A Lark Ascending

I missed Friday night...lorry on fire on the M1, contraflow queues on the M1, tent to put up, knackered... Never noticed the PC I'm afraid. Bourne did nothing for me either. I saw him last year at a 6 hour free improv jamboree at the RFH where he did similar things and ended up playing Dark Magus-ish jazz funk. I suspect he's the current bright young avant-shocker (something he seems only too aware of! Terribly patronising to Keith Jarrett I thought!). Time will tell if he's got anything more interesting to say than pastiche with a sampler. I did like his version of 'I've got Rhythm' though! Biggest disappointment for me were Trio AAB and especially Kevin McKenzie's larger group. I've enjoyed their records but there was something a bit ordinary about them on stage. The Vital Signs thing didn't work at all for me. I love the idea of mixing Scottish traditional music with jazz (they do it well on their last CD) but this seemed to take jazz on one side, a bit of fiddling and concertina on the other and glue them together with a heavy handed rock beat. The last thing a music as rhythmically vibrant as Scottish folk needs is a rock beat! I really like the Bath programming - determinedly left of centre, determinedly European. Given the Anglo-American slant of most UK festivals it's great to get a chance to hear some of the talent from the rest of Europe. Cheltenham is my other regular. Sorry! Back to Andrew Hill...

Thanks for that name, sidewinder. I was too mean to buy a programme...even when they dropped the price to 50p! How's your Italian?: http://www.quartettomediana.it/carlo1.htm

Glad to hear you enjoyed it too, sidewinder. I must have been a couple of tables away! As I left a couple behind me were moaning about how untidy it had been and that they'd heard the band had been better in Birmingham. I began to doubt my reaction. [Trovesi was astounding...you'll see me gushing about that elsewhere. I quite enjoyed the Barker Septet. Great playing all round, but I find his compositions a bit dated. Very 60s Blue Note. And he always gives off the air of knowing he's a 'star' in a world where there are few jazz stars. But I'm probably being unfair. The band played very well - I especially like the alto playing. My other highlights were the Irene Schweizer/Pierre Favre concert and the amazing Worshop de Lyon (imagine Edith Piaf singing with the Ornette Coleman Quartet!)...who I'd never even heard of! There is so much wonderful music just hidden away!

(Apologies...another copy from AAJ but this concert was too good not to gush about here too) Oh, wow! This was a real musical event. I've been a Trovesi fan for a few years since a few people over on Blue Note recommended me some Italian jazz. I'd seen him once before as part of a large orchestra ('La Banda') where his part was obviously limited. So the chance to hear him in full flow could not be missed. He performed his extended piece 'Round About a Midsummer Night's Dream' that was recorded for Enja a few years back. Quite simply one of the wonderful concerts of my life (and I've seen and heard a fair few). Imagine a performance with two violins and a cello on your left playing baroque phrases (often quotes from classical pieces); a Hendrix inspired electric guitarist; a virtuoso tambourine player (I kid you not...he was amazing!) and accordion player linking it all into Italian folk music; and a jazz based bass player with Trovesi improvising over the top on clarinet, alto and bass clarinet. Music of immense variety and richness, steeped in European traditions yet given zest by what it took from jazz. And comedy as well! (Comedy! Comedy! In a jazz performance! Isn't jazz about furrowing your brow and being 'intense'). Said tambourine player - I wish I knew his name...the people behind me talked as if he was a big star in Italy - did some hilarious vocalisations in Italian. Havn't a clue what he was on about but his hamming with the drummer was marvellous. A wonderfully warm, vibrant performance that had the Bath audience in raptures. One of those occasions when you knew everyone in the hall had had the time of their lives and the beams on the musicians faces showed they knew it! Anyone (with musical curiosity) unfamiliar with Trovesi should check out his many, many discs pronto. Those who already know him might like to know he has a new Octet recording out on ECM. I secured a copy at the gig. I'll let you know what it's like when I've listened a few times. We live in a time of musical riches!

Here's my Bath reaction...I'm looking forward to reading yours, sidewinder. (Apologies to AAJ readers but I first put this reaction up there). I was expecting to be disappointed! I have three Hill discs that I enjoy and know of his legendary status. Often the scenario for a let down! How wrong I was. A lengthy concert of superb music. Now I have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to big bands. I'm really not that keen on the swinging big band where all the sections play riffs and set phrases interspered by solos. We get alot of that in UK big bands! Hill by contrast had put together genuine compositions where there was no sense of 'head-solos-head' and star musician soloing. The music seemed to evolve with solos emerging naturally out of the material. At times sections of the orchestra seemed to be made to deliberately clash against one another - Charles Ives came to mind. Hill's off-centre piano playing was enthralling...though we didn't hear much of it. Great soloing allround fom Yanks and Brits alike. It was so good to see UK players like Denys Baptiste and Jason Yarde in this band. I think one of my favourite moments was where Andy Grappy played a tuba solo that brought a piece to the end where, on the last three notes he was joined perfectly by the bass. Just what was improvised and what composed? Oh, and the bass and drums (John Hebert and Nasheet Waits, I think) were astounding - rarely locking into anything that sounded like a standard 'swinging' rhythm team, yet keeping the music airborne throughout. Absolutely no sense of stage presence! Hill tried to speak several times and kept giving up (the mike might have been off) until the end! One of the trumpet players who alternated with Hill in conducting got called out to conduct a couple of times only to be sent back! And I still can't work out if we got three encores or one encore and two previous tunes where the musicians left the stage between numbers! But who needs presentational polish when the music was this good. This concert will be broadcast by the BBC on Friday, 30th May at 11.30 UK time and archived for a week after. Strongly recommended: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazz/jon3/jon3coming.shtml

I'm very confused. I read and hear comments praising Pujol for his forsight and encouragement of new musicians. He certainly comes across as a knowledgeable jazz fan. And then I read him referred to as a 'crook'. Could someone who knows the facts explain exactly what is going on here. I'm genuinely perplexed.

Red, I strongly recommend branching out to the other de Falla material. There's not alot but what he did write covers a huge range. I'd put in a special plea to try the Harpsichord Concerto. In the same vein as Stravinsky's neo-classical pieces of the time but with a very un-Hollywood Spanishery about it. If you like El Amor you are certain to love The Three Cornered Hat. And as for Nights in...but I;m repeating myself.

You are quite right. De Falla! What's in a vowel?

We had a Bruckner and Bartok thread a few days back. So any da Falla fans out there. I recall being played a piece in school and it stuck in my head. When I got into classical music in the 70's I started to track down what I could find - and there's not a huge amount. Special recommendations for the early ballets (The Three Cornered Hat and El Amour Brujo), full of Spanish flavouring (and the source of one of the Sketches of Spain tunes); for the heady nocturnal world of 'Nights in the Gardens of Spain', a sort of impressionistic piano concerto; and then for the cold spring shower of his beautiful, late, neo-romantic pieces, especially the Harpsichord Concerto. You can pick up most of the key pieces on a Decca 2CD compilation in their Double Decca series. Much cheaper than a fortnight on the Costa del UK Lager Lout!

I really like Mariano - my first experience was with Eberhard Weber's group and the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble. He's also done some interesting projects with Asian musicians. A man with big ears (metaphorically speaking).

This is the fault of all you Americans who failed to do what was expected and buy Robbie Williams album by the bucketload!!!!

Thanks John. Looking forward to seeing this lot perform in Bath on Saturday.

I saw a performance ogf the Glagolitic in 1976 at a Prom (Adrian Boult with Beethoven 5 in part 1, Andrew Davis (I think) with the Glagolitic in part 2). I was bowled over! I'd only been listening to classical music for a while (thank you ELP, the Nice, Yes etc!!!!) and hadn't got much further than the Stravinsky ballets. This was another world. I'm not a huge opera fan (I still find I have to suspend my disbelief with classical singing) but in my desparation to hear more Janacek I grew to love his operas, especially 'The Cunning Little Vixen' which is magical. Have a look here for the Beirach details: http://www.actmusic.com/mraz-beirach-huebner.htm The Monteverdi disc is great too. I've yet to hear the Mompou.

There's a lovely little descending melody on flutes about ten minutes into the first movement of the 5th that used to break my heart when I first heard it back in 1974. Perfect music for a romantic disappointment!

I'm a Bartok fan too. Love that angular, wrong-footed sound and those 'insect-music' pieces. My favourites are the Concerto for Orchestra, 2nd and 3rd Piano Concertos and the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. I love Janacek for similar reasons. Anyone unfamiliar should make a beeline for the 'Glagolitic Mass', one of my all time favourite pieces. The period from the late 19th C to the mid-20th is by far my favourite in classical music. [Try out Richie Beirach's 'Round About Bartok' with George Mraz and Gregor Hubner for a jazzy take on Bartok's world. Not remotely Jacques Loussier!)

I love Bruckner. The 5th and 8th in particular. I'm not religious and deeply sceptical about the use of the word 'spiritual' when describing music but in Bruckner I think you can really hear the depth of the man's religious faith. He wrote the most breathtaking slow movements. And the the fugal ending to the 5th is magnificent. A few years back I even called in at St Florian where he is buried whilst driving to Vienna. Beautiful spot.

Has he just sneezed? Bass man looks a bit worried. SARS?

Interesting comment from Joe Boyd in the above mentioned Mojo article. The paragraph is talking about the influence of Thompson's Scottish roots and Boyd is quoted: "He's one of the few guitarists I've heard who has never compromised his whiteness. Almost all guitarists steal from the blues - knowingly or otherwise. But he is absolutely a product of his upbringing."

Sounds great. I've not seen Thompson since about 1997 and am really looking forward to this one. You might find the details of the band here, a very useful site for news of RT: http://people.zeelandnet.nl/flipfeij/news.htm

Hope you enjoy it. I'm booked to see him in Birmingham (UK) in July. There's an article on the Richard and Linda Thompson years in this month's Mojo magazine.

I like Van least when he's doing his 'jazz vocalist' bit. One of the disappointments of seeing him a few years back was the lack of Van songs in the concert - he did mainly jazz and R'nB covers. I fear that on Blue Note he'd feel obliged to give us his Gershwin song book! His recent recordings are no match for those from his heydey (but then are there any rock/pop singers who can equal what they did in their first ten years?) but still have plenty to enjoy. I still play 'Back on Top' from a few years back regularly.

A bit harsh. Isn't that like calling orange 'red-lite' ! I admit my mind does wander a bit in Lloyd's ECM recordings but I like them, especially the last one. I saw him at the Brecon Festival a few years back and found him very engaging. BBC 4 has a Lonon concert being broadcast at present with Abercrombie. Went out last night and is repeated tonight.

I'm almost sure Fresh Sounds are a different operation from Planet/Definitive. I've been impressed by the Fresh Sounds performance when ordering - cheap and quick. The chap who runs Fresh Sounds, Jordi Pujol, certainly gets heaps of praise. Have a look here: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/articles/arti0402_03.htm

I did. I got instructions what to do. I followed them. Nothing happened. I sent two reminders. Nothing happened. I gave up!

"David Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name" Oh how I love that record!