What live music are you going to see tonight?

[A Lark Ascending]

Norma Winstone 75th Birthday Concert

(Cadogan Hall, London)

A game of two halves - first with her longstanding European Trio with saxophonist Klaus Gesingand pianist Glauco  Venier; then backed by the orchestra from the Royal Academy of Music.

At 75, Norma Still sounds in amazing voice - a bit frayed in places, intonation a bit strained in those demanding scat flights, but still as rich and individual as ever. 

Some lovely reminiscences of colleagues like John Taylor (their two sons joined for one song), Kenny Wheeler and Ralph Towner. And a very pointed references to how her career had depended on being able to work freely in Europe. Nikki  Iles joined for one song; and Vince Mendoza contributed a new arrangement.

A year ago Norma was central to the Kenny Wheeler tribute in the same venue. This time a well deserved celebration of her 50 years of wonderful music.

Edited November 17, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[BillF]

On 11/15/2016 at 10:09 PM, sidewinder said:

Next stop - Turner Sims 

What did you think of them?

[JohnS]

Excellent.  Fine solos all round.  Harper was outstanding but Weiss, Handy and Henderson were all  excellent. Billy Hart was thunderous and exciting and perfect for this band.  Decent sound too.   Very  nice to meet up with Sidewinder again.

[sidewinder]

Can only second that John - Great to touch base again and catch up with you. Was it really circa 2006 and the Sam Rivers concert the last time?  How time flies..

I thought the concert was superb - easily the best hard bop gig I have seen for a long, long while and gig of the year so far this year. Have not heard Billy Harper play better, he was fantastic. The whole band were superb though - it is always a great pleasure to see and hear Eddie Henderson. Last time I saw him he was in 'fusion' mode, which was great, but in this concert he was free-er and more lyrical and concentrating on the trumpet as distinct from the flugel. His tone and attack are superb, very effective in tandem with the fine trumpet from David W. Cecil McBee and Billy Hart - what can you say. Two absolute masters who set a fantastic groove throughout and never let up.

In all - all 7 musicians were fantastic and gave it 100%. We were very lucky to have them do this tour, considering the less than 50% turnout in the hall which was insulting for a group of this quality. 

What a great choice of tunes as well - 'Croquet Ballet' and 'Capra Black' from Mr Harper and 'The Peacemaker' and 'Slipping and Slidin' from Cecil McBee, all very finely arranged.

10/10 + !

Edited November 17, 2016 by sidewinder

[BillF]

Greg Abate with local rhythm section at Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester.

My third "American visitor" gig in six days!

[Dmitry]

7 hours ago, BillF said:

Greg Abate with local rhythm section at Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester.

My third "American visitor" gig in six days!

I've seen him several times this year. He's a local. Good playing always from the prince of bebop.

[medjuck]

Arrived in London to discover there is a large jazz festival on here. Saw double bill of Chico Freeman and The Cookers at Cadogan Hall last night.  Lovely venue, respectful audience and great music. Saturday seeing Mike Westbrook solo. 

[BFrank]

2 hours ago, medjuck said:

Arrived in London to discover there is a large jazz festival on here. Saw double bill of Chico Freeman and The Cookers at Cadogan Hall last night.  Lovely venue, respectful audience and great music. Saturday seeing Mike Westbrook solo. 

Lucky YOU!

[BillF]

5 hours ago, Dmitry said:

I've seen him several times this year. He's a local. Good playing always from the prince of bebop.

Yes, I'd like to have Greg permanently on the doorstep. Such a nice guy, too!

[A Lark Ascending]

5 hours ago, medjuck said:

 Saturday seeing Mike Westbrook solo. 

I'd have gone to that if I'd have been here for another day. Buy the new solo record when you are there - it's a gem.

[medjuck]

8 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:

I'd have gone to that if I'd have been here for another day. Buy the new solo record when you are there - it's a gem.

Hope they're selling it.  They could have sold a lot of Chico Freeman cds last night if they'd had them there. 

[sidewinder]

I was hoping to pick up the latest Cookers CD the other night but no sign of any stall at Turner Sims.

Medjuck - if no luck at the venue then Rays Jazz in Foyles Bookshop, Charing Cross Road will most likely have it in the 'Avante Garde' section. They might even be running a special LJF selection rack.

Will have to wait for the next Westbrook performance out West..

[T.D.]

I can't make this, but FYI if you're near the Mid-Hudson Valley, NY:

Roswell Rudd's 81st birthday celebration, Marlboro, NY

[Dmitry]

13 hours ago, BillF said:

Yes, I'd like to have Greg permanently on the doorstep. Such a nice guy, too!

If he's selling his cds, the one I recommend is Motif. Not every record he's made floats my boat, but this one I really enjoyed. 

[jeffcrom]

Just got back from hearing an Atlanta pickup band play the "Birth of the Cool' charts, minus "Darn That Dream." This was a very poorly publicized concert - apparently a benefit for a local church's music school. I only found out about it because my friend Bill Pritchard was in the Bill Barber role. Due to limited rehearsal time, there were a few rough moments, but the ensemble was generally very good, as were the soloists. Trumpeter Lester Walker was the strongest soloist, and thankfully did not attempt any kind of Miles imitation.

The weak link, ironically, was the leader / drummer. If I was going to direct a concert of this iconic music, I would be prepared. I would have my tempos down, know the music inside and out (including the correct titles), and not tell the audience incorrect information.

But in spite of that, it was a thrill to hear this music performed; I never expected to have that experience.

[A Lark Ascending]

16 hours ago, sidewinder said:

I was hoping to pick up the latest Cookers CD the other night but no sign of any stall at Turner Sims.

It was on sale in Rays on Thursday, Nearly bought a copy, influenced by high praise here, but decided to wait. Would have liked to have seen one of those concerts but they didn't come close to me (apart from in London when I was at another event). Maybe next tour.  

[BillF]

13 hours ago, Dmitry said:

If he's selling his cds, the one I recommend is Motif. Not every record he's made floats my boat, but this one I really enjoyed. 

I have it and it's a good 'un. On Thursday he was selling that and Kindred Spirits with Phil Woods which is an exceptionally good album. He told us it was a fine experience to be associated with Phil in his final years.

[mjazzg]

Irene Schweizer, Maggie Nicols, Joelle Leandre at Kings Place

three consummate improvisors presenting an hour of fascinating music. Unusual to see humour used so effectively 

[jeffcrom]

At Eyedrum in Atlanta tonight I experienced one of the best sets of improvised music I've ever heard. Makoto Kawabata (guitar) and Tatsuya Nakatani  (percussion) played a long improvisation in which every detail seemed perfect, and which showed communication at a deep level throughout.

The Atlanta art-rock collective Faun and a Pan Flute, which seems to vary between eight to ten musicians, opened with a beautiful set as well - apparently mostly or totally composed. They've really grown musically over the past few years.

[A Lark Ascending]

Methera (Lucy Deakin - cello, John Dipper - fiddle, Emma Reid - fiddle and Miranda Rutter - viola)

(St Martin's Church, Stoney Middleton up in't'ills of deepest Derbyshire) 

A bit niche, this one. Four English folk string musicians playing together as a quartet (well, 3 1/2 English and 1/2 Swedish). Mainly tunes collected from manuscripts or self-written - mostly English but a Shetland and Irish thrown in and several from across Scandinavia. All superbly arranged so the tunes weave into complex patterns but always remain visible (that should be aural). Especially taken by Emma Reid (the half-Swede) who seems to incorporated some marvellous, haunting techniques from the Scandinavian traditions to give an extra layer of colour. A band clearly loving every minute - big grins, lots of eye contact. And humorous introductions of the pieces throughout.

There's a lovely build up of music like this at present - The English Acoustic Collective, The Rheingan Sisters, Leveret, Wood and Cutting - music that originates in dance music but is taken at a gentler and more subtle pace, bringing out other colours. Reminds me a little of Sweden's Vasen too.   

Puts your faith back in England (and its ability to look outwards) after a year in which we've thoroughly humiliated ourselves.   

Great venue - octagonal church out in the sticks, built in 1415 by a wife giving thanks for the safe return of her husband from Agincourt.

 

Though as it was pitch dark I didn't get to see the outside. A good place to start a daytime walk. 

Edited November 23, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[OliverM]

On 20/11/2016 at 8:55 AM, mjazzg said:

Irene Schweizer, Maggie Nicols, Joelle Leandre at Kings Place

three consummate improvisors presenting an hour of fascinating music. Unusual to see humour used so effectively 

  Sounds great! I will be seing two of them next Monday, three French labels organized for Joelle Léandre a 40 years of touring celebration concert to which she responded by inviting trombonist Christiane Bopp as well as Mat Maneri and Maggie Nicols.

I feel that Joelle Léandre has suffered from a relative lack of recognition in France, especially from institutions that otherwise support culture more than in other countries, so this should be a special moment.

[mjazzg]

2 hours ago, OliverM said:

  Sounds great! I will be seing two of them next Monday, three French labels organized for Joelle Léandre a 40 years of touring celebration concert to which she responded by inviting trombonist Christiane Bopp as well as Mat Maneri and Maggie Nicols.

I feel that Joelle Léandre has suffered from a relative lack of recognition in France, especially from institutions that otherwise support culture more than in other countries, so this should be a special moment.

It was great. I saw the Rogue Art notice about the upcoming concert with Maneri and the others - seems like a very interesting concert indeed. I wish Paris were a bit nearer!

I'm interested in your comments about her level of recognition. For some reason I'd always imagined she had a high profile in France and it's a shame to hear not. Might this be due to her time spent teaching/playing in the US? I'm surprised, and frustrated, how little she seems to come to the UK. She was due to play a duet with Nicole Mitchell this year but cancelled. 

[OliverM]

1 hour ago, mjazzg said:

It was great. I saw the Rogue Art notice about the upcoming concert with Maneri and the others - seems like a very interesting concert indeed. I wish Paris were a bit nearer!

I'm interested in your comments about her level of recognition. For some reason I'd always imagined she had a high profile in France and it's a shame to hear not. Might this be due to her time spent teaching/playing in the US? I'm surprised, and frustrated, how little she seems to come to the UK. She was due to play a duet with Nicole Mitchell this year but cancelled. 

Yes I remember her feeling a bit bitter after a free concert she gave in a church last year, telling me she doesn't generally do free concerts by principle, and because too few people from the public (it was a classical music monthly listening group, and most hadn't heard of her) had bought any of the records she had brought with her, it was as if the public had left and ignored her it is true. I saw her with her tentet this year which was a great success though, and she spoke out at the end explaining how the different ways of combining composed and improvised music would be essential to the development of this music in the 21st century, in a way that reminded of Threadgill or Braxton. But her profile is less important for the media than when she colaborated with Boulez I guess, and is probably higher abroad nowadays. And institutionally the support for this adventurous music is dwindling, last year's new concert hall in Paris, the Carreau du temple, has stopped programming any of it after a great first year, it is now become a place for artistic and commercial fairs.

[mjazzg]

2 hours ago, OliverM said:

Yes I remember her feeling a bit bitter after a free concert she gave in a church last year, telling me she doesn't generally do free concerts by principle, and because too few people from the public (it was a classical music monthly listening group, and most hadn't heard of her) had bought any of the records she had brought with her, it was as if the public had left and ignored her it is true. I saw her with her tentet this year which was a great success though, and she spoke out at the end explaining how the different ways of combining composed and improvised music would be essential to the development of this music in the 21st century, in a way that reminded of Threadgill or Braxton. But her profile is less important for the media than when she colaborated with Boulez I guess, and is probably higher abroad nowadays. And institutionally the support for this adventurous music is dwindling, last year's new concert hall in Paris, the Carreau du temple, has stopped programming any of it after a great first year, it is now become a place for artistic and commercial fairs.

If you speak to her on Monday please tell her that a London fan very much enjoyed and appreciated her recent appearance. Enjoy the gig

[OliverM]

2 hours ago, mjazzg said:

If you speak to her on Monday please tell her that a London fan very much enjoyed and appreciated her recent appearance. Enjoy the gig

Thank you! I will let you know if I get to tell her.