2 nights with The Thing at Pardon To Tu (04-05.05)

Let us start this time with where rather than who. Pardon To Tu has established itself in the recent

years as the busiest free jazz stage in Poland. Few years back such statement could be made Krakow's Alchemia, now I've came to envy the jazz fans in or Capitol. I believe it's perfectly natural that such places come to live and go, but I what I've witnessed in Pardon To Tu gives reasonable hopes that this particular places will live and love the music for a longer while.

The place, cosy and warm, makes the musicians feel at home, the audience is there, filling the house and listening enthusiastically. The musicians are there in the audience as well, to listen to each other, to learn and to enjoy themselves. Warsaw's free jazz scene is flourishing and Pardon To Tu has become it's hang out space. There's creative impetus around the place and its probably the most important manifestation is how the club tries to participate actively in forming its artistic enviroment, an example of which is the residence series of the "2 nights with" and improvised sets featuring the internationally acknowledged guests playing with polish musicians.

Ballister - Mechanisms [Clean Feed]

Ballister :
Dave Rempis - alto, tenor and baritone saxophone
Fred Lonberg-Holm - cello and electronics
Paal Nilssen-Love - drums and percussion


Clean Feed 2012

You know these players, right? Good. No introduction is needed then. This trio doesn't take time to warm up either. 

"Mechanisms" is a live recording from the Hideout, Chicago. "Release Levers" launches the cd with a full audio onslaught, the trio literally ripping the air. Ferocious sax is slashing the air with the cascading notes, distorted cello and electronic noises wrinkles them around and relentless drumming pushes all of it onward.

The Thing at Alchemia (Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012. 28.10)

There are few bands in the business that can match the energy level presented on stage by The Thing. The band made a splash this year with the "The Cherry Thing" collaboration with Neneh Cherry but if you think they've been tamed and made ready to sail off to the mainstream market you couldn't have been more mistaken.

The Thing rocks the house with the first violent hit on the drums and the simultanous sharp note of the tenor while the bass strings are being pulled away. And so they storm forward and keep rock'n'rolling through dynamite gritty riffs. Paal ongoingly destroing the drumset with the precise hits, Ingebright plucking the bass strings mightily as if it were a flamenco guitar and Mats balancing his notes on his feet like the heavy weight box champion (on tenor exclusively this time, slightly less power but there's soulfull quickness to make it up).

In the midst of this punk'n'jazz rock'n'roll madness they can surprise you with anything from the hypnotic feedback-mike distortions to a heartwarming soulfull ballad (a wothy dedication to Joe McPhee). All that could very well happen in the very same piece as it occured during the first encore of the evening when I half-expected Ingebright to take the bass and tomahawk-smash the amp with it. 'Nough written.

So here's a mad-dog* round to The Thing. For their continous tour in the search of "meat, barbecue sauce, adventures, vinyls, boots and booze".

Here's to The Thing. Knocking socks off your feet with their music since 2ooo.

mad dog - a shot with a vodka, raspberry juice and tabasco. 

The Thing:
Mats Gustafsson - tenor sax
Ingebright Haker-Flaten - double bass
Paal Nilssen-Love - drums

Alchemia. Krakow. 28.10.2012

Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love at Alchemia (25.10)

There's only a handfull of musicians who played more often in Alchemia in recent years. And only a handfull of musicians who constistently play at the level this duo does. A fact known well by Krakow audience which filled up completely the audience (corridor, backstage, floor) space of Alchemia.

Calling Signals 09 (Gjerstad, Corbett, Stephens, Nilssen-Love) - A Winter's Tour [Loose Torque]

Frode Gjerstad - clarinets and alto saxophone
Jon Corbett - trumpet, valve trombone and conch
Nick Stephens - double bass
Paal Nilssen-Love - percussion

Loose Torque Records 2011

This Norwegian/British quartet just lets it all loose on this live release with only two tracks yet over an hour of pure music (47 + 17 minutes). And the great quality of the registration allows you to fully absorb and appreciate the spontaneous creation, as if you were there in the audience, just with your eyes closed.

There's an entire debate to it but my opinion is that next to the live experience the live registration is the most direct listening experience, and there's an extra level of honesty, fidelity and truth to a live recording as it allows the musicians to express more freely, necessitates a more complex and immediate interactions (not only with the fellow musicians but also with the audience and the acoustic space that is very different to the usually neutral studio recording).

Jazz Alchemist votes for El Intruso 2010 Poll - Part IV

Final part of my votes for El Intruso 2010 Poll:

Bass

1. Barry Guy

2. John Edwards

3. Ingebrigt Haken-Flaten

1-The number of times the ‘Barry Guy New Orchestra” phrase appears in this list should explain why this name appears on the top.

2-The introduction to “Volume” review explains the 2 nd place.

3-For his playing with Joe McPhee on “Blue Chicago Blues” [Not Two] and with Atomic on “Theater Tilters” vol. 1 & 2 [Jazzland].

Drums

1. Paal Nilssen-Love

2. Gerald Cleaver

3. Pierre Favre

1-Paal’s duo with Ken Vandermark “Milwaukee Volume” is arguable their best release so far which says a lot. And don’t forget he’s playing with Atomic.

2-While all musicians are fantastic, Gerald’s drumming on “Searching for Adam” still amazes me.

3-I mentioned the duo concert with Samuel Blaser, Blaser’s was great, Pierre was breathtaking and the sense of melody and his light touch unbelievable – true master at work.

Possibly the most crowded category overall. Mike Pride, Tim Daisy, Frank Rosaly, Pawel Szpura, Tomas Fujiwara, Brian Willson, Michael Zerang and many others deserving a spot.

Other instruments

1. Jason Adasiewicz - vib

2. Per Ake Holmlander - tuba

3. Mattias Stahl - vib

1-Jason Adasiewcz released great “Sun Rooms” [Delmark] – a rare trio with vibraphone, bass and drums. Great sound. And he contributes to the latest Exploding Star Orchestra “Star Have Shapes” (also on Delmark)

2-Per-Ake was simply impressive on stage with Barry Guy New Orchestra and all the small line-ups of the week.

3-Mattias Stahl gives the Angles incredible and original sound that, if anything, reminds me of one of the best jazz record ever – Eric Dolpy’s “Out Lunch” with Bobby Hutcherson.

Female Vocal

1. Sainkho Namtchylak

2. Andre' Pabarciute

These votes are easily explained with the reviews presented on the blog. Sainkho is casting her usual and still effective shamanic spells on “Not Quite Songs” while Andre’ Pabarciute takes You to the centre of the earth on “Varpai”.

Male Vocal

Can’t think of any 2010 record I heard with male vocal present.

Concert Band

1. Phall Fatale

2. Angles

3. Liudas Mockunas / Eugenijus Kanevicius / Dalius Naujokaitis

I'm not really sure of the sense of this category. The best concert I attended this year was Barry Guy New Orchestra, with sets by Augusti Fernandez/Mats Gustafsson duo and Gustaffson / Guy / Strid trio coming really close. Since improvised music is really a 'live music' I'd say that any great band is first and foremost a great concert band. And with this kind of experience, sometimes the only way to have it is the concert, and the 'music' somehow is lost when recorded on a cd.

1- I decided to go with the 'fun factor'. Phall Fatale played one of the most exciting music I heard live this year (more on that in the 'newcomer band' section). 

2- Haven't heard the Angles on stage but the "Epileptical West - Live in Coimbra" assures me I would love to (as they find their spot on 'band' section). 

3- Same thing with the energetic and hardrocking music of Liudas Mockunas / Eugenijus Kanevicius / Dalius Naujokaitis trio as presented on their lp release (Liudas can be found also in “newcomer musician” category)

Record Label

1. Not Two

2. Clean Feed

3. NoBusiness

Since it's based in Krakow I am able to track Not Two's activity on a very regular basis, and I am still more impressed with the high quality and large quantities of cds he's producing. (with many cds that can be found here or in the "My Favourites 2010" list, or simply in the reviewed cds section, proving my point)

Clean Feed brings to the world some of the most striking music again and again, with both quantity and quality being there. Angles and Full Throttle Orchestra cds are just a tip of the iceberg.

NoBusiness managed to create an impressive catalogue in very short span of time and they mantain the quality they began with (like the staggering David S. Ware "Live in Vilnius" double lp) slowly increasing the quantity of the discs released. They bring a lot of new names to Your attention, as well as re-release some of the long-gone music (Amalgam, Muntu, Commitments, Atomic) and they keep alive the vinyl fetish among jazz lovers.

Honorable mention goes to Multikulti and Laurence Family, with very modest catalogue (6 cd releases by Multikulti, double-lp by Laurence Family) but "Hera" and "Passion" alone prove the quality of their releases.

Now the whole list is available, I'm waiting to see how the general voting will turn out. Comments section is all Yours!

Bydgoszcz - Mozg (Brain) Festival, Barry & Maya; The Fat is Gone

Because of the conjuncture of some adversary, if very small incidents I wasn't able to get to Bydgoszcz as planned. Still the pics (that would accompany the text written about the gig) were already selected so I decided to post them anyway. As usually, courtesy of Krzysztof Penarski :)

Maya Homburger & Barry Guy (at Alchemia last year)

Also those guys will play - The Fat is Gone : Peter Brotzmann, Mats Gustafsson, Paal Nilssen-Love. (Pics coming from different concerts at Alchemia)

So I would not kick myself too much about missed opportunity to see those musicians play again I'm going to free impro session at Eszeweria which could get interesting and will probably be written about tomorrow.

and additionally:
Birthday of Jimi Hendrix today! No introduction needed. While they're have been few 'jazz' tribute albums or cover versions of Hendrix songs (Gil Evans comes to mind), most of those that I've heard, miss the point and engage in some guitar pyrotechnics and have lost completely the energy of Hendrix performance. Great exception and example how a cover can be successful are Mina Agossi's takes on Jimi's songs, original enough, passionate, groovy and the vocal impressions of guitar distortion solos are fun :).