What live music are you going to see tonight?

[Steve Reynolds]

Last night in Philadelphia  

Sam Yulsman solo keyboards & eldctronics

Michael Foster’s The Ghost plus Susan Alcorn

Michael on tenor & soprano saxophones, John Moran on bass, Joey Sullivan on drums & the *great* Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar

45 minute continuous set of improvised genius. Best free improv set of the year. 

lately I can’t miss:)

 

[ejp626]

Saw most of the early set at The Rex. Tonight was Eric St. Laurent.

I stayed through 1.5 sets of the main act - Dick Oatts (as) with Neil Swainson (b) and Brian Dickinson (p).  An unexpected surprise was Virginia MacDonald on clarinet.  (She is Kirk MacDonald's daughter.)  It was a solid night.  I wanted to make sure to drop off a copy of that Woody Shaw CD, Vim and Vigor, that came out on Timeless recently, as Neil features on it.

Swainson will be back at The Rex in a couple of weeks backing Ryan Oliver, and I'll try to make it out at least one night.

[Pim]

Tomorrow night at the Bimhuis:

SYLVIE COURVOISIER CHIMAERA ft. 
Nate Wooley , Wadada Leo Smith , Sylvie Courvoisier piano, Christian Fennesz, Drew Gress, Kenny Wollessen and Nasheet Waits

[Niko]

7 minutes ago, Pim said:

Tomorrow night at the Bimhuis:

SYLVIE COURVOISIER CHIMAERA ft. 
Nate Wooley , Wadada Leo Smith , Sylvie Courvoisier piano, Christian Fennesz, Drew Gress, Kenny Wollessen and Nasheet Waits

Yes, that's an exciting lineup, I'll be there too... 

[adh1907]

On 7/4/2024 at 9:15 PM, sidewinder said:

Loads of good stuff scheduled - Tony Kofi, Clark Tracey, Gary Crosby plays 'Mingus Moves', Barnes/Newton, Nigel Price, Zoe Rahman, Lianne Carroll. As well as the Mowlem Theatre they are back to 2 marquees near the seafront this year, a welcome development.

Personally I think Cheltenham has lost it - caters largely these days for Cotswolds loadsamonies who are not into jazz and the jazz content such as it is seems to be focused on the Parabola Arts Centre. Haven't attended for years. A shame also that Bath these days seems to have totally lost interest in its Jazz Weekend as part of the Bath Fest - the Cotswolds £ effect again I think. Back in the glory days it was Cheltenham, Bath and Swanage in quick succession.

That sounds like a good line up for a UK jazz festival. I must look at attending next year. Stroud jazz festival is also getting more interesting by the year. I’ve been to Cheltenham a lot but it’s boring these days. 

[mjazzg]

53 minutes ago, Pim said:

Tomorrow night at the Bimhuis:

SYLVIE COURVOISIER CHIMAERA ft. 
Nate Wooley , Wadada Leo Smith , Sylvie Courvoisier piano, Christian Fennesz, Drew Gress, Kenny Wollessen and Nasheet Waits

Wow, that's special. Looks close to the line up of her album which is great. Fennesz will be really interesting in that company. Enjoy it

[Pim]

16 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Wow, that's special. Looks close to the line up of her album which is great. Fennesz will be really interesting in that company. Enjoy it

Thanks @mjazzg  really like that album too and looking forward to the concert. 

[mjazzg]

12 minutes ago, Pim said:

Thanks @mjazzg  really like that album too and looking forward to the concert. 

Can't understand why she's not come to Oto too with that band, feeling ignored 😃

[sidewinder]

On 7/12/2024 at 8:12 PM, adh1907 said:

That sounds like a good line up for a UK jazz festival. I must look at attending next year. Stroud jazz festival is also getting more interesting by the year. I’ve been to Cheltenham a lot but it’s boring these days. 

One advantage of being retired these days is that you can stay as late at you want Swanage on Sunday before the drive back and then recuperate at leisure the next day !  The post-Sunday torture of previous festivals is avoided.

So much good stuff - Sunday night ended with Zoe Rahman's 'Colour of Sound' Octet, a real surprise for me as she has taken on board influences from Tyner and Hancock mid-sized groups with the use of alto flute/bone/flugel and also added in those Abdullah Ibrahim and Bengali influences. Lovely !  I really liked this group and will definitely be buying the CD (sadly had run out of cash on the day so could not buy one from Zoe herself afterwards). I think this one was the last gig of a UK tour, very fine band of all-stars really (Mark Armstrong, Camilla George, Rosie Turton, Tori Freestone et al).

Norma Winstone with 'The Printmakers' on Sunday afternoon was pretty wonderful, I can't recall hearing Norma sound better. Last year she brought the trio with Mark Lockheart and Nicky Illes and this year expanded it to the full band and to noticeable effect. Again, a group of all-stars - the interplay with Illes, Lockheart and guitarist Mike Walker was superb. Once again I was very impressed with drummer James Maddren - perfect for this sort of group.

Saturday night was dominated for me by Emma Rawicz and her 21 piece (!) Jazz Orchestra in the Mowlem Theratre. Led with such confidence and maturity for a 22 year old, the charts were put together and conducted by Emma and with noticeable Kenny Wheeler, Gil Evans and I think Maria Schneider influences. Very individual though as I believe that she senses sounds by colours (can't recall what that is called). Obviously a huge talent - her tenor playing is top notch too.

Some of the most interesting music, often low-key, was caught in Marquee 2 under the new 'The Sound of Jazz To Come' strand. I caught 'The Other Way' from Bristol on Saturday, who combine jazz with folk and prog rock to interesting effect. Also in Marquee 2 on Sunday were Alyn Shipton recreating the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and 'Matt Stockham Brown's 6161', another Bristol band sounding to me a bit like a combination of Mike Mower's 'Itchy Fingers' with electronica, a sound somewhat akin to 'Get The Blessing'. Some interesting music coming out of Bristol at the moment.

Pleased also to see Greg Abate as special guest with 'The Sound of Blue Note' on Friday night. They did a very nice version of Duke Pearson 'Sudel' with the 3 part harmonies nicely recreated. Had a brief chat with the always friendly Greg A. and bought his first CD with Phil Woods from him. For the most part the weather also behaved and yesterday in particular was a lovely sunny Swanage day - idyllic really, apart from the football result which many there ignored anyway (seeing Zoe Raman's band in the Mowlem was a much better priority).

Also great to see Henry Lowther with his 'Still Waters' band, playing superbly at 83 and with Tori Freestone guesting in place of Pete Hurt, to fine effect. Art Themen also his usual wonderful and inventive self with various groups, always seems to be ageless to me although I recall seeing him with Stan Tracey's Octet about 40 years ago and quite a few times at Swanage.

All promises well for the 35th festival next year !

 

Edited July 15 by sidewinder

[Kevin Bresnahan]

1 hour ago, sidewinder said:

Pleased also to see Greg Abate as special guest with 'The Sound of Blue Note' on Friday night. They did a very nice version of Duke Pearson 'Sudel' with the 3 part harmonies nicely recreated. Had a brief chat with the always friendly Greg A. and bought his first CD with Phil Woods from him.

I was lucky to have attended several concerts with Greg & Phil up on the stage. Great shows, even with Phil operating a little hindered due to his emphysema that required oxygen while playing.

[sidewinder]

1 minute ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

I was lucky to have attended several concerts with Greg & Phil up on the stage. Great shows, even with Phil operating a little hindered due to his emphysema that required oxygen while playing.

I have that second CD that they did, with Phil on oxygen.  Very good club recording. The first CD is good too - Greg had just the one copy in his box, with case broken but I'm glad I got it. He's touring the UK at the moment so hopefully I will be able to catch another of his gigs. Swanage did a poll last year of which artist they would most like to see again this year and Greg won hands down.

[adh1907]

On 7/15/2024 at 12:04 PM, sidewinder said:

One advantage of being retired these days is that you can stay as late at you want Swanage on Sunday before the drive back and then recuperate at leisure the next day !  The post-Sunday torture of previous festivals is avoided.

So much good stuff - Sunday night ended with Zoe Rahman's 'Colour of Sound' Octet, a real surprise for me as she has taken on board influences from Tyner and Hancock mid-sized groups with the use of alto flute/bone/flugel and also added in those Abdullah Ibrahim and Bengali influences. Lovely !  I really liked this group and will definitely be buying the CD (sadly had run out of cash on the day so could not buy one from Zoe herself afterwards). I think this one was the last gig of a UK tour, very fine band of all-stars really (Mark Armstrong, Camilla George, Rosie Turton, Tori Freestone et al).

Norma Winstone with 'The Printmakers' on Sunday afternoon was pretty wonderful, I can't recall hearing Norma sound better. Last year she brought the trio with Mark Lockheart and Nicky Illes and this year expanded it to the full band and to noticeable effect. Again, a group of all-stars - the interplay with Illes, Lockheart and guitarist Mike Walker was superb. Once again I was very impressed with drummer James Maddren - perfect for this sort of group.

Saturday night was dominated for me by Emma Rawicz and her 21 piece (!) Jazz Orchestra in the Mowlem Theratre. Led with such confidence and maturity for a 22 year old, the charts were put together and conducted by Emma and with noticeable Kenny Wheeler, Gil Evans and I think Maria Schneider influences. Very individual though as I believe that she senses sounds by colours (can't recall what that is called). Obviously a huge talent - her tenor playing is top notch too.

Some of the most interesting music, often low-key, was caught in Marquee 2 under the new 'The Sound of Jazz To Come' strand. I caught 'The Other Way' from Bristol on Saturday, who combine jazz with folk and prog rock to interesting effect. Also in Marquee 2 on Sunday were Alyn Shipton recreating the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and 'Matt Stockham Brown's 6161', another Bristol band sounding to me a bit like a combination of Mike Mower's 'Itchy Fingers' with electronica, a sound somewhat akin to 'Get The Blessing'. Some interesting music coming out of Bristol at the moment.

Pleased also to see Greg Abate as special guest with 'The Sound of Blue Note' on Friday night. They did a very nice version of Duke Pearson 'Sudel' with the 3 part harmonies nicely recreated. Had a brief chat with the always friendly Greg A. and bought his first CD with Phil Woods from him. For the most part the weather also behaved and yesterday in particular was a lovely sunny Swanage day - idyllic really, apart from the football result which many there ignored anyway (seeing Zoe Raman's band in the Mowlem was a much better priority).

Also great to see Henry Lowther with his 'Still Waters' band, playing superbly at 83 and with Tori Freestone guesting in place of Pete Hurt, to fine effect. Art Themen also his usual wonderful and inventive self with various groups, always seems to be ageless to me although I recall seeing him with Stan Tracey's Octet about 40 years ago and quite a few times at Swanage.

All promises well for the 35th festival next year !

 

Great write up, thanks! I must get there next year. Zoe is really maturing, I think. Emma Rawicz, never seen her with a big band. Will look out for that. Henry Lowther’s lip is keeping well. I remember Art Themen turning up late for a Stan Tracey gig way back and Stan explaining he was delayed due to his surgery work overrunning. 

[sidewinder]

10 hours ago, adh1907 said:

Great write up, thanks! I must get there next year. Zoe is really maturing, I think. Emma Rawicz, never seen her with a big band. Will look out for that. Henry Lowther’s lip is keeping well. I remember Art Themen turning up late for a Stan Tracey gig way back and Stan explaining he was delayed due to his surgery work overrunning. 

It's a great showcase for British jazz plus selected overseas players, I've been going regularly for years since the days when the emphasis was mainly traditional/mainstream plus some modern whereas now with the shift of time and new festival management under Paul Kelly the emphasis is more on modern/contemporary. You can get a 'weekend stroller' ticket - advanced super savers for next year have already sold out (within a couple of days) but the main ticket allocation goes on sale later in the year.

There was so much to see and hear that it took me almost a week to recover !

Not mentioned above but also seen by me this year was a typically good performance by Alan Barnes and David Newton in duo (he gets better and better), Gary Crosby and his Sextet recreating the album 'Mingus Moves' in full and guitarist Nigel Price with Rollins-influenced saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos. I also caught a very good set by Henry Spencer's Quintet with Ant Law, half of the performance by 'Jivin' Miss Daisy' (solid lineup with trumpeter Enrico Tommasso) and a very good set by Clark Tracey's Quintet where altoist Simon Allen was outstanding. Missed a couple of bands including Yeti, Noemi Nuti Quintet and Thokozile so maybe next time with those. Thokozile is coming up with an open-air marquee gig at Corfe Castle courtesy Poole Soundcellar so maybe all is not lost with that one.

Greg Abate will be returning to the UK for more gigs next week so there is more Abate coming up and yet another chance to buy CDs from him !

Edited July 21 by sidewinder

[kh1958]

On 7/15/2024 at 6:04 AM, sidewinder said:

One advantage of being retired these days is that you can stay as late at you want Swanage on Sunday before the drive back and then recuperate at leisure the next day !  The post-Sunday torture of previous festivals is avoided.

 

 

I do know what you mean, from the not retired perspective.

It sounds like an event I would enjoy.

[sidewinder]

10 minutes ago, kh1958 said:

I do know what you mean, from the not retired perspective.

It sounds like an event I would enjoy.

Quite amusing that the ones left to enjoy the last late concert, for once, are the retiree contingent, whereas the young ravers are all heading back to their abodes for the Monday toil. 😄

Edited July 21 by sidewinder

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Being retired has the added advantage of allowing you to travel and see weekday shows. In the past, if I wanted to drive down to New York City to see a show, I'd have to do it on a weekend, when the hotel prices are much higher. Now, I can head down on a Tuesday, see a few shows and head back Thursday.

[Steve Reynolds]

Last night 2 sets:

Tony Malaby, Tim Berne, Brandon Lopez & Tom Rainey

wowza

5-6 feet from Rainey’s bass drum

yes retirement is awesome!! Got home at 12:30 on a Sunday night

Edited July 22 by Steve Reynolds

[SpaceIsThePlace]

Saw 10cc perform their first Stateside show in 46 years(!) this past Wednesday in Montclair, NJ. 

A fantastic evening - Graham Gouldman and the band performed a solid two hour set. Highlights included seeing 'Clockwork Creep' performed, and an acapella 'Donna' and extended version of 'Rubber Bullets' as encores! 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

3 hours ago, SpaceIsThePlace said:

Saw 10cc perform their first Stateside show in 46 years(!) this past Wednesday in Montclair, NJ. 

A fantastic evening - Graham Gouldman and the band performed a solid two hour set. Highlights included seeing 'Clockwork Creep' performed, and an acapella 'Donna' and extended version of 'Rubber Bullets' as encores! 

Sorry, but that's not 10cc. As Lol Creme said in 2012 when asked about Gouldman forming a band he called "10cc":

Lol Creme: I understand Graham's need and want to go on the road and tour but maybe he could call the show, 'Graham Gouldman of 10cc' instead of just 10cc. I feel that as things are, the name is quite misleading to the fans. I know that Eric still gets emails from fans who were disappointed that he wasn't at these "10cc" shows. It really gets under his skin. I've still got a lot of respect for Graham and he was certainly an integral part of 10cc.

[SpaceIsThePlace]

1 hour ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

Sorry, but that's not 10cc. As Lol Creme said in 2012 when asked about Gouldman forming a band he called "10cc":

Lol Creme: I understand Graham's need and want to go on the road and tour but maybe he could call the show, 'Graham Gouldman of 10cc' instead of just 10cc. I feel that as things are, the name is quite misleading to the fans. I know that Eric still gets emails from fans who were disappointed that he wasn't at these "10cc" shows. It really gets under his skin. I've still got a lot of respect for Graham and he was certainly an integral part of 10cc.

I get your point (and Lol's). Yes, I'm aware of the complicated history of 10cc, and for a myriad of reasons too numerous and confusing to get into here, we will never get a concert 10cc reunion of Kevin, Graham, Lol and Eric. The closest thing to that is when Kevin makes a guest appearance with Graham and the band, which happens every once and a while in England (and is great to see). There actually was an attempt at a reunion for Glastonbury within the past decade, though it ultimately didn't go through. 

Personally, I feel that Graham, being a founding member, songwriter and one-half of the continuing duo that kept 10cc going through the latter seventies and eighties, has the right to use the name (and unlike other bands, it's not like they've fought over the use of the name, as none of the other members have any inclination or desire to tour.) And better yet, they are fantastic live, doing those songs justice and properly crediting Kevin, Lol and Eric for their wonderful songs and music throughout the set. 

I saw no one at the show complaining that they'd felt duped it being Graham's band (and no Kevin, Lol and Eric present). If anything, the fans know enough of the band's history to understand exactly what they are getting - Graham, Rick Fenn and Paul Burgess (both of whom have been in 10cc since the seventies) and several other longtime talented musicians. 

 

[JSngry]

Who owns the name?

[rostasi]

2.5cc

[T.D.]

Went to this:

Although Marianne Osiel was announced on English horn (which she also plays), AFAICT she played oboe today.

[Steve Reynolds]

Last night:

Matana Roberts: soprano saxophone & vocalizing

Brandon Lopez: bass

Tomas Fujiwara: drums

stunning 30 minute improvisation followed by a 15 minute piece that might have been a smidge better. Brandon peaking even for him. 80-90% with a bow and only Joelle Leandre, Barry Guy & John Edwards are in this stratosphere. 

[BFrank]

On 7/28/2024 at 2:46 PM, rostasi said:

2.5cc

😄