Marciac jazz festival

[brownie]

I am currently in southwestern France, not very far from Marciac where the annual jazz festival got started this week. Not very much interested in the first week shows.

I will unfortunately be away for the second week when several shows are worth the attention.

For anyone who wants to hear the proceedings, the evening programs are being broadcast every day (though I am not so sure about Saturdays and Sundays) a few minutes after 2000GMT on the national network France-Inter. You can tune in at:

http://www.radiofrance.fr/chaines/france-i...zzinmarciac.php

Click on 'Ecouter en direct'

Randy Weston's African Rhythm Trio (with Alex Blake and Neil Clarke) and Wayne Shorter (with Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade) perform at Marciac on Saturday, August 13.

[ASNL77]

I am currently in southwestern France, not very far from Marciac where the annual jazz festival got started this week. Not very much interested in the first week shows.

I will unfortunately be away for the second week when several shows are worth the attention.

For anyone who wants to hear the proceedings, the evening programs are being broadcast every day (though I am not so sure about Saturdays and Sundays) a few minutes after 2000GMT on the national network France-Inter. You can tune in at:

http://www.radiofrance.fr/chaines/france-i...zzinmarciac.php

Click on 'Ecouter en direct'

Randy Weston's African Rhythm Trio (with Alex Blake and Neil Clarke) and Wayne Shorter (with Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade) perform at Marciac on Saturday, August 13.

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I will be there for Randy Weston and Wayne Shorter, and the previous night for the Latin jazz band. I have never been to Marciac before but I know it is a great festival.

[Claude]

Thanks for the info, Brownie. I rarely listen to France Inter and would have missed it.

Too bad Radio France choose their most popular station for the summer jazz broadcasts and not France Musiques, as the sound on France Inter is heavily compressed and distorted (like most pop stations). On the other hand this is certainly positive to get more jazz audience in France.

I will tune in tomorrow for the John Zorn and Ravi Coltrane broadcasts. I saw John Zorn's Masada a month ago in Malta and their perfermance was incredible (but just an hour long).

[brownie]

The Wayne Shorter Quartet concert at the Marciac festival was not broadcast live on France-Inter, unfortunately.

However Wayne Shorter also performed at the Ramatuelle festival yesterday evening. That concert is being broadcast this evening on France-Musiques at 1800GMT. You can tune in here:

http://www.radiofrance.fr/chaines/france-musiques/prgm/

Click on En Direct to listen!

Suggest you also stay tuned for the performance by the Moutin Reunion Quartet, one of the very best current jazz group performing in France. That will be broadcast live from Ramatuelle after the Wayne Shorter segment.

[king ubu]

The Wayne Shorter Quartet concert at the Marciac festival was not broadcast live on France-Inter, unfortunately.

However Wayne Shorter also performed at the Ramatuelle festival yesterday evening. That concert is being broadcast this evening on France-Musiques at 1800GMT. You can tune in here:

http://www.radiofrance.fr/chaines/france-musiques/prgm/

Click on En Direct to listen!

Suggest you also stay tuned for the performance by the Moutin Reunion Quartet, one of the very best current jazz group performing in France. That will be broadcast live from Ramatuelle after the Wayne Shorter segment.

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Wow! I was aware of the Moutin Reunion, but not of the Shorter broadcast! Will record it!

Can't get France Inter here, I think. Only France Musiques and France Culture.

For those inclined: in the night from Friday to Saturday, 1.15 a.m. to 2.20 a.m., the German tv station WDR will have Wayne's quartet from Duisburg!

[brownie]

Broadcast has started on time. The Shorter Quartet is into its first number right now! Sound iss really excellent

Hope Shorter fans can tune in!

[king ubu]

The Shorter parts they broadcasted were absolutely great and stunning! It's so good to hear him play so well! I think he has gotten quite a bit better since he started with this quartet, some years ago, and he was terrific even back in 2001!

The Moutin twins were pretty good as well - though it was mostly Rick Margitza who caught my ear.

Let's hope for a later re-broadcast of the complete Shorter show!

And thanks so much brownie for making me aware of this broadcast!

[brownie]

That Shorter concert was just incredible. I was floored!

I had not been that impressed by Wayne Shorter in years!

Hope that it will be broadcast in full soon!

Heard that a number of concertgoers left the Shorter performance at Marciac in the middle of the concert.

This was not the case at Ramatuelle. Obviously a hipper crowd!

[king ubu]

That Shorter concert was just incredible. I was floored!

I had not been that impressed by Wayne Shorter in years!

Hope that it will be broadcast in full soon!

Heard that a number of concertgoers left the Shorter performance at Marciac in the middle of the concert.

This was not the case at Ramatuelle. Obviously a hipper crowd!

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You haven't been impressed since "Footprintslive" or have you just not heard it? I was mightily impressed by that album already, and since by the Hancock-Shorter-Holland-Blade group (almost on the same level, I think, interaction-wise, maybe a little less spontaneous, and certainly different). Also some live gigs I've heard by the Shorter 4 are pretty impressive.

And somehow I do think the Shorter 4 are a bit daring, for Ramatuelle's standards. I have heard practically the complete 2004 edition, and nothing there was even halfway where Shorter goes...

What stroke me about the Ramatuelle set of Shorter's is that the music had an incredible warmth to it - something that it was often lacking a bit, even though I found it exciting, ever since the live disc.

[brownie]

Flurin, I have been to recent Shorter albums and found them a bit lacking in directions. What got to me from the Ramatuelle concert was the passion to play that I had not heard in Shorter for so long. I may have missed concerts where he showed that side recently.

I'll be more than happy to reevaluate my opinions on him.

[king ubu]

Flurin, I have been to recent Shorter albums and found them a bit lacking in directions. What got to me from the Ramatuelle concert was the passion to play that I had not heard in Shorter for so long. I may have missed concerts where he showed that side recently.

I'll be more than happy to reevaluate my opinions on him.

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But you weren't there, were you? Also just heard the broadcast? (I heard that you were in the South, so...)

Maybe it's also the production (at least in the case of the Footprints disc) that made the music sound a bit... well, lacking warmth, sounding cool in a negative way.

[brownie]

But you weren't there, were you? Also just heard the broadcast? (I heard that you were in the South, so...)

No, I did not attend the concert in Ramatuelle

I was not very far from Marciac - that's in southwestern France - last month and returned to Paris just before the Wayne Shorter concert there.

Ramatuelle is a lovely village not very far from St. Tropez on the Riviera.

I carefully avoid the Summer crowd on the Riviera. Much better when the crowd is gone and the area remains populated by its usual residents plus the weather is much more to my taste in the Spring or in Autumn.

Edited August 19, 2005 by brownie

[ASNL77]

I am quite surprised at the positive comments about the Shorter performance. I was in Marciac and I must admit that I was not convinced by Shorter's performance. No real sense of direction and too many notes leading nowhere. I was really looking forward to seeing him for the first time and I was slightly disappointed. A lot of people left well before the end which was surprising as the audience of Marciac has an excellent reputation and a few people booed when the band left the stage after 40 minutes.

OTOH, Randy Weston who started the evening was brilliant. One of the best performance I have seen for a long time. I forgot the name of the bass player but he was amazing.

I strongly recommend this festival. Marciac is a typical village in the south of France that lives for jazz for a fortnight every year. A lot of connoisseurs, acoustics is superb and the atmosphere in the village during the festival makes the place very special.

Edited August 28, 2005 by ASNL77

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Bassist probably Alex Blake, who is a very exciting, physical performer. He sits with the bass towering over him. Lots of strumming, etc.

Mike

[ASNL77]

This guy has so much energy and a real talent! A lot of strumming , you're right. Really amazing. He received a standing ovation and he fully deserved it.

Edited August 28, 2005 by ASNL77

[ASNL77]

BTW Brownie, Arte often broadcast parts of the Marciac festival and sometimes live performances. Do you know if they showed anything this year? No TV in the 'gite' I rented for my holiday!

[brownie]

Yves, ARTE features some jazz but few concerts from the Marciac festival.

The music channel Mezzo (available on cable) does have a healthy share of jazz programs including several Marciac concerts.

Mezzo

I'm not sure it can be seen outside France.

[ASNL77]

Thank you Brownie. They made an announcement saying that the show was filmed by Arte (Randy Weston, Wayne Shorter as well as for the 2 latin bands that played the previous night). A few years ago, Arte used to show a summary every year. I used to watch it before I moved to the UK. The broadcast was presented live from Marciac and they used to show the artists playing on that night plus a summary of the best performances of the festival. (About 90 minutes long). This is how I discovered Michel Camilo with an unbelievable performance a few years ago. It is a shame if Arte have stopped showing this.

Edited August 28, 2005 by ASNL77