The Bucket List

"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? -- John 4:11

I looked and the well seemed deep but there was nothing to draw out the water. I was thinking about deep wells the other day and how our life parallels. Romans 11:29 states that God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. If we compare our gifts and calling to deep well water, but we haven't developed the character or integrity to accompany those gifts, then we become like a deep well that has no bucket.

I've heard it said that your gift will get you in the door but your character and integrity will keep you there. Oftentimes we just need to repair our bucket, so I've put together a short bucket list from God's WORD:

Repair your bucket with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Preview: Dan Messore Indigo Kid Album Launch at 606

Guitarist Dan Messore writes:

Iain Ballamy and I first met when I was completing my MA at the Royal Welsh College Of Music and Drama in Cardiff. After getting on and playing and discussing music, Iain came and sat in with a band of mine on a couple of occasions at Dempseys. He showed interest in my playing approach and compositions and so we decided to record.

It was, and still is, a huge honour and learning experience for me. We recorded my original compositions with Iain producing and arranging the record which came to be "Indigo Kid".

Having the respect and backing of a player and visionary such as Iain has helped me focus and be confident in my own musical vision. I've since gone on to record my quintet "Lacuna" with the brilliant Steve Waterman on trumpet and Lee Goodall on flute and sax. I also run my trio "Trust Trio" with Aidan Thorne and Mark O'Connor on bass and drums. We were joined on the album by Tim Harries and Gethin Jones on bass and drums, both of whom add beautifully to the ideology of the album.

Indigo Kid is released on Babel, with a launch at the 606 on Thurs 2nd June.

www.danmessore.com

CD Review: The Quentin Collins/Brandon Allen Quartet - What's It Gonna Be?

The Quentin Collins/Brandon Allen Quartet - What's It Gonna Be?
(Sunlightsquare Records SUNCD010, CD Review by Chris Parker)

From its hard-driving opener (tenor player Brandon Allen's What's It Gonna Be? to its infectiously lively closer (drummer Enzo Zirilli's mix of 'Tea for Two' with an almost 'Sidewinder'-ish shuffle rhythm, 'Teeth for Tooth'), this album harks back to the heyday of hard bop, recalling not only the Lee Morgan or Freddie Hubbard albums so beloved of co-leader, trumpeter Quentin Collins, but also (courtesy of Ross Stanley's evocative organ sound) the classic albums of Jimmy Smith and his ilk.

All its tracks except a radio-friendly visit to Stevie Wonder's 'Smile Please', sung by Natalie Williams, are in-band originals intelligently programmed to move between bustling swagger and moody slower pieces, but whether they're rattling through the former or brooding through the latter, the quartet has a breezy vigour and an unfussy interactive ease that can't fail to impress.

Collins is a refreshingly straightforward player, blazing and flaring on open trumpet, subtly noodling through a mute, or crooning through his flugelhorn as appropriate; Allen is a perfect frontline partner, his rich, powerful sound enabling him to steam through up-tempo numbers and channel tenderness through quieter ones; the rhythm section (buoyed by Stanley's deft bass pedals and sparked by Zirilli's crisply assertive drumming) bristles with disciplined authority – overall, this is an unequivocally enjoyable, immediately accessible but consistently musicianly album.

Review: Robert Glasper Experiment

Robert Glasper Experiment
(Ronnie Scott's, May 23rd 2011, first night of four)

This was a powerful evening, and long and full. The sets were generous: the band took their final applause at the end of their second set at around 11.30pm. Glasper has definitely attracted a younger and different crowd from Ronnie's regulars -  all four shows this week are completely sold out.

And yet, give credit where it's due, this was a proper, knowledgeable listening audience. People had brought their ears to the club for this show, and Glasper's hushed solo off-piste wanders engendered silence and a real ambiance in the room.

The core experience of the Robert Glasper Experiment, however is loud. Drummer Chris Dave asserts, dominates, explodes into action, basically drives the bus. While this can sometimes leave Glasper in the role of colourist, the pianist feeds off everything Dave does. Glasper does have astonishing resources of colour, rhythm, pure piano chops:  he is a genuine improviser who can literally go anywhere.  And Derrick Hodge is a subtle bassist, but his first sounds were at a volume to shake to the core  every one of us and every bit of furniture in the club.

The full house cheered the arrival of well-known songs from the last album Double Booked such as Herbie Hancock's Butterfly. Nirvana's Teen Spirit too. (Any more anyone?) Both were sung by Casey Benjamin using synth/vocoder. He's also a strong free player on soprano and alto saxophones, the latter also using synth effects.

It was also great to see an underlying strand of humour and camaraderie in this quartet. Fears that "LOL" might have killed off laughter are misplaced.

The support came from house pianist James Pearson with Phil Robson on guitar, Sam Burgess bass and the Cuban Ernesto Simpson on drums. It was stormy outside in London last night, and I guess Cubans know about storms. I just heard their closer, Caravan. Simpson was blowing a gale: his switches of feel from latin to swing to double to triple, following the form of the song to the nanosecond, were infectious and joyous.


There have been quite a few reviews of this residency, but I recommend Sanjiv Ahluwalia's for the Secret List

Bruce Barth and Perico Sambeat - Pizza Express Thurs 26th-Sat 28th

Those hands, those piano chops belong to Bruce Barth.

Check them out on the Pizza Express Dean Street's Steinway, with Catalan alto saxophonist Perico Sambeat, Jeremy Brown bass and Stephen Keogh drums this Thursday through to Saturday.

The Market Place - Jamón Ibérico

Ahh... the Market Place.

Remember the scene in Sex and the City 2 where Carrie and Miranda visited the souk (market place) in Abu Dhabi?




It felt so enchanting. A couple of modern classy city ladies wandering through an age old place, bumping into old love in the midst of strangers; the scene was just all too romantic.


Souk in Morocco, not Abu Dhabi.

Well it's actually filmed in Morroco since they were not allowed to film in UAE.


I love visitng the market place, especially in a new foreign country.




In this post, I was visiting the La Boqueria market in Barcelona.

There were so many things to see, to smell, to buy, and to eat.




I was enchanted by the selection of candies here! Glorious display of colorful treats.




It's almost like walking in the candy world of Katy Perry in her California Girls music video.




Not to mention the yummilicious chocolates. mmm....













Some fungus that had fungus on them.


if only they were truffles.


Different types of eggs.




Of which I didn't even know what animals they're from.


Crabs.




Bacons (pork, of course).




Berries.


They looked so appetizing!


And did you know, coconuts are such a rare find in Europe? If you do find them, they can be so expensive.

Coming from a tropical country such as Malaysia, we do take the produce for granted, only to find Europens spending what we would consider big bucks on petty coconuts. And not the young coconuts that we loved so much, they only had the thick, hard, and old coconut flesh to savour and choose from.




Years ago in Venice, while sitting in a guest house I was staying in then, a young European lady walked into the guest house beaming with joy, in her hand was this old tiny coconut with the thickest skin and she was sharing her happy harvest in the market to her friend, proudly declaring she's spent 5 euro on that sad-looking coconut.

I almost choked on my drink.


Now in every market in Spain, you will come across a very special local produce, so treasured and adored by their people, and so expensive for something so light.

Jamón - dry cured ham.




There are basically two types of Jamón in Spain; the Ibérico, and the Serrano. With the Jamón ibérico being the more expensive as the meat comes from the Black Iberian Pig, they're much sweeter, and redder in flesh.

They're easily mistaken with Prosciutto, which is Parma ham generally from Italy. Jamón is purely Spanish, widely served in Tapas and Pinchos and are cured longer than the Italian Prosciutto.




I found the whole legs of Jamón sold in supermarket for 81 euro per leg; and that's the cheaper selection. A good Jamón can go up to 100-200 euro per leg.

This is how they normally shave to make those red delicious thin slices of Jamón.


Jamón Ibérico


Because they're cured, so their saltiness and slight sweetness are perfect eaten with slices of melons, fresh from the leg (generally), or plainly just on bread (no butter).




If you're ever visiting Spain, buy a leg back for me, will you?

Review: The Charlie Haden London Concerts

The Charlie Haden London Concerts
(Barbican Hall, May 21st and 22nd 2011, Photo credits: Roger Thomas)
21st: Quartet West with Liane Carroll, Ruth Cameron and Melody Gardot)
22nd: The (Anglo-American) Liberation Music Orchestra, dir. Carla Bley

The Barbican's 2011 Charlie Haden concerts, venerating the 73-year old bassist, were conceived to be viewed as a diptych. Seen on consecutive nights, they memorably brought out the two contrasting sides of his unique contribution to the music of the past half-century.

The first concert featured Quartet West, a group which for 25 years has investigated and basked in precisely the same 40s film noir film/jazz inheritance which this weekend has been celebrated in the launch of the new Rockstar game "LA Noire" - see our feature.

The second brought to the stage the Anglo- American Liberation Music Orchestra, which trawls the repertoire of four protest albums brought out during the presidencies of four conservative American presidents. Again, there was a coincidence in timing: it was on the same day as an American president justified in person on BBC TV, the US's continued incursions in other territories.

Quartet West (Haden, Ernie Watts on tenor saxophone, Alan Broadbent on piano and Rodney Green on drums, above) produced an evening of great contrasts in mood, timbre, volume. From a particularly fiery opener "Today I am a Man" to a poised and hushed "First Song (for Ruth)" to the angular spooky classic "Lonely Woman," to the bouncy cha-cha of Childs Play. The three guest singers - Liane Carroll with stunning control of phrasing and narrative, Ruth Cameron with sincerity, and Melody Gardot with superhuman sostenuto took their moments well.

All four quartet players found the right mode of expression for a 1900-seater concert hall, and the crowd loved it. Ernie Watts and drummer Rodney Green captured every shifting mood. But I found myself above all being drawn in again and again by the subtle perfection of Alan Broadbent's piano playing. Accompanying Ruth Cameron in "Let's Call it a Day," every single fill and comment provided a gorgeous, cogent, through-composed countermelody. At other times he would variously set the scene for a song perfectly, or re-invent the Bach Two-Part Invention, or with fleetness of technique leave the likes of Rachmnaninov and Liszt gasping for breath several paces behind. And yet his playing is never intrusive, never selfish, somehow attention-grabbing without ever being attention-seeking.

The Liberation Orchestra is a great vehicle for Carla Bley's compositions, those sardonic waltzes, those reggae beats seen through a prism of Kurt Weill. The voice in the band I tend to listen out for is one of those protesting jazz voices which gets you to sit up and listen, the tailgate trombone. In Haden's orchestra I associate it with Roswell Rudd (b.1935) who went on to work with Arche Shepp. Last night that role was taken by Alastair White, particularly persuasive in "This is not America." But overall this was a band without a single weak link. John Parricelli, as ever, is there giving exactly what is needed to the texture and rising over it when required. Oren Marshall on tuba and Jim Rattigan on french horn seemed to make every one of their contributions count.


The freestage events were also successful. Musicians turned out in force to hear the Gretchen Parlato freestage - those three words are unlikely ever to make a phrase again, and rightly, on the Saturday. And there was a strong and appreciative audience for Robert Mitchell's lively, loud and likeable trio. The second night was overall not as well attended as the first, which was a shame.

At the end of each evening Haden had the last word, extolling the audience for their "great ears" and having listened intently, and producing a paean to beaty and compassion. But perhaps he had spoken most eloquently just before, in a duo with Carla Bley in the last number. That was one of those moments in the Barbican hall when you forget how many other people and purple seats there are around you, when you sense that every person in the hall has succumbed to the power of musicians who know how to communicate.

Produced by the Barbican Centre and Serious
A further selection of Roger Thomas's photos from the concerts are HERE