Winner of the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Best Media, 2019

Feature

Sunday at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, 03/05/2015.

image

by Ian Mann

May 10, 2015

A day of musical surprises including performances from Surnatural Orchestra, In Bed With, John Scofield w. Pablo Held, Medeski Martin & Wood w. Jamie Cullum, Bassekou Kouyate and Julian Arguelles.

SUNDAY AT CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL, 03/05/2015

Photograph of Surnatural Orchestra by Tim Dickeson


SURNATURAL ORCHESTRA

One of the joys of festival life is making new musical discoveries. Every so often a band that you’ve never previously heard of comes along and almost literally blows you away. A case in point was the Surnatural Orchestra, the opening act at the Parabola Arts Centre. This seventeen strong big band has been described as “the French Loose Tubes” and there were certainly aspects that justified this description in a performance that combined musical precision with a wilful eclecticism and a strong element of theatricality.

The appearance of the Orchestra at Cheltenham was thanks to the Festival’s Artistic Advisor Tony Dudley Evans who had witnessed one of their exciting performances at a French festival and thought that they would be just right for Cheltenham. The presence in the line up of Robin Fincker, once a London resident and a member of the Loop Collective bands Blink and Outhouse probably aided negotiations, his was the only name likely to be already familiar with British jazz audiences.

Fincker was part of a six strong reed section featuring various saxophones and clarinets. The band also included two flautists, three trumpeters, three trombonists, one player of keyboards and electronics, a drummer and a sousaphone player holding down the bottom end in a bass less line up. The attire of some of the band members suggested a Loose Tubes style eccentricity with some members sporting shorts and a male trombonist wearing a dress!

As they started to play something of the Loose Tubes spirit was in evidence alongside that of those other big band mavericks Carla Bley and Frank Zappa. One commentator likened them to the now defunct Dutch ensemble the Willem Breuker Collectif. The occasional use of vocals was reminiscent of Django Bates’ StoRMChaser big band.

When the Orchestra’s members first assembled on the two tier bandstand the stage itself seemed rather bare but the reason for this soon became apparent as the band members made use of the space as they moved liberally around the stage to create a constantly evolving spectacle. It was very different to the Loose Tubes scenario where a featured soloist would come to the front of the stage to deliver their feature and then return to their perch on the stand. Indeed conventional jazz solos were comparatively rare in a performance that mixed many jazz and world music styles with the judicious use of electronics giving the music a very contemporary edge. Fleeting cameos that pitched smaller groups of two or three musicians together, often in unusual instrumental configurations, were common and with a line up that embraced instruments ranging from flutes to sousaphone the tonal and dynamic range of the ensemble was extremely wide. The Surnaturals put these possibilities to imaginative use and this ever evolving music was rich and colourful while also packing a visceral punch. It wasn’t as complicated or sophisticated as that of Loose Tubes but in a live context it was equally effective and the comparative simplicity meant that there was no need for sheet music thus granting the musicians the freedom to roam around and create the immersive spectacle that is a Surnatural Orchestra performance. It may appear to be anarchic but as with the Loose Tubes there is an admirable rigour and discipline behind the apparent chaos. The trombone toting fella in a frock delivered the announcements in broken English, surreal ramblings that only added to the inspired wackiness of the performance.

The music itself embraced lush big band textures, squawking/soaring Tim Berne styled alto sax, a burst of guitar thrash as the keyboard player stood up to strap on a six string. There was a brief sprinkling of harmonica, a moody flugel horn solo, a highly effective flute/tenor sax duet and more.
Mere words can barely describe this musical melange and when the perpetual motion of the visual aspect is filtered in as well the Surnatural Orchestra become an absolutely “must see” live act.

For their final number the band members left the stage and positioned themselves around the semi-circular arena that is the PAC, some of them even venturing upstairs into the circle. We press hounds had the two attractive young female flautists standing just in front of us. They were a damn sight better looking than Eddie Parker I can tell you! Meanwhile a lone baritone saxophone player remained on stage carrying the tune and soliciting musical responses from his colleagues dotted all around the auditorium. It was a hugely effective set piece that earned them a tumultuous reception and a deserved encore, a rousing piece that embraced rock rhythms and electronics an a way that reminded me of Manchester’s Beats ‘n’ Pieces Big Band. The Orchestra’s multifarious instruments blended thrillingly one last time as the band encouraged the audience to clap along and the atmosphere of the gig turned into that of a massive party.

In the foyer afterwards excited wide eyed audiences were raving about what they had just seen and CD sales were correspondingly brisk. The press pack were similarly enthusiastic and all the other reviews I have read of this performance have been overwhelmingly positive. This remarkable performance certainly blew away the Sunday cobwebs and I can envisage the Surnatural Orchestra returning to Cheltenham and filling one of the late night “party slots” in subsequent years. I can also see them accruing something of a cult following for their brilliant but frequently bonkers music. The “Discovery of the Festival” for sure.


IN BED WITH ...

There was another French connection with the second act of the day at the PAC. In Bed With… is an Anglo-French trio led by the drummer and composer Slyvain Darrifourcq featuring his compatriot Julian Desprez on guitar and the UK’s own Kit Downes on keyboards.

Downes is a Cheltenham regular and the two French musicians are no strangers to the Festival. Darrifourcq was here with Downes in 2013 and made a big impression as part of the Anglo-French quartet Barbacana. In 2012 Desprez was part of the Anglo-French collective Tweedle Dee, a line up that also included Downes. Today’s show plus those two previous gigs were the fruits of the Jazz Shuttle scheme which encourages co-operation between young musicians from both sides of the English Channel.

The instrumentation of In Bed With… is identical to that of the all British band Troyka of which Downes is also a member. Yet despite sharing certain similarities the two trios sound very different. Although both favour complex time signatures and stop/start compositions full of dynamic contrasts In Bed With… exhibits a stronger rock influence and exudes an anarchic, surrealistic air that is, dare I say it, quintessentially French. In Bed With… feature Darrifourcq’s compositions almost exclusively, coruscating affairs that embrace jazz, avant rock and electronica with Downes’ keyboards also occasionally hinting at an underlying contemporary classical influence. We also heard Desprez’s “Chinese Reggae”, a piece initially written for the Tweedle Dee ensemble and recorded on their eponymous d?but album for the Coax Collective’s own label.

Opener “Stress Caroline” (or “Stress Caramel”, translations of Darrifourcq’s heavily accented English vary) included the leader’s fractured grooves, Downe’s pedal generated bass lines and Desprez’s loud, rock influenced guitar punctuated by his own pedal generated barrages of electronic noise. The music embraced extreme dynamic contrasts and the layered building of gargantuan riffs driven by Darrifourcq’s dynamic drumming.

This first piece set the template for the rest of the performance, turn on a dime tempo changes and moments of extreme quiet juxtaposed with outbursts of blistering noise. In the more animated moments Desprez would stand to solo and sometimes pummel the body of his instrument to wring out every last vestige of noise and distortion. This was a three cornered fight, albeit a good natured one in which the three members were thoroughly enjoying themselves, white knuckle music that relished its own skill and daring and, like Surnatural Orchestra, struck exactly the right balance between order and chaos.

Darrifourcq’s piece “Sexy Champagne” opened with a drum feature that included the deployment of some of the “toys” that he had featured with Barbacana including what sounded like an alarm clock. Eventually the music exploded as Desprez launched into a monstrous, killer guitar riff. Elsewhere we briefly heard some four to the floor straight rock ‘n’ roll before the trio steered the music in more of an avant rock direction with jagged, angular guitar riffs punctuated by burst of white noise or ethereal keyboard led “dream sequences”. 

Writing for the Jazz Breakfast Peter Bacon remarked that he found the group’s music emotionally uninvolving and ultimately rather pointless. By contrast I was one of the audience members who rather enjoyed it, I’ve always been partial to a bit of “skronk” and I also loved the very French sense of anarchy and surrealism that seemed to attach itself to the project. In this respect I found it rather more involving than Troyka, who can sometimes sound too clever for their own good and somewhat cold emotionally. I’ve always preferred the large scale version of that band, the mighty Troykestra whose music I’ve enjoyed twice in a live context and whose live album, recorded at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival sounds terrific too.

For me In Bed With… represented a bold and enjoyable experiment, arguably only a partially successful one, but one which I’d like to watch develop and hear much more from. Hopefully they will also be able to document their music on record. 

JOHN SCOFIELD meets PABLO HELD TRIO

This event at the Jazz Arena offered the intriguing prospect of an alliance between the celebrated American guitarist John Scofield and the German trio led by pianist Pablo Held and featuring bassist Robert Landfermann and drummer Jonas Burgwinkel.

Scofield last visited Cheltenham in 2010 when he gave an excellent performance with his all American group, the quartet triumphing despite a poor sound balance in the Jazz Arena at the former festival site in Imperial Gardens. No such difficulties were to mar today’s performance which was a consistently fascinating encounter. Scofield and the Held trio first worked together in 2014 with an eponymous live album being released on the German Pirouet label in the November of that year.

Scofield is a comparative superstar, at least in jazz terms, a musician who is well known for his collaborations with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny and many others. Held, born in 1986 is less well known but already has already created an impressive body of recorded work that embraces a wide variety of jazz styles as well as contemporary classical influences. His current trio has been together since 2008 and the musicians have developed the kind of mutual and instinctive understanding that allows them to play lengthy sets of largely improvised music in a way that remains thoroughly accessible and is still unmistakably jazz. I witnessed such a performance in the Foyer at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall in 2013 when the trio played a forty minute piece and a twenty five piece structured around the barest of frameworks. It was a totally immersive experience that captivated the large early evening crowd. However today’s performance was totally different with the presence of Scofield bringing the trio out of their collective shell. If the Birmingham performance had been largely thoughtful and meditative then today’s show couldn’t have been more different as Scofield and Held traded ideas with a sense of reckless abandon, clearly delighting in one another’s playing and urging each other on. It was largely a high energy set that delighted the Jazz Arena crowd. But it wasn’t just about the two co-leaders, Landfermann and Burgwinkel are versatile musicians who were quickly able to adapt their playing to this new situation and both made excellent contributions here.

Not all of the tunes were announced including an opening number that included expansive solos from each of the co-leaders as both of them set their stalls out. There was also some excellent interplay between the pair but equally both knew when to take a step back and allow their counterpart some space. The successful pairing of these two chordal instruments is not always easy to pull off, the rather disappointing liaison between Metheny and Brad Mehldau springs to mind, but the contrast between Scofield’s blues and rock inspired guitar playing and Held’s classically influenced pianism was both interesting and hugely effective.

Scofield and Held linked up again well on the second piece (entitled “Camp Out” I’ve subsequently been told) which featured Landfermann as the opening soloist, the bass player fashioning a riff from this that then formed the underpinning for Scofield’s solo. A passage of solo piano from Held then developed into an extended excursion in piano trio mode featuring Burgwinkel’s colourful and powerful drumming. In a performance that was much wilder and more abandoned than the Birmingham show the energy and ferocity of Held’s playing almost saw him entering Cecil Taylor territory as he pounded the keyboard ferociously.

“Joni”, Held’s dedication to Ms. Mitchell opened with Landfermann demonstrating his skill with the bow and subsequently included another lengthy, exploratory and highly interactive section from the trio. When it became Scofield’s turn to feature he skilfully wove the sound of a passing ambulance siren into the fabric of his solo.

Introduced by Scofield’s unaccompanied guitar “Just In Time” represented a foray into standards territory. As the rest of the band joined in the guitarist adopted his famously singing blues tone for an effortlessly fluent and melodic solo. When Held took over Scofield sat out, literally, and was still watching as Burgwinkel answered Held’s piano phrases with a series of colourful drum breaks. The tune eventually resolved itself by coming full circle with the sound of Scofield’s solo guitar.

Scofield and the ever vigilant Held combined on the set’s only ballad, a piece that included lyrical solos from Held and Scofield punctuated by a highly melodic bass feature from the excellent Landfermann as Burgwinkel offered delicately understated brushed support. 

The performance concluded with Held’s “Joao”, presumably a tribute to bossa nova pioneer Joao Gilberto. The piece didn’t sound much like a bossa with its angular riffs and muscular grooves but it was hugely exciting with intense, barnstorming solos from Scofield and Held spurred on by Burgwinkel’s dynamic drumming.

This was a successful collaboration between musicians from both sides of the Atlantic that brought out the best in both parties in an interesting and entertaining manner. One senses that this is one of those alliances that was initially intended as a one off collaboration but which may turn out to be a long term project. It’s a liaison that will give Held’s career a considerable boost and one senses that it won’t do Scofield’s reputation any harm either. Following this performance at Cheltenham the “John Scofield meets Pablo Held Trio” project has been touring around Europe.


MEDESKI, MARTIN & WOOD with Special Guest JAMIE CULLUM

The New York based trio of John Medeski (keyboards), Billy Martin (drums, percussion ) and Chris Wood (acoustic & electric bass) has been operating for twenty six years and has attracted something of a cult following as a result of almost constant touring and a willingness to incorporate all kinds of American music styles into what, at heart, is a jazz organ trio.

The trio are infrequent visitors to UK shores, although they did play at Ronnie Scott’s during London Jazz Festival week a couple of years ago. I didn’t get to see any of those shows and was thus determined to seize the chance of seeing them at Cheltenham, although a part of me was disappointed at having to miss saxophonist Rachael Cohen and her quartet at the PAC.

I’m indebted to Sean Wilkie, a massive MMW fan based in Cardiff and a regular at that city’s Dempsey’s venue, for supplying me with a set list for this gig ? very handy as most of the tunes went unannounced.

A huge cheer went up in the packed Big Top as the Festival’s guest director Jamie Cullum introduced the group and MMW took to the stage. John Medeski began by playing the venue’s grand piano on the opening number “Padrecito” . I suspect that this was unscheduled, a spontaneous response to the instrument being available as Medeski was seated so far in the wings that I could barely see him. As the applause died down he moved across to his bank of keyboards on the opposite side of the stage.

I’m also indebted to photographer Tim Dickeson for supplying me with the information that the mellotron that Medeski played during the set wasn’t part of his regular set up. The vintage instrument had been loaned to him for the day by the British Mellotron Society and apparently Medeski had never played one before and had to undertake a swift crash course as to its use. Of course he’s such an instinctively brilliant musician that he “got it” straight away and managed to coax some wonderful sounds and textures out of the beast. I haven’t heard a mellotron played for years, probably since the heyday of the mark 1 King Crimson and the Moody Blues and it was fascinating to hear it again after all this time. 

Although MMW are billed as a collaborative trio one can’t help feeling that it’s essentially Medeski’s band, especially in view of the fact that he also has a number of side projects on the go. He’s simply a brilliant musician, perhaps the most naturally gifted I saw all weekend. Martin and Wood are also hugely accomplished and the threesome have a real gang mentality and that sense of equality is fostered by the fact that Martin deals with the announcements. However one suspects that if push came to shove either Martin or Wood could be replaced, Medeski however is simply indispensable.

With Medeski ringed by keyboards the trio embarked on a lengthy medley incorporating the tunes “Henduck”, “Pappy Check” and “I Wanna Ride You” that began with Medeski’s scintillating Hammond solo propelled by Wood’s mighty double bass groove followed by Martin’s absorbing drum and percussion feature. This was followed by an eerie sequence featuring spacey keyboards, bowed bass and Martin’s rattling and rustling of bells and shakers. Wood then put down his bow and established another plucked double bass groove, the springboard for another astonishing Medeski feature that included an bewildering variety of keyboard sounds from synth and Hammond to an almost guitar like noise as Medeski played two keyboards simultaneously in the manner of the prog rock keyboard gods of the 1970s. As the piece progressed we heard Rhodes like shimmers, chunky synth driven riffs, and churchy, gospel drenched Hammond as Wood moved across to electric bass.  As the segue drew to a close Medeski emerged from his bank of keyboards, picked up a melodica and advanced to the front of the stage. Martin stood up from his drum kit, picked up a tambourine and came to join him as Wood once more switched back to upright bass. The three romped through the final section with the unfettered joy of a bunch of superannuated buskers, Wood’s bass underpinning the energetic and humorous exchanges between melodica and tambourine Great fun and a wonderful way to end this opening tour de force. The audience absolutely loved it.

“End Of The World Party” was shorter but maintained the energy levels suggested by its title with Medeski combining dirty Rhodes sounds with surging Hammond, these underpinned by the propulsive drum and double bass grooves of his colleagues with Wood also featuring as a soloist.

Jamie Cullum then joined the trio to sing an eclectic selection of songs beginning with “Nature Boy” which emerged from an atmospheric intro featuring Wood’s bowed bass and Martin’s mallet rumbles, bells and shakers.
This segued into Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” with Cullum singing Irving Mills’ lyrics. This was an altogether more lively affair with Medeski using the aforementioned mellotron to produce some astonishing theramin like sounds during his keyboard solo. Martin delivered a powerful solo drum feature which Cullum made a point of filming on his mobile phone, the kind of affected behaviour that I could personally do without. He did the same for Wood’s bass solo too.

Wood’s electric bass groove propelled “Suspicious Minds” which was redeemed by Medeski’s electric piano solo before Cullum seated himself at the grand piano for a more effective version of “Frontin’”, a song most of the jazz audience (including yours truly) failed to recognise. The general consensus seems to be that it was written by Pharrell Williams and Jay Z but has subsequently been recorded by Cullum. Anyway with Cullum both singing and undertaking a piano solo it worked extremely well.

The audience was on more familiar ground with the high energy version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic” which closed the show. Cullum was inevitably less convincing here but Medeski delivered one final dazzling organ solo to end the set.

Cullum’s contribution seems to have provoked a mixed response from reviewers. I’m not a fan of his particularly but his performance was energetic, sometimes exciting and there seemed to be a great deal of mutual admiration between him and the trio. He certainly added a touch of welcome variety to the performance but for me he was never going to upstage the great John Medeski who was little less then brilliant.

MMW may sound like a firm of attorneys and their albums are sometimes less than convincing but on this evidence they’re one of the most exciting live acts around, a band that have reached their lofty position in the jazz world through a combination of innate talent and immense hard work.

BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA

My thanks go to Roger Warburton of Cardiff Jazz for pointing me in the direction of this performance by the Malian musician Bassekou Kouyate and his band Ngoni Ba. Roger is also a keen world music fan and as a regular visitor to the annual WOMAD Festival has seen Kouyate’s exciting stage show on a number of previous occasions.

Kouyate is acknowledged as the world’s leading exponent of the ngoni, the traditional four stringed “hunter’s guitar” of Mali, one of the world’s oldest traditional stringed instruments. Kouyate has helped to bring the ngoni into the 21st century by electrifying the instrument and playing it through western electric guitar amps. He has also transformed into a lead voice after centuries of the instrument essentially fulfilling the role of a rhythm guitar, often in subservience to the more familiar 22 stringed kora. His band is a septet featuring his own lead ngoni plus vocals and comprises entirely of family members including his wife Amy Sacko on lead vocals and occasional percussion. The couple’s sons Moustafa Kouyate and Mamadou Kouyate also play ngonis with Mamadou specialising on the mighty bass model which helps to give the music much of its propulsive rhythmic drive. Mamadou is aided by the group’s two percussionists, Bassekou’s brother Moctar Kouyate on calabash and cymbals and Bassekou’s nephew Mahamadou Tounkara on yabara and tama, the latter a form of talking drum. The seventh member of the group is Bassekou’s other brother Abou Sissoko who also plays ngoni and is sometimes a featured soloist on the instrument. All members of the band also add backing and harmony vocals.

The group name means “the big ngoni” and the band make an appropriately powerful sound that packs a mighty rhythmic punch courtesy of Manadou Kouyate’s monstrous grooves on bass ngoni allied to the complementary rhythms of the twin percussionists. Factor in the fact that the role of the ngoni itself is also primarily rhythmic and have you have one hell of a hard driving band, no wonder their latest album is simply called “Ba Power”. With this juggernaut behind him Bassekou was given the freedom to soar on his lead ngoni which he also treated with a variety of western electric guitar effects from wah wah to fuzz. As well as working with kora player Toumani Diabate he has also played with musicians from other musical cultures including Ali Farka Toure, Taj Mahal and Damon Albarn. 

Although this was a seated venue the drive and vivacity of the music made it difficult to keep still. I can imagine how exciting these guys would be in front of a standing audience. This was a visually arresting show too with all the band members clad in colourful traditional robes and with Bassekou looking particularly regal in his role as head of the family and band leader. There were co-ordinated dance moves of the kind Hank Marvin and the Shadows might have made if they had played the ngoni instead of the Telecaster but behind the showbiz trappings there was still an innate musicality and a definite sense of purpose. Amy Sacko sang with soulful power and even though the words were indecipherable to western ears it was still hugely effective and left one in no doubt as to the passion behind the music.

Something of a cultural figurehead in his homeland Bassekou spoke out against the Islamic extremists who have occupied the northern regions of his country. Less controversially he also talked about his collaboration with the American blues singer Taj Mahal and much of tonight’s music was infused with blues like elements that western listeners could identify with. Listening to this it was obvious why rock musicians like Albarn and Robert Plant regard Mali as the cradle of so much western popular music. Some of Bassekou’s alternately scorching and soaring solos also hinted at Celtic folk melodies, further evidence that world is, and perhaps always has been, a global village.

Besides Bassekou’s blistering solos and Sacko’s excellent singing there were plenty of other set pieces that brought the other members of the group into the spotlight. Sissoko was featured on a number of ngoni solos and also impressed with his virtuosity, sometimes trading phrases with his brother. Bassekou conducted a non verbal series of call and response exchanges with the audience and there was the obligatory percussion stand off. Perhaps most stunning of all were Tounkara’s solo features for talking drum and voice, wildly exciting, energetic and dazzlingly virtuosic affairs that left the crowd roaring their approval. 

Besides the obvious blues references there were other nods to western popular music including a snatch of the theme tune from “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” during one of the exchanges between Bassekou and Siisoko. Following a standing ovation from a packed Jazz Arena the encore found Bassekou conducting the crowd in a singalong of “Guantanemera”, not an African song at all.

With all four ngoni players playing amplified instruments this was a fascinating mix of African traditions and western musical technology. On this evidence of this exciting and involving performance Bassekou Kouyate has the potential to become the next world music superstar. I predict that his star will continue to rise in the years ahead. 


JULIAN ARGUELLES SEPTET

The day ended at the PAC with Loose Tubes saxophonist leading a septet that featured his regular quartet members Kit Downes (piano), Sam Lasserson (double bass) and James Maddren (drums) augmented by three additional horn players in the shapes of George Crowley (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Percy Pursglove (trumpet & Flugel) and Kieran McLeod (trombone).

This was another sold out show and I was unable to get a press ticket. However I didn’t want to miss what promised to be a unique performance so my wife and I purchased tickets and were rewarded with the last two seats in the house.

I remember with affection a brilliant performance by an octet led by Arguelles at the Everyman Theatre during a Cheltenham Jazz Festival weekend many years ago, around the time of the release of Julian’s “Skull View” album. This septet show was nearly as fine as Arguelles began by leading his musicians through a series of richly textured compositions with jokey titles like “Hugga Mugga”, “Yadda Yadda”, “Hurly Burly”, “Hocus Pocus and “Nitty Gritty”.

There was a d?but performance of “Iron Pyrite”, a composition based extremely loosely on the Stone Roses song “Fools Gold”, an offshoot of a set of jazz arrangements of British pop songs that Arguelles once made for German radio.

There was a delightful ballad entitled “A Lifelong Moment”, a more challenging piece simply entitled “Fugue” and a reminder of Arguelles’ Spanish heritage on the folk like “Asturias”. A joyous version of “Triality” from Arguelles’ recent album “Circularity” closed an excellent performance full of colourful ensemble playing and excellent soloing from an exceptional band.

In the circumstances I’ve not written a full account of the performance but the feedback from other reviewers including Peter Bacon writing for the Jazz Breakfast, Jon Turney for London Jazznews and Tony Benjamin for Bristol 24/7 has been universally positive.

Arguelles will be taking his quartet to Brecon Jazz Festival in August. It may be that I will get the chance to write a fuller review then.

     

blog comments powered by Disqus