Favorite Jazz Concerts of 2017

[kh1958]

My thirty favorite jazz concerts of the year 2017, only two of which occurred in the city where I reside.

May 7, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival: Chucho Valdes Quintet. With bass (Gaston Joyner) and three percussionists. A thrilling final concert at a great music festival.

May 5: NOJHF, Terence Blanchard with the E Collective: Electric jazz in the nature of Electric Byrd, Freddie Hubbard's Gleam/High Energy, but with its own sound. A very intense performance.

April 29: NOJHF, Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya with Terence Blanchard,: A rather beautiful suite that I hope gets recorded and released.

April 28: NOJFH, Trumpet Mafia plays Maurice Brown A veritable horde (16) of trumpets plus rhythm section performs original compositions of Maurice Brown.

May 6, NOJHF: Kenny Barron Trio.

May 4, NOJFH: Lee Konitz Quartet.

April 28/May 5, NOJHF: Jamil Sharif with Louis Ford/Louis Ford with Jamil Sharif. Traditional New Orleans Jazz in living form.

April 29, NOJHF: Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra. This intensely swinging riff based big band was a very pleasant surprise.

May 5, NOJHF: Ron Holloway Band. I wasn't expecting to like a jazz/funk band quite this much.

May 5, NOJHF: Jason Marsalis 21st Century Trad Band. Jason on vibes is quite fine.

May 6, NOJHF: SF Jazz Collective Plays the Music of Miles Davis.

May 7, NOJHF: Khari Allen Lee & The New Creative Collective

January 8: Smoke, Billy Harper,

January 6: Winter Jazzfest: David Murray Quintet with Lafayette Gilchrist

January 6: Winter Jazzfest: Melissa Aldana Sextet

January 7: Winter Jazzfest: Michael Formanek Quartet

January 7: Winter Jazzfest: David Virelles/Ravi Coltrane duet

January 7: Winter Jazzfest: Bill Frisell/Thomas Morgan duet

January 7: Winter Jazzfest: Nik Bartsch Mobile

June 6: Granada Theater, Dallas, Jean Luc Ponty

September 29: Antone's, Austin: Ike Stubblefield Trio and Lonnie Smith Trio

October 19: Village Vanguard: Chico Freeman

October 20: Aaron Davis Hall: Somi

October 20: Birdland: Ron Carter Golden Stryker Trio

October 21: BRIC Jazz Festival: Harriett Tubman

October 21: BRIC Jazz Festival: Theo Croker

October 22: Rubin Museum: Sameer Gupta's A Circle Has No Beginning

October 22: Rubin Museum: Awaz Trio with Rez Abassi

October 25: Annette Strauss Square, Dallas, Zakir Hussain and Dave Holland Cross Currents

Edited January 1, 2018 by kh1958
typo

[Hot Ptah]

I also attended the April 29: NOJHF, Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya with Terence Blanchard.

My other favorites were:

Spanish Harlem Orchestra

Brian Blade Quartet at the Kansas City Jazz Festival (Memorial Day weekend)

Jack DeJohnette : Hudson (John Scofield, John Medeski and Larry Grenadier)

Jack DeJohnette with Ravi Coltrane and Matthew Garrison

 Herbie Hancock with Lionel Loeke, James Genus, Terrace Martin and Vinnie Colaiuta.

[LWayne]

My top ten:

Bill Frisell/ Thomas Morgan Duo    Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo NY    Saturday, December 2, 2017
Michael Formanek's Ensemble Kolossus    Abramson Family Auditorium-NYU, Washington DC    Saturday, April 22, 2017
Jonathan Finlyson and Sicilian Defense    Wexner Center, Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH.    Friday, November 17, 2017
Louis Hayes Quintet    Hazlett Theater-Kente Arts Alliance, Pittsburgh, PA.    Saturday, December 9, 2017
Django Festival All-Stars    Manchester Craftsmens Guild, Pittsburgh-PA.    Saturday, November 18, 2017
Matthew Shipp Trio    Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA.    Friday, November 10, 2017
Kahil El Zabar/ David Murray Duo    James Street Tavern, Pittsburgh PA.    Sunday, June 4, 2017
The Rosetta Trio    Alphabet City-City of Asylum, Pittsburgh, PA.    Sunday, May 7, 2017
Corey Harris    Roots Cellar-Pgh Center for Arts, Pittsburgh PA.    Thursday, October 5, 2017
Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge    Club Café, Pittsburgh, PA.    Tuesday, March 7, 2017
 

LWayne

[Steve Reynolds]

1) Tony Malaby, Daniel Levin & Randy Peterson - late October @ Firehouse in New Haven, CT

2) Tim Berne’s Snakeoil - late Summer in Newburgh, NY

3) Ches Smith Trio with Craig Taborn & Mat Maneri - 12/20 @ The Stone

4) William Parker Quartet with Rob Brown, Cooper-Moore & Hamid Drake - early summer @ Shapeshifter Labs in Brooklyn, NY

5) Nu Band with Mark Whitecage, Thomas Heberer, Joe Fonda & Lou Grassi - late Winter in NYC

 

might have missed some but these were all stellar to amazing 

[BillF]

All gigs I attended in 2017.( All at Malcolm Frazer's house, Cheadle, unless mentioned otherwise.)

15 Jan   Daryl Sherman   

11 Mar   Bruce Barth         

30 Apr   Rossano Sportiello

16 May  Great Birmingham Trombone Company, Graham Brook Jazz, Wilmslow Conservative Club

22 Jun   Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, Royal Northern College of Music

23 Jul    Barry's Bop (reunion of attendees at Barry Harris master class, Rome)

17 Sep  Joey Calderazzo Trio, Band on the Wall

11 Nov  Greg Abate/David Newton

3  Dec   Cleyndert/Pozza/Teimoori

[sidewinder]

The Cookers, Turner-Sims Southampton (2016 I think but so good I will sneak this one in)

Magnus Ostrom, Turner-Sims

Laura Jurd & Dinosaur, Turner-Sims

Mike Gibbs Orchestra, Turner-Sims

Pat Metheny Quartet, Barbican, London JF

Alan Barnes Octet ‘Fish Tales’, Swanage

Gilad Atzmon Orient House plus Alan Barnes ‘Lowest Common Denominator’, Swanage

Clark Tracey/Dave Newton Octet ‘Bootleg Eric Suite’ Swanage

Arun Ghosh Quintet, Swanage

[mjazzg]

Art Ensemble Of Chicago joined by Here In Now at Cafe Oto.

No contest for my concert of the year

[sidewinder]

3 hours ago, BillF said:

 

11 Nov  Greg Abate/David Newton

Their South Coast appearance was good too.

[kh1958]

15 Favorite non-Jazz Concerts of the year:

Mokoomba (Zimbabwe). New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

Kadri Gopalnath (Carnatic saxophone), Unity Church of Dallas

Cedric Burnside Project (Mississippi Hill Country Blues), NOJHF

Kenny Neal and His Baton Rouge Blues Revue, NOJHF

Joe Louis Walker, NOJHF

Nikki Hill (rock/soul), Bedford Blues Festival

Buddy Guy, Bedford Blues Festival

Walter Wolfman Washington, Denton Blues Festival

Eric Gales, Plano Blues Festival

Indro Roy Chowdhury (sitar), Rubin Museum, Ragas Live Festival

Rabindra Narayan Goswami, (sitar) Rubin Museum, Ragas Live Festival

Abhek Mukherjee (sitar), Rubin Museum, Ragas Live Festival

Orakel (Kane Mathis and Roshni Samiall)(West African/Middle Eastern/Indian fusion), Rubin Musem, Ragas Live Festival

The Epichorus (Middle Eastern), Rubin Museum, Ragas Live Festival

Sandip Chatterjee (santoor), Allen Public Library

Edited January 1, 2018 by kh1958

[king ubu]

My list, end of year:

* * * * *
Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner: Monteverdi, L’Orfeo – Lucerne Festival, KKL, Luzern – 22.8.
M.-A. Charpentier: Médée (d’Oustrac, Van Mechelen; Christie; Homoki) – Zürich, Opernhaus – 18.2.
Grigory Sokolov: Mozart, Beethoven – Zürich, Tonhalle – 26.2
Malcolm Braff Trio – Zürich, Moods – 7.1.
Massenet: Werther (Juan Diego Flórez, Anna Stéphany; Cornelius Meister; Tatjana Gürbaca) – Zürich, Opernhaus, 11.4.
Donizetti: La Fille du régiment (Devieilhe, Barbera; Scapucci) – Zürich, Opernhaus – 22.12.
Manfred Trojahn: Orest (Erik Nielsen; Hans Neuenfels) – Zürich, Opernhaus – 12.3.
Peter Brötzmann/Heather Leigh/Toshinori Kondo – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 26.8.
Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Tonhalle Orchester, Teodor Currentzis (Berg Violinkonzert, Schostakowitsch 5) – Zürich, Tonhalle Maag – 30.11
Sheila Jordan – Zürich, Moods – 19.9.
Nicolas Altstaedt/Alexander Lonquich (Beethoven: Cellosonaten 1-5) – Zürich, Tonhalle Maag -18.11.
Maria João Pires, Tonhalle Orchester, Bernard Haitink (Mozart KV 595, Bruckner 4) – Zürich Tonhalle Maag – 21.12.
Urs Leimgruber/Jacques Demierre/Barre Phillips & Thomas Lehn – Jazzfestival, Festhalle, Willisau – 2.9.
Schlippenbach Trio – London, Vortex – 21.4.
Evan Parker/Barry Guy – Zürich, Theater Neumarkt – 30.4.
Carate Urio Orchestra – Taktlos, Rote Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 6.5.
The Pere Ubu Moon Unit – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 26.8.
Aly Keïta/Jan Galega Brönnimann/Lucas Niggli – London, Vortex – 17.4.
Milesdavisquintet! – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 23.8.
Elina Duni/Erik Truffaz/Bugge Wesseltoft – Moods, Zürich – 5.5.
Evan Parker/Barry Guy – London, Vortex – 16.4.
Händel: Alcina (Bartoli, Jaroussky, Fuchs, Abrahamyan; Antonini; Loy) – Zürich, Opernhaus – 4.1.
Tonhalle Orchester, Herbert Blomstedt (Beethoven 7 & 8) – Zürich, Tonhalle – 17.5.
Omri Ziegele/John Edwards/Mark Sanders – London, Vortex – 20.4.
 
 
* * * *1/2
Verdi: Macbeth (Serjan, Jenis; Noseda; Kosky) – Zürich, Opernhaus – 26.5.
Takács Quartet: Haydn, Ravel, Beethoven – Mailand, Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi – 31.1.
Puccini: La fanciulla del west (Naglestad, Jovanovich, Hendricks; Armiliato; Kofsky) – Zürich, Opernhaus – 30.12. * * * *1/2
Tonhalle Orchester, Franz Welster-Möst (Bruckner 8) – Zürich, Tonhalle Maag -17.11.
Lucerne Festival Academy Orchester, Heinz Holliger, Patricia Kopatchinskaja: Debussy, Koechlin, Holliger – Lucerne Festival, Luzern, KKL – 20.8.
The Rolling Stones – Zürich, Letzigrund – 20.9. (ein paar Eindrücke)
Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Spyres, Brower, Damrau, Testé; Trinks; Jones) – München, Staatsoper – 30. Juli
Patricia Kopatchinskaja/Jay Campbell/Polina Leschenko: Enescu, Kodály, Ravel – Lucerne Festival, Kunstmuseum, Luzern – 27.8.
Ingrid Laubrock Sleepthief – Zürich, Theater Neumarkt – 30.4.
Igor Levit: Schostakowitsch – Preludes & Fugues Op. 87 – Zürich, Tonhalle – 8.6.
The Turbine! feat. Toshinori Kondo – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 25.8.
Incertum Principium (Edward Perraud, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Benjamin Dousteyssier, Aymeric Avice) – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 24.8.
Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini, Sandrine Piau: Haydn, Mozart – Zürich, Tonhalle – 6.2.
Tonhalle Orchester, David Zinman: Mahler 6 – Zürich, Tonhalle – 4.3.
RAI Orchstra, Ingo Metzmacher, Frank Peter Zimmermann (Lindberg, Grisey, Varèse) – Turin, Auditorium „Toscanini“ della RAI – 3.2.
Magmatic Quartet (Louis Moholo, Alexander Hawkins, Giovanni Guidi, Gianluca Petrella) – Novara Jazz, Il Broletto – 2.6.
Nils Wogram „Root 70“ – Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 19.5.
Maya Homburger/Barry Guy (w/Lucas Niggli) – London, Vortex – 16.4
Salvatore Sciarrino: Ti vedo, ti sento, mi perdo (Maxime Pascal; Jürgen Flimm) – Mailand, Teatro alla Scala – 26.11.
Nasheet Waits Equality Quartet – Zürich, Moods – 7.1.
Vinny Golia Trio – Novara, Istituto Civico Musicale Brera – 4.2.
Julie Fuchs, La Scintilla, Raphaël Pichon: Rameau, Gluck – Zürich, Opernhaus – 20.2.
Donizetti: L’elisir d’amore (Olga Kulchynska, Juan Francisco Gatell, Nello Santi; Grischa Asagaroff) – Zürich, Opernhaus – 7.4.
Alexander von Schlippenbach – London, Vortex – 20.4.
Thomas Stronen/Marco Colonna/Alessandro Giachero – Novara Jazz, Canonica del Duomo – 2.6.
Julia Fischer, Tonhalle Orchester, Charles Dutoit: Bartók, Tschaikovsky – Zürich, Tonhalle – 24.2.
Enrico Rava/Louis Moholo – Novara Jazz, Il Broletto – 1.6.
THReNSeMBle/Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation – Zürich, Tonhalle (Kleiner Saal) – 26.6.
Oren Ambarchi – Météo, L’Entrepôt, Mulhouse – 25.8.
Shabaka & The Ancestors – Moods, Zürich – 20.3.
Kristóf Baráti, Tonhalle Orchester, Lionel Bringuier: Eötvös, Stravinsky, Shostakovich – Zürich, Tonhalle – 15.6.
Irène Schweizer/Maggie Nicols – London, Vortex – 19.4.
Omri Ziegele Noisy Minority feat. Percy Pursglove – London, Vortex – 20.4.
Urs Leimgruber/Pascal Marzan – Zürich, WIM – 30.6.
BIC (Julien Desprez, Mette Rasmussen, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, Mads Försby) – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 23.8.
 
 
* * * *
Tonhalle Orchester, Pablo Heras-Casado: Schubert, Bartók – Zürich, Tonhalle – 13.1.
Kris Davis/Angelica Sanchez – Jazzfestival, Festhalle, Willisau – 2.9.
Howard Riley Trio – London, Vortex – 16.4.
Isabelle Faust, Tonhalle Orchester, Jakub Hrusa: Bartók, Schumann, Janácek – Tonhalle – 23.6.
Doric String Quartet: Haydn, Schubert – Zürich, Kirche St. Peter – 10.9.
Camilla Tilling, Tonhalle Orchester, Pablo Heras-Casado (Dutilleux, Debussy, Brahms) – Zürich, Tonhalle Maag – 8.12. * * * *
Ligeti: Le Grand macabre (Luzerner Sinfonieorchester; Clemens Heil; Herbert Fritsch) – Luzerner Theater – 7.10.
Ensemble der Lucerne Festival Academy, Frédérique Cambreling: Bartók, Holliger, Veress – Lucerne Festival, Kunstmuseum, Luzern – 27.8.
Ricercare Ensemble, Accademia degli Invaghiti, Federico Maria Sardelli (Hàndel, Alexanders‘ Feast) – Teatro Bibiena, Mantua, 22.11.
The Necks – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 23.8.
Swapan Chaudhuri – Zürich, Museum Rietberg – 12.11.
Swanky Mothers – Zürich, WIM – 10.6.
Der gemischte Chor Zürich, Tonhalle Orchester, Joachim Krause (Frank Martin: Golgotha) – Zürich, Tonhalle – 14.4.
Prokofiev: Der feurige Engel (Stundyte, Melrose; Noseda; Bieto) – Zürich, Opernhaus – 31.5.
Haydn: Orlando Paladino (Jane Archibald, Ruben Drole, Michael Spyres, Mauro Peter; Riccardo Minasi; Jetske Mijnssen) – Zürich, Opernhaus – 18.5.
Roscoe Mitchell Plays John Coltrane – Mailand, Teatro Manzoni – 29.1.
Kaja Draksler Octet – Taktlos, Rote Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 4.5.
Hans Koch/Manuel Troller – Jazzfestival, Rathaus, Willisau – 2.9.
Bill Orcutt – Météo, Chapelle Saint-Jean, Mulhouse – 24.8.
Julia Lezhneva, Basler Kammerorchester (Julia Schröder): Händel, Graun – Zürich, Tonhalle – 1.5.
Trevor Watts/Dieter Ulrich – London, Vortex – 17.4.
Verdi: Don Carlo (Meli, Stoyanova, Semenchuk, Chung; Stein) – Mailand, Teatro alla Scala – 1.2.
Xavier de Maistre, Mojca Erdmann, Katharina Konradi, Christian Elsner, Zürcher Sing-Akademie, Tonhalle-Orchester, Lionel Bringuier: Saariaho, Mendelssohn – Zürich, Tonhalle – 7.5.
Katia & Marielle Labèque, Clara Mouriz, Tonhalle Orchester, Michel Tabachnik: Glass, Poulenc, Falla – Zürich, Tonhalle – 10.2.
Oren Ambarchi/Will Guthrie – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 24.8.
Les Flamboyants & Cantica Symphonia: Heinrich Isaac – Festival Alte Musik Zürich – Zürich, St. Peter – 24.3.
Jürg Wickihalder Trio Beyond – London, Vortex – 16.4.
Julie Kjaer 3 – Taktlos, Rote Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 6.5.
Street Corner Talking – Zürich, Ziegel oh Lac – 27.1.
Regula Mühlemann, Capella Gabetta (Händel, Vivaldi, Mozart etc.) – Zürich, Tonhalle Maag – 5.12.
Laura Cannell – Météo, Chapelle Saint-Jean, Mulhouse – 25.8.
Devin Gray/Eve Risser/Miles Perkin – Zürich, WIM – 30.6.
 
 
* * *1/2
Franz Hautzinger – Météo, Chapelle Saint-Jean, Mulhouse – 26.8.
Joe Lovano Classic Quartet – Moods, Zürich – 13.3.
Onceim/Frédéric Blondy – Météo, La Filature, Mulhouse – 26.8.
Isabelle Faust, Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado: Mendelssohn – Zürich, Tonhalle – 26.3.
Eve Risser – Météo, Chapelle Saint-Jean, Mulhouse – 23.8.
Omri Ziegele Where’s Africa (w/Irène Schweizer & Louis Moholo) – London, Vortex – 19.4.
Lucas Debargue: Scarlatti, Ravel, Listz – Mailand, Conservatorio – 30.1.
Tonhalle Orchester, Barbara Hannigan: Ligeti, Berg, Debussy, Stravinsky – Zürich, Tonhalle – 1.4.
 
 
* * *
L’Ocelle Mare (Thomas Bonvalet) – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 26.8.
Anna Karenina – Ballett Zürich (Christian Spuck)/Philharmonia Zürich (Paul Connelly) – Zürich, Opernhaus – 18.1.
Musica Astrale (Stockhausen, Morricone, Purcell etc.) – Ferrara, Castello Estense – 25.11.
Irène Schweizer/Louis Moholo-Moholo – London, Vortex – 18.4.
Musica Elettronica Viva (Alvin Curran, Frederic Rzewski, Richard Teitelbaum) – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 25.8.
Amok Amor – Taktlos, Rote Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 4.5.
Camerata Zürich, Thomas Demenga, Thomas Sarbacher: Suk, Dvorák, Janácek – Lucerne Festival, Luzern, MaiHof – 20.8.
Anna Högberg Attack – Taktlos, Rote Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 6.5.
Kinsella/Marshall/Edwards/Buechi: Wood & Bones – London, Vortex – 21.4.
SPILL (Tony Buck, Magda Mayas) – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 24.8.
 
 
* *1/2
Studenten des Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi (Honegger, Poulenc, Milhaud) – Mailand, Museo del Novecento – 31.1.
Alvin Curran – Météo, Temple Saint-Etienne, Mulhouse – 23.8.
Bill Orcutt/Chris Corsano/Guro Skumsnes Moe – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 25.8.
 
 
* *
Onceim/Frédéric Blondy/John Tilbury – Météo, La Filature, Mulhouse – 25.8.
Beams (Alvin Curran Workshop) – La Kunsthalle, Mulhouse – 24.8.

 

-----

same list, but jazz (and related) only:

(can someone stop that merge posts function please? sucks! and the the edit wouldn't save either!)

 

* * * * *
Malcolm Braff Trio – Zürich, Moods – 7.1.
Peter Brötzmann/Heather Leigh/Toshinori Kondo – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 26.8.
Sheila Jordan – Zürich, Moods – 19.9.
Urs Leimgruber/Jacques Demierre/Barre Phillips & Thomas Lehn – Jazzfestival, Festhalle, Willisau – 2.9.
Schlippenbach Trio – London, Vortex – 21.4.
Evan Parker/Barry Guy – Zürich, Theater Neumarkt – 30.4.
Carate Urio Orchestra – Taktlos, Rote Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 6.5.
The Pere Ubu Moon Unit – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 26.8.
Aly Keïta/Jan Galega Brönnimann/Lucas Niggli – London, Vortex – 17.4.
Milesdavisquintet! – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 23.8.
Elina Duni/Erik Truffaz/Bugge Wesseltoft – Moods, Zürich – 5.5.
Evan Parker/Barry Guy – London, Vortex – 16.4.
Omri Ziegele/John Edwards/Mark Sanders – London, Vortex – 20.4.
 
* * * *1/2
Ingrid Laubrock Sleepthief – Zürich, Theater Neumarkt – 30.4.
The Turbine! feat. Toshinori Kondo – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 25.8.
Incertum Principium (Edward Perraud, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Benjamin Dousteyssier, Aymeric Avice) – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 24.8.
Magmatic Quartet (Louis Moholo, Alexander Hawkins, Giovanni Guidi, Gianluca Petrella) – Novara Jazz, Il Broletto – 2.6.
Nils Wogram „Root 70“ – Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 19.5.
Maya Homburger/Barry Guy (w/Lucas Niggli) – London, Vortex – 16.4
Nasheet Waits Equality Quartet – Zürich, Moods – 7.1.
Vinny Golia Trio – Novara, Istituto Civico Musicale Brera – 4.2.
Alexander von Schlippenbach – London, Vortex – 20.4.
Thomas Stronen/Marco Colonna/Alessandro Giachero – Novara Jazz, Canonica del Duomo – 2.6.
Enrico Rava/Louis Moholo – Novara Jazz, Il Broletto – 1.6.
Oren Ambarchi – Météo, L’Entrepôt, Mulhouse – 25.8.
Shabaka & The Ancestors – Moods, Zürich – 20.3.
Irène Schweizer/Maggie Nicols – London, Vortex – 19.4.
Omri Ziegele Noisy Minority feat. Percy Pursglove – London, Vortex – 20.4.
Urs Leimgruber/Pascal Marzan – Zürich, WIM – 30.6.
BIC (Julien Desprez, Mette Rasmussen, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, Mads Försby) – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 23.8.
 
* * * *
Kris Davis/Angelica Sanchez – Jazzfestival, Festhalle, Willisau – 2.9.
Howard Riley Trio – London, Vortex – 16.4.
The Necks – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 23.8.
Swanky Mothers – Zürich, WIM – 10.6.
Roscoe Mitchell Plays John Coltrane – Mailand, Teatro Manzoni – 29.1.
Kaja Draksler Octet – Taktlos, Rote Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 4.5.
Hans Koch/Manuel Troller – Jazzfestival, Rathaus, Willisau – 2.9.
Bill Orcutt – Météo, Chapelle Saint-Jean, Mulhouse – 24.8.
Trevor Watts/Dieter Ulrich – London, Vortex – 17.4.
Oren Ambarchi/Will Guthrie – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 24.8.
Jürg Wickihalder Trio Beyond – London, Vortex – 16.4.
Julie Kjaer 3 – Taktlos, Rote Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 6.5.
Laura Cannell – Météo, Chapelle Saint-Jean, Mulhouse – 25.8.
Devin Gray/Eve Risser/Miles Perkin – Zürich, WIM – 30.6.
 
* * *1/2
Franz Hautzinger – Météo, Chapelle Saint-Jean, Mulhouse – 26.8.
Joe Lovano Classic Quartet – Moods, Zürich – 13.3.
Onceim/Frédéric Blondy – Météo, La Filature, Mulhouse – 26.8.
Eve Risser – Météo, Chapelle Saint-Jean, Mulhouse – 23.8.
Omri Ziegele Where’s Africa (w/Irène Schweizer & Louis Moholo) – London, Vortex – 19.4.
 
* * *
L’Ocelle Mare (Thomas Bonvalet) – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 26.8.
Irène Schweizer/Louis Moholo-Moholo – London, Vortex – 18.4.
Musica Elettronica Viva (Alvin Curran, Frederic Rzewski, Richard Teitelbaum) – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 25.8.
Amok Amor – Taktlos, Rote Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 4.5.
Anna Högberg Attack – Taktlos, Rote Zürich, Rote Fabrik – 6.5.
Kinsella/Marshall/Edwards/Buechi: Wood & Bones – London, Vortex – 21.4.
SPILL (Tony Buck, Magda Mayas) – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 24.8.
 
* *1/2
Alvin Curran – Météo, Temple Saint-Etienne, Mulhouse – 23.8.
Bill Orcutt/Chris Corsano/Guro Skumsnes Moe – Météo, Noumatrouff, Mulhouse – 25.8.
 
* *
Onceim/Frédéric Blondy/John Tilbury – Météo, La Filature, Mulhouse – 25.8.
Beams (Alvin Curran Workshop) – La Kunsthalle, Mulhouse – 24.8

Edited January 1, 2018 by king ubu

[kh1958]

Whew!

[king ubu]

2 hours ago, kh1958 said:

Whew!

Well yeah, crazy years!

Three trips to Italy:

• Novara-Milano-Torino in Jan/Feb with a visit to La Scala, jazz in Novara (Vinnie Golia Trio - should have been the Bradford-Golia Quartet but Bradford had to cancel the tour) and classical and Roscoe Mitchell in Milano and Torino ... most of it spontaneous actually, I was just lucky with my schedule! Novara and La Scala were planned, Torino I found out when there, the two other concerts in Milan were organized by a friend there) ...
• Novara and Firenze in June - no music in Florence, but several fine concerts in Novara (Moholo being the trigger for that trip ... Florence I'd not visited since just after finishing high school and it was time to go there again ... though future visits will only be done in winter when it's cold and tourists are only thousands and not gazillions!)
• Mantova and Ferrara (and a day trip to Milan, La Scala again, the new Sciarrino opera) in November ... the concert in Mantova I found out again while being there, the same theatre hosted Brad Mehldau the night before but it was sold out and impossible to get a ticket ... in Ferrara I wanted to attend a concert at the local jazz club but in the end skipped it and went to that free concert with modern stuff (including some really interesting Stockhausen)

Other than that, all the Météo concerts were festival sets, same goes for the Taktlos sets, the Willisau ones in summer, and the many London sets in April (that was another trip triggered by the Intakt festival, and another place I'd not visited for 15 or more years and felt overdue to see again) ... then we spent a few days in Munich in summer, so I found an opera I wanted to catch there, but that was more by chance again actually, though organised well in advance, wouldn't have been possible to get in otherwise I think.

I'm not really comfortable with listening those festival sets separately, but pulling together whole nights and then rating them as one would be nonsense, too (although actually those programming the festivals do pay attention of course to sequence and all that, and at Météo they're really good at it, too).

Similarly as in the past two years, I mostly combined some concerts with vacation ... enjoying this a lot.

As I kinda started a new life (new job after over 15 years, started in December) I also took a time off in October/November (accumulated vacation, continuous contribution extra vacation, overtime ...) and travelled South India for around four weeks then. No live music there, alas, other than the occasional bit in a temple (actually once I was lucky and some dudes really did play some ... one of those double-reed instruments with drum accompaniment).

So, very eventful year, and in many respects looking back at it, it feels as if I started a new life in December - which is great! Of course though the musical stream continues to flow without major upheavals, other than the professional life that kinda runs along ... we all have to eat, right? And now, the new job, really seems to turn out to be more than just that, so I'm quite happy indeed (just laying low since I'll be on probation for another two months, so that has to get done over with first, and then we're talkin' )

[kh1958]

That all sounds very interesting. Living in Texas, everything is so far away for concert travel. Austin at 200 miles is the closet. There is no train service, so driving or flying are the only realistic travel options. Nonetheless, I have plans to attend three festivals in the first half of the year. Coming up shortly, the Friday and Saturday Marathons at the Winter Jazzfest in New York. This will be my fourth year in a row for this festival, which is really alot of fun--you can hear 4 to 6 bands in a given night at 12 venues, most fairly close together. In March, I'm going to try the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, which has a strong jazz line-up this year. And in April/May, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which is a great experience. This will be my sixth one--I attended in 1987 and didn't go back until 2014--one of the dumbest things I've done. I'm not missing any more as long as I  can.

Edited January 1, 2018 by kh1958