz Orchestra (SYJO), for secondary school pupils. Which, by the way, is not the same as the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland (NYJOS), nor the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra (TSYJO)! I know, confusing. There's a lot out there for young people - teenagers get all the fun! There's not so much out there for adults unfortunately. Perhaps the view is that everyone stops learning as soon as they leave school/university...
[While I'm at it, there's also the Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra (FYJO), the Edinburgh Schools Jazz Orchestra, and big bands attached to most (if not all) the universities. I'm getting distracted here... listing all the big bands in Scotland is material for another entry, at another time...]
Anyway. The RSAMD are also going to be putting on public concerts. There will be a series of 12 concerts on Fridays at 1pm in the RSAMD concert hall, featuring staff, students and guests. The inaugural concert is tomorrow (Fri 2nd Oct) and features only the staff, as listed above [Edit: - I hear it involves students to.]. And on Mondays at 6:30pm (so far: 19th Oct, 23rd Nov, 7th Dec) there is a "Blue Mondays" series of concerts with the Royal Scottish Academy Jazz Ensemble (whether the ensemble is staff of students I'm not sure). There is also the RSAMD Big Band, which has previously been associated with the brass department - I don't know if that will change, if it will be absorbed into the jazz course or not.
Two stand-alone concerts from the RSAMD are the Jazz Ensemble and Big Band with guest trumpeter Marvin Stamm on Thu 29th Oct, and the Jazz Ensemble with guest trumpeter Wayne Bergeron on Tue 3rd Nov. More info on the RSAMD's events can be found in their pdf brochure.
I think I've confused even myself now, so I'll leave it at that...
If you missed Ryan Quigley's Big Band at the Glasgow Jazz Festival in June with Justin Currie, the concert was recorded and parts were broadcast on BBC Radio 3's Jazz Line-Up last night. You can listen again for seven days on iPlayer - go listen now!
It doesn't have all the concert - I was hoping it would have Nature Boy, but never mind.
It doesn't have all the concert - I was hoping it would have Nature Boy, but never mind.
- Mood: pleased
- Music:Jazz Line-Up
In The Old Fruitmarket this time. Busier than last night's one by the looks of it.
Tonight started with the trio Neon, with Stan Sulzmann on tenor, Jim Hart on vibes and Kit Downes on piano (replacing Gwilym Simcock who plays on their CD Here To There). I heard Jim Hart the other day with Mike Janisch's quintet, but the others I hadn't heard before (or indeed heard of in the case of Stan Sulzmann). I liked their stuff - very listenable and melodic. The vibes could have been a bit louder and the sound guys were having some problems with white noise interference from somwhere, but the short set was very enjoyable. Stan Sulzmann has quite an edgy, breathy tone - the kind that makes me think he needs to blow some water out his reed *g*. I prefer a purer, smoother tone myself, but there was plenty of that to come later in the concert...
Second on was Liane Carroll, an award winning singer. I'll say upfront that I'm not a fan of her style (I'm not really into vocal jazz much at all), but the folk I was with loved her stuff. I find it easier to listen to if I pretend I'm listening to an instrument, rather than someone singing, but mostly I keep thinking, "Sing the tune! I can't make out the words!" Oh well... She has good chat though. I liked her composition about Dublin - I could picture where she wrote it too, having been there. It had echoes of Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, although he is more folk than jazz. The stage was not ideally set up for her - it was set for the big band all night, so she had to sit with her back to the audience. It was a bit strange. It seems odd that they couldn't shift things about, since there was plenty of time between sets.
The final set of the night was what we'd really come to see - the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra playing director Tommy Smith's orchestration of Rhapsody In Blue, with Brian Kellock on piano. It didn't disappoint! I missed it earlier in the summer because it was on right after the end of the jazz summer school and I was knackered, with work the next day too. It's extended to 50-odd minutes, from the 20min or so of the original. Lots of familiar material, and some inspired deviations *g*. I particularly liked the latin section! There were lots of good solos. Tommy Smith's solo was very nice - beautiful tone (although in terms of tone, I think I like Konrad Wiszniewski's just a little bit better), but his control, particularly of the harmonics, is perfect. He also appears to have much more power and volume than the others without forcing it. Konrad's solo was fun - his harmonics sounded rather like a trumpet at times! Possibly my favourite solo, though, was Tom MacNiven's - unlike the other trumpets, he played quietly and lower - it was more about note choice and melody than power and high notes, although when he did play high notes, they were very centred and sweet.
Pete Johnson (one-time trumpet player at big band) was Brian Kellock's page turner for the night - gotta start your career somewhere :D ! Tommy Smith introduced him as one of the students on the new jazz course at the RSAMD (Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) which he's running. He was also one of the finalists in the BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician of the Year (on piano) back at the beginning of summer.
Tonight started with the trio Neon, with Stan Sulzmann on tenor, Jim Hart on vibes and Kit Downes on piano (replacing Gwilym Simcock who plays on their CD Here To There). I heard Jim Hart the other day with Mike Janisch's quintet, but the others I hadn't heard before (or indeed heard of in the case of Stan Sulzmann). I liked their stuff - very listenable and melodic. The vibes could have been a bit louder and the sound guys were having some problems with white noise interference from somwhere, but the short set was very enjoyable. Stan Sulzmann has quite an edgy, breathy tone - the kind that makes me think he needs to blow some water out his reed *g*. I prefer a purer, smoother tone myself, but there was plenty of that to come later in the concert...
Second on was Liane Carroll, an award winning singer. I'll say upfront that I'm not a fan of her style (I'm not really into vocal jazz much at all), but the folk I was with loved her stuff. I find it easier to listen to if I pretend I'm listening to an instrument, rather than someone singing, but mostly I keep thinking, "Sing the tune! I can't make out the words!" Oh well... She has good chat though. I liked her composition about Dublin - I could picture where she wrote it too, having been there. It had echoes of Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, although he is more folk than jazz. The stage was not ideally set up for her - it was set for the big band all night, so she had to sit with her back to the audience. It was a bit strange. It seems odd that they couldn't shift things about, since there was plenty of time between sets.
The final set of the night was what we'd really come to see - the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra playing director Tommy Smith's orchestration of Rhapsody In Blue, with Brian Kellock on piano. It didn't disappoint! I missed it earlier in the summer because it was on right after the end of the jazz summer school and I was knackered, with work the next day too. It's extended to 50-odd minutes, from the 20min or so of the original. Lots of familiar material, and some inspired deviations *g*. I particularly liked the latin section! There were lots of good solos. Tommy Smith's solo was very nice - beautiful tone (although in terms of tone, I think I like Konrad Wiszniewski's just a little bit better), but his control, particularly of the harmonics, is perfect. He also appears to have much more power and volume than the others without forcing it. Konrad's solo was fun - his harmonics sounded rather like a trumpet at times! Possibly my favourite solo, though, was Tom MacNiven's - unlike the other trumpets, he played quietly and lower - it was more about note choice and melody than power and high notes, although when he did play high notes, they were very centred and sweet.
Pete Johnson (one-time trumpet player at big band) was Brian Kellock's page turner for the night - gotta start your career somewhere :D ! Tommy Smith introduced him as one of the students on the new jazz course at the RSAMD (Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) which he's running. He was also one of the finalists in the BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician of the Year (on piano) back at the beginning of summer.
- Music:Craig Charles' Funk & Soul Show, BBC 6 Music
Thanks to Sebastian Scotney of London Jazz for a mention in his Telegraph online column. Very kind of you!
And now, I'm off to the next showcase concert, which includes the SNJO with Tommy Smith's arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue!
And now, I'm off to the next showcase concert, which includes the SNJO with Tommy Smith's arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue!
This weekend sees the Europe Jazz Network annual conference being held in Glasgow. I'm not involved in this, but they are putting on Scottish / British jazz showcase concerts each night and there are tickets available to the public, so I got some for the Thursday and Fridays nights. This one was in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Strathclyde Suite (the others are in the Old Fruitmarket).
I somehow read the train time completely wrong online and ended up getting there 20min early - this was a bit weird, since it appeared I'd gatecrashed the conference reception as a result! I felt rather out of place, but it was OK - not long to wait, and plenty of familiar faces around.
I imagine as a musician it must have been a slightly intimidating audience, being full of jazz musicians and promoters from all over Europe! But it was quite informal at the same time, with people wandering in and out to the bar and chatting in the foyer. It wasn't packed, but it was reasonably busy. The bands were presented by Stephen Duffy of Radio Scotland's The Jazz House. I think he matched the wrong instruments to the wrong names when introducing Tom Cawley's Curios, and Tom Cawley sounded a little bit miffed about it when he introduced the band himself, but perhaps he was just being humorous... *g*
First up was Stu Brown's Raymond Scott Project, which I saw before in it's entirety in the City Halls. It was amazing then, and equally so now! The technical ability is just astounding, especially the tenor playing from Brian Molley in The Penguin (which you can hear on their website). Great fun music, and it always makes me smile. Very enjoyable to listen to.
Last time I posted about Raymond Scott, I had to include the really disturbing CD cover of his album Soothing Sounds for Baby Volume 2 (6 to 12 Months). To complement this, I now give you the equally disturbing Volume 1, differing only in colour palette:
I can happily report that Stu Brown's CD of Raymond Scott's music is not quite so disturbing:
They were followed by Tom Cawley's Curios, up from England. Stephen Duffy mentioned The Bad Plus in his introduction to them and he was right - the first piece in particular definitely reminded me of them. Their music was very rhythmically and harmonically complex - impressive drum playing. No idea how they know where they are though! I liked the last of their pieces the best - more melodic and flowing than the other two pieces.
Third was The Ryan Quigley Sextet - that blew the cobwebs away! Why they thought Ryan needed a microphone, I don't know. As always, glad I wasn't sitting right in the front row *g*. He actually didn't play into the mic for a lot of it - the sound was better when he didn't, too, especially in the ballad, Embraceable You. In that piece, the mic was picking up breath and mechanical noises, but when he played away from it the tone was much cleaner and purer. It was a beautiful piece, just trumpet and piano. I particularly enjoyed the cadenza at the end - really controlled. The other pieces we more of a tour de force, the last with a particularly good solo from Paul Towndrow on alto, both pieces from his recent album Laphroaig-ian Slip.
To close the night were Bristol group Get The Blessing. I saw these guys earlier in the year at the Glasgow Jazz Festival at the Arches, and it wasn't my favourite gig. They don't really do audience interaction at all - when they do say anything, it usually doesn't make much sense. I think they try to be strange and enigmatic, but it doesn't work for me. They also play to themselves, not the audience - this is perhaps enhanced by the two horns standing either side of the stage and facing inwards most of the time. Most of their numbers I remembered from the previous gig - that says something about the music I suppose - it's very catchy. I can't decide whether I like it or not. I think I do. But, live at least, it just seems to be lacking some spark to connect with the audience. It's hard to describe.
So that was the Thursday night showcase. You can also read another review from Byas'd Opinion here.
Tonight (Friday) will feature Liane Carroll, Neon and The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra at the Old Fruitmarket, and tomorrow (also at the Old Fruitmarket) features Phil Bancroft, Rhythmica, The George Burt / Raymond MacDonald Group, Paul Towndrow and Trio VD.
I didn't get out to the jam session at the Park Hotel after, since I was heading over to Bloc to see Funkilicious (who had also been playing down near the Tron - two gigs on a work night!). Their set went down well with the audience - funky as always :). For your viewing pleasure, he is a very poor quality picture of them - I don't have the camera for low light, and a 1sec exposure makes for a fuzzy bass player *g*. Lets also ignore the chair in the middle of the floor...
I somehow read the train time completely wrong online and ended up getting there 20min early - this was a bit weird, since it appeared I'd gatecrashed the conference reception as a result! I felt rather out of place, but it was OK - not long to wait, and plenty of familiar faces around.
I imagine as a musician it must have been a slightly intimidating audience, being full of jazz musicians and promoters from all over Europe! But it was quite informal at the same time, with people wandering in and out to the bar and chatting in the foyer. It wasn't packed, but it was reasonably busy. The bands were presented by Stephen Duffy of Radio Scotland's The Jazz House. I think he matched the wrong instruments to the wrong names when introducing Tom Cawley's Curios, and Tom Cawley sounded a little bit miffed about it when he introduced the band himself, but perhaps he was just being humorous... *g*
First up was Stu Brown's Raymond Scott Project, which I saw before in it's entirety in the City Halls. It was amazing then, and equally so now! The technical ability is just astounding, especially the tenor playing from Brian Molley in The Penguin (which you can hear on their website). Great fun music, and it always makes me smile. Very enjoyable to listen to.
Last time I posted about Raymond Scott, I had to include the really disturbing CD cover of his album Soothing Sounds for Baby Volume 2 (6 to 12 Months). To complement this, I now give you the equally disturbing Volume 1, differing only in colour palette:
I can happily report that Stu Brown's CD of Raymond Scott's music is not quite so disturbing:
They were followed by Tom Cawley's Curios, up from England. Stephen Duffy mentioned The Bad Plus in his introduction to them and he was right - the first piece in particular definitely reminded me of them. Their music was very rhythmically and harmonically complex - impressive drum playing. No idea how they know where they are though! I liked the last of their pieces the best - more melodic and flowing than the other two pieces.
Third was The Ryan Quigley Sextet - that blew the cobwebs away! Why they thought Ryan needed a microphone, I don't know. As always, glad I wasn't sitting right in the front row *g*. He actually didn't play into the mic for a lot of it - the sound was better when he didn't, too, especially in the ballad, Embraceable You. In that piece, the mic was picking up breath and mechanical noises, but when he played away from it the tone was much cleaner and purer. It was a beautiful piece, just trumpet and piano. I particularly enjoyed the cadenza at the end - really controlled. The other pieces we more of a tour de force, the last with a particularly good solo from Paul Towndrow on alto, both pieces from his recent album Laphroaig-ian Slip.
To close the night were Bristol group Get The Blessing. I saw these guys earlier in the year at the Glasgow Jazz Festival at the Arches, and it wasn't my favourite gig. They don't really do audience interaction at all - when they do say anything, it usually doesn't make much sense. I think they try to be strange and enigmatic, but it doesn't work for me. They also play to themselves, not the audience - this is perhaps enhanced by the two horns standing either side of the stage and facing inwards most of the time. Most of their numbers I remembered from the previous gig - that says something about the music I suppose - it's very catchy. I can't decide whether I like it or not. I think I do. But, live at least, it just seems to be lacking some spark to connect with the audience. It's hard to describe.
So that was the Thursday night showcase. You can also read another review from Byas'd Opinion here.
Tonight (Friday) will feature Liane Carroll, Neon and The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra at the Old Fruitmarket, and tomorrow (also at the Old Fruitmarket) features Phil Bancroft, Rhythmica, The George Burt / Raymond MacDonald Group, Paul Towndrow and Trio VD.
I didn't get out to the jam session at the Park Hotel after, since I was heading over to Bloc to see Funkilicious (who had also been playing down near the Tron - two gigs on a work night!). Their set went down well with the audience - funky as always :). For your viewing pleasure, he is a very poor quality picture of them - I don't have the camera for low light, and a 1sec exposure makes for a fuzzy bass player *g*. Lets also ignore the chair in the middle of the floor...
- Mood:
awake
Brilliant app - the Real Book for iPhone / iPod Touch! Only £4.99, and it includes over 730 songs - to be fair, it's chords/structure only (no melody or lyrics for copyright reasons) but still! And as a bass player, that suits me fine *g*. And just think how much an actual real book costs relative to the number of songs you get.
You can also edit tunes, either on your iPod or on the Mac with the (free) accompanying software if you so choose. This means you can add new songs, and submit them to the author for future inclusion - I suspect that's how most of them got there, so it might be wise to check for errors as you use it...
Songs always fit on the screen, and it has a white text on black option for referencing at gigs.
The app was written by a Swedish professional bass player based in the New York area, Massimo Biolcati. And many thanks to him for doing so!
You can also edit tunes, either on your iPod or on the Mac with the (free) accompanying software if you so choose. This means you can add new songs, and submit them to the author for future inclusion - I suspect that's how most of them got there, so it might be wise to check for errors as you use it...
Songs always fit on the screen, and it has a white text on black option for referencing at gigs.
The app was written by a Swedish professional bass player based in the New York area, Massimo Biolcati. And many thanks to him for doing so!
- Mood:
impressed
