Postcards from Cologne (2). The WDR Jazz Prizewinners Concert

Pablo Held receiving the Improvisation Award at the WDR
Prizes concert from Dr. Bernd Hoffmann, Head of Jazz=Redaktion, WDR.
Photo Credit: Lutz Voigtlaender/ WDR

The big night of WDR's four day autumn festival WDRjazz.cologne2011 is the Friday. The showpiece event is the WDR Jazzpreis concert. Three prizes - each of 10,000 Euros - are handed out, one for improvisation, one for composition, and one for the "Nachwuchs," which means the up-and-coming, the next generation. The concert was relayed as part of an ELEVEN-HOUR (!) marathon jazz broadcast at the weekend. WDR3 does one of these "long nights" each month....

A highly impressive contribution to this special evening - at one of the organizations most committed to jazz broadcasting anywhere in the world - was made by host Götz Bühler. Bühler is not just a talking head. He is completely passionate and knowledgeable about the music, and is also one of the programmers of the Elbjazz Festival in Hamburg.

He declares in an interesting video, in German about Elbjazz an ambition "to show what a lot of jazz there is out there, to show how different jazz can be - so there can't be ANYBODY out there who can ever say 'I don't like any jazz' ".

Amen to that, I say.

Pablo Held
Photo Credit: Lutz Voigtlaender/ WDR

The winner of the Improvisation Prize was pianist Pablo Held. I had chatted to him earlier in the day. The softly spoken 24-year old is originally from the small town of Hagen. The buzz about him in Germany has already been around for quite a while. Held has been awarded several prizes, although, as he told me, competitions don't really feel like they have much to do with music. Held is less ambiguous about the benefits which his association with WDR has brought him. To be able to hear his trio professionally recorded, already at the age of 18, to be paid well, treated well, was of fantastic benefit. After an experience like that, he said, "I could improve".

Held is due to make a London appearance next spring in the Pizza Express Dean Street Two Steinway Festival with Kit Downes. Held and Downes are musicians with a similar sensibility and sound, and the inner confidence to follow their own musical instincts, and not much more than a year apart in age. Held explained to me that his trio with bassist Robert Landfermann and drummer Jonas Burgwinkel is the unit into which his energies, particularly for composition, are devoted- another similar charateristic with Kit Downes. Held had among his teachers the mercurial John Taylor, and spoke with deep gratitude of Taylor's influence.

All three of the musicians in Held's trio are bringing out the superlatives from German critics. A profile of Burgwinkel in Die Zeit entitled "Swingt wie die Hoelle" (swings like hell") and "the German jazz musician of the hour." I found the degree of rhythmic independence between hands was mesmerizing.Landfermann is a positive bassist with strong presence and a great ear, who also makes extensive use of flautando harmonics.

Held appeared before the Prizewinners Concert in a septet which consisted of his trio plus trumpet, saxophone, harmonium/celesta and guitar. The compositions were a festival commission. One of the highlights of the whole day was a spellbinding piano introduction to one of his septet pieces, but his comment afterwards was self-effacing. He said that the most pleasure had come to him from sitting back from the keyboard, and listening to and enjoying what the other players were doing.

His trio had a twenty-minute set in the main concert. The final piece, Klartraum, featured on Held's most recent album Music (Pirouet Records, 2010) stays in the mind for its clever, repeated use of caesuras ( // ) within the same phrase.

Nils Klein, winner of the WDR Jazz Composer Award,
playing as part of the Pablo Held Septet
Photo Credit: Lutz Voigtlaender/ WDR

Winner of the composition prize, and also recipient of a festival commission was 30-something saxophonist Niels Klein. He had a series of new compositions played by the WDR Big Band, without doubt one of the top big bands in the world. The pieces were inspired by science fiction. Skylift, the last and most ambitous, told the story through music of a group of space travellers who leave orbit and drift into the void. The eerie sounds which characterized that moment definitely stay in the mind. I'd love to hear an edge-of-the seat British Big Band like Colin Towns' Mask Orchestra lift the roof of Ronnie Scott's with that one.

The WDR Big Band at the 2011 WDR Jazz Prizes Concert
Performing work by Niels Klein
Photo Credit: Lutz Voigtlaender/ WDR

The Big Band of the Duesseldorf Fachhochschule,
Directed by Georg Niehusmann
Photo Credit: Lutz Voigtlaender/ WDR

The "Nachwuchs" prize was neither last - it was first in the concert -nor least. It featured a big band from the Fachhochschule - technical high school, directed by Georg Niehusmann. For a band of non-specialist musicians the standard reached was exemplary. I found myself talking to the baritone player Karim Kahtan, an employee of the Ford Motor Company (far right in the photo above). Niehusmann himself had been billed as baritone player  in the programme, and Kahtan, who had only recently started playing baritone, was already giving Ronnie Cuber a run for his money in those powerful opening honks of Mingus' Moanin.

There were also prizes for educators at Folkwang University in Essen and Cologne Conservatoire.

WDR Prizewinners concert host Götz Bühler
Photo Credit: Lutz Voigtlaender/ WDR

WDR3 online

Round-up: Kenny Wheeler in New York

Four trumpets. Left to right: Kenny Wheeler, Ingrid Jensen,
Dave Douglas, Nick Smart

Nick Smart, Trumpeter and Head of Jazz at the Royal Academy of Music, London writes about Kenny Wheeler's triumphant visit to New York earlier this month.

Last week I returned from the four night celebration of Kenny Wheeler by Dave Douglas’ Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT). This musician-led, artistically progressive organisation had chosen Kenny as the recipient of its "Award of Recognition" at FONT 2011 – the festival’s ninth year.

FONT has an office full of Wheeler fans, who, for some years, have wanted to honour Kenny. In Nov 2010 a plan to do so finally got set in motion over lunch, following a workshop at the Royal Academy Of Music with Dave Douglas. From that moment on, Mark Wheeler (Kenny’s son) and I worked closely with Dave to make sure it all came together without a hitch. This was how I eventually found myself in such esteemed company at the Jazz Standard in New York, watching ten rapturously received gigs over four nights.

I think I am safe to assume a high level of widely felt respect and admiration for Kenny Wheeler’s music, and quite possibly, a sense of pride in the UK that he has chosen to spend his musical life as a Londoner. And an East Londoner at that! But sometimes, when someone great is around and available with reasonable readiness, it can require a little more effort to remember just how great they are. It's not that Kenny has been taken for granted over here - he is hugely championed throughout the jazz scene - but nevertheless, to be in New York and witness the emotional warmth and sheer joy that was expressed by audience upon audience at his presence in the city…. was breathtaking.

People had literally flown in from all over America and Canada to witness this rare appearance, all ten shows were completely packed out with minutes of applause at his first appearance on the stage, and often standing ovations to end.

For the famously self-deprecating Kenny, this was an awful lot of attention to soak up! Not to mention, with the great and the good of the New York trumpet community either on the stage or in the audience, a lot of pressure to live up to for a man approaching 82. So if ever there was an occasion for him to pull out some of the most assured performances of the last 10 years, musically and technically, this was it. And that is exactly what he did. Night after night and in every single show, he demonstrated exactly why this enormous honour was being bestowed upon him. He played the most captivating ‘free’ introductions to tunes, showed some beautifully inventive changesplaying and his idiosyncratic soaring intervals were more fluent and secure than ever. It was truly enough to make a UK jazz musician very proud of the fact he is "ours"; something the jazz community over in NY were openly envious of.

Thursday. Dave Douglas had conceived a beautiful mix of ensembles and tributes for the festival. The phenomenal trumpeter and long-time Wheeler fan, Ingrid Jensen, had put together a brass quintet with rhythm-section for the first night. She was joined by trumpeters Tony Kadleck and Jonathan Finlayson as well as Norwich lad turned Lincoln Center superstar, trombonist Elliot Mason. Ingrid had both arranged Kenny’s music and composed music in tribute to him, and there was also a special guest appearance from her sister, saxophonist Christine Jensen who had written a fantastic piece for the occasion. The personal highlight for me was sitting in with Ingrid and Kenny, along with Dave Douglas, to play Kenny’s arrangement for four trumpets of "How Deep is the Ocean".

Friday/Saturday. John Hollenbeck ’s Large Ensemble featured some incredible guest soloists, from the FONT side were the trumpeters Shane Endsley and Nate Wooley, but also saxophonist Chris Cheek and guitarist Brad Shepik, in fact the whole group was full of wonderful musicians. The band played some of Kenny’s big band pieces before he joined them on stage; "Sea Lady", "Foxy Trot", "Kayak" and "Gentle Piece", plus a characteristically brilliant composition/arrangement John Hollenbeck had done which incorporated the different elements of "Heyoke" before segueing into Kenny’s own arrangement of the piece. I also played in the band on the KW charts as they are for five trumpets. When Kenny himself took to the stage they played a highlight from "Sweet Time Suite" and some of the new 80th Birthday pieces from the recent tour over here in the UK (also recorded for an album due in early 2012).


Saturday. In the afternoon Dave Douglas and I led a workshop on Kenny’s music at New York University. Again there was great attendance from a whole new generation of Wheeler devotees, not only from NYU, but from all the major music schools and jazz departments in the city. It was a pleasure for me to teach with Dave of course, and we had an enlightening session playing through the charts and discussing the music. Kenny joined us half way through and played his classic "Everybody’s Song" along with Dave and me, and he was very open about his working processes to all the students who asked questions.

Kenny Wheeler, Dave Douglas and Nick Smart at the NYU workshop

Sunday evening culminated in a quintet that saw Kenny reunited with his old friend Dave Holland, along with pianist Craig Taborn, saxophonist and quite regular partner to Kenny in the last two years, Jon Irabagon, and the drummer Rudy Royston. This group was astonishing, and again, Kenny more than led from the front. Dave Holland took the announcement duties and mentioned Kenny’s own quote about himself "I don’t say much, but when I do…. I don’t say much." After the final tune Kenny uncharacteristically reached for the microphone and thanked the band, "they’re almost as good as I thought they were" he said, before adding about himself, "I recently won a poll; old players deserving less recognition!"

Left to right: Craig Taborn, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Holland

I feel privileged to have played some part in helping this festival to happen, and to have been present at it. Dave Douglas himself was incredibly impressive in his organising of the event; he personally looked after Kenny throughout the preparations, right up to meeting us at the airport! The tireless work he put in- along with the team at FONT and the wonderful Ingrid Jensen and John Hollenbeck – to make this happen for Kenny Wheeler, resulted in an occasion that those present will always remember.

Which reminds me of another very un-Kenny like grabbing of the microphone after the last Hollenbeck set: "I’d like to thank the band for playing my music so well, I’ll never forget it…. not for a few days anyway!"


Reports of FONT 2011  from the press and internet:

- A New York Times review

- From Dave Douglas’ website – some nice pictures and an interview with Dave

- From the FONT website – the full line-up and an interview with Nick Smart

- A post on Peter Hum's Ottawa Citizen blog

- Helen Mayhew’s report on our own Jazz FM

Dave Douglas will be at the Royal Academy of Music as "International Artist in Residence" for one week in January 2012.

There is a public masterclass on Wednesday 25th Jan at 6.00pm and a Gala concert on Thursday 26th Jan at 7.30 – both in the Dukes Hall.

Review: Aurora Orchestra Thriller

Principal players of the Aurora Orchestra with
conductor Nicholas Collon (seated)

Thriller: Automatic Writing
(Aurora Orchestra, St George's, Bristol. Review by Eleanor Turney)

As a concert, Thriller was superb. As a concept, I found it less successful. The fabulously talented musicians of the Aurora Orchestra have collaborated with American horror writer Peter Straub and theatre-maker Tim Hopkins to produce more-than-a-concert, where the music is layered with projections, mime and speech. Given that the performance is primarily a concert, let's concentrate on the music first.

An eclectic – and sometimes fragmentary – programme of music showcased this talented orchestra to the full. From the ethereal Adeste Fideles by Ives, through the atmospheric and plaintive Berio Duet for Two Violins and ridiculously intricate pianola piece (Nancarrow played by Rex Lawson and his impressive beard), to the languid beauty of Mozart's Larghetto from Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, this was an evening of gorgeous playing.

The highlight for me was Kets-Chernin's Cadences, Deviations and Scarlatti, a piece where percussionist Henry Baldwin really shone. The big, bold opening died away to an almost minimalist section with a few notes being passed around the orchestra, a captivating drip-feed of sound. The gradual build-up was magical, with swooping strings and punchy brass giving the impression that Kets-Chernin was having immense fun playing with texture and sound. It was totally fascinating to watch and hear, but the music was enough. All the other things – musicians wandering around the stage waving mysterious numbers and enigmatic props – were extraneous.

In an intriguing piece of programming, the second half began with Nancarrow's Study for Player Piano No. 7, performed with startling dexterity on the pianola. The Study was then repeated as the penultimate piece in an arrangement for orchestra by Mikhashoff. The contrast was so great that it felt like being offered two disparate pieces of music. A treat for Nancarrow fans.

Unfortunately, despite the hype and the clever marketing (which promised to unsettle the audience provided you “leave your your rational mind at the door”), the music occasionally became overshadowed by the staging. The theatrical add-ons felt, well, tacked on, and had me bemused rather than disturbed. Props were handed out on the way in and then not really used; sealed envelopes were symbolically opened at the end – but to what point and purpose I could not say. All the theatrics felt gimmicky, and were a distraction from the superb music. Perhaps as the piece continues its tour the dramatic gestures and mime will become more significant, but, to my mind, their failure was not through lack of commitment but through a confused overall vision.

Straub's recorded voice was transmitted in between the pieces, but it was unfortunately rather muffled in St George's, making it impossible to glean any narrative or information. Hopefully, if the recordings are clearer in other spaces then the thrust of the narrative will become clearer.

Having marketed Thriller heavily as an unsettling and creepy experience, the evening does not really come off as a performance. As an avowed wimp, I was never even mildly apprehensive, and there were points where it felt as though some of the players were struggling to keep a straight face. Straub taking the stage with a box on his head, a woman holding a knife. These things are not significant (or even interesting) in and of themselves, and there was not enough narrative to imbue them with the significance they were clearly supposed to have.

However, when the music was left unadulterated, the concert was stunning. The Aurora Orchestra are to be applauded for their superlative playing and for trying something new, but they should probably have let the music do the talking.

Thriller is on tour until November 4th, including two London dates . Tour dates

"Most people with a mental disorder are happy"

It's easy for us to slip into all-or-nothing mindsets. An example would be: a person has some psychological problems so their life must be miserable. But that's a mistaken assumption. So argue a team of Dutch positive psychologists, who've studied over seven thousand people over a three year period. Yes, those participants with a psychological disorder were less happy than those without, but the majority (68.4 per cent) of the mentally troubled said they "often felt happy" during the preceding four weeks (this compares with 89.1 per cent of those without a psychological problem). "The possibility of coexisting happiness and mental disorders is of clinical relevance," write Ad Bergsma and his team. "A narrow focus on what goes wrong in the lives of the client and forgetting what goes well, may limit therapeutic results."

The researchers recruited their sample, representative of the general population, from across the country. Trained interviewers questioned volunteers in person or over the telephone to establish signs of psychological disorder in the past month, with 16.5 per cent of the sample being judged to have a disorder based on psychiatric diagnostic criteria. Happiness was measured with a single question about frequency of happy moods over the preceding four weeks, on a scale from "never" to "always". Relying on people's reports of their own happiness, using this one question, is an obvious weakness of the study.

Not surprisingly, among those with a psychological problem, happiness was lowest in those with anxiety and depression (although still a significant minority of these people reported frequent happy moods). By contrast, happiness was highest in those with an alcohol abuse disorder, being nearly as frequent as in the healthy participants. There weren't enough cases of eating disorders and psychosis to examine these conditions separately.

By following their sample up over time, the researchers established that more happiness at the study start was associated with better outcomes later on, in terms of recovery from mental disorder. Further analysis suggested this was because higher happiness was a proxy for having fewer mental disorders, being younger, and having better "emotional role functioning" (as indicated by managing to spend time on work and other activities). The fact that happiness was associated with later outcomes provides some support for the validity of the way that happiness was measured.

"Our knowledge of mental disorders is incomplete if we only look at the negative side of the spectrum," the researchers said. "This study aims to broaden the view on positive functioning and human strengths in the context of mental disorders."
_________________________________

Bergsma, A., Have, M., Veenhoven, R., and Graaf, R. (2011). Most people with mental disorders are happy: A 3-year follow-up in the Dutch general population. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6 (4), 253-259 DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2011.577086

Post written by Christian Jarrett for the BPS Research Digest.

Jazz, gimmicks and hairstyles

Zoe Rahman

Josh Jennings from Leeds, who writes the British Jazz blog has been musing -in hospital, poor man - about the gimmicks and hairstyles in British jazz...

Who needs insightful jazz articles, writes Josh, when you can have a homemade gimmick fresh from my mental oven!

Add your comments to Josh's piece HERE

Halloween links round-up

Happy Halloween! Here are a few psychology-related Halloween articles we've found on the web. Please use comments to alert us to any others and we'll add them in to the post.

The Lure of Horror, the Digest editor explores horror's appeal and why it takes the form it does.

Vampire Apocalypse: A Biocultural Critique of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. Essay by Mathias Clasen - the literary scholar interviewed at length in the previous Lure of Horror article (check out his website for further excellent articles on horror).

Why fear is fun: Halloween special from Psychology Today.

Some people urinate when they're frightened. Other people can't urinate when they're nervous. What's going on?

How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse Using Science (Wired)

Why things go bump in the night: a blog post on sleep paralysis.

Horror Director Eli Roth Explores What Makes Good People Do Evil Things in TV Special

Six reasons we're so fascinated by zombies (Psych files podcast).

The Neurocritic discusses the pathological fear of being buried alive.

True Blood: The real vampire slayers (requires free registration)

Pregnant women control birth to avoid Halloween

What spooks the masters of horror? Top horror movie makers say which films scared them the most.

-Compiled by Christian Jarrett, with help from @jonmsutton

Review: Marc Ribot Trio

Henry Grimes.
Drawing by Geoff Winston. All Rights Reserved

Marc Ribot Trio
(Bishopsgate Institute, 28th October 2011, Review and drawings by Geoff Winston)

Marc Ribot was at his most intense and uncompromising for his trio's sell-out concert in the pristine Great Hall at Bishopsgate Institute. His introductory remarks put down a marker for a set over which he presided seated, head down, scrunched over his Gibson, giving no quarter. "We play pieces by Albert Ayler, John Coltrane and Mingus and probably won't announce them ... sorry, but that's the way it is."

Marc Ribot
Drawing by Geoffrey Winston. All Rights Reserved

Ribot forced through a raw, concentrated delivery of searing, metallic tones with more than a nod to Hendrix - even briefly quoting his Star Spangled Banner. His counterbalances were the quiet grace and dignity of the statuesque Henry Grimes, with an unending well of invention in supply, and Chad Taylor's combination of elegant restraint and effervescence. Grimes with trademark headband and Taylor, shaven headed, in a cool, white collarless shirt, would build up to a thunderous flux and flip over, in a coup d'oeil, to a low rumbling bass and the light tinkling of bells.

Grimes was the fulcrum, providing the antidote to Ribot's scorched earth tactic. His playing gently radiated inner confidence, with bowing deep into the strings, and delicately patterned fingerwork. Grimes was one of Albert Ayler's favourite bass players and has commented that between them they had "that kind of feeling of extrasensory perception" *. Taylor responded with the brightest of brushwork and taps to the snares and the drumkit's metalwork, turning to a swampy gumbo backbeat to pick up on Ribot's brief excursion to the fringes of country blues.

They modulated the sound by stealth, exemplified when Ribot turned the volume right down to an acoustic level, letting it back in for the trio to pile up the pressure, flooding the hall with a darkly defined whirlpool of cross-rhythms.

Ribot's approach was deconstructive - he'd pull up short at any hint of playing it straight. On the heavy blues which grew out of Coltrane's Alabama he'd play the in-between notes - he didn't lose the blues, he just left it behind, while Grimes and Taylor put down a rock solid rhythm which gradually gave way to a dynamic, accelerating momentum. They delighted in spikey contrasts and an aggressive playfulness. There were no real borders; Grimes gently put his bass to rest and attacked his violin with frenetic resolve; the nearest Taylor got to a rolling drum solo - solos are not strictly in the trio's vocabulary - followed a single dab of feedback and a defined silence from Ribot.

They encored first with a lightly swinging rag which gave Grimes his second skittering burst on violin, and then revisited the densely coloured powerhouse, with booming echoes of Ornette's Prime Time and the electric James Blood Ulmer, leaving no doubts that Ribot's early intent had come to fruition.

Marc Ribot Trio at Bishopsgate Institute
Drawing by Geoff Winston. All Rights reserved

Margaret Davis Grimes thought that this was one of their best Trio gigs ever - and she's seen over 80 of them, commending also the quietly attentive listening audience.

Solo pianist Matthew Bourne opened proceedings with a virtuosic solo performance. His second piece was played entirely within the piano's body, tapping, plucking and strumming the piano wires, ending a short set by shifting from wide open spaces to rapid, cyclical cascades in the spirit of Ligeti.

Cello and vocal/laptop duo Mayming offered a range of ideas combining composition and improvisation, which in some areas seemed to be a touch naïve and lacking in resolution.

The new Bishopsgate venue is a beautiful, if formal, space and the hall's superb acoustics, thanks to an array of white, suspended baffles, optimised every nuance from the stage. It is an exciting alternative for the Vortex's programming team, giving them the option to occasionally attract a larger audience than the club allows.

* Quoted from an interview with Grimes in 2003, in the book 'Albert Ayler: Holy Ghost' (Revenant Records, 2008)

The Marc Ribot Trio was presented by Vortex City Sessions.

Why So Serious?

Infamous Joker make-up


Hope your Halloween was a great one.

Mine was "meh~".


But had fun doing up this look.

Surprisingly it's pretty easy to do, and surprisingly there aren't a lot of spooks out there celebrating in KL this year. I see more nurses than I see ghosts and zombies.

Will definitely bring my Halloween spirit to Singapore next year, far away from Bangsar, the further the better (don't ask).


ps// Have you seen Heidi Klum's Halloween make-up this year? it's crazeeeee~

CD Review: The Kate Peters Septet

Kate Peters Septet - The Kate Peters Septet
(CD Review by Chris Parker)

Another graduate from that jazz hothouse, Leeds College of Music, singer Kate Peters leads a septet versatile enough to address an impressive variety of musical genres, ranging from hi-life and latin to hard bop and straightahead jazz, and her own vocal prowess enables her to inject soulfulness into standards and pop tunes alike, not to mention convincing scatting on the likes of the set-opening 'Moanin'' and its follow-up track 'Minor Blues'.

Like a number of contemporary vocalists whose models seem more likely to be from the pop/soul world, such as Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin or Randy Crawford, rather than Anita O'Day, Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald, Peters is more at home with material from the likes of Björk (a powerful visit to 'Venus as a Boy') and even Paul McCartney (a considered, rather touching version of 'She's Leaving Home') than with standards, and there are moments when this handicaps her slightly, most obviously on 'Love for Sale', which, set to a light latin sway, fails to convey the pungency of Porter's subtly sardonic lyric.

This said, though, this is an enjoyable and varied set enthusiastically performed by Peters and a proficient band, made up of tenor player Matt Anderson, trumpeter Ian Chalk, guitarist Aubin Vanns, pianist Zezo Olimpio, bassist John Marley and drummer Sam Gardner.

This CD is available from http://www.kate-peters.com/

Stay Prepared

"Take not thine Holy Spirit from me." -- Psalm 51:11

A reporter once asked Kathryn Kuhlman what she did to prepare for the miraculous healing services she conducted. Her reply, "I stay prepared." She went on to say, "I fear no man. I fear not Satan. I use the same weapon on him that Jesus did: 'It Is Written'." 

Her only fear was the fear of grieving the Holy Spirit and having the anointing lift. During her time alone with God she would often pray the prayer of David, "Take not thine Holy Spirit from me."

Her ministry came at great personal cost but she willingly made the choice to stay prepared.

Today's prayer: "Teach me to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, minute by minute. Amen."

A postcard from Cologne

I'm in Cologne for the first two nights of the eighth "WDR3jazz.cologne2011" festival. It takes place partly in the Funkhaus right in the heart of the city, and part in the Stadtgarten, a 250-seater well suited to jazz. There were three bands on the first night. I interviewed Rudresh Mahanthappa who had the 10pm slot at the Stadtgarten, and will be doing  a fuller piece on him later.

In the main studio of the Funkhaus - hard to resist calling this jazz-crazy place the House of Funk - there was a double bill of the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, playing compositions by the New York-based Argentinian Pedro Giraudo, and directed by him.

Giraudo's writing for big band is propulsive, determined, dense, tense. The most successful piece was the long composition Duendo del Mate, played last, which charted the familiar progress from the peace of the countryside, into the frenetic pace of the city and back out again to simplicity and space.

Among the soloists, my ear was caught by young German/Icelandic tenor saxophonist Stefan Karl Schmid. He plays a clean line, and from the evidence of a CD I was given, he is also a characterful and interesting composer. The CD is "Olaf Lind" on the Cologne Jazzhausmusik label. Schmid's compositions use two intertwining saxophone voices well, to creating surprising calm and space in unusual meters. Other soloists who caught the ear were trumpeter Jan Schneider and pianist Juergen Friedrich, who steered the final piece carefully to a calm close.

I was only able to stay for the first few numbers of Markus Stockhausen 's new "About In a Silent Way" project. The first track was reminiscent of the Miles Jack Johnson music. A dominant figure in the mix of sound is producer/sound artist/DJ Martux_M. I found that both rhythmically and harmonically, we were being served a comfort blanket. Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset, quietly hidden behind his blond mane and his Apple iMac, could definitely have thrown rather more unpredictability into the mix, as he does in other contexts. Maybe that did happen later in the set, that's the hazard of trying to fit more than one gig and one venue into an evening. What I heard wasn't really for me.... but there are Youtube clips available

Tonight is the Jazz Preis evening, where the WDR's fine Big Band will be in evidence, plus a late show from Robert Glasper. The festival is also plugged into the UK scene, Sunday features a concert by the Sam Crockatt Quartet. More later.
WDR Jazz website

How listening to an iPod shrinks your sense of personal space

There you stand on the daily commute, so close to the man in front that you can count each strand of his chin stubble. Behind you, the breath of another traveller gently warms your neck. For a species that likes its space, it's amazing how we cope with the claustrophobia of city life.

Anecdotally, one way we manage is by plugging ourselves into an iPod, creating an invisible, audio-fuelled layer of protection. Now Ana Tajadura-Jiménez and her team have tested this idea scientifically. They asked dozens of participants to walk towards an unfamiliar experimenter (a man or woman) until they got so close it felt uncomfortable. In another condition, the experimenter walked towards the participant, and again the participant indicated when it felt too close. Crucially, this procedure was followed in silence, listening to positive music or listening to negative music. The unfamiliar musical clips, composed for an earlier experiment, were in the style of instrumental movie music. Sometimes the music was played over headphones via an iPod, other times it was played over a speaker system in the room. After the experiment, the participants listened to the music clips again and rated how much they affected them emotionally.

Positive music played over headphones (but not speakers) had the effect of shrinking the participants' sense of personal space, so that the approaching experimenter could walk closer to them before they (the participant) felt uncomfortable. On the other hand, negative music played over speakers (but not headphones) expanded the participants' personal space, so they felt uncomfortable when the approaching experimenter was further away. These effects were most pronounced in the participants who afterwards reported that they'd been affected emotionally by the music to a greater degree. Music made no difference to the participants' sense of personal space when they were the ones walking towards the experimenter.

A possible weakness of the study is that the experimenters could hear the music that the participants were listening to, which may have had a subtle influence on their behaviour. The Digest put this to Dr Tajadura-Jiménez. She told us this was unlikely, since the experimenters were careful to maintain the same neutral expression throughout, and another researcher looked on to ensure consistency across conditions.

"Our study might help to understand the benefit that people find in using personal music players in crowded situations, such as when using the public transport in urban settings," the researchers concluded. "In situations in which there are little possibilities for personal mobility and personal space is constantly compromised, a portable device allowing for a change in the perceived space around would be highly desirable."

The findings chime with an earlier qualitative study in which a homeless man described how he used a personal radio to create his own sense of personal space - an "audio cave" - when out on the streets. The idea that music influences sense of personal space via its emotional effects also tallies with a recent study involving a brain-damaged patient. The woman S.M. had suffered damage to both her amygdala - deep brain nuclei involved in emotional processing - and appeared to have lost her sense of personal space as a result.
_________________________________

Tajadura-Jiménez, A., Pantelidou, G., Rebacz, P., Västfjäll, D., and Tsakiris, M. (2011). I-Space: The Effects of Emotional Valence and Source of Music on Interpersonal Distance. PLoS ONE, 6 (10) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026083

Post written by Christian Jarrett for the BPS Research Digest.

Four chances to win a free BPS-approved psychology textbook!

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED AND THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED. Thanks for all your lovely comments!

We've got two copies of An Introduction to Developmental Psychology (edited by Alan Slater and Gavin Bremner) and two copies of Applied Psychology (edited by Graham Davey) to give away, kindly donated by Wiley-Blackwell.

How to enter
To have a chance to win, please say why you like the BPS Research Digest: either in a Tweet (mention @researchdigest) or by using the comments function beneath this post. Include the initials DP or AP in your comment, so we know which book you'd prefer, should you win. Also, if you use the comments function here, make sure you leave a way for us to contact you. Next Friday 4 Nov, we'll pick four different entries (two people from Twitter and two from here) at random as the winners. Good luck!

Have a Good Halloween Weekend

It's the weekend!

How was your Deepavali?

I spent mine with friend and home cooked bak kut teh dinner, with wine. ^^

Looking forward to partying Halloween style tomorrow night. *heart*


Enjoy your weekend!

Jack's been thinking...about the London Jazz Festival

Our regular Friday columnist Jack Davies previews the London Jazz Festival...

I'm looking forward to the London Jazz Festival . Among the higher profile gigs I have my eye on in particular are accordionist Richard Galliano's centenary tribute to film composer Nino Rota (Royal Festival Hall, Thursday 17th November) featuring American trumpeter Dave Douglas and expat British saxophonist John Surman.

Another treat in sttore is French saxophonist Michel Portal's international band (Queen Elzabeth Hall, Monday 14th November), which includes no less than Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, Bojan Z on piano and Nasheet Waits on drums.

But while big name acts such as these.... and McCoy Tyner and Bill Frisell... will carry away the headlines and 5-star reviews at this year’s festival, the backbone of the ten day programme will be the performances by homegrown bands in the capital’s smaller venues.

Saxophonist George Crowley is playing on Tuesday 15th November at The Oxford, a venue he tirelessly promotes all throughout the year. Everyone who knows George’s playing will agree that he is one of the finest saxophonists on the London scene – a real improviser, backed up with instrumental intensity and an absorbing sense of tradition. Crowley’s compositions are sometimes strikingly stark (Still Life) and sometimes full of a passionate, lyrical joy. His quartet is completed by three musicians who have made a name for themselves as the Kit Downes Trio – Downes himself on piano, and the fantastic Calum Gourlay on bass and James Maddren on drums.

The quartet recently recorded an album which will be a must-buy when it emerges, but until then do not miss the chance to see some of the lifeblood of London’s jazz scene in one of the venues that supports new bands and new music all throughout the year.

Loop Collective’s Rory Simmons presents his large ensemble Fringe Magnetic in the plush surroundings of Kings Place’s Hall One on Saturday 19th November at 3pm. Where better to see what is essentially a chamber jazz ensemble than in London’s newest chamber music hall?

Alongside the contrasting sounds of Elisabeth Nygaard’s Nordic purity and the darkly gruff tone of Andrew Plummer, Fringe Magnetic comprises an impressive lineup of Loop regulars: Robin Fincker (clarinet), Tori Freestone (flute), James Allsopp (bass clarinet), Kit Massey (violin), Natalie Rosario (cello), Jasper Hoiby (bass), Ivo Neame (piano) and Ben Reynolds (drums). This is a thoughtful ensemble, encompassing delicate and aggressive moments, but always with a sense of optimism.

Simmons mainly uses this band as a vehicle for composition, but there will also be moments where he, as one of the country’s finest trumpet players, is showcased too.

The London Jazz Festival in association with Radio 3 runs from November 11th to November 20th

CD Review: Ben Crosland Brass Group - An Open Place

Ben Crosland Brass Group - An Open Place
(Jazz Cat JCCD 114. CD Review by Chris Parker)

A glance at the titles of bassist/composer Ben Crosland's previous recordings demonstrate just how well suited he is to provide, as he has done on this sextet album, a 'soundtrack' for visitors to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park: The Northern Run (featuring Alan Skidmore), A Dales Day (for quintet), Echoes in the Valley (octet).

Thus experienced in capturing a 'spirit of place', Crosland has taken particular sculptures – by Henry Moore, Sophie Ryder, Barbara Hepworth, Elisabeth Frink, David Nash and Anthony Caro – as inspirations for an eight-piece suite for a supremely accomplished band, completed by trumpeters Martin Shaw and Steve Waterman, trombonists Mark Nightingale and Barnaby Dickinson, and pianist Steve Lodder. Lodder and Waterman, of course, form the elegant trio Threeway with Crosland, and their rapport lies at the heart of the cohesiveness and poise demonstrated throughout this satisfying set of Crosland compositions, Lodder particularly adept at ensuring the whole band sound gels in the absence of a drummer.

Solos on Crosland's richly varied but consistently approachable pieces are shared pretty democratically between the bandmembers, but if this feature of the suite showcases its roots in jazz, the softly crooned chorales and more forceful ensemble passages also nod towards a suitably northern tradition: brass band music.

Appropriately airy, spacious and bright, An Open Place is at once striking and memorable, even in the absence of the open-air sculpture park that inspired it.


Jazz Cat Records

Rich Toward God

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse ...
and I will rebuke the devourer for your sake." (Malachi 3:10-11)

Most of us have a concept of the word "whole." For example, if I owe you money, you most likely want me to pay you the entire sum. I know that when I receive a bill from the electric or phone company they certainly want the entire amount. And what if I were to offer you a piece of candy? Would you want the entire piece or is it okay if I take a bite first? Do you suppose when God said to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that He had our good in mind? I know I want Him to rebuke the devourer for my sake, the "whole" devourer, not just a partial rebuking. Just pondering "being rich toward God" this morning.

whole - comprising the full quantity, amount, extent, number, etc., without diminution or exception; entire, full, or total

Feast

Our round-up of the latest juicy tit-bits in the world of psychology:

"All through the night I'll save you from the terror on the screen
I'll make you see
That this is thriller, thriller night" Michael Jackson.

Why do we like scaring ourselves? The latest issue of The Psychologist magazine is online and has a cover feature on the lure of horror (free pdf), by Digest editor Christian Jarrett. Free digital preview of November issue. Full contents.

The Royal Society has made all journal articles in its archive over 70-years-old free-to-access.

Nobel laureate and psychologist Daniel Kahneman has a new book out "Thinking fast and slow" (excerpts). Review by Jonah Lehrer.

Video gives advice on getting published in academic journals.

Do you never forget a face? New mass-experiment at London's Science Museum on the notion of super-recognisers.

Teach yourself charisma - new post over at our off-spring title The BPS Occupational Digest.

Can I borrow Mo's keyboard? Guardian blogger and Digest contributor Mo Costandi with a lovely report on new research showing how golfers' performance improves when they think they're using an expert's equipment (their perception of the size of the hole is affected too!).

Book claims Sybil faked her multiple personalities.

Digest friend and contributor Vaughan Bell with a balanced and illuminating review of Steve Pinker's new book on the decline of violence.

There's still time to hear BBC Radio 4 get inside the mind of Steve Pinker on Life Scientific (on iPlayer). Pinker also says how he'd run the world in Prospect magazine. He was also on the Colbert Report (US viewers only).

The Sound of Fear, on BBC iPlayer, explores scary sounds.

Digest friend and contributor Wray Herbert with an intriguing report on new research showing that some decisions are made more effectively by older people relative to younger folk.

Test Your Brain - TV series - continues on National Geographic Channel UK. Check the website for clips.

Brace yourselves for a feast of Mind and Brain programming next month on BBC Radio Four.

Inaugural podcast from the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Nearly forgot to say: The Memory Network has launched. "The Memory Network brings together researchers, authors and artists, and organisations to provoke and fuel original ways of thinking about memory."

Do you ever miss your phone? Maybe you have Misophonia. Sorry, my mistake, it's a condition that has to do with being troubled by subtle sounds.

The latest episode of the ever-popular Psychfiles podcast.

Cartoon animation of fascinating lecture by psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist on our divided brain.

Last, but not least, there's hope for us all: Scott Barry Kaufman debunks overly simplistic media reports that greatness depends more on working memory skill than practice. In fact, as his analysis shows, high working memory isn't necessary for greatness. "So next time you see a study that says some ability is necessary for some form of greatness," Kaufman says, "remember that this isn’t necessarily the case. You can personally get there, regardless of the group trend. After all, working memory is common, but greatness is rare."

PS. Feast is the new name for our new regular round-up of psychology on the web (previously known as Morsels).

--Post compiled by Christian Jarrett for the BPS Research Digest.

Snapshot

"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults - unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot easier." -- Luke 6:37, The Message

The interesting thing about snapshots is that they only capture a moment in time. There is no knowledge of what led up to the photo or what happened immediately after the camera clicked. When we judge another person based on an immediate event or decision in their life we are acting just like a camera, choosing to capture and judge them based on that one snapshot in time. God sees the whole picture. He knows all the events that led up to that moment in time, that moment you chose to judge, and He knows the plans He has for their future. Think of all the snapshots you have collected over the years of yourself. Some are more flattering than others. No one has a perfect "filmstrip" of their life. Love everyone. Let God sort them.

People don't follow their own directions when walking from A to B

Walk with me while I tell you about a new study into the psychology of finding our way. The research has uncovered at least three mental strategies. When asked to plan ahead and describe the most efficient route between two locations, we apparently visualise connections between highly salient streets, which leads us to formulate a relatively longer route, with fewer turns. This is known as graph-based way-finding. But asked to actually walk between the same two points, we base our route more on direction, make more turns, take smaller streets, and navigate more efficiently, as ongoing feedback from the unfolding scene reminds us of short-cuts. This incremental approach is known as direction-based wayfinding. The third mental strategy is brought to bear when we give directions to a stranger, with reference made to the simplest possible route, with the fewest turns and passing the most salient landmarks.

Christoph Hölscher at the University of Freiburg and his colleagues said this is the first time that anyone has shown "how different planning and navigation conditions lead to different wayfinding strategies". They asked dozens of participants to plan, describe and walk routes through Freiburg. All those involved were highly familiar with the city. Asked to describe the shortest possible route between two city locations, and then asked to walk the shortest possible route between those same two points, not a single participant followed the path they'd actually described.

"It is noteworthy that none of the participants adhered to the route they had described only minutes ago," the researchers said. "They discarded their previously made plan directly after getting perceptual feedback about spatial properties, and showed little sign of trying to pursue an action sequence that they had previously identified as their own best solution."

The new results undermine earlier claims that routes are generally planned entirely in advance. "In addition," the researchers said, "the results highlight the importance of sensory (visual) feedback from the environment for route planning."
_________________________________

Hölscher, C., Tenbrink, T., and Wiener, J. (2011). Would you follow your own route description? Cognitive strategies in urban route planning. Cognition, 121 (2), 228-247 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2011.06.005

Further reading:

• How to give directions
• How skilled are London taxi drivers at learning routes through unfamiliar towns?
• We really do walk in circles when we're lost.

Post written by Christian Jarrett for the BPS Research Digest.

CD Review: Phil Robson – The Immeasurable Code

Phil Robson – The Immeasurable Code
(Whirlwind Recordings. CD Review by Tom Gray)

The UK tour by guitarist Phil Robson’s IMS Quintet back in January earned glowing reviews and will undoubtedly feature among the live highlights of the year for many who made it. This album recorded during those live dates is packed with delights throughout its 70-plus minutes.

Much of the listening pleasure here stems from the sense of Robson, Mark Turner on saxes and Gareth Lockrane on flute really stretching out, using the extended space afforded to them to craft some elegant, engaging improvisations. Lockrane’s soaring opening statement on ‘Nassarius Beads’ sets a very high benchmark early on from which the group do not deviate.

The soloists’ stories all unfold over a dynamic backdrop, with Ernesto Simpson’s pin-sharp precision on drums paired with the robust, responsive bass playing of Michael Janisch.

Robson’s compositions are, however, much more than just blowing vehicles and there is plenty to admire in these succinct, punchy themes. The way Robson harnesses the textural possibilities of an unconventional combination of frontline instruments and subtly marries straight-ahead postbop with earthy, odd time signature grooves is reminiscent of the writing of Dave Holland (and the playing here is certainly worthy of one of Holland’s ensembles).

Highlights include the asymmetric funk of the title track, ingeniously constructed around a Morse code-like one note pattern from Lockrane’s piccolo, and the breezy swinger ‘The Instant Message’.Any listener who regrets not being there during the recording of this live album will get a second chance to see this fine group next month: they play the Purcell Room as part of the London Jazz Festival.


The CD will be issued on November 7th.

Purcell Room, 15th November, in the London Jazz Festival. Double Bill with Christine Tobin

Interview: Claude Bolling

Claude Bolling with Duke Ellington

The Wimbledon Music Festival includes something out of the ordinary this year: the 81-year French old composer and pianist Claude Bolling will be making a very rare visit indeed to the UK, playing a concert in the festival on November 14th.

Wimbledon, I discovered in a brief telephone interview earlier this week, is an appropriate destination for Bolling. He has a proud family connection with SW19: his father-in-law Jean Le Sueur was a contestant no fewer than five times in the tennis championships in the years 1930-1946.

Le Sueur, unfortunately, never made it beyond the last 32 at Wimbledon. Bolling himself, on the other hand, has had a massive career at the highest level in music for several decades. His IMDB entry lists around a hundred film credits, including nine film scores completed in just one year (1978). There are French classics like Borsalino with Alain Delon Jean-Pierre Belmondo in their prime as gangsters, for which Bolling wrote an unforgettable Joplin-ish theme. There have also been a multitude of jazz albums, and at for several years he also ran his own big band.

Bolling is still playing regularly. He has a monthly trio gig at the Petit Journal in St.-Michel on the last Tuesday of each month. Does he still compose? “Not as much as in past times.” But he still brings new compositions to these monthly gigs. He will be appearing in London with the other members of this trio from Paris: his drummer for the past quarter of a century, Vincent Cordelette and regular bassist Pierre Maingourd.

Bolling can be something of a musical chameleon. He is known for his ability to be able to adopt almost any jazz style in his piano playing, and as composer/arranger to give a jazz inflection to unlikely music. His big band recorded a swing version of the Marseillaise, there is a whole album of “swung” Mozart entitled 'Jazzgang Amadeus Mozart' and featuring works such as Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

But the figure he kept coming back to as a key inspiration was Duke Ellington. “I was a fervent admirer of Duke. I had the good fortune to be friends with him over many years - it was a 'grande amitié' . He also got to play on the same stage with Ellington. (See picture above).

He also talked about having led for many years one of the most significant French big bands. Bolling credits the promoter/journalist Frank Ténot with having had the original idea to establish a big band in Paris in the line of Tommy Dorsey and Count Basie . “Frank said he could get the musicians together. Professionals, with real knowledge of jazz. It was a very agreeable indeed to have them as interpreters “

The recordings by this band, says Bolling, were a major success, and that led to the creation of a regularly functioning big band with a weekly gig and appearances at big festivals. Bolling fondly remembers the modest beginnings in the rue de la Huchette, which led to larger concerts and successful jazz brunches at the hotel Meridien. “A lot of people came to those,” he reminisced.

Another unusual direction which Bolling's career has taken is the many collaborations with classical musicians. He has worked with guitarist Alexandre Lagoya, flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, cellist Yo Yo Ma. How did they come about, I saked? None of them, he confirmed, were really his instigation. "Classical musicians,” he told me, “ felt he need to escape from serious music "s'évader des musiques serieuses." And he created the context to bring them closer to jazz. One of the most popular works of this kind will feature in the programme in Wimbledon, the Suite for flute and jazz trio, originally written for Rampal, and now a fixture in the flute repertoire. Soloist in Wimbledon will be Wissam Boustany.

Bolling may be a very rare visitor to the UK, but the associations he has with our country are positive: “it's a fascinating country, and when I had chance to play I was happy ” . He does have fond memories of recording film scores here such as Catch Me a Spy and Silver Bears. And there was a recording of the Suite for Chamber Orchestra. And he is full of high praise for our musicians : “les musicians anglais sont parfaits,” he says.

He did, however, choose to avoid one question in our interview. What, I asked Bolling, did he consider the peaks, the biggest achievements of this extraordinary career.

“Une apogée? No. It's impossible to choose. Every concert is important. Next question?”

His answer may not have helped our interview to get going, but it's hard to hold it against him. And it also speaks volumes for the undimmed sense of purpose as a musician with which he still approaches every concert. Which can only promise great things for the Wimbledon on November 14th.

Wimbledon Music Festival

Claude-Bolling.com

Prize Draw - Emma Smith and Dinner at Sam's

Sam's Brasserie, Chiswick

Nice prize! This week's draw for newsletter readers (courtesy of Sound Generation and Sam's Brasserie) consists of a complete evening including dinner for two with wine and a chance to hear one of the rising vocal stars of British jazz Emma Smith.

The date is November 6th.

The venue is the newly refurbished Sam's Brasserie in Barley Mow Passage in Chiswick. We (with help from Jean-Jacques Rousseau)  reviewed a previous evening there

The wine will by Rick Stein. The vibe will be relaxed. Newsletter readers please email me to put your name in the hat.


soundgeneration.co.uk

Pink Coach Tote

I just rewarded myself with a brand new pink coach tote this year, just for being to go through whatever I went through this year, and the last.

It's not a big reward, just a little something to remind myself that I'm worth it.




The Coach Signature Stripe Tote in pink.

I wanted something of a convenient size, easy to just grab and head out for a short erran run or house visit. Big bags can be pretty heavy at times, this was just perfect. I bought it from a friend who living in the states, she runs a site selling different designer bags she got her hands on.




This could fit couple of magazines, phone and wallet and some other stuff. It's pretty spacious for a small tote.




What's your latest buy? :)

Round-Up: Georgia Mancio's ReVoice! Festival

Georgia Mancio (photo by Brian O'Connor)

ReVoice! Festival
(Pizza Express, Dean Street. Thursday 6th to Friday 14th October. Round-up by Zena James.)

All credit once again to popular vocalist and innovator Georgia Mancio for achieving sell-outs and a genuine sense of international teamwork throughout her second annual (we hope) ReVoice! festival at Pizza Express Dean St earlier this month.

Norma Winstone and Klaus Gesing (photo by Dave Ohm)

Following the rousing opening night featuring a true first, a striking duet between Georgia and electric bassist and composer, Laurence Cottle and sealed with the ever-flawless, inventive and much-loved doyenne Norma Winstone, came one of the hippest highlights of this nine-day, 37-artist celebration. Gregory Porter, the hugely engaging baritone jazz singer fast making a name for his intense originals, chose against the odds to treat his audience to the full-on energetic soul of a pure Motown opener, Way to Harlem. You can’t find it on I-Tunes yet but the song is already on the list for his planned second release in 2012, featuring mix of swing, soul, R&B, gospel and “a lot about love, family and life”.

But pure jazz lovers didn’t have long to wait. Already well-served by Georgia’s nimble opening jazz set with pianist Nikki Iles, Porter’s audience relished a rich-toned compelling Skylark, one of the best versions I’ve heard. Wayne Shorter’s Black Nile from Porter’s current much-acclaimed album Water brought his raw energy to the fore as he almost physically propelled an already incredibly powerful rhythm section of Geoff Gascoyne, Grant Windsor and Dave Ohm. Outstanding full-pelt solos from saxophonist Ben Castle and trumpeter Graeme Flowers made this an exhilarating start to a set that never faltered.

Gregory Porter (photo by Brian O'Connor)

Irresistible tones of 70’s and 80’s pop-soul singers were present throughout and easily as prominent as the smooth Nat King Cole sound he is so frequently credited with.

The highlight was Be Good, a beautifully written and perfectly delivered ballad about “a woman who broke my heart”, the title track of his next album. It was upstaged only by his magical signature tune Illusion and the high-energy political soul anthem single, 1960 What? A great start to the weekend.

Sachal Vasandani (photo by Cat Munro)

And the treats kept coming. Following a scat-collaboration and whistle –off on Sunday between Georgia and guitarist Jim Mullen, the American vocalist Sachal Vasandani, a mentee of Jon Hendricks, played an almost continuous sophisticated and slick set for an entire hour without pause.

Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor and Diana Torto (photo by Dave Ohm)

Monday saw Italy's newest diva, Diana Torto, who fronted trumpet legend Kenny Wheeler's new and remarkable Something Else quartet for two popular nights. This was one of Georgia’s personal favourites, as well as a tearjerker, in her own duo set, of a piano solo on In My Life by James Pearson, which she admits would have rendered her soundless has she not been on stage with him…

Barbara Raimondi & Roberto Taufic (photo by Dave Ohm)

Wednesday’s magic was Contigo en la Distancia led by Italian vocalist, Barbara Raimondi, with Brazilian guitarist, Roberto Taufic, and UK-based Italian percussionist and drummer, Enzo Zirilli. Their musical painting of Latin America showcased Raimondi's wonderful sense of rhythm and passionate delivery.

Brian Hanlon (photo by Dave Ohm)

Georgia and monthly Dean St bassist Michael Janisch brought subtlety and gentleness to Thursday’s audience, which gave way to a dynamic groove-laden set again featuring Janisch alongside sax maestro Nigel Hitchcock, exciting young pianist Ross Stanley and led by Irish-American singer/guitarist Brian Hanlon.

The week closed with a double bill of sheer class as Georgia and Ian Shaw opened the show with easily their most impressive and entertaining collaboration to date. Highlights were a moving Alone Again Naturally (Gilbert O' Sullivan), an outstanding vocally dexterous multi-tempo/multi-feel Willow Weep For Me and a rousing bi-lingual treatment of a favourite of these longstanding friends and collaborators, Bowie’s Life on Mars.

David Linx (photo by Dave Ohm)

And so to the very eagerly anticipated Belgian singer and composer David Linx, with his award-winning Dutch pianist and collaborator of 20 years, Diederik Wissils. Steeped in classical influence and with incredible agility, this was a bold presentation of 8 originals, from dark, almost sinister ballads to high-speed percussive scat-fests reminiscent of Bobby McFerrin. Always commanding and very physically expressive, yet locked reflectively inside the melody and lyrics, he is at once both showman and introvert, quirkily original and somehow quite incomparable. The touching Proper Shelter, featuring Wissels extraordinary classical talents and the closing I’m Going Home were notable high points; yet judging by the reaction at Dean St, it won’t be long before he’s invited back to the UK…perhaps by Georgia….