Photograph of Joe Williamson of Animal Society by Tim Dickeson.

EFG London Jazz Festival 2019

Day One, Friday November 15th 2019

Just back from a wonderful ten days in London enjoying the delights of the annual EFG London Jazz Festival. As always I have tried to absorb as much music as possible, embracing a broad variety of jazz genres in a similarly wide range of locations, from clubs to churches to concert halls.

The performances that I will be covering will feature music from young emerging jazz talents alongside shows from some of the absolute icons of the music, and all points in between. I enjoyed performances by musicians of many different nationalities, proof that even in these troubled political times that jazz is a universal language,  and a source of great joy and inspiration.
As the late, great Art Blakey once said “music washes away the dust of everyday life”.

As ever my thanks are due to our long suffering hosts Paul and Richard for putting us up (or putting up with us) for another year. Without their generosity and hospitality I couldn’t even begin to contemplate a visit to the Festival, so I’m eternally grateful.

My thanks too to Sally Reeves of Serious for organising the majority of my press tickets, a task that she undertook with her customary courtesy and efficiency.

Also to my contacts at a number of individual venues, namely Kasia Kowalek at Pizza Express Music, Emma Raczkowski at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Louise at Partisan PR, Jenny at the 100 Club, Lee Haynes at Rolling Press, Patricia Pascal at Jazz New Blood and Denise McDonagh at Manila PR. Thank you all for your help and generosity.

Finally thanks to guitarist Clement Regert for putting my wife and I on the guest list for the show by his Wild Card group at the Spice of Life on Saturday 16th November.

And so, on with the music;

ANIMAL SOCIETY, QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL FOYER

My first gig of the 2019 Festival was this free performance in the “Front Room” space in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre.

It was an event that I had very much been looking forward to. Back in May 2019 I enjoyed listening to, and favourably reviewing, the EP “RISE”, the début release by the Glasgow based quintet Animal Society, led by the young guitarist and composer Joe Williamson. The four track recording was loud, brash, energetic and exciting, but also demonstrated a pleasing degree of musical intelligence and compositional sophistication.
EP review here; http://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/animal-society-rise-ep/

Animal Society boasts an unusual instrumental line up with two keyboard players, Alan Benzie and Craig McMahon within its ranks. The group also includes Gus Stirrat on electric bass and Graham Costello at the drums.

The band’s music has been described as “jazz with a heavy rock edge” while the Festival brochure promised “cutting edge electric jazz with the uncompromising power of a stadium rock band”. I arrived at the QEH as the quintet were sound checking and it was immediately obvious that they were going to be seriously LOUD. The Front Room space had also been chosen to host a series of late night ‘club’ style events during the duration of the Festival and two huge banks of speakers that wouldn’t have looked out of place at a Black Sabbath gig had been drafted in for the purpose. Of course, any band that names Rage Against The Machine as one of its influences was going to take full advantage of these and the young Glaswegians plugged in with an obvious relish.

They kick started their set with “Morning Star”, actually the closing track on their EP, teaming this with “Hieroglyph”, their new single due for release in early 2020. The former was something of a slow burner and saw the quintet setting their stall out, gradually ramping up the intensity with solos coming from the leader on guitar and Benzie on electric piano. Also the leader of his own (very different) acoustic piano trio Benzie is the quintet’s principal keyboard soloist, McMahon’s role being to provide additional colour and texture, in addition to laying down powerful synthesised bass lines.

Introduced by Costello at the drums the hooky “Hieroglyph” represents an excellent choice as a single, combining the power of metal and classic jazz fusion with more contemporary electronic elements borrowing from the realms of modern dance music. Williamson’s soloing, with its combination of jazz intelligence and pure rock power sometimes reminded me of Partisans’ Phil Robson. This crowd pleasing piece also included solo features for Costello at the drums and Stirrat on FX laden electric bass.

“Kingdom”, another new tune and one slated for Animal Society’s first full length release also in 2020, featured jagged, staccato grooves and the fiery guitar / keyboard interplay of Williamson and Benzie. The leader’s solo included some monumental riffing as the band continued to crank up the volume.

Sourced from the EP “Ripples”  fleetingly illustrated a gentler, more impressionistic side of the band with its shimmering guitar arpeggios and with Williamson making effective use of the ‘hammering on’ guitar technique. A virtuosic display of liquid electric bass from Stirrat and a searing synth solo from Benzie provided further delights as the piece gathered momentum and took on a decidedly anthemic quality.

At this juncture I had to leave the QEH and make my way west to Cadogan Hall for my next event and exited to the strains of Animal Society’s final number, the title track of the “RISE” EP.
Here’s what I said about Williamson’s composition when reviewing the recording;
“RISE” itself (the capitals are Williamson’s) opens the album and was also released as a single, attracting a considerable degree of online interest. It sets the template for the EP as a whole as it roars out of the blocks with a barrage of drums and guitars in a manner akin to Deep Purple’s “Speed King”. Williamson then churns out some chunky math rock riffs, underscored by chiming keyboards and Costello’s powerhouse drumming. But it’s not all hammer and tongs, there are more contemplative and atmospheric moments too which help to establish the jazz credentials of the music. The episodic nature of the writing hints at the acknowledged Metheny influence but Williamson’s guitar never sounds like Pat’s, it’s far too raw and too obviously rock and metal influenced for that. Maybe Mahavishnu era John McLaughlin would be a better comparison with Williamson cranking out feverish solos as the band embrace and deliver the “heavy riffs, tight grooves and big guitar moments” that are promised in the press release.

This short but enjoyable set demonstrated Animal Society’s strengths with its combination of skilled, jazz schooled musicianship and rock band attitude. It formed part of a short tour that had already included other English dates in Oxford and Bristol plus further shows in their native Scotland.

Arguably it was rather too loud, with the subtleties of the music sometimes becoming lost, but Williamson, rather like saxophonist Pete Wareham seems to be aiming for a totally different constituency to the usual jazz audience. Animal Society is a band that plays instrumental rock, or fusion if you will, and does so with skill and verve. Other dates on the tour have taken place in rock venues, with the band presumably performing to a younger crowd. It’s an approach that’s likely to see the acquisition of a cult following and a degree of exposure in the rock press.

When Joe first told me that Animal Society would be playing a show at EFG LJF I thought that it might be one of the free lunchtime showcases at the Pizza Express, which last year hosted Scottish drummer Alyn Cosker and his fusion quartet. If Animal Society had played there at this volume they’d have blown the roof of the place, so maybe the boomy acoustic of the QEH foyer was the best choice after all! That said there are plenty of other venues on the EFG LJF circuit that offer a rock club type atmosphere and it is to be hoped that Animal Society can return to one of these for a full length show at some point in the future.

The music of Animal Society probably won’t appeal to older, dyed in the wool jazz fans, but this isn’t necessarily the demographic that the band are after. Instead their glorious racket reaches out to a whole new audience. It will be interesting to continue to monitor their progress and I look forward to hearing their first full length album recording in the New Year.

FRED THOMAS,
MARCIN WASILEWSKI TRIO,
CADOGAN HALL

Over in the more refined environment of Cadogan Hall I enjoyed my first ticketed event of the Festival, a performance by the trio led by the celebrated Polish pianist, composer and arranger Marcin Wasilewski.

For the jazz community 2019 represents a year of anniversaries, among them the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Blue Note record label and the 50th of the equally distinctive European imprint ECM, the home of the Wasilewski Trio.

The Blue Note and ECM anniversaries were a feature of this year’s Festival programming and tonight’s event was the first of several celebrating the latter. 2019 also represents the 25th anniversary of the Wasilewski trio itself, which gave tonight’s event an even greater significance.

Originally known as Simple Acoustic Trio Wasilewski and his colleagues Slawomir Kurkiewicz (double bass) and Michal Miskiewicz (drums) first came to the attention of the wider international jazz community when they appeared with the late, great Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko on a series of albums for ECM, namely “Soul Of Things”, “Suspended Night” and “Lontano”, all released between 2001 and 2005.

The trio’s tenure with Stanko also saw them release an ECM album simply entitled “Trio” (2004) and this was followed by their first post-Stanko album “January” (2007).  They have remained with the label ever since, releasing a series of further albums including “Faithful” (2011) and “Live” (2016). Their 2014 album “Spark Of Life” saw them collaborating with the Swedish saxophonist Joakim Milder and I was fortunate enough to witness a superb performance by this quartet at Milton Court as part of the 2015 EFG LJF, an event included as part of that year’s Festival coverage here;
http://www.thejazzmann.com/features/article/efg-london-jazz-festival-2015-first-sunday-15-11-2015/

Some years previously, as a paying customer, I was also lucky enough to see the trio appear with Stanko as part of a double bill with the Charles Lloyd Quartet at the Barbican. When this year’s programme was published I reflected that although I had seen this internationally celebrated trio performing with others I had never witnessed the core band in action. Given the excellence of the previous performances, particularly the one at Milton Court, I decided that this was a situation that I should put right and I was very much looking forward to tonight’s event.

FRED THOMAS, SOLO PIANO

However before the Wasilewski Trio hit the stage we were to enjoy a solo piano performance by Fred Thomas, a musician with a foot in both the jazz and classical camps and with named influences ranging from J.S. Bach to Brian Eno. The contrast with the Animal Society performance couldn’t have been more pronounced.

Thomas is a versatile musician who has worked within a range of genres ranging through jazz and classical to folk and tango. A member of the F-ire Collective his jazz credits include work with drummer Phelan Burgoyne, vocalists Elina Duni and Alice Zawadzki and saxophonist Martin Speake, plus the Polyphonic Jazz Band. As a producer he has worked with musicians across a broad range of genres and he has also composed music for theatre productions.

Displaying a classically honed lightness of touch at the piano Thomas commenced his performance with a Wagner prelude before moving on to his original composition “Gentle Lady”, a piece inspired by a James Joyce poem. Here gentle, folk like melodies were contrasted with occasional low end rumblings and shards of wilful dissonance.

The jazz standard “Stella By Starlight” was teamed with a fragment of the “Love Theme from Tristan und Isolde” and was delivered in the form of a ‘country waltz’. “Stella” represented more familiar ground for the jazz listeners in the audience, who warmed to Thomas’ thoughtful, classically informed arrangement of this old favourite.

Thomas’ performance also included snatches of Mahler and Webern as well as his original composition “Daydreaming”, a piece inspired by Hildegarde of Bingen that incorporated unsettling staccato phrases.

Acclaimed for his re-interpretations of Bach’s music Thomas concluded with a performance of a Johann Sebastian “Sarabande”, a thoughtful arrangement that incorporated avant garde techniques including dramatic keyboard sweeps, the generation of high register harp like sounds and even the placing of a book on the keyboard.

Thomas’ performance was well received by a rapt audience at the Cadogan, although it was probably still a bit too conventionally ‘classical’ for many jazz ears, the version of “Stella” notwithstanding.

I found myself intrigued by Thomas’ original writing but overall the performance lacked the dynamic and stylistic contrasts that define the best jazz. Despite the occasional avant garde flourishes the mood and tempo remained fairly consistent throughout and, for me, the overall approach was lacking in variety and was overly academic. Nevertheless there was still much to appreciate and enjoy here and the standard of the musicianship was impeccable throughout.

MARCIN WASILEWSKI TRIO

The line up of the Wasilewski Trio has remained constant throughout the group’s career. After playing together for a quarter of a century Wasilewski, Kurkiewicz and Miskiewicz have developed a near telepathic understanding and their intimate, but highly interactive and creative rapport was apparent throughout this excellent set.

The opening piece was untitled, commencing with delicately bowed bass and atmospheric mallet rumbles before Wasilewski joined his colleagues to deliver an example of his usual probing piano lyricism.

“Sudovian Dance”, from the album with Milder, followed, a more up-tempo piece with a hard driving bass and drum groove and an infectious melody that in another reality could easily have fuelled a hit pop song. At one point the impressive Kurkiewicz provided the melodic lead from the bass but it was the dazzling, fiercely interactive tripartite exchanges between the performers that was to prove the most striking aspect of this rendition.

A second as yet untitled composition was introduced by a passage of unaccompanied piano from Wasilewski and was subsequently notable for its sparky piano and drum exchanges, with Kurkiewicz’s bass playing an anchoring role. The animated dialogue between Wasilewski and Miskiewicz subsequently evolved into a full on drum feature for the latter, an energetic excursion that drew an enthusiastic response from the supportive crowd.

Unaccompanied piano also introduced the beautiful ballad “Austin”, Wasilewski’s dedication to the late Austin Peralta, the multi-talented young American pianist who died in 2012 aged just twenty two. The Cadogan’s acoustic was perfectly suited to this sensitive performance that featured one of Wasilewski’s most memorable melodies, a gorgeous tune right up there with label mate Keith Jarrett’s “My Song” in terms of pure beauty. Following his high energy virtuosity on the previous piece Miskiewicz was now the epitome of tastefulness and delicacy, deploying a combination of brushes and bare hands throughout.

The opening bars of “Night Train To You” delivered a ripple of applause from the audience for one of Wasilewski’s most popular pieces. The undulating grooves of this aptly named piece gave the tune an unstoppable momentum and helped to fuel the subsequent bass solo from Kurkiewicz and his subsequent dialogue with Miskiewicz. With Wasilewski reaching inside the lid to dampen the sound of the strings on the hard grooving passages this was the piece that most revealed the influence of E.S.T on this long running trio.

Besides their outstanding performances of Wasilewski’s original compositions the trio are also noted for their imaginative interpretations of the works of others. One such example was their arrangement of the Tomasz Stanko composition “Gama”, a piece dating back to 1985, long before the trio’s collaboration with the trumpeter. The acknowledgement of the late, great Stanko (1942-2018) was warmly applauded by the audience, as was the trio’s sensitive performance of his piece. Ushered in piano and bass and with Miskiewicz deploying brushes the trio captured the spirit of Stanko’s melancholy lyricism with beautiful solos coming from the leader on piano and Kurkiewicz on delightfully melodic double bass.

Another favourite item in the trio’s repertoire is their arrangement of the Herbie Hancock tune “Actual Proof”, which was introduced here by the bass but which also included an extended passage of virtuoso hand drumming from Miskiewicz with Wasilewski clapping along. The subsequent interplay between piano, bass and drums was dazzling, with darting melodic piano phrases meshing with interlocking bass and drum rhythms. A barnstorming solo from Wasilewski was followed by a second, more conventional, drum feature from Miskiewicz.

This high energy closing item was greeted by a rapturous reception from the crowd and an encore was inevitable. This saw the trio performing an unannounced piece that began in reflective ballad mode, but with the gorgeous melody subsequently morphing into a strong groove as the trio moved up and down the gears effortlessly and instinctively, the product of a quarter of a century of collective music making.

I’d finally seen the Marcin Wasilewski Trio as a self contained entity and it has to be said that they were highly impressive, getting my Festival off to a great start. If I’m totally honest it didn’t quite match the Milton Court show from 2016 when the impressive Milder added an extra instrumental voice to another fiercely interactive trio performance where the playing of the core trio had, if anything, been even more intense.

Twenty five years in and counting the Marcin Wasilewski Trio remains a world leader in the piano trio format, with the promise of more great music to come.

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