Albums I really like, Bands/Artists I rate very highly, Gigs I've enjoyed

In praise of…Jim Hart

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Jim Hart, vibraphonist, composer, band leader and drummer was nominated in the Downbeat Readers Poll 2012, a rare and deserved honour for a British musician. Gary Giddins says there are two types of vibe player – cool or extrovert. He has forgotten the third type that Jim represents – the fun, almost-surprised-at-his-own-success but quietly-confident-all-the-same very English vibes player. Whether you are lucky enough to see him live or listen to his albums, you are always capitivated.

I first saw Jim as a drummer with Alcyona Mick at a free gig at the Herbert at the greatly missed Coventry Jazz Festival in 2007. He was impressive then. Most recently I saw him on 25 October, again on drums, with Sam Crowe in the lovely surroundings of St Georges Brandon Hill and again I was struck by his effortless quality, he barely moves his arms when drumming, the sticks seem to take on a life of their own. This was a starry gig – Sam Crowe Group and the return to the live scene of Kairos 4tet. Jim subbed for Dave Smith with the Sam Crowe Group. We had lots of new, fairly abstract material from Sam, eagerly lapped up by a local crowd, and Sam was generous to allow space for the other musicians to explore his complex tunes. It was a joyous evening, everyone was pleased to see Adam Waldmann back on stage after his operation. Jim gave an amazing solo which sounded like a clanging American train.

But it is his vibes playing that Downbeat have chosen to celebrate. And is there anything more magical than watching someone play the vibes? The very sound conjures up your childhood xylophone from a Christmas long ago or the thrill of an African balafon played in the hot sun. It’s Jim’s vibes that adds the sparkly quality I love in Ivo Neame’s Caught in the Light of Day ( see my review of that album here).

This summer Jim took his Cloudmakers Trio on tour and I caught them at Cheltenham in July. Cloudmakers consists of Michael Janisch on double bass, Dave Smith on drums and Jim on vibraphone. I’d seen Dave with Outhouse Ruhabi in 2008, a collaboration with Gambian drummers, so I wasn’t surprised to hear some African influences in Cloudmakers. I think all the compositions we heard that night were by Jim apart from some amazing Monk and a George Shearing tune. I particularly remember a very lovely tune called Westbound ( about travelling home to Jim’s native Cornwall, and as I am from Cornwall too, I paid particular attention). It was a very romantic tune and I hope Jim records it so I can hear it again.

We hear the African influence again in Morbid Curiosity on his latest album The Cloudmakers Trio with Ralph Alessi, Live at the Pizza Express, released September 2012. The trumpet of Ralph Alessi is feather light, the perfect foil for Jim’s delicate vibes. The bass is light as are the drums. It is a very sophisticated sound, perfect for intimate venues.

We hear Jim again, as composer and vibraphonist, on Neon Quartet’s Subjekt (released November 2012 on Edition Records). A particularly beautiful track is Springs and Neaps composed by Jim. The combination of Stan Sultzmann’s lyrical sax, the floating piano/organ by Kit Downes and Tim Giles’ sensitive drumming are the perfect setting for Jim’s effortless, gentle landscape. Does this tune describe a spring evening in a Cornish estuary, perhaps the Fal, when the tide is rushing in over beds of early spring flowers? A lovely sight and sound.

This magical world is just one of the reasons why I want to praise Jim Hart.

http://www.jimhart.co.uk/

Cloudmakers Trio with Ralph Alessi available on http://www.whirlwindrecordings.com/

Gigs I've enjoyed

Review: Sons of Kemet, Warwick Arts Centre,16 Oct 2012

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Sons of Kemet is a very striking band – reeds, tuba and two drummers.   It’s led by Shabaka Hutchings, features Oren Marshall on tuba, the mercurial Seb Rochford on drums, and Tom Skinner on another set of drums.  This interesting combination of instruments erupts into glorious free jazz with an accessible edge.  If their spiritual home is The Vortex, I’d put their physical home as somewhere in the land of the Nogs, with an Arabic edge. The tuba sound instantly reminded me of Noggin the Nog and once I’d had that thought, I couldn’t shift it. I heard gannets and seagulls shriek in the interplay of tuba and clarinet or sax, gales sometimes lashing the magical kingdom where small birds flutter, people dance around fires and enjoy hearty feasts.

This is music you have half-heard on long distant CND rallies, only superbly polished and raw at the same time, witty and joyous.  There is reggae and calypso, almost pastoral solos from Shabaka.  Sometimes a tuba like an angry bee, weird vibrations from a member of the audience’s knees or chest – don’t sit on the front row unless you like being very close to a tuba!   The sheer effort that goes into playing a tuba is part of the joy of watching this band, the sounds extraordinary – growls like a tiger, the deepest bass sounds you can imagine. The two sets of drums are never overwhelming but they both can play loud, the lack of amplification was never a problem and sound balance was achieved by Shabaka and Oren simply changing their positions to split up the drums or to separate themselves.

It was extremely enjoyable gig, the tunes are instantly memorable, it was hard to suppress laughter at the musical interplay between Oren and Shabaka, and it was very hard to sit in our seats – two of the audience sprang from their seats and danced quietly in the doorway.  Fans will be glad to know their first album will be released next year.

Sons of Kemet:

Shabaka Hutchings, clarinet, saxophone

Oren Marshall, tuba

Sebastian Rochford, drums

Tom Skinner, drums

Albums I really like, Bands/Artists I rate very highly

Review: Ivo Neame – Yatra – released Sept 2012

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Yatra is Ivo Neame’s latest work on Edition Records. Yatra means pilgrimage or journey, the perfect word to describe a musician’s search for his own voice.  We have waited quite a while for this album as Ivo’s last in his own name was 2009 (Caught in the Light of Day – you can see my review here).   I am more used to seeing Ivo in smaller bands – with Phronesis, Josh Arcoleo, Kairos 4Tet and Marius Neset’s Golden Xplosion so a work with eight musicians (and no standards to call on) felt on the face of it, well, rather audacious, risky and brave.

But having seen Ivo’s Octet on stage twice – first in February this year in the Purcell Room and then more recently in the sympathetic environment of Kings Place, the word audacious is wrong – it wasn’t risky at all, it feels very natural now.   In February I thought “There are moments of genius in this, what a lovely complex sound but I can still follow it”;  in March I heard Ivo’s quintet in Sherborne and listened to the buzz afterwards (“That was the best gig we’ve had in Sherborne for ages”);  and just a week ago I thought “Wow, this has grown up a lot”.

Yatra consists of nine tracks, all by Ivo, with band members listed below.  The most obvious point of connection to his 2009 quartet is Jim Hart on vibes and Jasper Høiby on bass, providing the solid foundation on which to add the new layer of four reeds and an accordion. The result is an explosion of colour and texture, richness and depth. The reeds add a romantic layer which combined with vibes give it a very beautiful sound best heard on Heart Murmurs.

All the tracks stand alone but my favourite is That Syncing Feeling. It has the loveliest, achingly subtle melody on clarinet, a purring gently bouncing bass and sparce piano setting the tone. The reeds section is at its most sublime, serene and cool.   In my mind I see a girl leaving home, she looks back over her shoulder and sees the boy at the window wistfully gazing after her, but she keeps walking.   It feels sad.   I like that.   But then Ivo pushes us into the circus/fairground with Owl of me, with its funny noises and quirky dance rhythms. He’s playing with us!   Moody seems to continue the circus feel, with more squeaks and hoots, clip-clops like a horse, it all feels a bit insane, suggesting psychological ups and downs, but then the tune breaks through which you will hum for days. It’s very clever.

I think the genius of this album is that Ivo has a light touch with his fellow musicians. You are never aware of solos, it’s not formulaic, it’s democratic but not obviously so, it works as an ensemble. It ebbs and flows naturally, nothing is forced.

Ivo has arrived at the end of this particular journey.   I’m very pleased that he has found his own distinctive voice: witty, modest, serious, cerebral, poetic and self-deprecating, but also fun.    It’s fabulous.

Ivo Neame, piano, accordion
Tori Freestone, saxophone, flute
Jon Shenoy, clarinet
Jason Yarde, alto saxophone
Shabaka Hutchings, bass clarinet
Jim Hart, vibes
Jasper Høiby, double bass
Dave Hamblett, drums

www.ivoneame.com

Yatra, Ivo Neame et al is on Edition Records, available http://www.editionrecordsstore.com/

Albums I really like, Bands/Artists I rate very highly

Review: Daniel Herskedal and Marius Neset – Neck of the Woods – released Aug 2012

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I was wondering how to sum up the feelings prompted in me by this interesting new album.  On Twitter I posted one word – sublime.  I think I have another three words inspired by Shakespeare ” …a dying fall”.    If you never knew what that meant, then listen to this album and you may find they make sense. This album is the latest from the Edition mine of beautiful music. The cover is lovely, the CD itself is a work of art with delicate snowy patterns on it.  Norwegians Daniel Herskedal on tuba and Marius Neset on saxophones are supported by the Svanholm Singers from Sweden.  This is not just everyday Scandinavian melancholy, no there’s humour and playfulness here, wistfulness and peace within its forty minutes.  It creates a very special mood, not one to easily classify, not least because of the unusual pairing of instruments.  I think it will grow on you.  Most of the compositions are by Daniel except for The Wedding by Abdullah Ibrahim.

Marius literally blew us off our feet last year with his Golden Xplosion tour and album. He’s spellbinding in performance, you can feel heat, there is so much energy in the room emanating from him.   His saxophone seems to float, it’s a living thing almost.  I recently saw him at Pizza Express where he surprised even himself at the tempo he played City on Fire, blisteringly fast.  I also saw him at St Georges Brandon Hill (see my review of Dave Stapleton’s Flight) where he revelled in the perfect acoustic.  But it’s not just technique or virtuosity you remember with Marius, it’s passion and fire, the sheer joy of performance.

The first and title track Neck of the Woods will leave you spellbound,  Marius and Daniel have created a piece of heartbreaking beauty.  The gorgeous swoops of Marius’s sax, the feather-light tuba supporting it, the voices, some subtle electronics – they all work together.

Eg er Framand shows off the beautiful solo voice of Hallvar Djupvik.  If I can trust an online translation of this song it is “I am a pilgrim who will stay only one night here. I seek the City of God where sorrow & death are no more. Dear Lord, lead me to Heaven’s shore.”   So I feel a bit more comfortable with my initial impression of this album, it is a bit melancholy and full of lamentation.

But it’s balanced by some pastoralism and the magic we heard on Golden Xplosion’s Angel of the North (about a fjord) we hear on this album.  If Golden Xplosion was urban, then this album is pure Norwegian fjord.   The light, clear voices of the choir add to the feeling of space, coolness and echo.  The Christmas Song’s haunting melody will be part of my Christmas from now on. If I need snow and moonlight on Christmas Eve, here it is in this charming composition by Daniel.

The final track, The Wedding by Abdullah Ibrahim, is played so delicately and ends so gently, you wonder if you are dreaming.   Here is the dying fall I started with, it just floats off into the distance, leaving you to savour a very pleasant feeling of Scandinavian melancholy.

Neck of the Woods - Daniel Herskedal & Marius Neset

You can see Marius and Daniel at the Edition Records Festival at Kings Place on Sunday 16 September 2012 at 2pm. I cannot wait!

You can also see them at St Georges Brandon Hill on 17 September and at Dempseys in Cardiff on 18 September (supporting Asaf Sirkis). 

http://danielherskedal.com/Home.html

http://mariusneset.com/

http://svanholmsingers.se/

http://www.editionrecordsstore.com/product/herskedal-neset-duo-neck-of-the-woods

Albums I really like, Gigs I've enjoyed

Review: Simcock/Garland/Sirkis – Lighthouse at Brecon Jazz Festival 11 August 2012

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There was a real buzz of excitement at the Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, it was Saturday night and Lighthouse were up against the men’s 5000m race at the Olympic Stadium!  Lighthouse are a super-group comprising Tim Garland on various reeds, Gwilym Simcock on piano and Asaf Sirkis on percussion.  In their 75 minutes set we were treated to most of the album called Lighthouse (released earlier this year, celebrating their signing to ACT) and some old and new material.

What’s different about Lighthouse? Well, no bass for a start. And a fascinating drum kit for Asaf to conjure delightful sounds out of.   Not just a hang, but tiny cymbals, tambourines played like drums, tinkly bells and an earthenware instrument called an udu which looks like the moroccan tagine you might cook in.  Asaf plays the hang in the orthodox way with his fingers (not the Portico Quartet way) and in his hands it becomes a magical thing, the sound floating around the theatre, lingering in our memories still longer.   His extended solo on ‘King Barolo’ was a delight. We hear his interest in Indian rhythms, his pleasure in playing is captivating.

Here’s their genius, ‘One morning’ is a hymn to a new saxophone and a lament for a lost friend. It manages to be both wistful and celebratory at the same time.  Tim’s sax is at its most silky on ‘King Barolo’.  He played bass clarinet on the Spanish-influenced ‘Bajo del Sol’, Asaf’s drums reminding me of leopard running across a savannah.

It’s always a delight to listen to Gwilym’s light touch, especially evident in the thoughtful ‘The Wind on the Water’.  He manages to play a lot of notes without it sounding cluttered or heavy. He reminds me a little of John Taylor, with his delicacy, space and pastoral calm. I would say “Englishness” but Gwilym is, of course, Welsh.

The new tracks were ‘Empires’ by Gwilym and an amusing piece called ‘Accidental Tango’.  ‘Empires’ contained very dense layers of sound and different textures broken by delicate plucking of the piano strings. Tim told us that Astor Piazzolla described the best tempo for a tango as like someone standing behind you with a knife. With that scarey thought in mind the artists tried to trip each other up with abrupt stops and starts in ‘Accidental Tango’.   Like mind-readers they did not falter, they are a supergroup after all. At one stage all three artists were playing percussion and enjoying it immensely.

There are two tracks that I think are crying out for release as vinyl singles (if ACT does such a popular thing?). They are ‘Space Junk’ with its heavy insistent nightclub-like beat and the danceable ‘King Barolo’ with instantly memorable tune picked out by the hang.  I feel very strongly that tunes are important in engaging an audience and maybe a younger one.  As Branford Marsalis puts it in a recent Jazzwise article (Aug 2012) “the audience is not interested in doing extra homework to appreciate a jazz concert”.  So tunes and a strong beat are a way in.  Space Junk quickly leaves clubbing behind with its jaunty haunting melodica (a harmonica-like instrument, the sound we love on Asaf’s ‘Other Stars and Planets’). It opens the album and gets you in the mood for all the surprises to come.

The sound mixing at Theatr Brycheiniog was perfect and appreciated by artists and audience.    If I have one tiny reservation about them, it is to wonder why there is no material by Asaf in their repertoire?

And did they take our minds off the 5000m race? Well yes they did, until we got home!

http://www.triolighthouse.com/

http://www.timgarland.com/index.htm

http://www.gwilymsimcock.com/

http://www.asafsirkis.co.uk/

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