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Thursday at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, 03/05/2018.

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by Ian Mann

May 07, 2018

Ian Mann compares and contrasts two very different performances by blues rock guitarist Eric Gales and his band and classical violinist Nigel Kennedy with his jazz/classical crossover ensemble.

Photograph of Nigel Kennedy by Tim Dickeson


THURSDAY AT CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL, 03/05/2018.

One of the advantages of attending festivals as a journalist is the opportunity to enjoy performances by artists outside my usual listening zone. This was epitomised on the second night of the 2018 Cheltenham Jazz Festival by the contrasting shows given by the American blues rock guitarist Eric Gales and the English classical violinist Nigel Kennedy.

In the event both performances contained enough jazz and improvisatory elements to fully validate the presence of both these artists at what is still, essentially, a jazz festival.

ERIC GALES, JAZZ ARENA

It’s become something of a Cheltenham tradition to present an early evening blues performance in the Jazz Arena on the Thursday of the Festival. Following successful shows in recent years by Joanne Shaw Taylor and Marcus King it was the turn of Memphis born guitarist, vocalist and band leader Eric Gales.

Born in 1974 Gales has been recording since 1991, appearing on eighteen albums as a leader and guesting on countless others. Despite battles with drug and alcohol dependency his career has been prolific and he is very much blues rock ‘royalty’ with a large and devoted following. The Jazz Arena was a virtual sell out for this rare UK performance.

Gales cuts a distinctive figure, he plays guitar left handed and upside down, having learned from his left handed elder brother, beginning at the age of four. Although naturally right handed Gales has never changed his technique and his style has helped to make him one of the most original blues guitarist around. As a ‘lefty’ Gales is routinely compared with Jimi Hendrix but he’s also absorbed the influence of other blues masters such as Buddy Guy and the ‘Three Kings’, BB, Albert and Freddie. And, as if to validate his presence here, he also cites the influence of jazz-rock guitarist Frank Gambale (of Chick Corea’s Elektrik Band).

Gales is a great showman and his shows are high energy affairs that see him fully engaging his audience. At Cheltenham he was backed by a four piece band featuring Cody Wright on electric bass and keyboards, Nick Hayes on kit drums and LaDonna Gales (Eric’s wife) on percussion and backing vocals.

The three backing musicians took to the stage first, creating a thunderous sound via keyboards and crashing cymbals as Gales made his entrance, milking the applause. His shows have been described as a religious experience and there was something of the Southern preacher about Eric’s style as he talked to his adoring flock. He was totally open with the audience, talking about his drug and alcohol addictions and the transforming power of music. “I’ve been clean and sober for two years!” he informed us to a great roar of approval.

Having introduced himself to us with this news the first actual song of the set was a solo vocal and guitar number that harked back to the early days of the delta blues, the lyrics firmly in ‘baby done me wrong’ territory.

After this it was high octane stuff all the way with the band joining Gales for a blistering instrumental slice of blues boogie, the driving four square twin drum rhythms fuelling the leader’s guitar pyrotechnics, his extraordinary playing sometimes reminding me of the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Gales is evangelical about the musicians who inspired and his latest album “Middle Of The Road” (which, one suspects, is anything but) contains a version of “Boogie Man”, a song made famous by Freddie King. The recorded version features Gales trading licks with fellow guitarist Gary Clark Jr. but tonight the piece was a one axe tour de force with Gales bringing a Hendrix style heaviness to some of the passages in an extended workout that also featured his authoritative vocals, his singing backed up by the voice of wife LaDonna. This searing version provoked a wildly enthusiastic response from the audience, with several members getting to their feet to applaud the band.

For his take on Buddy Guy’s “Baby Please Don’t Leave Me” Gales commenced by singing off mic, a technique designed to highlight the contrast in dynamics when the band kicked in and the performance became fully electric. Unfortunately there was some sound seepage from the free stage, which was also noticeable when Gales is talking to his audience. It’s a problem that has effected gigs in the Jazz Arena for years, and one that really should be addressed. Back to the music and once the band hit their stride there was no let up in the intensity.

The relaxed Gales enjoyed a bit of banter with the crowd before handing over to Wright and Hayes for a jazz fusion style bass and drum workout with the bassist’s virtuoso playing influenced by the likes of Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke and these days probably Thundercat. Meanwhile Hayes delivered an explosive drum solo that amply demonstrated his astonishing technique.

When Eric and LaDonna returned to the stage Gales revealed the breadth of his influences with a storming version of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper” complete with an excoriating guitar solo and a generous amount of showmanship.

From the new album “Swamp” was a propulsive funk strut featuring Eric’s chicken scratch guitar and LaDonna’s highly competent percussive skills. It was the kind of jam that lent itself to improvisation and the band stretched out to highly exciting effect with Wright doubling on bass and keyboards and producing some almost animalistic noises from the latter. At the end of the tune Gales, in preacher mode, revelled in the “second chance” he’s been given in life, following this speech with an even more combustible reprise of “Swamp”.

The Hendrix comparisons are inevitable and finally we heard a swaggering, funked up version of “Voo Doo Chile” with Gales promising that the song was delivered straight “from my heart to yours”.There were plenty of detours along the way with Gales digging deep into his bag of tricks and borrowing from a range of sources ranging from the classics to Led Zeppelin. It was a thrilling way to end a hugely exciting and entertaining show that brought the expected standing ovation from the crowd.

I have to admit that Gales was essentially a new name to me but I enjoyed this high energy and highly entertaining show and I can readily see why Gales has accrued such a strong following among the blues community. He’s a skilled and highly original guitarist (in blues terms, at least) and a more than competent vocalist. He’s also a showman and a real force of nature and audiences respond well to his energy, enthusiasm, openness and honesty.

Also he’s not prepared to just stick to the usual blues rock clichés, we also enjoyed a little rock, jazz and funk which provided more variety than most shows packaged in the electric blues bag. He’s certainly an artist I’d be more than happy to listen to again.

NIGEL KENNEDY, CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL

Violinist Nigel Kennedy has long been known as the ‘enfant terrible’ of British classical music. He may not be so young any more but he’s retained the punk haircut and general air of irreverence that has ruffled the feathers of the classical establishment.

Kennedy still makes classical recordings but has always had a love of jazz. Mentored by Stephane Grappelli as well as Yehudi Menuhin he has played electric violin with a group of Polish jazz musicians and performed at Cheltenham Jazz Festival with this line up several years ago. His perceived gate crashing of the jazz world hasn’t always pleased the jazz police either.

Originally tonight’s performance was billed as “Nigel Kennedy plays Jimi Hendrix”, which would’ve been interesting and would have made a neat tie in with the Eric Gales show. Instead we got a programme of Bach, Gershwin and Kennedy originals, the change presumably made in order to promote the violinist’s latest album release “Kennedy Meets Gershwin”, a recording made to coincide with the 120th anniversary of Gershwin’s death.

Initially I was a little disappointed as I was looking forward to hearing Kennedy’s take on Hendrix, presumably playing Jimi’s tunes on electric violin. However there was still much to enjoy in the programme that was presented with Kennedy largely playing acoustically accompanied by a kind of ‘chamber’ jazz group that included one or two familiar faces.

On acoustic guitars were the German Rolf Bassalb and the versatile Doug Boyle, once a member of prog rock group Caravan, albeit on bass. On cello was the classical musician Peter Adams and holding it all together on double bass was the imposing figure of Yaron Stavi, well known to jazz audiences thanks to his work with saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and vocalist Sarah Gillespie, among many others.

Kennedy actually started on electric violin, using the instrument in conjunction with a set of pedals to create a drone using the wonders of live looping. He then switched to acoustic violin to deliver a solo version of J.S. Bach’s “Sonata No. 1 in G-minor, BWV 1001 Fuga (Allegro)”  which gave ample notice of his advanced classical technique. The looped drone faded out about half way through, and in truth seemed rather unnecessary, gimmicky and cosmetic. There was no disputing the quality of the playing, however.

The violinist has spent time living in Poland and clearly has a great empathy with the Polish people, His own three part composition “The Magician of Lublin” was dedicated to the Polish Jewish community and was inspired by the memories of victims of the Holocaust.
The opening movement “Yasha & Zeftel” introduced klezmer stylings during Kennedy’s opening dialogue with cellist Adams, the violinist subsequently soloing above a backdrop of rhythm guitars, struck cello and underpinning double bass. Boyle also featured as a soloist prior to the second movement “Elzbiata & Magda”, a kind of lament featuring quietly fluttering violin, melancholy cello and grainy, grounding double bass.
Stavi put down the bow for the third movement, “Ameilia” as both guitarists took solos, Bassalb going first followed by Boyle, the latter’s contribution imbued by subtle blues inflections. Then it was the turn of the leader, his violin soaring, his foot stamping as the energy levels were raised, Kennedy’s dazzling soling was accompanied by a combination of taut rhythm guitars and the underpinning growl of cello and bass.
Stavi’s bass then provided the link into the fourth movement “The Cell” which commenced with a dialogue between Kennedy’s violin and Boyle’s guitar, the latter deploying a finger slide, bottle neck style. A passage of wilful dissonance saw Boyle deploying extended techniques on his guitar before the piece was transformed with an outbreak of swirling gypsy style music with Kennedy deploying the pizzicato technique during closing features for Bassalb and Stavi.
Kennedy’s extended piece formed the backbone of this first set and the work was both convincing and impressive, embracing a variety of musical styles and including some excellent playing from all involved.

Kennedy signed off the first half by moving to the piano for the first Gershwin tune of the evening, a performance of “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”. Ushered in by piano, cello and bass the piece contained an engaging duet between Kennedy on piano and Stavi on plucked double bass followed by a solo from Bassalb as Kennedy locked in with Stavi to provide the underpinning groove. Further solos came from Boyle and Adams, the latter delivering a series of quirky variations around Gershwin’s melody. Kennedy’s solo at the keyboard highlighted his not inconsiderable skills as a pianist while a second outing from Bassalb provided the opportunity for the leader to move from keyboard to violin and round off the solos on his principal instrument. It had been an intriguing first half which was very well received by a packed audience at the Town Hall.

The second set was given over almost entirely to Gershwin and tunes from Kennedy’s latest album.
These were delivered not in the “Hot Club” fashion that the instrumental configuration might have suggested but in a kind of chamber jazz style, a kind of jazz-classical crossover that proved to be both innovative and unexpected.

First up was “Rhapsody in Claret and Blue” with Gershwin’s title none too subtly adapted to honour Aston Villa, famously Kennedy’s favourite football team, despite the fact that the violinist was born in Brighton! An introductory duet between violin and cello saw Kennedy and Adams approximating the famous clarinet melody lines of Gershwin’s original.

A passage of solo guitar from Boyle then led to a dramatic statement from Kennedy of the main theme from “Porgy and Bess”, with the violinist later engaging in an absorbing dialogue with Stavi, the bassist proving in many ways to be the bedrock of the ensemble.

“The Man I Love” featured Kennedy with the two guitars and introduced the first Hot Club stylings of the set with both guitarists impressing with rapidly picked guitar solos, Bassalb going first. Kennedy followed in Grappelli mode, his solo propelled by Stavi’s fast paced bass walk.

Next came a stunning slowed down arrangement of “Summertime”, perhaps Gershwin’s most famous, and most certainly over exposed tune. This version cast the old chestnut in a new light though Kennedy’s melancholic violin lines and Boyle’s spare guitar solo, the latter making effective use of the spaces between the notes. These excursions were followed by an unexpectedly violent coda featuring slashing guitar and sawing violin. This daring treatment of a previously overly familiar piece provoked one of the most enthusiastic receptions of the night from a discerning Cheltenham audience.

Almost as remarkable was the ensemble’s take on “How Long Has This Been Going On”, an almost courtly ballad arrangement featuring tripartite bowed strings (Kennedy, Adams, Stavi) on the intro followed by Kennedy’s mournful violin solo above sparse guitar chording and underlying bass. Bassalb was also featured with a succinct guitar solo.

Finally we heard a rousing “Lady Be Good” which the ensemble raced through in breakneck Hot Club style with virtuoso solos from Kennedy, plus both guitarists, with Boyle again deploying a finger slide.

Called back for a deserved encore the ensemble repeated the dose with a full throttle romp through the Django Reinhardt/Stephane Grapelli Hot Club number “Swing ‘39” with further guitar pyrotechnics from both Bassalb and Boyle and a thrilling set of exchanges between Kennedy and Stavi, plus an extended solo from the leader.

A second, unscripted, encore saw Kennedy changing musical direction once more on a segue of tunes embracing both the South and North of Ireland. Kennedy first unleashed his inner folk fiddler on a frantic tune by the band Planxty with the audience enthusiastically clapping along. Then he reeled it all back in again with a predictable, but still emotive, version of “The Londonderry Air” aka “Danny Boy”. As he sashayed off towards the wings Kennedy taunted us with a fleeting rendition of “I Could Have Danced All Night”. Great stuff.

I will admit to being a little unsure at first, particularly given the change of programme, but Kennedy and his colleagues quickly won me over. Kennedy himself is obviously a great technician and he was well supported by an excellent band with Stavi as its rock. The two guitarists both made significant individual contributions and also functioned well as a team. Arguably they were a little too low in the mix but in an essentially acoustic context this wasn’t too much of an issue. Adams performed well but appeared to be primarily a classical player, though present on stage he didn’t appear to get too involved in the latter stages of the concert, particularly the encores which didn’t appear to be pre-planned. One sensed that he wasn’t altogether comfortable with the improvisational process.

This raises an interesting point, Kennedy has sometimes been criticised in the jazz press for not being a natural improviser but tonight he was the only member of the ensemble NOT reading sheet music. To these ears his playing but assured and fluent throughout, soloing convincingly and coherently throughout – without resorting to the dots. His performance was undeniably impressive and thoroughly convincing.

And in his own way Kennedy was just as much a showman as Gales had been – it was just that his exhibitionist streak embodied itself differently. The elaborate bowing to the audience stemmed from the classical world, the fist pumping with colleagues after virtually every number from somewhere else entirely. Then there was the punk haircut and the general air of English eccentricity, the whimsicality punctuated by the occasional, somewhat mannered, profanity. Meanwhile the brief interval, as well as boosting the Town Hall’s bar takings, seemed designed to allow Kennedy to affect a half time costume change, from a Mike Tyson T shirt beneath his jacket in the first half to a Villa home shirt in the second. He even managed to mention Jack Grealish in his banter.

Like Gales Kennedy has become something of a caricature of himself, one doesn’t doubt that each artist has arrived at their stage persona independently and that in each case it’s essentially a true depiction of their personality. Yet in each case it’s become a role that both musicians are obliged to play, Eric the bad-ass cum preacher and Nigel the irreverent eccentric. It’s all part of an act that their substantial fan-bases take great delight in.

Two very different artists, yet with so much in common, despite their obvious stylistic differences. But at the end of the day it’s the music that counts and both proved to superb musicians, among the finest in their respective fields, and great crowd pleasers to boot. And in this festival scenario I don’t think I was the only one that enjoyed both performances pretty much equally.

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