Review: Neil Cowley Trio plus Polar Bear (Spitalfields Festival)

Neil Cowley. Photo credit: Patrick Hadfield

Neil Cowley Trio plus Polar Bear
(Village Underground, Shoreditch, Part of Spitalfields Festival, June 21st 2011, Review and photos: Patrick Hadfield)

This double bill, part of the Spitalfields Music Festival, felt more like a rock than jazz gig. It was standing-only in a large, barn-like space in Shoreditch, the crowd seeming a decade or three younger than typical jazz audience, the speakers were stacked high on the stage. The gig also started dead on time.

Neil Cowley Trio were first up, living up to the billing of their second album, “Louder… Louder… Stop!” They were loud, and they tailored their set to their more rocky numbers. This was high-energy music which got people dancing at the front. Cowley’s physical and percussive piano playing and Evan Jenkins’ powerful drumming dominated the sound, sometimes overwhelming new bassist Rex Horan’s playing.

A few more of Cowley’s more subtle, contemplative pieces would have added a bit of variety. But it was hard to fault their performance – and they were clearly giving the audience exactly what it wanted.

Mark Lockheart and Tom Herbert of Polar Bear
Photo credit: Patrick Hadfield

Polar Bear have a completely different aesthetic: from the start, their set was dominated by Seb Rochford’s off-kilter drumming – his bass drum laid down patterns pushing the music along. They created brooding ambient jazz-dub soundscapes, the double-tenor sax frontline of Mark Lockheart and Pete Wareham often working as much against each other as in unison. This felt like crazy reggae created by Ornette Coleman: slow and intense, but still danceable. Tom Herbert’s bass was always somewhere deep in the mix, and it was good to hear him emerge from it and take an extended solo.

Polar Bear’s music felt cutting edge and experimental at the same time as harking back forty years to early Pink Floyd or the German band Popol Vuh: they sounded like the soundtrack to an apocalyptic movie, dark and moody. But there was also humour, with “Leafcutter John” Burton adding a range of textures, from choppy guitar through electronic noise to complementing the saxes by playing a balloon – a playfulness that was startling in its effectiveness. Polar Bear cre ate a curious mixture, but it worked superbly on Tuesday night.

Introducing 30-Second Psychology

Approximately one year ago, a crack commando writing unit was dispersed around the world for reasons beyond their control. These men promptly collaborated and conspired via the global Interweb to produce an explosive book of psychological facts and ideas: 30-Second Psychology. That book has now been published. Today, still wanted by hidden forces, they survive as writers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire ...

Christian Jarrett, editor and contributing author. [@researchdigest]

Vaughan Bell, contributing author. [@vaughanbell]

Moheb Costandi, contributing author. [@mocost]

Dave Munger, contributing author. [@davemunger]

Tom Stafford, contributing author. [@tomstafford]

More about 30-Second Psychology (also available in the USA):

"The key ideas in Psychology explained, with colour illustrations, in half a minute. Pavlov's Dogs, Psychoanalysis, Milgram's Obedience Study, and Beck's Cognitive Therapy? Sure, you know what they all mean. That is, you've certainly heard of them. But do you know enough about these psychology theories to join a dinner party debate or dazzle the bar with your knowledge? 30-Second Psychology takes the top 50 strands of thinking in this fascinating field, and explains them to the general reader in half a minute, using nothing more than two pages, 300 words, and one picture. The inner workings of the human mind will suddenly seem a lot more fun, and along the way we meet many of the luminaries in the field, including William James, Aaron Beck, and (of course) Sigmund Freud. From Behaviorism to Cognitivism, what better way to get a handle on your inner demons?"

Review: Axel Dörner, Phil Minton, Mark Sanders

Axel Dörner. Drawing: Geoff Winston(*)

Axel Dörner, Phil Minton, Mark Sanders
(Café Oto - second night of a 2-night residency - 18th June 2011. Review by Geoff Winston)

Axel Dörner brought a calm focus and varied colour to three improvised sets - duos with Mark Sanders and Phil Minton, respectively, and the trio to round off the evening. Dörner facilitated an impressive range of responses from Sanders and Minton, with whom he has played occasionally over the last 15 years. Their sets ventured into a relatively restrained zone that saw a progression from the more musically literal to tenuously abstract areas of sound exploration.

Dörner played a rarely seen 'Firebird' slide trumpet, with an angled bell to allow the functioning of the 4-stop short slide - the original was built for Maynard Ferguson, but that's where all affinities with the Canadian trumpeter and bandleader begin and end.

The electronics which Dörner uses include a form of valve synthesiser which is detachable from the trumpet, plus a foot pedal for samples and other effects. The mutes were wafted in front of the trumpet bell to create air flows, and he would also move from side to side in front of the mic which caught the sounds of his exhaled breath. Muted washes and rushes served as a foil to intermittent piercing brass blasts.

Mark Sanders' contribution on percussion was pure acoustic invention; his flattened drum rolls, light scrapings and fine brushwork set in motion Dörner's sequences of mechanical hisses, jet engine rumbles, an unnervingly invasive aero-copter intrusion and the near silence of steam and breath. With Minton, both were seated, as if to emphasise the conscious restraint in their delivery.

Vocalist Phil Minton's light cooing and imputed engagement with both the core and periphery of language blended with Dörner's faintly audible hisses and escapes of air - a sense of leaky valves and drifting vessels. Minton's clusters of coughs, sniffs, and faint whistles, his rasps and passages of air and almost-found words were the prelude to a spellbinding silence near the close of their duet.

In trio format the activity was more exercised, Sanders opening with gongs and a metallic tone, using ultra-thin sticks to tinkle a tiny bell. Dörner brought in radio interference, mixing with Minton's feral exclamations and receding voices. Sanders tapped his drumstick through a broken hand-held drumskin from which a metal spring dangled in something of a quasi-Dada gesture. Dörner ran the mute around the bell as Sanders swept the air with his bow - all sounds which would be picked up on the recording which was being made. The concluding passage had the feel of a Kabuki soundtrack, minimal whacks and swipes, to confirm a commitment to the abstract realm. Dörner's careful, lightly inspiring presence was always opening up possibilities, greatly appreciated by a faithful turn-out at Cafe Oto.

(*)Image copyright Geoffrey Winston. All Rights Reserved.

could/should

I woke up determined to write a blog post. I have all of these great recipes and summer lunchbox ideas swirling through my head, and a backlog of photos (that I snap before the kids dig in...totally annoying mom move). But first, while my husband was playing tennis and my kids were happily entrenched in Legos, I decided to make myself a cup of coffee and catch up on reading posts from others I admire... and lo and behold, I read this. Hmm, spot on. It's not all skinny jeans and fruit skewers over here. Trust me. Sure, some days it is, but not every day. And there's always that lingering question of what I want this blog to be...how much time should I be spending on it...could it be more...should it be less?

Three shots of Watts (Charlie Watts at Pizza Express)

Charlie Watts. Photo credit; Roger Thomas

Three shots from sounds like one of the great nights at Pizza Express last night. Charlie Watts, on the first of two nights with his ABC of Boogie Woogie Band, including Dave Green on bass, and vocalist Lisa Ammons (granddaughter of Albert, niece of Gene).

Blues Fest London starts on Monday. A quick guide

-Suddenly, it's all happening. The first Bluesfest London consists, as of today, of THIRTY-NINE gigs at EIGHT venues, and it starts this Monday 27th.

-The big venues are the Royal Albert Hall (with BB King on Monday 27th - sold out), and Liza Minelli on Wednesday) , and the Royal Festival Hall (Al Jarreau, next Sunday July 3rd)

- Bluesfest London marks the arrival on the London scene of a gem of a new venue which very few people know about yet- we visited it - underneath Chelsea Football Club  - called Under the Bridge. See the ad on the left hand column.

- In addition to BB King, other gigs which we are aware are sold out are: Ian Shaw's Pizza Express gig on Tuesday, and Jamie Cullum at Under the Bridge, and Dr John
-Check out some great jazz names:  Annie Ross at Pizza Express, Monty Alexander or Roy Hargrove at the Union Chapel.

-One previously advertised gig has been pulled: Bucky Pizzarelli at Pizza Express Dean Street on Monday, but he's replaced by a Strictly Come Dancing band special: Tommy Blaize and Dave Arch

FULL PROGRAMME:
Monday 27th June
Georgie Fame                            Bush Hall
Incognito                                   Under The Bridge
Monty Alexander                        Union Chapel
Echoes of Ellington Big Band        100 Club

Tuesday 28th June
B.B. King                                   Royal Albert Hall (SOLD OUT)
The Blind Boys of Alabama         Under The Bridge
Marcus Bonfanti                         Bush Hall
Roy Hargrove                            Union Chapel
Ian Shaw                                   Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho (SOLD OUT)
Paul Jones & Friends                  Jazz Cafe

Wednesday 29th June
Mike Sanchez & His Band            Bush Hall
Jon Cleary                                 Jazz Café
Get The Blessing                        100 Club
Tony Smith Live at BluesFest      Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho
Al Di Meola                                Union Chapel
Liza Minnelli                               Royal Albert Hall
Jamie Cullum                             Under the Bridge (SOLD OUT)

Thursday 30th June
Buddy Greco                              Bush Hall
Booker T                                   Under The Bridge
Martin Taylor                             100 Club
Tony Smith                                Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho
Hayley Sanderson’s Rhythm and Blues Revue       Jazz Cafe
Kirk Whalum                              Union Chapel

Friday 1st July
Chris Barber                              100 Club
Dr. John And The Lower 911       Under The Bridge (SOLD OUT)
Scott Hamilton & Harry Allen       Bush Hall
Annie Ross                                Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho
Sandi Thom (support from Scoundrels) Jazz Café
Kirk Whalum                              Union Chapel

Saturday 2nd July
Ray Gelato - The Homecoming Show       Bush Hall
Annie Ross                                              Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue        Under The Bridge
Ramsey Lewis - The Sun Goddess Tour   Union Chapel
The Quireboys                                       100 Club

Sunday 3rd July
Max Weinberg Experience           Under The Bridge
Annie Ross                                Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho
Dr. Feelgood                              100 Club
Al Jarreau                                  Royal Festival Hall

Ancient of Days

"As I looked, "thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened." -- Daniel 7:9-10

When an injustice has occurred we can take comfort in knowing that our God is the Ancient of Days! He knows all and has seen all, including the hearts and intents of men. He was there in the beginning and He will be there in the end. There will be no need for "he said / she said." There will be no need to call on human material witnesses, their memory often spotty at best. There will be no mistrials or appeals; no exam and cross-exam by clever attorneys; no witness protection program; and certainly no excuses. Yes, with not even one glance the Ancient of Days knows all. Praise be to the Ancient of Days -- the only ONE worthy to judge.