Photograph of Christian Scott by Tim Dickeson

EFG London Jazz Festival 2016

Day Six, Wednesday 16th November 2016

ADAM BEN EZRA, PIZZA EXPRESS JAZZ CLUB

Today’s lunchtime event at the Pizza featured a one man show by the bass player, multi instrumentalist and occasional vocalist Adam Ben Ezra, the man described as a “you tube sensation”.

I have to confess that the prospect of a solo double bass performance didn’t exactly set the pulses racing (had it been Dave Holland or Eberhard Weber it might have been different), but of course Ben Ezra turned out to be far more than “just a bass player”. His one man performance was full of interest and variety and was delivered with charm and a huge degree of musical skill. It was a show that was delivered several times over the course of the Festival at various locations as ABE (as he likes to describe himself) revived the spirit of EFG LJF’s now discontinued “Festival On The Move” strand. 

Born in Israel but raised in the US ABE has now settled in London after marrying an English girl he met on a trip to the UK some six years ago. He also leads a trio featuring percussionist Gilad Dobrecky and guitarist Adam Ben Amitai, both of whom appear on his début album “Can’t Stop Running”. He also performs as one half of Loco Strings, a duo with guitarist Daniel Casares. But it’s Ben Ezra’s remarkable solo shows that seem to have garnered most of the attention and which have earned him an international following.

ABE took to the stage at the Pizza, picked up his bass and introduced himself with a dramatic passage of flamenco style strumming while also using the body of the instrument as percussion, something augmented by the “morris dancer” style bells around his right ankle as he stamped his foot in time with the beat that he had created. It was an arresting beginning.

Rhythm is an integral part of ABE’s performance and the second of a baker’s dozen of short pieces began with the sound of vocal percussion -or beat-boxing if you will- live looped and augmented with the sound of further ‘bass percussion’ as ABE turned himself into a one man rhythm machine. Above this busy rhythmic barrage he delivered bass solos with and without the bow, cherry picking motifs from these and adding further layers to his self created ‘wall of sound’ and climaxing with a squall of angry fuzz bass. This astonishing performance was dramatic and hugely effective.

“India Time” was the first demonstration of the well travelled ABE’s fascination with world music styles as his arco bass intro was live looped to create an authentic sounding drone with the plucked strings of his bass later creating an uncannily sitar like sound. And if all that wasn’t enough he also added konnakol style Indian voice percussion.

ABE’s love of flamenco had been obvious from the very first number and he informed us that he had played both flamenco and bass festivals in London. The piece simply titled “Flamenco” was a further demonstration of his impressive ‘flamenco bass’ technique.

ABE introduced the next item as “my favourite song”. This turned out to be a haunting version of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” played with something of an indie rock sensibility. He accompanied himself with sawing arco bass above a sophisticated layer of looped and layered rhythms, some of them pre-programmed. The song also introduced ABE’s impressive singing voice and featured a guitar like pizzicato bass solo.

Having set up a beat-boxing loop ABE moved to the Pizza’s grand piano for a further demonstration of his skills as a multi-instrumentalist over the course of two numbers, the first lively, the second, a solo piece, initially more lyrical and reflective but later becoming more dramatic with the introduction of some powerful left hand figures. ABE subsequently informed us that he had studied classical violin since the age of five, later moving to piano under the influence of Bach and Debussy and then on to guitar and finally double bass, at which point he began to immerse himself in jazz.

Despite his love of the double bass ABE is still irresistibly drawn to other musical instruments including the oud, which he also plays. The next piece, with a Hebrew title meaning “Prayer” saw him using his bass to replicate the timbres of the oud while again using the body of the instrument as percussion and adding wordless devotional vocals. Again the result was dramatic and effective..

Another flamenco style piece followed before ABE put his gear through its paces as he constructed an edifice of looping featuring the varied sounds of plucked and bowed bass, finger snaps and vocal phrases.

After thanking his regular sound man Luke plus the London Jazz festival and Pizza Express, all this done to a self played musical accompaniment, ABE concluded his show with “Sunshades”, another multi layered piece featuring Indian elements that saw him adding the sounds of flute to the already familiar timbres of bass and voice.

The deserved encore was a tune from the Jewish tradition that introduced yet another instrument as ABE’s clarinet danced above the breakneck rhythms generated by looped pizzicato and arco bass in conjunction with a smattering of pre-programmed beats. Stunning stuff and a great way to end this highly exciting and slickly presented one man show.

I’m not sure if this music would function quite as well in the home listening environment but as a live event it worked brilliantly. This was a hugely enjoyable way to kick off the sixth day of the Festival.

MARIA CHIARA ARGIRO GROUP, RAY’S JAZZ AT FOYLE’S

The early evening event at Foyle’s featured a six piece group led by the Italian born composer Maria Chiara Argiro. Born in Rome Argiro is now based in London following the completion of her studies at the London Centre of Contemporary Music and the jazz course at Middlesex University.

Argiro’s London based band features a mix of British and Italian musicians with Leila Martial on vocals, Sam Rapley on tenor sax & clarinet, Tal Janes on guitar, Andrea Di Biase on double bass and Gaspar Sena at the drums. The group have just released their début album “The Fall Dance” which will be officially launched at a performance at The Vortex Jazz Club in Dalston, London on the evening of 11th December 2016.

Tonight’s performance was witnessed by a substantial audience seated “in the round” - “a circle of love”, as Argiro charmingly described it.

Mixing jazz and classical elements Argiro’s compositions are nuanced and complex and feature Martial treating her voice as an instrument, often with a little discrete electronic embellishment. The opening piece was introduced by Sena’s brushed drums and was notable for the composer’s piano solo plus the engaging dialogue between Martial’s voice and electronics and Rapley’s clarinet. With respect Argiro’s English still isn’t the best and my Italian is non-existent so I missed some tune titles along the way.

I did however pick up “Dream R” which introduced an angrier side of the band through Martial’s impassioned vocals and forceful solos from Argiro on piano and Rapley on tenor sax.

“Every Now And Then” featured soaring wordless vocal melodies that reminded me of Norma Winstone, and even of Amanda Parsons during her tenure with the ‘Canterbury’ band National Health. At other times Martial’s voice explored more adventurous, experimental areas, think Julie Tippetts, Maggie Nichols etc., or for more contemporary examples Lauren Kinsella or Kerry Andrew. Instrumentally saxophonist Rapley impressed again, both with his tenor solo and his dialogue with guitarist Janes as their instruments intertwined.

“Song For The Silver Family” introduced elements of church and folk music with its hymnal melodies, but also a bout of dissonance with Janes’ clangorous guitar and Di Biase’s dark, grainy arco bass as Rapley moved between clarinet and tenor sax.

The title track of the “Fall Dance” album combined choppy time signatures and passionate, adventurous vocalising with an extended piano trio interlude as Argiro took the opportunity to demonstrate her highly accomplished keyboard skills.

As at some of the other early evening events at Foyle’s I had to leave shortly before the end to make my way to my next ticketed gig. The performance had started slightly late and as I left I’m fairly certain the band were playing their last number, “When the Sea”.

Although it took me a little time to adjust to the distinctive sound of the Maria Chiara Argiro Group, particularly the unusual use of voice and electronics, I soon found myself warming to the band and their adventurous, carefully constructed music. I’ve yet to hear the new album but on the evidence of this performance it should be well worth a listen.

MAMMAL HANDS /  CHRISTIAN SCOTT BAND, SCALA

The Scala on Pentonville Road represented another new venue. A rock venue in a converted cinema it was used at this year’s EFG LJF to host some of the more contemporary ‘club style’ events including tonight’s show headlined by the New Orleans born trumpeter Christian Scott and his band.

The Scala had an authentic rock venue ambience complete with menacing looking doormen, subdued lighting, sticky floor surfaces and fizzy overpriced beer in flimsy plastic glasses but with state of the art sound and lighting systems it worked particularly well for these two bands. I was lucky to get there early enough at this standing venue to get a place on the lower balcony rail and a great view of the stage. I was certainly more fortunate than Rob Mallows who reviewed the show for London Jazz News and couldn’t see a thing. 

First to take to the stage were the British trio Mammal Hands, originally From Norwich but indelibly associated with Manchester thanks their adoption by Matthew Halsall’s Gondwana label. Does that make them jazz’s answer to the Charlatans?

Often compared with label mates GoGo Penguin the trio perform melodic contemporary jazz that draws inspiration from rock, electronica, dance music and more. Brothers Jordan Smart (saxes) and Nick Smart (keyboards) first linked up with Jesse Barrett (drums, tabla) busking on the streets of Norwich before they were spotted by GoGo Penguin bassist Nick Blacka and subsequently signed to Gondwana. They have since released two acclaimed albums for the label, “Animalia” (2014) and “Floa” (2016).

I’d seen the trio play live around eighteen months earlier to an audience of around twenty in a draughty tent in Hay on Wye (come to think of it, it may even have been a yurt) as part of the annual How The Light Gets In festival. Their hour long set was enjoyable enough but the lack of atmosphere rather diminished the occasion as an ‘event’.

Tonight at a jam packed Scala the atmosphere was very different. Mammal Hands played with the verve of a band who were clearly ‘up for it’ with Jordan Smart’s tenor and soprano saxes riding the vibrant grooves laid down by Barrett’s drums and brother Nick’s underpinning keyboards. For a bass-less band Mammal Hands are a surprisingly rhythmic unit and the audience responded well to their soaring, Portico style sax melodies and rousing rock and electronica inspired grooves. There was even a little world music inspired exotica when Barrett temporarily switched to tabla.

I suspect that most of the material was sourced from the album “Floa” but tune announcements were at a premium with the band determined to fit as much music as possible into their brief forty five minute support slot. In any event note taking in the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Scala was a physical possibility so I just let myself become immersed in the moment and the music. I did fancy that I recognised the “Floa” album opener “Quiet Fire” though.

Despite the lack of detail from me this was a great gig for the Mammal Hands guys who played their proverbial asses off and went down a storm with the crowd. Performing with such skill and passion to a crowd of this size will surely have enhanced their rapidly expanding fan base. 

New Orleans born trumpeter Christian Scott has been at the forefront of the American jazz scene for a decade now yet is still only in his early thirties. I first heard him on his ground breaking “Yesterday You Said Tomorrow” album back in 2010 and have monitored his progress ever since.

I also Scott live for the first time in 2010 when he played a brief support slot opening for Courtney Pine at that year’s LJF. I have to admit that I was a little underwhelmed at the time but Scott has honed his stage craft since then and is now one of the most exciting and in demand draws on the international jazz circuit.

A frequent visitor to the UK his 2015 EFG LJF show at Rich Mix was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and sounded absolutely terrific. Hearing it prompted me to attend (as a ‘punter’) his gig at the 2016 Cheltenham Jazz Festival, a performance that proved to be one of the best of the entire Festival.

That Cheltenham gig was one of the first by Scott’s current band featuring the American musicians Logan Richardson (alto sax), Luques Curtis (bass) and Corey Fonville (drums) plus the Martinique born keyboard player Tony Tixier. The Scala show also featured the talents of the gifted young rising star Elena Pinderhughes, here playing flute – she is also an accomplished vocalist and songwriter.

The sextet were playing material from Scott’s latest album “Stretch Music”, so called because Scott likes to ‘stretch’ the boundaries of jazz, weaving into it other elements of Afro-American music, notably hip-hop. In many ways the trumpeter’s music is highly futuristic but he never forgets his New Orleans roots and the material also embraces a personalised political agenda with roots in the Civil Rights movement and other aspects of black activism and empowerment.

It’s a heady cocktail that makes for a highly exciting live act. The charismatic Scott stalks the stage with his distinctive Dizzy Gillespie styled trumpet with its elevated bell and although there’s no doubt that it’s his gig he also allows his fellow musicians plenty of room in which to express themselves.

Surprisingly there were similarities between this and the Jan Garbarek show at the Royal Festival Hall the previous Sunday. Both performances featured brilliant playing by musicians who were right at the top of their game with lengthy compositional segues punctuated by brilliant solos and set pieces. And as with the Garbarek group the sheer joy that the musicians took in playing together was palpable with Scott clearly taking great pride in the contributions of his colleagues.

Scott, Richardson and Pinderhughes all impressed as fluent, inventive and often fiery soloists. Tixier’s effective use of a variety of keyboard instruments produced a raft of interesting sounds, colours and textures as Curtis and the consistently impressive Fonville laid down some mammoth grooves that pushed the soloists to even greater heights. And the explosive virtuosity of Fonville’s extended drum feature elicited the loudest cheers of the night. 

Unlike Garbarek Scott had plenty to say, arguably too much at times. His extended band introductions contained the same anecdotes that he’d used at Cheltenham and felt unnecessarily long winded. He’s a great communicator but sometimes it would be best if he just let his music do the talking. However we did get to learn that he plans to issue a trilogy of albums in 2017 in honour of the centenary of the first acknowledged jazz recording. Scott promised us jazz past, present and future – a prospect to look forward to.

The minor quibble of the excess verbiage aside this was a terrific gig and the audience in a hot, sweaty Scala absolutely loved it. A superb set ended with Scott paying tribute to New Orleans culture with the superb “The Last Chieftain”, about the only tune title that was actually announced despite all the other chit chat.

In addition to be being a brilliant musician, composer and band-leader Christian Scott is hip, savvy, charismatic and politically engaged, a bona fide jazz superstar for the modern world. Ably supported by a highly competent band he’s a talent to watch out for and looks set for a long and glittering boundary pushing career. 
   

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