Nine Years

Ok quick post.

I arrived Oman safely on the 28th, which I was overjoyed to see my best friend greeting me at the airport. Seeing her for the first time after nine years was such an emotional moment.

I practically screamed and threw myself at her tiny frame.

The story between us started in college. She was the first girl I spotted on my first day of class, in the first row. I didn't know what prompted me to sit next to this Middle Eastern student and asked her name; but I did, and we never stopped talking since.

She was always the only Middle Eastern among a group of Chinese when we hang out together; or I the only Chinese in a group of Middle Eastern; but we were always seen together, worked on projects together, talked in class together, get good grades together, the teacher's pets together.

Then a year later, I moved to the UK to pursue the rest of my degree while she stayed on; by the time I got back a year later, she'd just left Malaysia and returned to Oman. We've always agreed to meet up, but over the years, it just never happened. Life got in the way, careers, movements, money; and we knew that we were each making a life and a living in our own respective countries. We were fresh graduate with no money, travelling across the continents was never cheap. Before we knew it, nine years flew past, and one day, I received a phone call from her. She announced she's getting married, next thing I knew, I have booked a flight to Oman. :)

Over the past few days, we've slept in the same room and talked and talked and talked, about us, about life, about guys, about our past, about college times, about our future, about everything; well mostly with me interrogating her current life affair, her wedding 'plans' (eh-hem), her fiancée; before she ground me down with my own love affair. Oh the horror.

And it felt like nothing has changed. The nine years between us was never there. And it felt just like yesterday we were us, together, walking and talking and being friends. It's bizarre, and I've never felt anything quite like it before in my life, not with anyone, or not with anyone whom I've not seen for such a long time.

I went out with another friend today, the bubbliest most modern Arabic lady you can ever meet. She speaks fluent English, in fact, her whole family speaks English, and I'm surprised at how we manage to just catch up, after years of never meeting, just like that. We caught on, fast, furious, yes she's loud too, and I love her squeal, her height; her existence made me feel in place: despite the fact that she's the only Arabic I know who is my height. LOL.

Yes Rahma I'm talking about you.

And again, it was the same feeling. The same familiarity, the same closeness. Everything felt like yesterday, no one seemed to have aged; well I hope I can say the same thing again for the next nine years; who needs botox?! Hah!

I've met a lot of wonderful people here in Oman, people think Arab women are conservative, ha, if only you could see them behind the curtains. Sex, men, party, fun; we spread it all out under the sky (or ceiling in this matter).

I've been asked to dress as revealing as possible on the Henna's night (celebrated a day before the actually wedding ceremony, but only ladies, like a hen's night, gala style), and I only brought two humble dresses to wear. -.- Great.

Review: Tommy Smith's Karma

Review: Tommy Smith's Karma
(Pizza Express, April 28th 2011, review and photos by Roger Thomas)

In the photo I tried to capture one of those contempative, meditative Zen moments, with Tommy Smith crouching hidden next to the piano, musing as the band played on. I smiled as the thought came to me that perhaps he's been overcome by thoughts of his own Karma. Looking around at the audience, that mood had communicated to them, people were still, transfixed, caught in their own inner thoughts.

This show was dedicated to the performance of tracks from his latest album, Karma. Jazz improvisation, and sounds reminiscent of Weather Report were mixed with Indian rhythms, the rituals of Japan, but there is also a chilled urban feel, tasteful electronic keyboards and funky/hip-hoppish drumming.

The arrangements were thought-provoking and showed a great understanding of how to combine all of these disparate elements. Smith has written specificially for musicians whom he knows well - which added to the distinct character of each composition.

Tommy is now the musician's musician, at least to judge by the number of colleagues who were not just present, but were also clearly showing their appreciation of, and admiration for this new project. They weren't alone in that: this is one album I will definitely be buying.



Personnel: Tommy Smith - Tenor sax, Shakuhachi; Steve Hamilton - Piano/Keyboards; Kevin Glasgow - six string bass guitar; Alyn Cosker - Drums.

Karma is on Spartacus Records

Review: Kyle Eastwood

Kyle Eastwood
(Ronnie Scotts Saturday 23rd April, Review by Rosie Hanley)

Last Saturday was the last night of Kyle Eastwood’s residency at Ronnie Scotts, part of the tour promoting his new album, Songs From The Chateau. Listening to the album at home before the gig my expectations were high. This latest oeuvre from Eastwood is a solid set of new and old material and proves his compositional skills by including a mixture of cool, laid-back tracks, energetic calypso and funk, all the while maintaining cohesion.

My high expectations were met and exceeded as the album was far better experienced live. Eastwood was joined by Andrew McCormack (piano and keyboards), Graeme Flowers (trumpet and flugelhorn), Graeme Blevins (tenor and soprano saxophone) and Martyn Kaine (drums) aka ‘the hardest working musician in Ronnies’ that night, since he played the support and main act sets.

From the moment he entered the stage, Eastwood exuded elegance, introducing the numbers and chatting easily with the audience, telling of the origins of the compositions. There was no arrogance or element of competition from any of the men on stage- just great jazz.

Eastwood displayed technical prowess on double, electric and six string basses. He remained the star throughout, while allowing the other band members to showcase their equally impressive talents. Andrew McCormack was at his absolute best relishing the juicy harmonies and navgating with confidence and ease the unforeseen cadences and modulations of ‘Soul Captain’. ‘Tonic’ featured a mature and thoughtful solo from Graeme Blevins.

A highlight of the evening was ‘Café Calypso’, a joint band composition. Martyn Kaine proved his stamina and energy with his electrifying performance on this number. Blevins also played a storming rhythmic solo contrasting with his more melodic solo of earlier in the night. Another highlight of the evening was ‘Cosmo’, a funk number inspired by Herbie Hancock and Starsky and Hutch! McCormack and Kaine laid down the funky groove before Blevins and Flowers began their onslaught of awesome solos.

Having seen Eastwood perform on previous occasions, I knew (and hoped) to expect that he would play the soundtrack from Letters from Iwo Jima. Saturday night’s rendition however, was like nothing I’ve heard before. It was heartbreakingly beautiful and brought the whole of Ronnies to complete, concentrated silence. Eastwood made his electric bass sound effortlessly melodic and beautiful and McCormack’s playing was tender and gorgeous, ending the piece to loud applause and exclamations of astonishment and awe.

We were treated to two encores. The first, ‘Andalucia’ from the new album featuring a superb extended solo from Eastwood and the second, ‘Big Noise’, the uptempo 1940s crowd pleaser. The band deservedly received a standing ovation before the early crowd kicked out and the late set began…and poor Martyn Kaine had to do it all over again!

www.ronniescotts.co.uk

happy?

Spring is here! The sun is shining again, tulips and daffodils have popped up everywhere and the supermarkets have beautiful artichokes and asparagus. Those of you who have been reading my posts as of late know that I have done my own little reawakening. Finally, I don't feel so much like a frumpy mama bear. I have lost the baby weight (never mind that my youngest is now 4), have more energy, am happier, and [drum roll] a friend who came by for tea last week actually went so far as to say I am glowing. (I swear, I didn't pay her to say that.)

In the process of figuring out ways to jibe my needs with my family's needs I have done a bit of reading. Two books, in particular, really resonated and have helped me to be more calm and focused on what is truly important to me at this life stage. The first, I cracked in the New Year. Since reading Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project, I have given it to several friends who agree that it's fabulous. The second, Sara Avant Stover's new book, The Way of the Happy Woman, is so thoughtful and calming. She is actually coming to New Canaan Library on May 9th and leading a mini retreat at Saraswati on May 14th. I know a lot of you reading this are my friends scattered across the U.S. and beyond so here are the other places you can catch her if you'd like to hear her speak or go to one of her workshops. I am excited to send a copy of Sara's book to one of you who might like to read it as well. Simply leave a comment below letting me know something you have done to bring more happiness into your busy life. I will choose a winner on Monday!

An A-Z of a first day at Jazzahead

The first day at what has become the worlds largest jazz conference leaves a mass of impressions. It's a huge event. Here they are as an A to Z

A is for All Present. Everyone, or nearly everyone from European jazz whom you might expect to see at a bash like this is here. From record labels to major festivals, it is now a major draw. Apart from the broadcasters, perhaps - it clashes with EBU. People aren't necessarily buying exhibitor packages - some major players just rock up as visitors and buy themselves day-tickets. Just to be here.

A is also for ACT Music and its boss Siggi Loch, who gave a moving speech presenting the 2011 Skoda Jazzpreis to Claude Nobs of Montreux Jazz Festival.

B is for Bremen. I'm hoping to get to know the city by the Weser rather than just its Congress Centre..

C is for Creative Scotland. The Scottish presence here is impressive.

D is for Duc des Lombards. I met the people from the Paris club which recently gave rise to a row on the internet. With a capacity of just 70 people, and putting on jazz 285 nights a year without subsidy, they are doing this for a purpose other than financial return.

D is also for determination. I met delegates today who had, variously, taken an overnight sleeper from Austria and got up in the Thames Valley at 2am. Nothing 9 to 5 about this lot.

E is for Ertegun. The influence of the Ertegun brothers Nesuhi (1917-1989) and Ahmet (1923-2006) were mentioned by both Siggi Loch as he presented the Skoda prize, and by Claude Nobs as he received it - there is also a strong connection with Turkey in this year's conference. (See also T)

F is for fourteen forty-five. (See P)

F is also for Fran Hardcastle our regular contributor and highly capable guest editor doesn't have to try that hard to be popular, but with a few pre-release copies of the Impossible Gentlemen's new CD to give to selected people, her stall had an orderly queue for much of the day.

F is also for Forty. Which is how old the ENJA label is this year. Many happy returns. But they are not folk to spend money on friperies. Their banner still modestly claims "thirty-five."

G is for Growing. Delegates this year are well over 2000, there are 357 exhibitors from 30 countries, roughly 30% up year-on-year.

H is for Hamburg. The ElbJazz people are here - we'll be featuring Colin Towns next week. In his role as composer in residence of the NDR Big Band, he has written the festival's main new commission, a composition portraying the history of Hamburg harbour

I is for Inntoene. I heard about a rural weekend festival in Upper Austria - I'm tempted to go there.

J is for jazzahead! and its co-organizers Peter Schulze and Ulli Beckerhoff, whose team have done a good job.

K is for das Kapital, one of the most talked about young German bands.

L is for Dave Liebman. I 'm hearing that he's just recorded an amazing Miles Sketches of Spain for radio with a top pro band in Graz. Now that I'd like to hear.

N is for the Nokia theme. I thought we'd heard that infuriating Gran Vals by Francisco Tárrega, until it came in, mezzforte, right on cue, as Jef Neve and Pascal Schumacher did a particularly subtle and quiet ending. (See also V)

N is also for next year. jazzahead! 2012 dates: April 19th - 22nd. (See also S)

O is for Out to Lunch, what a great name for a promoter (from Australia). I didn't want to tempt fate and check if anyone was actually manning their stand. I did check out one Italian Festival to be told that although they had a sign up, they weren't actually coming. Can Italian lunches last three days?

P is for Partisans. (See also F) 14.45 was the mid-afternoon time allocated to Partisans for their showcase slot. But it would appear that the clock isn't an obstacle: Phil Robson and Julian Siegel can resume their high-energy games of pursuit at any time of day or night and bring themselves and an audience to life.

Q is for Thierry Quenum from France, one of the few foreign journalists here, and someone with open ears for music across our continent. He's be a natural for .....(see X)

R is for Ryanair. They got me here safely, but I've heard the story of a musician returning today on whome they used their baggage restrictions as a blatant money-spinner. Gotta be careful.

S is for Spain. Announced officially today as 2012 partner country for jazzahead!

S is also for Star Trek and Star Wars. I learnt today that allaboutjazz.com was seed-funded by the profits of an entrepreneeur who had caught the brief vogue for Star Wars and Sar Trek screensavers.

T is for 2011 jazzahead! partner country with a strong presence here - Turkey

U is for Ulli Beckerhoff. As the man who (refuses to take any credit for having) instigated Jazzahead, he clearly has a success on his hands.

V is for Slo-VENIA. They joined forces with the Swiss and the Austrians to pour Welschriesling. (See also Z)

V is also for vibraphone. That duo from the linguistic fault-lines of Europe, Pascal Schumacher from Luxembourg and Jef Neve from Geel in the east of Belgium played a lively set full of delicate and happy interplay. Until they were interrupted by (see N)

W is for Wedding. The Germans kept telling me there was a weeding going on in London today. What were they on about?

X is for Jazz-x. I like what is at the heart of this project to make local coverage global by getting high-quality web-based content about specific European jazz scenes translated. It is flawed, but it should happen in some form or other.

Y is for Jason Yarde. Dave Stapleton who is here has just announced that MY Duo with Yarde and Andrew McCormack will record their next CD for Edition.

Z is for Ozma. I missed the showcase by French cellist Adrien Dennefeld's band - it was the Austrians and they made me drink. I should have spotted this sign pointing to the jazz and the wine.




www.jazzahead.de

Extras

Eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut:

Voodoo correlations are everywhere, not just in neuroscience. [Background].

More stats controversy. "There are four major problems with using p as a measure of evidence and these problems are often overlooked in the domain of psychology." Read more.

Differences in how men and women compete. "In two studies, adult human females, compared with males, were more likely to react to the possibility of social exclusion by socially excluding a third party." Read more.

Implicit measures in psychology may be sexy but they're often unreliable. Read more.

Nerves hinder negotiation. "...negotiators who feel anxious expect lower outcomes, make lower first offers, respond more quickly to offers, exit bargaining situations earlier, and ultimately obtain worse outcomes." Read more.

OTOH, mimicking others' language online aids negotiation. "...negotiators who actively mimicked their counterpart's language in the first 10 min of the negotiation obtained higher individual gain compared to those mimicking during the last 10 min, as well as compared to control participants." Read more.

Bi-directional links between semantic memory and sense of identity in older adults. "...autobiographical memory for all time periods (childhood, early adulthood, and recent life) in the semantic domain was associated with greater strength in personal identity. ... However, there was also support for a reverse mediation model indicating that a strong sense of identity is associated with semantic self-knowledge and through this may enhance self-relevant recollection." Read more.

Depth cues in paintings cause people to sway. Read more.

US study finds women are more fearful than men of having their intellectual capabilities tested in public. "...women must overcome fears about doing poorly in public and fears of criticism from others. They must learn to handle criticism without letting it affect the way they feel about themselves. The challenge is to adopt a positive view of their ability as continuously developing and to approach public performances as opportunities to welcome, rather than threats to avoid." Read more.

Praying for a stranger led provoked participants to react with less anger and aggression. Read more.

Don't pick on Dawkins! Reminders of atheist prevalence reduced distrust and prejudice towards atheists. Read more.

Review: Daryl Sherman

Daryl Sherman Trio
(Pizza Express Dean Street, 26th April 2011, Review by Frank Griffith)

Cafe Society comes to Soho. New Englander, and now NYC-based jazz chanteuse and pianist Daryl Sherman, brought her own blend of that culture to Soho's Pizza Express on Tuesday.

A frequent visitor to our shores since 1999, her trio, consisting of Howard Alden on guitar and Brit bassman Dave Green, had previously racked up many seasons at Pizza on the Park, Hyde Park's recently closed venue. As a result, she has migrated to the flagship venue for modern jazz, Pizza Express, Dean Street. The lighting, table layout, room shape and general ambiance were much more conducive at the POTP for the song and storytelling kind of menu that this artiste delivers.

Sherman's chat and anecdotes contribute nearly as much to the show as do the actual songs and jazz. The seamless segue and interplay between these two elements works wondrously in her hands. The audience is simultaneously entertained, and educated about the lives and classic offerings of the British and American songsmiths.

Hailing from Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Daryl has deep roots in thism nusic. Her father, Sammy Sherman, a restaurateur, doubled on trombone and violin. She forged longtime musical associations with other jazzers from that area such as Dave McKenna, Ruby Braff, Harry Allen and the sadly missed cornetist, author and general knower of all things, Richard Sudhalter.

She took the theme of April songs for a medley ("I'll Remember April" and Bill Evans' "In April"). Another sequence, interspersed with eloquent anecdotes, consisted of four Johnny Mercer songs in succession, including "Jeepers Creepers" and a pair of his Dream titles, all of which were sung with aplomb.

At one point Daryl rose from the piano and took centre stage to deliver a heart-rending reading of Burton Lane's "Too late Now". Her eye contact with the audience, body language with the band and general stage presence had risen in exponential proportions. Perhaps having freed herself from the piano helped her up the ante in attaining a poignancy in delivery, a touch of magic..

Sherman also writes well-crafted and characerful trio arrangements which leave plenty of space for solos. She is no mean pianist, both as accompanist and soloist. Her vertical "hopping in place" motion in time to the beat is a sight to behold-which is in keeping with her scamp-like improvisations mixing light asides and riff trading with Alden and Green. both of whom are driving soloisits in their own right. Dave Green's bass feature, Oscar Pettiford's "Laverne Walk," was a worthwhile diversion from the songfest, as Green put Alden and himself through their paces on this rarely heard jazz classic.

Cafe Society indeed. A dying art to some perhaps, but in Ms Sherman's case, in ever so able hands. A true celebration of melodies, language and songdom.

Daryl Sherman's next London appearance is at The Pheasantry in Chelsea on 5th May. Bookings at pizzaexpresllive.co.uk

A Tentet of Drawings of the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet

Geoff Winston produced this series of ten drawings(*) which stand as a unique record of the visit to London last week of the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet to Cafe Oto. Geoff attended two of the three nights, and also reviewed for us.

Per Åke Holmlander (Tuba)



The Tentet




The Tentet



Michael Zerang, Jeb Bishop, Paal Nilssen-Love



Ken Vandermark and Peter Brötzmann being interviewedby Jez Nelson



Kent Kessler




Left to right: Joe McPhee, Kent Kessler, Peter Brötzmann



Mats Gustafsson and Peter Brötzmann



Joe McPhee



Johannes Andreas Bauer and Peter Brötzmann duelling

(*) All images copyright Geoff Winston 2011. All rights reserved.

CD Review: John Martin Quartet - Dawning

John Martin Quartet - Dawning
(F-IRE CD 40. CD Review by Chris Parker)

This debut recording from composer/saxophonist John Martin comes recommended by Kenny Wheeler ('a lovely album with all the players sounding very comfortable with the music') and Iain Ballamy ('honest, cohesive and sophisticated'), and the former's lyrical fluency and the latter's rapturous intensity are indeed defining features of Martin's music.

Although there are elements of the eclecticism characterising contemporary London-based jazz discernible throughout Dawning, the overall impression is of a quintessentially 'European' sound, a limpid sincerity often associated with folk music and a slightly wistful melancholy its chief ingredients. Martin's is an affecting, attractively fragile approach (not unlike Ballamy's), perhaps more effective when he plays multi-textured tenor rather than the less overtly nuanced soprano, but which imparts considerable warmth and emotion into both his multi-hued
pieces ('Moving On', which moves easily between what Martin himself terms 'elements of gospel, afro and jazz') and his more straightforwardly emotive compositions ('Quiet Song', a lullaby for his sister).

His band, pianist Jonjo Grisdale, bassist Tim Fairhall and drummer Andy Ball, acquit themselves well throughout a varied programme, Grisdale in particular proving a suitably mellifluous and thoughtful soloist, his combination with Martin occasionally bringing Keith Jarrett's 'Belonging' band to mind.

As Ballamy points out, the John Martin Quartet, on this evidence, is 'a band to listen out for in 2011 and a credit to the F-IRE Collective'.

Dawning is available from jazzcds.co.uk

When gay men reveal their homosexuality later in an interaction, prejudice toward them is reduced

Unlike other stigmatised groups, such as ethnic minorities or the elderly, people who are homosexual usually have the option of concealing their sexual identity when they interact with others. This raises an obvious question - does it make any difference to the risk of a negative reception, whether a gay person discloses their gay status early or late in an interaction?

David Buck and Ashby Plant investigated this issue in relation to gay men. Forty-five heterosexual male and female undergrad students and non-students took part in what they thought was a study of first-time social interactions. Tested alone, they listened to a pre-recorded interview with a man who they thought they were going to meet soon afterwards. The taped interview lasted eight minutes and the man was asked about his life and his interests. Crucially, he was asked about his romantic situation either at the start (the second question) or right at the end of the interview, and it was in his answer to this question that he disclosed his sexual orientation as gay. Half the participants heard the early disclosure version, half heard the late version.

Among the male participants only, the timing of the disclosure made a big difference. Those who heard the early disclosure subsequently reported more frustration at having to meet the man, more negative expectations for how the meeting would go, and more negative prejudice towards gay people generally, than did the male participants who heard the late disclosure recording.

It was a similar story in a second study involving a further 85 participants, with the following changes: the interview was shown on video, not just audio; there was an additional comparison condition in which the interviewed man disclosed that he was heterosexual; the participants chose traits that they felt best described the man, thus revealing how much they had stereotyped him (e.g. as 'feminine', 'artsy', 'melodramatic'); and the participants also chose letters for the man to use to compile a word (choosing difficult letters for him was taken as a sign of hostility).

Once again, for the male participants only, the timing of the man's disclosure about his gay status made a big difference - an early disclosure led the male participants to feel more negative about the man, to show more hostility toward him and to attribute him with more gay stereotype traits. In fact, the stereotyping mediated the effect of early/late disclosure on all the other factors. The message is clear - an early disclosure coloured the male participants' perception of the remainder of the interview, rousing their prejudices towards the man. By contrast, male participants who heard the late disclosure appeared to form a non-stereotyped view of the man, thus reducing their prejudice and hostility even after he disclosed his gay status. In contrast to these effects, timing of disclosure made no difference to perceptions of the man in the condition in which he revealed himself to be heterosexual.

So, what are the lessons from this research? A 'grim interpretation' Buck and Plant said, would be for gay men to hold back on revealing their homosexuality, so as to reduce the likelihood they will be the victims of prejudice. However, they noted that that would be to focus solely on the implications for the victims of prejudice - what about the perpetrators? 'By understanding these issues we may be better equipped to identify situations in which bias might be more likely to occur and, thus, have the opportunity to more effectively reduce discrimination,' the researchers said. 'Our hope is that rather than encourage people to conceal their sexual orientation, this research will help to advance a culture in which people will not feel the need to hide.'

Further research is needed to establish whether similar processes occur for lesbians and for other stigmatised groups where it's possible to control the timing of disclosure (e.g. people diagnosed with a mental illness). Another issue ripe for investigation is whether the effect of disclosure timing varies according to the timescale - a disclosure after weeks, rather than eight minutes, might well have a different outcome.
_________________________________

Buck, D., and Plant, E. (2011). Interorientation interactions and impressions: Does the timing of disclosure of sexual orientation matter? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47 (2), 333-342 DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2010.10.016

Leaving on a Plane

I'm leaving Oman in two hours time. And somehow the excited has been shadowed by something that happened last night, and today.

I've actually written a really long and emotional post on it.

But despite my heart telling me to not think and publish it, to voice myself out despite all consequences and neglecting all respects to people who matter in this subject; my head once against told me to hold it against my tongue, or in this matter, my fingers.

Well, It's a short 6 hours flight to Oman. I have my book and gossip girls on my iPhone, but somehow I have a feeling that I don't really have the mood for either. I'll probably just to stick to work.

Till Oman.


In the mean time,

Lift to the Scaffold - 606 Club, Wednesday May 4th

It's 53 years since Jeanne Moreau ran the tips of her fingers langurously over the paintwork of those parked cars, to the accompaniment of Miles Davis. The young Louis Malle had spent just three years, mostly in a diving suit filming underwater for Jean-Jacques Cousteau, and was making his first full length film. The year was 1958, that film was was "Un Ascenseur poul l'Echafaud/ Lift to the Scaffold"

Martin Shaw - with Andy Panayi, sax and flute, Leon Greening piano, bassist Geoff Gascoyne and drummer Sebastiaan de Krom will be perfoming to the film. That's one set of an alluring double bill next Wednesday at the 606 Club.

In the other set, Brazilian singer Jandira Silva, with a quartet led by pianist John Crawford will be performing to the Marcel Camus film Orfeu Negro. Here's a clip from the film with a famous song and a possibly confused goat.


The event is a preliminary one in the lead-up to the Sound on Screen Festival in spring 2012. The team producing it is Michael Etherton and Andreas Boyde. Great idea

www.soundonscreen.org

Preview: the Charlie Haden London Concerts, May 21st and 22nd

Preview : Charlie Haden at the Barbican May 21st and 22nd
(Also featured as this week's prize draw for newsletter readers)


Bassist, composer and bandleader Charlie Haden, one of the key figures in the development of jazz in the past half-century, once described the aspiration and the vocation of the artist as having two distict sides:

"to bring beauty to the world and make a difference in this planet."

The Barbican's two Charlie Haden concerts in May, presenting the "artist in focus" will bring to the fore each of these sides of Haden's creative soul during two very different concerts:

The concert on Saturday May 21st will feature Quartet West. Quartet West was founded in 1987, and three of the original four players still form the current group: saxophonist Ernie Watts, pianist Alan Broadbent and Haden himself. Haden moved to California as a nineteen year old in 1957.

The concert is built around Haden's 2010 album "Sophisticated Ladies," which alternates vocal numbers and instrumentals. The singers featured in the concert have yet to be fully announced. The BBC's reviewer wrote that the songs are "a wholly nostalgic surrender to the days of sweetly melancholic relationship-doom."

Haden knows deeply the Californian cults of beauty, of cinema and of lifestyle, but his vision questions the dream, and recalls these words of Joan Didion:

"California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension; in which the mind is troubled by some buried but ineradicable suspicion that things better work here, because here, beneath the immense bleached sky,is where we run out of continent."

The concert on Sunday May 22nd features a very different aspect of Haden's reativity. Political song, the yearning for revolution and change dominate the up-to-date 2011 version of the Liberation Music Orchestra, with its Anglo-american personnel.

This group were one of the highlights of Ornette Coleman's Meltdown at the South Bank Centre in June 2009, when they made their last appearance here with Roberrt Wyatt. Try John Fordham's 5 star Guardian review.

The Americans in the band include Carla Bley and Tony Malaby, the Brits John Parricelli, Andy Sheppard and Jason Yarde, ad Oren Marshall.

Here's a clip from 1992:



BOOKINGS


charliehadenmusic.com

The Charlie Haden London concerts are produced by Serious, whose previous Barbican "Artist in Focus" series has included Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.

Review: Hans-Joachim Roedelius

Hans-Joachim Roedelius
(Vortex, Friday afternoon, 22nd April 2011, Review and drawing by Geoff Winston*)

Roedelius's relaxed, idealist outlook and optimism infused the atmosphere at this afternoon session, during which he played "a little bit of the past", through an excellent sound system, to illustrate highlights of his substantial, self-taught career in electronic music, and to play on the Vortex’s Steinway, commenting that the piano is his "most loved instrument".

There was a question and answer session, where he deferred to his wife, Christa, for translation of the more oblique questions. Born in 1934, he is a pioneer of the German music scene which had its roots in the Berlin underground of the 60s, where he met Moebius (then a cook and graphic designer), and with whom he founded the Zodiac Arts Lab, and Conrad Schnitzler with whom they formed Kluster. He then went on to collaborate with, amongst others, Eno and The Edge. He eschewed the trap of falling in with the commercially driven musical Zeitgeist, describing his music as "anachronistic". He explained that Conny Plank was the only producer they could work with, and that their attempts to work with the market-facing Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream came to nought.

Roedelius was a practicing physiotherapist, which perhaps was a way of expressing his very human sensitivity, and his life became commune-based after long spells on the road - even Eno had to muck in when they worked together! His early music was created in a Revox and put through a bounce back system to create growing and receding musical forms. "Pure music which came out of my belly," as he put it.

These days he, like Han Bennink, who appeared at the Vortex in the evening, is more drawn to classical music - particularly Slavic, Russian and Czech composers.

On stage, Roedelius’s piano solos were wistful, reflective, nostalgic. Whilst not technically complex, there was an engaging and deceptive simplicity to the melodies, in an area between folk melodies and ambient. Rarely straying into the upper reaches of the keyboard, he created a mellow, meditative mood which permeated the packed Vortex.

Still highly active, he hosts the 'More Ohr Less' Festival in Lunz am See in Austria, and, in the spirit of the afternoon, Christa mentioned that festival-goers can be collected from the local airport!

(*) Copyright Geoffrey Winston 2011. All rights reserved.

Review: Norma Winstone at the Oxford Jazz Festival

Norma Winstone, Klaus Gesing, Glauco Venier
(Randolph Hotel, April 24th 2011,part of Oxford Jazz Festival, review by Paul Guest, photo credit: Barker Evans)
  
My first encounter with Norma Winstone in concert was at the London Jazz Festival in November last year. I remember that I had been apprehensive beforehand, but that her trio's performance had dramatically changed my perspective: music which I hadn't known at all had brought me the same feelings of contentment as the renewal of an old friendship.

Now I find myself in Oxford to hear their beautiful music once more, as part of the Oxford Jazz Festival. You couldn’t have had a more perfect day, with Oxford basking in the sunshine. I decided to arrive at the Randolph Hotel early to get the feel of the venue, to take stock of the audience before the concert began.

In London I had been greeted by a wealth of young people. I wanted to know whether this transcended to the Oxford Jazz scene: Not really. I sat in the bar waiting and all I saw was grey hair after white hair, but then, late - as ever - a flock of young professionals came through the doors, thank god!

On first impressions, the venue was dire; it was the room where I would have had my sixth birthday party with a cheap DJ, party balloons and probably a twister mat: Yes, my parents were that cruel to me. Not that I’m a usual jazz goer but the seating seemed much too formal, I really wanted to be in a dark room with the spotlight on Norma; you know, something much more intimate, because that is how I feel when I listen, like Norma’s best friend, it can be very personable.

“I wear flats for the sound check and heels for the gig” Norma said while adjusting her mic. The music began, instantly I had disappeared into a world of just the music; the venue that I hated didn’t matter; the damn photographer snapping photographs in front of me didn’t matter.

Norma Winstone, Klaus Gesing and Glauco Venier are a trio matched in heaven; they can read each other like books and they also create beautiful music but not only do they create music but they give you story, a journey. That journey begins from the very first note and only ends at complete silence. Gesing’s well-placed harmonic lines slyly become the second voice with his beautiful velvety notes from either the bass clarinet or soprano sax that acted so versatile throughout the performance. Venier on the piano becomes a master of his craft visibly using both eyes and ear to deliver a compilation of chord, melody and décor; he gives the piano some touch love. When Norma Winstone starts to sing the flower blossoms, the Barbra Streisand of Jazz; her beautiful lyrics combined with her sublime vocal colour of a deep red transport you from reality to another world; far away, somewhere unknown; you feel the floor disappear beneath you.
The programme was a mixture of work from the trio’s most recent album “Stories Yet To Tell” and the previous “Distances”.

During a chat with Norma she told me “I never remember the order… I didn’t even realise we were going to perform ‘Mermaid’… it just felt right, right key, right time” – It shows just how lost Norma is in the music too. Renditions of ‘Just Sometimes’, ‘Among the Clouds” and a personal favourite “Goddess” all portrayed immense beauty. Norma sings into the microphone as it if were a delicate rose. ‘Rush’ is most haunting, beautiful too.

Even the incredibly technical improvisations and the mass of talented, articulate scat singing that split up the trio’s softer songs came together to create something so perfectly infectious, in fact I found it really overwhelming. During the improvisation you had to search through a jungle of notes to find the melody- appropriately like a musical egg hunt.




I’ve read things about Norma that suggest she has found success late in the game; I disagree, her voice has matured into something of great beauty and almost like finding your soul mates, she has found two perfect musical partners in Venier and Gesing.

The magic of their music is that the Piano, Voice and Saxophone coalesce into one, one self, one existence.

CD Review: Carol Kidd & Nigel Clark - Tell Me Once Again

Carol Kidd & Nigel Clark - Tell Me Once Again
(Linn AKD 377, CD review by Chris Parker)

Scottish singer Carol Kidd and guitarist Nigel Clark have been including a duo feature in her live act for many years now, but this is the first time they have devoted an entire recording to it.


Setting out their stall with the ultimate exposition of the pathetic fallacy, the
Arlen/Koehler classic 'Stormy Weather', and judiciously interspersing standards and show/film tunes with more modern songs and the odd original thereafter, Kidd and Clark explore the world of problematic and lost love with a rare delicacy throughout this twelve-song set, reproducing the hushed intimacy they achieve in their live performances with touching visits to the familiar ('The Shadow of Your Smile', 'Moon River', 'Alfie') and the more contemporary (Stevie Wonder's 'Moon Blue', their own 'Tell Me Once Again').

A sure indication of Kidd's subtlety and sheer class as an interpreter of the confidential ballad is her ability to inject new life into perhaps over-familiar material; here, she somehow manages to perform 'Alfie' as if thinking aloud, brings out all the slave-era tragedy of 'I Loves You Porgy', and infuses 'Moon River' with a degree of touching wonder that has enabled her to make it a new signature song.

Less overtly dramatic material, too (most notably Jerry Herman's 'He Won't Send Roses'), is tenderly delivered, Kidd's characterful voice perfectly complemented by Clark's spare, sympathetic guitar, and overall, this is both a valuable record of a long-lasting musical partnership and an affecting programme of intelligently selected songs, flawlessly presented.

linnrecords.com

Review: Han Bennink

Han Bennink Trio and Steve Noble
(Vortex, Friday 22nd April 2011, review and drawings by Geoff Winston*)


Han Bennink (above left) and Steve Noble (right) are both drummers who can play it absolutely straight or wheel off at a tangent.

Their sprightly snare drum duet saw Bennink set a hard, metallic tone, using his sticks on the chair and drum body, then his booted foot on his drum. He whistled nonchalantly, brushes in action, while Noble tapped a massive tuning fork resting on his snare. Noble added a small hand held cymbal and a maraca to vary the range, with a short, hard-headed mallet scraped slowly across the drum skin to produce an eerie, wailing sound. Never to be outdone, Bennink put one stick in his mouth, hitting it with the other, and in their short, final piece ended by hitting the piano strings.

For the Trio's single 40 minute set, Bennink sat behind his full kit, brushes setting a good, driving pace, and then fell back to let his his young cohorts map out the ground. There was a feel of the wartime night club as they manipulated and extended the centrepiece of the set, Charles Trenet's 'La Mer' (apparently written on toilet paper on a train by Trenet!).

Pianist Simon Toldam was deliberate and lightly restrained on the Vortex's Steinway which, earlier in the day, had been appreciated for its rich sonority by Roedelius. Joachim Badenhorst was similarly withdrawn on B flat and bass clarinet - which he often played in its higher register - and tenor sax which he pushed into trills and gargles as Toldam brushed light chains on and off the piano strings. Bennink, ever the showman, threw his sticks out of their plastic bag which he promptly absorbed into his repertoire, clattered a structural steel column, sat on the floor to play one of the venue's marble-topped tables and returned to his snare front of stage onto which he hoisted a bentwood chair before the trio ended on a subdued note with clarinet in Giuffre mode and Bennink raising his sticks to his head in antler style!

New arrivals were, not unreasonably, nonplussed when turned away at ten o'clock, on being told it was all over for the evening.

*Drawings copyright Geoffrey Winston 2011. All Rights Reserved

www.vortexjazz.co.uk

Athletes are more skilled at crossing the road than non-athletes

They impress on the sports field with their rapid reactions and fancy footwork, but do athletes' abilities translate to the real world? Past research on this topic, nearly all of it lab-based, has demonstrated superior performance by athletes on sport-specific and basic psychological tests, such as of attention and processing speed. Now Laura Chaddock and her colleagues have shown that the athletic advantage translates to an everyday task - crossing a busy road, albeit that this was tested using an immersive virtual reality treadmill.

Eighteen male and female athletes (including football players, swimmers and tennis players; all Division 1 performers at university) and 18 non-athletic, healthy controls, all donned virtual reality goggles and walked on a treadmill to cross a simulated eight-metre wide, two-lane road - a multi-faceted task requiring skilled attentional processing and coordination. The two participant groups were matched for academic ability, age, height, weight and video-game experience.

The cars on the road travelled with a simulated speed of 40 to 55 miles an hour. There was no safe zone to stop in the middle and no opportunity to walk backwards or sideways, so once participants had made a decision to cross, they had to go through with it. Their challenge was to get to the other side within thirty seconds, without being hit. To spice things up, two distraction conditions required the participants to conduct a conversation on a hands-free kit or listen to their favoured music on an ipod as they crossed the road. The participants also had their reaction times tested in a basic computer task.

The take-home finding is that overall the athletes out-performed the non-athletes: they crossed successfully on 72 per cent of trials compared with the non-athletes' success rate of 55 per cent. However, this superiority didn't apply when only the distraction conditions were considered - the researchers think this is because the distraction of a complex conversation isn't a part of most sports. The athletes were also faster at the simple reaction time task and statistical analysis suggested this factor accounted for their superiority at road crossing.

'Our results suggest that cognitive skills trained in sport may engender transfer to performance on everyday challenges,' the researchers said. 'To provide a sport-specific example, it is plausible that an elite soccer player not only shows an ability to multitask and process incoming information quickly on a fast-paced soccer field ... he or she also shows these skills in the context of real world tasks.' However, Chaddock's team conceded that their cross-sectional design means they have yet to demonstrate that playing a sport causes these advantages - it could plausibly be that people with these skills are more likely to take up a sport.
_________________________________

Chaddock, L., Neider, M., Voss, M., Gaspar, J., and Kramer, A. (2011). Do Athletes Excel At Everyday Tasks? Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318218ca74

My AAX to Christchurch

Last year I travelled to New Zealand and had the grandest time of my life.




I met so many friendly people, with whom I managed to hitch quite a few rides around the country and one whom I stayed with in Christchurch (Danny! Are you still in Christchurch?!)

A post here about my hitch hike experience down the Southern Island.




I travelled from Auckland in the North Island, then went down to Wellington, passed the ocean and Marlborough, few stops in between and ended up in Christchurch eventually. I wrote a post on my journey and stops here.


Among all, my stay in Marlborough Wine Country was the most unforgettable. I’ve been to several wine valleys before, but that was my first experience cycling in one, the weather was perfect (cooling but not too cold) and it was silly not to cycle from winery to winery.







Tried my first cheese soufflé there.




Good wine, good food, good people.


Then by the time I hit Christchurch, it just was endless and endless of scenery and culture and architecture.

Cable ride up to see Akaroa was really pleasant.


Albeit very windy.


The Art Gallery, which we went silly taking photos at the colourful steps.




And then I ran out of time when I hit Christchurch. I didn’t go further South and regretted for never having the chance to venture into Milford Sound, or even Mt Cook, which I heard is BEAUTIFUL.

That also meant I never visited Queenstown either.

:(

It wasn’t easy for me to fly there in the first place.

To save a couple bucks (well, more like a thousand ringgit), I flew down to Australia, did some legs there in Tassie before heading up to Sydney and flew off to Auckland.

Believe it or not, it was really much cheaper to fly into Australia and then to New Zealand back then. And I was a poor freshly graduated master student then.

If you were to fly straight, the flight ticket could cost up to RM4000.

Now, the good news is… Airasia X flies to New Zealand!!!




When I first heard the news, I was like... “FINALLY?!”

Then I went online to check out the new flights promo to Christchurch, which I also heard was only RM499 one way.

You can win a 7D/6N trip to NZ by playing the Faces go Places contest on the Airasia FB page. Three simple steps of choosing an activity, upload your face, and submit with a caption on the new photo while posting it on your FB wall.

Like this:

I know, disturbing image.

Then we want you to share it with your friends and get loads of votes. Easy.


I can’t wait for New Zealand, and I can’t wait to rent a car to go back to Marlborough (car rentals are so cheap in NZ!).

Oh… and…




Wait for me Mt Cook!!!

Third Anniversary

Hard to believe that three years have gone by so quickly. Seems like only yesterday that we were brewing our first batch of beer or even sitting in an empty warehouse, imagining where the mash tun would be placed. We've had so much love and support from the craft beer community this past year and we're really excited for all the things yet to come.

For our party this year, we're stepping things up a notch and rather than the typical day where people come down to our facility and try a few of our beers, we'll be renting out a beer garden space at the nearby Phoenix Club and throwing our very own beer festival! We've invited a whole bunch of local breweries plus a few of those that we have collaborated with recently and we'll of course be pouring a ton of our own beers. We've also divided the party up into two sessions and each session has a special VIP area where some of our more rare beers will be poured. Music is going to be provided by Jack FM, food will be sold through The Phoenix Club and we'll also be serving complimentary cheeses and snacks from The Bruery Provisions.

Most importantly, all of the proceeds from the event will be benefitting a local medical clinic that helps the poorest of the poor in Orange County obtain all sorts of medical care. The clinic is called Lestonnac and we highly suggest you check them out.

Visit our website for some more info and to buy your tickets!

Review: Alex Garnett Quartet

“It’s taken a long time to get this together.” Having recently turned 40, Alex Garnett has just recorded his debut album “Serpent” (Whirlwind Recordings) He played the tunes from the album to a small but very appreciative audience at the 606 last Thursday, the night before the Easter holidays.

Garnett seemed to want to apologise for his hesitancy. Why? He has had a career as a trusted and in-demand sideman for most of the past two decades. He has that rare ability to be completely at home on alto and tenor. He always has a story to tell when he plays. If he has not rushed into the role of leader, not been in a hurry to get a CD with his name on it into a marketplace which is small and hesitant, even at the best of times, it is something understandable, maybe evan to be praised.

The story of the production of the album is that Garnett went to New York with Michael Janisch, and that they recorded the new album in Brooklyn at Systems Two Studios. Appearing with Garnett and Janisch on the album are pianist Anthony Wonsey and drummer Willie Jones III.

Garnett talked about the mad energy of New York, and one larger than life character -a Latino Brooklyn carwash proprietor - who had unwittingly given his inspiration to a title for a tune: The Pimp.

The equivalents of Wonsey and Jones on the UK tour (*) have been Ross Stanley on piano and Enzo Zirilli on drums. The tightness, balance and expressiveness which this band could achieve at the unforgiving tempi of the faster numbers stays in the mind. While Zirilli resorted to using sheet music for a few of the numbers, Garnett, Janisch and Stanley played the whole gig from memory, and the interaction was constant, energetic and inspiring.

The tunes on the album are all originals but draw on a wide range of inspiration - and he leavened the mix with a couple of standards. Garnett mentioned the influence of a particular line of tenor players – Hank Mobley and Dexter Gordon – as well as Joe Henderson, for whom "the serpent" was a nickname. (The title also refers to the ophecleide or serpent, which Adolphe Sax was experimenting with when the saxophone emerged as one of the by-products.)

The interplay of Garnett and Janisch, particularly on the tune "Three or a Moor" which Garnett dedicated : " to my father's record collection," caught the ear. Garnett's style carries more than just a memory of that unique tenor player Hank Mobley, whose career was cut lamentably short by lung problems. One of his traits as a player - and Garnett is in the same mould - is often to use the first beat as a springboard, to hang behind it, to respond to it. Janish was laying down a strong first beat to the three-four bar, and just leaving the space, staying completely clear of the second beat so that Garnett could weave beautifully turned and infinitely varied responses to it. A further reminder of Mobleyishness came on a standard which Mobley himself recorded: "I Should Care."

This music is a personal statement which comes from very deep inside a fine musician. What you see is what you get, rather than concessions to fashion or edginesss. I thought of Paul Desmond's quip: "I was unfashionable before anyone knew who I was." These musicians don't chase fashion. They are what they are, and do what they do as well as anyone.

It has been worth the wait.

The new CD won’t be officially released until September. For the moment it is available from Michael Janisch’ Whirlwind Recordings website

(*)The Alex Garnett Quartet's eleven-date UK tour was made possible by the Jazz Services touring scheme.

More details of the album are on Ian Mann's Jazzmann site

Oh Barcelona: the Secret Ravioli Place

The Spanish are passionate about a lot of things.

They're passionate about love, about their food (tapas is *heart*), their architecture (Anthoni Gaudi, nuff said), their religion (a Cathedral every 5 blocks away), their culture (the red crazy flamingo dance), and their Zara (no joke); it's insane not to think that they're today's France.

Monument of Columbus pointing to the New World (though the statue is actually pointing east to Genoa - his home city)

My usual ritual in a new and strange city was to take a walk around the historical area that made that city famous in the first place. It was Khao San in Bangkok, Tian An Men in Beijing, The Bund in Shanghai, London tower in London, etc.

In Barcelona, it's the old city.

Having taken a hand-drawn walking guide from my host, I took it to the oldest part of town to have my first glance of Espanol.

Here are some of the scenes I've seen on my walk that day.

Went through a Plaza, or an old city square.

Walked down the cobbled streets and watched a man pushed with difficulty two gas tanks up.

Yea it might not look like much but that street was pretty uneven when you try to roll mini wheels on it.

The old city consisted of lots of narrow and misleading lanes with buildings very close to each other from across the street, it sort of reminded me of the old Edinburgh in Scotland, only richer;

and once in a while you would find yourself in an opening space, either in front of a formal and majestic building or going through another plaza.

I spotted a filming in production that day, quite a big project and they sealed up quite a part of the old city to shoot the film, I saw a lot of sports cars and was peaking through the crowds and barricades to see if I could spot anyone famous, like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, before being shooed away by the officers.

Some of them even tried to flirt with me. -.-

Walked passed this bakery that reminded me of the patisserie in France.

It tempted me enough to want to walk inside and buy myself a piece of gorgeous loaf of something to chew on; but I was on a mission that afternoon, so I walked on.

You see, the night before while my host sat me down and drew my walking tour on a piece of paper; he also circled out some of his favourite food joints around town, and one, which he particularly loved, was situated in the old city.

And he did mention it was a little difficult to find. As I still found it difficult to read street names when there were so many lanes clashed up together, sometimes at a single junction, and they're all equally small, narrow and short. You could walk through a street and not realised you just finished an entire street on its own.

Tucco he said.

A quaint cafe that served delicious and cheap ravioli.

So the mission to find this cheap and scrumptious ravioli dish in Barcelona began.

After many turnings and walking back and forth, and pretty sure I quite literally walked passed the street where the cafe was at least twice, before finally finding a colorful sign on top of this tiny take-away look-a-like cafe.

You could see why it was a bit difficult to read the word "Tucco".

But anyway, I was famished by now and walked in to look at my options for lunch.

There were a few selection of pastries and a simple menu list of home-made ravioli dish: from salmon and spinach to bolognese.

I placed my order, tomato-based salmon ravioli, and went to sit at the tiny bar held up against the window.

I think Diet Coke slow become a staple to my diet at this point of my life.

It was a little soggy, well, it's home-made I supposed, and bigger than I normally had; but then again I never had home-made ravioli. But it was pleasant. Tucked away in a quaint joint in the old city of Barcelona, I already like the sound of it.

Vamos a comer! (it means let's eat)