The mini-tour of Europeโs concert venues continues, with a slight diversionโฆ
Christiania Jazz Club, Copenhagen
On Sunday afternoon, we went to the Christiania Jazz Club in Copenhagen to see the Good Vibes Quartet.
Jon Bruland, bass Renรฉ Mathiesen, drums Morten Grรธnvad, vibraphone Thomas Clausen, piano
So, how does this fascinating and uplifting experience fit into our tour of some of Europe’s major concert venues? The Jazz Club is located in an area known as Freetown Christiania, a former army barracks which became a commune and a home for alternative lifestyles in the early โ70s. In 2024, the illegal cannabis trade was shut down, and the area is now a tourist attraction, still with a bohemian feel similar to that of Manchesterโs Northern Quarter.
But Sundayโs gig did provide a link with Europeโs finest classical concert halls. If classical music in the early 20th century sometimes incorporates jazz, the Good Vibes Quartet sometimes incorporate classical music into jazz. The group describe themselves as โWhen classical virtuosity meets the groove of jazz.โ
Good Vibes Quartet
Drummer Renรฉ Mathiesen plays timpani with The Danish National Symphony Orchestra. We are due to see the orchestra perform the French composer Olivier Messiaenโs mighty Turangalรฎla Symphony at the DR Koncerthuset on Thursday, but Renรฉ told us that, despite the symphony’s massive percussion, no timps are needed!
The usual vibraphone player in the band, Wieland Welzel, is another classical luminary, Principal Timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, but on Sunday the guest star on vibraphone was Morten Grรธnvad. He has performed with numerous jazz artists, including the Danish Radio Big Band and the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Jazz veteran Jon Bruland played bass, sometimes playing upright bass and sometimes playing a custom 6-string Celinder electric bass. He started with Debbie Cameronโs band at 15 and has written several film scores. He joined Kasper Winding’s band in 1989 and later Alberte Windingโs band.
The fourth member of the quartet was Thomas Clausen on piano, who has been a professional jazz musician for over 50 years. He has played with Palle Mikkelborg, Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster and many others.
Sundayโs gig was an absolute joy. It was a pleasure to hear such virtuosic musicians playing in such an intimate venue, and to see their evident delight in each otherโs company. Some highlights from the second set: Rain, written by Clausen, which featured astonishing piano playing, including a chord sequence that reminded me of Messiaen and Debussy, and a duet with Mathiesen that felt like Steve Reich; Bee, Bob & Ulla (can you see what he did there?), a lively rockโnโroll number written by Grรธnvad, at the end of which he threw all four of his vibraphone sticks in the air like a rock drummer; Any Heaven, a gorgeous piece by Bruland; and Mathiesenโs highly rhythmic Mozambique.
Jazz and classical music unite in a stunning celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence
Members of the BBC Philharmonic. Image ยฉ Chris Payne
Saturday evening’s concert by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Joshua Weilerstein at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, was a celebration of America in the 250th anniversary year of Independence. It featured two composers who moved to New York, and a third who received part of his musical education from American radio. Duke Ellington was born in Washington, DC, and moved to New York, where he celebrated the city in Harlem. Dvoลรกk spent three years there as director of the National Conservatory, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned him to write his New World Symphony. Nikolai Kapustin was born in Horlivka, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. He began to absorb American musical culture – particularly jazz – as a piano student in Moscow, listening to Voice of America, the US equivalent of the BBC World Service. His Piano Concerto No. 4 is surprisingly jazzy and sounds as if it could have been written in New York.
Harlem recorded live at Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, in 1964, with Duke Ellington’s spoken-word introduction
The concert began with Duke Ellington’s Harlem, the Duke’s evocation of the area in the Northern section of Manhattan. He often prefaced live performances (such as the one recorded in Copenhagen in 1964) with a spoken-word introduction, setting the scene. His introduction varied from one performance to the next, but broadly, the scenario is a Sunday morning with smartly dressed people going to church. We travel up 7th Avenue through the culturally diverse Spanish and West Indian communities. Everyone is in a friendly mood. As Ellington wrote, ‘
‘You may hear a parade go by, or a funeral, or you may recognise the passage of those who are making Civil Rights demands.’
Saxophones from the BBC Philharmonic. Image ยฉ Chris Payne
Ellington wrote the distinctive opening of the piece for the trumpeter Cootie Williams, using a plunger mute to create a dirty, slightly sleazy sound, a two-note theme to express the word ‘Harlem.’ Trumpeter Cameron Chin-See opened the concert on Saturday, and there was an immediate call-and-response with the orchestra. We soon heard from the saxophones, who played superbly with a combination of swing and precision: Carl Raven and Anthony Brown (alto), Andy Hunter and Ben Jackson (tenor) and Jim Fieldhouse (baritone). The piece was episodic as we passed through the different parts of Harlem; this was joyful, foot-tapping music, with rich textures and glowing brass. A syncopated section led to a dancing brass theme, then a serpentine theme on saxes. An early highlight was the jazzy clarinet solo from John Bradbury, with plucked lower strings and a warm four-note falling theme on brass. After a huge climax, there were more superb solos from Elliot Gresty on bass clarinet and Richard Brown on trombone. This led to a section for a small jazz ensemble, followed by a lovely big-band flourish from the full orchestra. The opening ‘Harlem’ trumpet theme returned, and the orchestra took up the melody with an incredibly fast section, perfectly executed. Duke Ellington matched his piece to his band’s performers, writing out solos to match their particular performance practices. So it was appropriate that the virtuosic drummer Obi Jenne (from whom we would hear more later) ended the piece with a stunning drum solo, accompanied by Latin American percussion and vigorous timpani from Paul Turner. How often do you hear a drum solo in a classical concert? This was very different from the last drum solo I heard, from Asaf Sirkis with Soft Machine at Band on the Wall a couple of weeks ago.
Drummer Obi Jenne (centre). Image ยฉ Chris Payne
While the stage was rearranged to accommodate the piano and move the drum kit, the orchestra’s director Adam Szabo and conductor Joshua Weilerstein discussed the music. Weilerstein said that Ellington came to symphonic music through jazz, and Nikolai Kapustin came to jazz through symphonic music. He described the next piece, Kapustin’s Piano Concerto No. 4, as ‘very wacky.’ He wasn’t wrong. In his review for Gramophone, Jeremy Nicholas described it as ‘a riot’:
‘A carefully notated extended improvisation by the great Peter Nero โฆ and Oscar Peterson (an important influence on Kapustin), fully orchestrated by Ravel and Henry Mancini with further input from Art Tatum, Count Basie and Bill Evans.’
Szabo pointed out that the drum kit is often part of the percussion section, but in this performance, it was moved to the front so that drummer Obi Jenne and piano soloist Frank Dupree could face each other. Weilerstein joked that the drummer was really the boss in the piano concerto, although Jenne wouldn’t admit this. After so many brass instruments featured in the Ellington piece, it was a surprise to see only strings, three woodwind players and timpani on stage; the concerto often felt like a duet between piano and drums with orchestral embellishment. This blog also covers progressive rock, so there was another (joyful) surprise for your reviewer to hear the opening section of the concerto, a mixture of jazz, rock and blues that was very reminiscent of the great Keith Emerson of prog rock titans Emerson, Lake and Palmer. John Peel called them a ‘waste of talent and electricity’, to which Emerson replied, ‘At least he accepted that we had talent!’
Frank Dupree certainly demonstrated his talent on Saturday. His playing was astonishing. Sometimes he was a virtuoso jazz player, his fingers flying across the keyboard; sometimes he played as if he were the soloist in a twentieth-century romantic piano concerto, with a lovely touch; sometimes he could have been in a jazz bar, playing stride piano or blues. It was difficult to predict where this eccentric but exhilarating music would go next. In his long, written-out, solo cadenza, Dupree shone as the orchestral players watched, mesmerised. It was fascinating to watch Jenne, sometimes brushing the drums lightly like a jazz drummer, sometimes playing more heavily like a rock drummer, the kick drum sounding out clearly from his position at the front of the stage. After the piano cadenza, the orchestra rejoined, and they scampered to a stunning end. Dupree and Jenne acknowledged each other with huge smiles.
Drummer Obi Jenne and pianist Frank Dupree. Image ยฉ Chris Payne
Dupree asked us if we wanted more; well, of course we did! Jenne joined him again for his encore, Kapustin’s Concert Etude No. 1. This was a great showpiece for both players, but, to coin a phrase, less ‘wacky’ than the previous piece…. until… we saw Dupree creeping round the back of the piano to the drum kit… He joined Jenne in a drum solo that turned into a duet on drums, thunderous but witty as the two of them explored the kit together. This was the first time I had ever seen a joint drum solo; the audience loved it!
Weilerstein introduced Dvoลรกk’s Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’, which filled the whole second half, as a piece that never gets old, music that’s ‘so inviting and simple… with something for everyone.’ He had conducted it at least 15-20 times, and it always felt different. There’s no doubt that his time in America had an effect on Dvoลรกk’s music; writing about the works he wrote there, including this symphony and the Cello Concerto, he said,
‘I should never have composed these works “just so” if I hadn’t seen America.’
There’s a school of thought that says that he was directly influenced by American music, particularly African American spirituals and work songs. He wrote that this music was
โdistinguished by unusual and subtle harmonies, the like of which I have found in no other songs but those of old Scotland and Irelandโ.
The counter-argument is that Dvoลรกk doesn’t directly quote any African American melodies, and that the melodies he wrote himself could just as easily have been inspired by European folk music.
Whatever the source of Dvoลรกk’s inspiration, the BBC Philharmonic gave an inspired account of the symphony on Saturday. Weilerstein brought out a real sense of the work’s overarching shape, but also lots of detail; this well-known work felt fresh in his hands. The orchestra was in sparkling form. In the first movement, the flutes (Alex Jakeman and Victoria Daniel) were outstanding. In response to the conductor’s grand gestures, the final climax of the movement was faster than it’s sometimes played, but the orchestra handled the tempo with supreme aplomb, reaching a stunning climax.
Boy on the Bike – Hovis advert’s 2019 restoration | BFI
The second movement does have an American influence – the composer said it was inspired by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem The Song of Hiawatha, although there’s some disagreement about which part of the poem it refers to. To British audiences of a certain age, the movement will forever be associated with The Bike Ride or Boy on Bike, better known as simply The Hovis Advert, directed by Ridley Scott (director of Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise and Gladiator). The advert used a brass arrangement played by Ashington Colliery Band, but on Saturday, the familiar melody was superbly played by Rachel Clegg on cor anglais, set against gorgeous, Wagnerian brass chords. The woodwinds provided a characterful response; they were excellent throughout the symphony, particularly when depicting birdsong. There was a spellbinding passage when the strings played incredibly quietly with perfect ensemble; the audience sat rapt.
Conductor Joshua Weilerstein and the BBC Philharmonic. Image ยฉ Chris Payne
Dvoลรกk said that the third movement was also inspired by The Song of Hiawatha, and this time, he was more specific: he wrote that it represented the dance of Pau-Puk-Keewis at his wedding feast. The orchestra played the opening section, which recalls Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with phenomenal speed and precision. The horns shone as they played a chromatic theme, and the woodwind danced throughout the movement. The orchestra played with Baroque precision and limpid textures as Weilerstein danced on his podium, with a perfectly co-ordinated final chord. In the final movement, the brass section was in full flow, playing their early fanfare with military precision. After a joyful folk dance from the strings, the woodwind birdsong returned with a lovely clarinet solo. The orchestra played the ‘Three Blind Mice’ melody with playful simplicity. After a series of climaxes, interspersed with quieter sections as Weilerstein controlled the dynamics beautifully, the orchestra’s final statement was anguished yet thrilling. Weilerstein let his left hand fall slowly to give us time to consider what we had just heard, before there was rapturous applause in response to an emotional performance that was both exhausting to listen to – it was so good – and ultimately, cathartic.
Repertoire
Duke Ellington Harlem Nikolai Kapustin Piano Concerto No. 4 Nikolai Kapustin Concert Etude No. 1 (encore) Antonรญn Dvoลรกk Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’
Performers
BBC PhilharmonicOrchestra Joshua Weilerstein conductor Frank Dupree piano
Sources
Duke Ellington, Music is My Mistress (Doubleday, 1973) Jeremy Nicholas, KAPUSTIN Piano Concerto No 4. Concerto for Violin & Piano. Chamber Symphony (Frank Dupree) (Gramophone)
The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 7.30 on In Concert and will be available for 30 days after broadcast
This post was updated at 11.29 on 21 April 2026 to correct the name of the trumpeter in the Duke Ellington piece
Soft Machine launch their new album Thirteen and revisit some classics
Soft Machine: John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Fred Baker, Asaf Sirkis
Last time I saw Soft Machine’s Theo Travis onstage was nearly a year ago, at a much larger venue, the London Palladium, guesting for Steven Wilson on the latter’s tour of his latest album, The Overview. In return, Wilson let Travis borrow his original Mellotron for use on Soft Machine’s latest album, Thirteen. Manchester’s Band on the Wall was the perfect venue to launch the new album, with excellent sound and an intimate feel that brought us close enough to the musicians to enjoy watching their virtuosic performances as well as hearing them. Guitarist John Etheridge (50 years and counting with the band), who was a genial host throughout, said Band on the Wall was one of the band’s favourite venues.
Travis played sax, flute, and keyboards, and he was joined by new members, Fred Thelonious Baker (bass) and Asaf Sirkis (drums). Etheridge said that although he has been around ‘for a million years’ (he may be exaggerating slightly), Thirteen is the best album he has played on (he may not be exaggerating).
Theo Travis
The first half was devoted almost entirely to the new album. The set began with Open Road, a showcase for all four musicians: Etheridge played unbelievably fast runs and spacey chords on guitar, Travis played melodic sax with filigree improvisations, Baker provided a lovely fretless bass solo, and Sirkis’ drumming was viscerally virtuosic.
An early highlight was Seven Hours from the new album. Musicians of this calibre don’t need to follow an album version rigidly, and there are advantages to playing without a complex light show or videos that require precise synchronisation with external media. The song began with evocative flute, bathed in echo, and single guitar notes: a lovely start. Gently discordant guitar duetted with the flute, deliciously avant-garde. Pastoral flute led to military drums and a spacey, psychedelic section. Free jazz improvisation with dystopian guitar, in the mode of King Crimson, was made more ominous by the distant sound of a siren outside the venue; were the Melody Police on their way? Perhaps with this in mind, Travis on sax introduced the melody. Etheridge admitted that this stunning version had ‘at least some of the same notes as on the album.’ It was a fair cop.
John Etheridge
The only song in the first set that wasn’t from the new album was The Tale of Taliesin from Softs, the 1976 album that was the first to feature Etheridge on guitar. The track began with a lovely, melodic bass riff offset against the guitar riff. Once Baker safely established the melody, the band took flight in a proggier section, with thunderous drumming from Sirkis. Etheridge’s fingers flew up and down the fretboard so quickly that he sounded like a keyboard player. After this controlled mayhem, Travis slowed the song down at the end, returning to the main theme.
The gorgeous Waltz for Robert had a foot in both old and new Soft Machine camps: it’s a tribute to Robert Wyatt, who left the band in 1971, but it comes from the new album. The song has a lilting melancholy, like the soundtrack to a film noir. Travis’ flute-playing was reminiscent of his playing on the Porcupine Tree track ‘Don’t Hate Me’ from their 1999 album Stupid Dream. Appropriately, Etheridge chose this as a moment to give us a potted history of the band before we went off to partake of ‘benzedrine’ at the interval. He referred to the late John Marshall, who had been replaced by various ‘exceptional’ drummers over the last few years. Of all those drummers, one was ‘exceptional exceptional’: Asif Sirkis.
After we had indulged (or not!) in our interval benzedrine, the second set began with the classic ‘Out-Bloody-Rageous’ from 1971’s Third. Etheridge told us that the track was ‘minutely not in 4/4’ because it was in 15/8 (like the main theme of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells). Travis replicated the tape loops on the original track by triggering various sequences, smiling gently to himself. Later, he played a beautiful solo, liquid, flowing and melodic. Etheridge introduced 1968’s Joy of a Toy as ‘a unique piece’, the first single the band released in America, in the key of D major, an ‘amazingly un-Soft Machine key!’ Baker played a stunning bass solo with lots of double-stopping.
Fred Baker
As Etheridge played the mellow intro of ‘Song of Aeolus’ from Softs (1976), he was joined by a discordant phone sound from the audience. Etheridge provided some deliciously discordant music of his own, using his whammy bar so that his guitar drifted out of tune. There were more echoes of King Crimson musicians: Etheridge’s cascading notes sounded like Robert Fripp’s ‘Frippertronics‘, and Asif’s spectacular drumming was reminiscent of the great Bill Bruford, sounding like a whole percussion section rather than just a drum set.
The final track from the new album was ‘Green Books’, which began with solo funky guitar and a funky sax solo, then a burst of prog and a syncopated jazz section, all the players clearly enjoying themselves here. There was another chance for Travis to shine in his composition ‘Fourteen Hour Dream’ from Hidden Details (2018), playing a spacey, psychedelic flute solo, and later entertaining us with his flutter-tongued virtuosity.
Asaf Sirkis
To end, the band played a medley of four tunes, inspired, according to Etheridge, by the piano medleys of Mrs Mills and Winifred Atwell (presumably the idea of a medley rather than the tunes themselves…) The medley featured a song with Etheridge’s favourite title 10.30 Returns to the Bedroom (don’t ask). The medley included an astonishing drum solo from Sirkis, as the others moved to the side of the stage to admire from afar. The solo began gently, but with a restless feel, then Asif demonstrated his phenomenal strength, ending with flourishes that drew well-deserved applause. The medley ended with a funky, strutting riff, worthy of Jimmy Page, from Etheridge, and a triumphant climax from the whole band. The packed house was treated to an optimistic encore, ‘Backwards/Noisette’, which ended in another stunning climax, before the band generously gave their time and their signatures at the merch stall. The band have several more dates in the UK and across Europe on the tour; catch them live if you can.
Soft Machine travel to Switzerland, Italy and Portugal, then play in England in May and June, and the tour continues for the rest of the year. Full details here
Performers
John Etheridge guitar Theo Travis flute, saxes and keyboards Fred Thelonious Baker bass Asaf Sirkis drums
Images taken from previous gigs/tours, courtesy of Theo Travis
Soft Machine return with a new line-up, and their thirteenth studio album, sixty years since the band was formed.
The number thirteen is unlucky for some, but the latest version of Soft Machine obviously don’t think so. In some cultures, the number is considered a symbol of change, regeneration or growth. Thirteen is the title of the bandโs thirteenth album. The record has thirteen tracks, the longest of which is thirteen minutes. The band was co-founded by Daevid Allen, who was born on 13 January and died on 13 March. And the record is due out on Friday 13 March (what could be luckier than that?)
The album marks another chapter in Soft Machine’s complicated history over the last six decades. The band was formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen. They were founder members of the Canterbury Scene, starting as a psychedelic band, and maintaining a regular residency at the UFO Club in London alongside the Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. Later, they became aย progressive rock and jazz rock band. None of the founder members is still in the band; over the decades, the band has had over 30 members. The latest iteration of the band was formed in 2025, with John Etheridge on guitar (celebrating his 50th anniversary with the band!), long-standing member Theo Travis on sax, flute and keyboards, and new members Fred Thelonious Baker (bass) and Asaf Sirkis (drums).
Soft Machine luminary Robert Wyatt has endorsed Sirkis,
‘As far as I can see there’s nothing he can’t do when he puts his mind to it.. his kit skills just keep expanding but what really get to me are his ethereal, haunting compositions.’
Sirkis returns the compliment with Waltz for Robert, a haunting track that starts with gentle guitar chords and film noir flute that has the feel of Don’t Hate Me by Steven Wilson on which Theo Travis also plays. Travis’ flute playing becomes more florid, even as the guitar chords remain melancholy. Fred Thelonious Baker provides lovely fretless bass.
Sirkis also wrote the superb opening track Lemon Poem Song, with an atmospheric, gently aspirational chord sequence overlaid by John Etheridge’s filigree guitar work. Sirkis also shows what a stunningly virtuosic drummer he is, a worthy addition to the band.
The new version of the band has one song credited to all the band members, Pens to the Foal Mode, which was recorded live in the studio as a completely free group improvisation with no overdubs: all flute loops were recorded in real time. It’s a spacey track, with some dystopian guitar from John Etheridge. Seven Hoursalso starts with some free improvisation: this all bodes well for the band’s forthcoming tour which begins on 12 March.
Soft Machine in 2026: Asaf Sirkis, Theo Travis, John Etheridge and Fred Thelonious Baker ยฉ GD Corporate Photography
Baker’s first composition for the band is Turmoilwhich begins with dense guitar, and a King Crimson sense of impending doom, with unsettling fuzz bass from Baker and an angular melody from Travis on sax. The track barely holds itself together, but virtuosic drumming from Sirkis just about keeps this superb song from falling part: a nightmarishly delicious vision that perfectly matches its title.
The bulk of the composing duties fall to Travis, who contributes nearly half of the tracks. He describes Open Roadas a ‘rocky track’ which fits his philosophy that melody is important. Like Lemon Poem Song, this track features an emotive chord sequence that underpins Travis’ long-limbed earworm of a melody. The sax solo is reminiscent of the work of the great Dick Parry, most famous for his work with Pink Floyd. Etheridge’s guitar solo has something of the feel of David Gilmour but with added intricacy. Fans of progressive rock will be pleased to note that the Mellotron is not just any Mellotron; this is Steven Wilson’s Mellotron. As Travis recounted to Sid Smith in Prog, Wilson let him use his Mellotron in return for Travis guesting at Wilson’s 2025 show at the Palladium.
The centrepiece of the album is Travis’ composition The Longest Night, which Smith describes in his sleeve notes as ‘prog-leaning’, perhaps because of its 13-minute length. This is an epic in King Crimson mode, which casts back to long-form, contemplative instrumentals from albums like Lark’s Tongue in Aspic (1973) and Starless and Bible Black (1974). There’s a lovely moment late in the track which is reminiscent of Ian Anderson’s flute playing, with a King Crimson bass line creeping up underneath. But this isn’t prog rock pastiche. Pete Whittaker provides some excellent work on organ, and Sirkis’ drumming is simply stunning. Travis provides pleasingly melodic sax lines. Etheridge played his extended solo live in the studio, worried afterwards that it was too long. Travis told Smith,
‘I don’t think [Etheridge] would mind me saying that he regards this as his best solo moment, and he’s made a lot of records over the years.’
The album ends with Daevidโs Special Cuppa, another tribute to a founder member of Soft Machine. Travis worked with Daevid Allen, who last played with the band in 1967, as a member of Gong from 1999 to 2009, and in 2001 he recorded Allen playing ‘glissando guitar’ in the studio. Travis has written a gorgeous song around Allen’s shimmering guitar, featuring the evocative sound of the duduk, an Armenian traditional instrument which he played on Aeolus: one hour duduk meditation, another collaboration with Wilson. The track ends with Allen’s ghostly guitar rising into the ether, coming full circle 60 years later.
Performers
John Etheridge Electric guitar Theo Travis Tenor and soprano saxes, flute, alto flute, Fender Rhodes piano, electronics, piano (track 1), Mellotron, Electronics Fred Thelonious Baker Fretless bass guitar Asaf Sirkis Drums and percussion, piano (track 6)
Daevid Allen (recorded in 2001) glissando guitar (track 13) Pete Whittaker Organ (tracks 2,5), Fender Rhodes piano (track 2) Nick Utteridge Gong (track 5)
Tracks 1 Lemon Poem Song (Sirkis) (3.27) 2 Open Road (Travis) (7.30) 3 Seven Hours (Travis) (5.12) 4 Waltz for Robert (Travis) (4.19) 5 The Longest Night (Travis) (13.08) 6 Disappear (Sirkis) (3.55) 7 Green Books (Etheridge) (5.46) 8 Beledo Balado (Etheridge) (4.32) 9 Pens To The Foal Mode (Baker, Etheridge, Sirkis, Travis) (2.42) 10 Time Station (Travis) (2.46) 11 Which Bridge Did You Cross (Travis) (2.49) 12 Turmoil (Baker) (5.30) 13 Daevidโs Special Cuppa (Travis) (3.10)
Thirteen is released on Dyad Records through Proper on Friday 13 March. Soft Machine’s 32-date tour begins in Coventry on Thursday 12 March.
Read on…
Theo Travis plays on Steven Wilson’s Overview Tour…
On 14 January 2017, I was staying in the Thistle Hotel, Euston, within striking distance of Euston station in London. That evening, I ordered a copy of the original cast recording of Lazarus the musical with music by David Bowie and a book by the Irish playwright Enda Walsh. I know the exact date I bought the recording because Amazon helpfully tells me that ‘You last purchased this item on 14 Jan 2017.’
The reason I ordered the CD was that I had just returned to the hotel, exhilarated, after seeing the musical at King’s Cross Theatre which was built specially to host it. The musical premiered in an off-Broadway production in New York in 2015. Poignantly, the first night was the last time Bowie was seen in public, before his untimely death on 10 January 2016.
The poster for the New York production ยฉ New York Theatre Workshop. Source: Wikimedia Commons
To add to the poignancy, the New York cast came into the studio to record the musical on 11 January 2016, when the world was waking up to the news of Bowie’s death only a few days after the release of his final album, Blackstar. The whole Lazarus album is superb, with a very strong vocal cast, in particular the actor Michael C Hall who played the central character and whose voice is similar to Bowie’s but with its own distinctive timbre.
Musicians from the London production of Lazarus. with Sophia Anne Caruso and Michael C Hall ยฉ BBC/Jan Versweyveld
The instrumental arrangements are stripped-down compared with the original studio versions. In the case of This is Not America, the arrangement is hauntingly sparse, giving the song a melancholy, contemplative quality that’s absent from the original. Once heard, it’s difficult to shake the mesmerisingly simple opening synth chords from your musical memory. Sophia Anne Caruso’s vocal performance is very different from Bowie’s, childlike but also astonishingly mature.
Sophia Anne Caruso told TheaterMania that she received the call asking her to play the part of Girl in the New York production on her fourteenth birthday,
“I’m good at playing other-worldly roles… I enjoy doing stuff that’s a little more dark and trippy”
She ended up rehearsing Life on Mars with Bowie himself in the room.
Bowie recorded the original version of the song in late 1984 with the jazz/fusion band the Pat Metheny Group for the soundtrack of John Schlesinger’s spy film The Falcon and the Snowman (1985). Although Bowie rarely collaborated with jazz musicians, his regular keyboard player Mike Garson had jazz chops. Blackstar heavily features a jazz band: Donny McCaslin (saxophone), Jason Lindner (piano), Tim Lefebvre (bass) and Mark Guiliana (drums). He recorded his 2014 single Sue (Or in a Season of Crime) with Maria Schneider and her experimental jazz orchestra.
But This is Not America is not particularly jazzy. It features 80s synths, and a gentle calypso rhythm, with no virtuosic jazz solos or instrumental breaks. It was a Billboardpick of the week, ‘an enigmatic mood piece with the singer in his West-End musical mode’ (page 82 of the 2 February 1985 issue).
Bowie recorded a live version at the BBC Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House, London on 27 June 2000. It’s driven by a fiercely funky guitar from Earl Slick, melodic bass from Gail Ann Dorsey, and eloquent keyboards from Mike Garson. The closest that this version comes to the Lazarus musical version is the backing vocals from Holly Palmer and Emm Gryner. The song was was released on a bonus CD as part of the Bowie At The Beeb set, but it is doesn’t appear to be available on streaming services. All three versions are excellent, but I do find myself returning to the haunting Lazarus version again and again.
In memory of David Bowie (8 January 1947 โ 10 January 2016)
Click on the image below for more in the Off the Beaten Track series…
Image: Escomb Nature Reserve, Bishop Auckland, County Durham
A serene Beethoven piano and two unresolved American orchestral classics from Ives and Adams
Alim Beisembayev (at the piano), John Storgรฅrds and the BBC Philharmonic. Image credit Chris Payne.
Saturday evening’s concert by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, under their Chief Conductor, John Storgรฅrds, featured two pieces by American composers Charles Ives and John Adams, written a century apart in the early 20th and 21st centuries. They book-ended a piece by Beethoven written in the early part of the 19th century, with the gap between the three works almost exactly 100 years (1805-6; 1908; 2009), providing neat symmetry.
The concert began with TheUnanswered Question (1908) by Charles Ives, which he described as a ‘cosmic landscape.’ The piece consists of three layers, beautifully controlled by Storgรฅrds: the opening strings, spellbindingly quiet, representing ‘the Druids Who Know See and Hear Nothing’; a solo trumpet (played here by Tom Fountain) that poses the ‘Perennial Question of Existence’; and a flute quartet that attempts to provide ‘The Invisible Answer.’ The piece ends with the ‘Undisturbed Solitude’ of the Druids, as the Question remains unanswered.
The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives, adapted by Japanese synth pioneer Isao Tomita, from his 1977 album Kosmos
Storgรฅrds barely moved as the bows of the strings seemed suspended in slow motion. The solo trumpeter, Tom Fountain, was almost hidden near the Bridgewater Hall’s organ. The plaintive sound of the trumpet was answered by increasingly discordant flutes, playing a distorted version of the trumpet theme. On a signal from Storgรฅrds, one of the flute quartet conducted her colleagues; one of the remarkable aspects of this piece is that the three groups play in independent tempi. This might have been a spellbinding performance, but unfortunately, our concentration was disrupted by a fourth (unwanted) layer, noisy coughing from the audience.
Alim Beisembayev. Source: alimbeisembayev.co.uk
Like the Ives piece, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major (1805-6) also poses a question. It begins with a gentle question from the piano, which the orchestra answers quietly, repeating the piano’s opening theme. But as in the Ives, the answer isn’t quite what we expect: the piano opens in the home key of G major, and the orchestra’s response is in the unrelated key of B major. Nevertheless, the relationship between soloist and orchestra is harmonious. There’s no pitched battle here, as there often is between orchestra and soloist in a concerto. The work is frequently characterised by Mozartian calm rather than Beethovenian muscularity and ferocity. It has a valedictory quality, as if marking the fact that this was the last piano concerto the composer could perform in concert due to his increasing deafness.
The soloist on Saturday was Alim Beisembayev, born in Kazakhstan, who won First Prize at The Leeds International Piano Competition in 2021. He joined the BBC New Generation Artists in 2023, and this was his first concert with them as a graduate of the scheme.
Early in the first movement, a placid, running theme on the upper strings was paired with precisely plucked lower strings, which were very clear in the Bridgewater Hall’s superb acoustic. Glorious, sunny orchestral flowering was similar to the calmer Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony written a couple of years later. There was a brief moment of doubt in the lower strings, but this soon resolved as the orchestra repeated the opening theme. Beisembayev replied with filigree decoration, beautifully even, playing with a lovely touch. He entered a mellow dialogue with the orchestra as they passed through a chromatic palette of keys. In the cadenza, he was mesmerising to watch, playing with more passion and emotion than earlier, then with gorgeous, limpid simplicity.
The second movement of the concerto is unusual in that it is more robust than many. Beisembayev began with a perfectly measured performance of the nostalgic opening theme, but there followed a fretful passage, still beautifully controlled. A forlorn, almost apologetic orchestral theme suggested Beethoven’s sorrow at being forced to abandon performing live. In the final movement, which began without a break, the orchestra and soloist entered into a more relaxed, joyful dialogue. Beisembayev held up the orchestra in a moment of stasis while he performed piano pyrotechnics. They joyfully chased each other through the keys. Beisembayev hurried towards a cadenza-like section, then suddenly stopped and restarted – there was light at the end of the metaphorical tunnel. We had reached the sunlit uplands; the ending was ecstatic.
Scarlatti’s Sonata in G Major, Kk. 13, L. 486, from Beisembayev’s 2021 album The Leeds International Piano Competition 2021 – Gold Medal Winner (Parlophone)
Beisembayev’s encore was Scarlatti’s Sonata in G Major, Kk. 13. He played this complex music with great speed and accuracy, bringing out the individual melodic lines superbly, drawing warm applause from the audience
John Adams’ City Noir was named by the late Andrew Clements of The Guardian in 2019 as one of the best classical music works of the 21st Century. Adams was inspired to write the piece by reading the multi-volume Americans and the California Dream by the American historian Kevin Starr. In particular, he was inspired by the volume Embattled Dreams: California in War and Peace, 1940-1950, which describes the case of the gruesome murder of Elizabeth Short, who became known after her death as Black Dahlia. The story goes that she moved to Los Angeles to become an actress, and she may have been called Black Dahlia after the 1946 film noir The Blue Dahlia. Adams was inspired by the ‘sensational journalism’ of 1940s and 50s California, and the ‘dark, eerie chiaroscuro of the Hollywood films’ of that era to write music for an imaginary film noir. He was also inspired to write ‘jazz-inflected symphonic music’, drawing on models such as Darius Milhaud’s La Crรฉation du monde written in 1922 – 23 and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue written a year later.
John Storgรฅrds and the BBC Philharmonic. Image credit Chris Payne.
The first movement, ‘The City and its Double’, threw us immediately into the cinematic landscape with full orchestra, uncompromisingly dark, with serpentine themes snaking back on themselves. The work’s jazz credentials were immediately obvious, with drummer Ben Gray providing insistent rhythms. The alto sax soloist Carl Raven was superb throughout the whole piece. The movement depicts a boulevard at night, deserted but with an ominous atmosphere, punctuated by moments of terror. The movement had a late-night feel, with a shimmer suggesting the silver screen. There was bright, cinematic music, troubling and virtuosic, creating a glorious cacophony of joy. Adams is a master of orchestral colours and layers, and Storgรฅrds brought out all the detail of this dense score from the vast orchestra.
From out of the chaos arose the alto sax melody of the second movement, ‘The Song is for You’, fluidly played by Carl Raven. In the middle of the intricate orchestral texture, it was a visceral shock to hear a single held note in the violins, before the texture thickened again. There were further solos: Richard Brown played the trombone idiomatically in the style of the ‘talking solo’ performed by Duke Ellington’s band members Lawrence Brown and Britt Woodman, as the orchestra growled beneath; Carl Raven returned with a short riff, entering into frenzied dialogue with the orchestra, contrasting with the tranquil discussions of orchestra and soloist in the Beethoven piano concerto; Steven Burnardย brought a lovely warm tone to a brief viola solo.
John Storgรฅrds and the BBC Philharmonic. Image credit Chris Payne.
The third movement began with sultry woodwind, perfectly depicting a ‘Boulevard Night’, ; in the words of the composer, ‘peopled with strange characters.’ We could feel the heat described in harmonic changes. Trumpeter Tom Fountain, the soloist in the Ives, returned with an increasingly virtuosic solo. Furiously rhythmic chords used the whole orchestra as a percussion instrument, recalling Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, as far away from the elegant control of the Beethoven piece as possible. Raven returned with a sensuous solo, described by Adams as ‘brash and uncouth, perfectly characterised. Febrile jazz drumming from Ben Gray, duetting with percussionist Tim Williams, created joyful syncopations which were amazing to watch, bringing the stunning performance of a difficult piece to an end.
Programme
Charles Ives The Unanswered Question Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 John Adams City Noir
Performers
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Alim Beisembayev piano John Storgรฅrds conductor
Source
Programme Note on City Noir by John Adams at earbox.com
The concert was recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 27 January. It will be available for 30 days after broadcast via BBC Sounds.
Inรชs Loubet is a Portuguese singer-songwriter who combines Latin Jazz and Brazilian Tropicรกlia, with a touch of soul and funk. She released her debut solo album Senga on the Albertโs Favourites label last year. On Sunday, she was joined in the Festival Marquee by Julio de Castro on electric bass and Jansen Santana on a fascinating array of percussion, including the boom box he was sitting on, metal keys, a small samba drum and plastic bottle tops. Inรชs Loubet provided lead vocals and acoustic guitar.
Inรชs Loubet and Jansen Santana
An early highlight was Dandฤ da Bahia from the new album, a song about friends who significantly impact your life, even if you havenโt seen them for a while. Loubet smiled gently as she sang and played guitar, and de Castro played a lovely melodic bass line. Olha o Rio was an ode to carnival and its contribution to Brazilian music. The song began with a samba/bossa nova feel, Loubet sounding like the American jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux. Loubet announced Sambo Mesmo Sem, a song about coming together to celebrate despite the weather, as the first single she ever released, in November 2023. It was a lovely, laid-back song featuring mixed percussion and superb guitar, bass and vocal harmonies. Loubet had a charming stage presence, drawing us into her music and her stories with a mellow, soulful voice. Santana was relaxed and inventive in his percussion playing, smiling gently as he played. De Castro was a virtuosic bass player and played some excellent funky bass on Banho de Folhas, a cover of a song by the Brazilian singer-songwriter Luedji Luna.
Julio de Castro
Loubet explained that most of the songs in the set were from Senga, a superb album that is well worth investigating. Senga is Agnes (her name) backwards, but it also means fragments, and the record represents fragments of who she is. Guri (child in Portuguese) recounted a long journey in Brazil in a car with a nine-month-old boy, enjoying himself despite the journey. Loubet dedicated this song to the boy, saying she needs to be more like him. She danced while she sang this inspiring song. Semente (โseedโ) told the more serious story of a phone call from her mother in her native Porto ( โthe best city in Portugalโ) asking her to come home from university because her father was ill with depression. It was a gentle, soulful song with an excellent bass solo and anguished vocals at the end.
Two of the songs in the set were about womenโs role in society. Sapo Jacarรฉ used a rhythm that only women play, in the mountains in the North East of Portugal, as they sing verses about their struggles as women. Loubet dedicated the final song A Todas as Mulheres (To all women), to all the women in the room, and to family members she had seen in toxic relationships. A haunting song, it was slow and poignant. At one point, she moved away from the mic, and the audience leaned in to this intimate, vulnerable section. At the end of the song (and the set), the Minster bell chimed, as if in agreement with the sentiment of the song.
Performers Inรชs Loubet voice, guitar Julio de Castro electric bass Jansen Santana percussion
Mahler and the Folksong – songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and traditional folksongs arr. Gemma Bassย The Quire, Southwell Minsterย
This took place in the beautiful and intimate surroundings of the Quire in Southwell Minster. The audience sat in the choir stalls while the musicians performed on the steps to the Chancel. Marcus Farnsworth, Founder and Artistic Director of Southwell Music Festival, and baritone for this recital, introduced us to the eleventh festival, following last yearโs triumphant tenth anniversary celebrations. He said he had enjoyed last yearโs Bank Holiday Monday concert in the Minsterโs Chapter House, with musicians including the mezzo-soprano Judy Louie Brown and the composer and violinist Gemma Bass, so they decided to do something similar this year.
The Quire of Southwell Minster, with the statue of Bishop George Ridding (far right)
Gustav Mahler returned to texts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boyโs Magic Horn), an early nineteenth-century collection of German folk poems and songs, on several occasions, including movements of his second, third and fourth symphonies, various song collections, and the song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellenโฏ(Songs of a Wayfarer). In her programme note, Gemma Bass described Mahlerโs songs as follows:
โThereโs a focus on humanness and nature, both in his subjects and his approach, but thereโs also an incredible depth and something bigger being tapped into here โ his own genius, perhaps, or his faith โ and of course a remarkable command of musical language.โ
Libby Burgess and Marcus Farnsworth. ยฉ Tom Platinum Morley
Farnsworth sang the five Mahler songs in the concert with accompanist Libby Burgess. Both musicians skilfully drew out the subtleties of Mahlerโs musical language. They began with Wo die schรถnen Trompeten blasen(Where the splendid trumpets sound). Farnsworth brought out the tenderness and poignancy of this early morning meeting between a soldier and his lover before he went to war. He was more robust in Revelge (Reveille), with a rich tone and boisterous demeanour, Burgess superbly illustrating the drums played by the jolly soldier as he sang โTralalee, tralalay, tralala.โ But the song had an underlying poignancy, described in the chilling final verse, โThere in the morning lie their bones/In rank and file like tombstones.โ The Schubert-like folk song Rheinlegendchen (Little Rhine Legend) about unrequited love had a lovely flowing piano part, and there was a glimpse of hope at the end. Farnsworthโs superb word-painting was again evident in Wer hat das Liedlein erdacht? (Who made up this little song?) as he brought out the songโs gentle humour.But the highlight of his contribution was Urlicht(Primordial Light), the fourth movement of Mahler’s Second Symphony. The poem describes returning to God with the hope of resurrection, and as Farnsworth sang it, I noticed a statue of a praying figure with his back to us as if turning to God, George Ridding, first Bishop of Southwell (1884 โ 1904). Farnsworth sang from the depths of inward, contemplative stillness. Burgessโs touch on the piano was sublime. The song’s ending was ecstatic, as the protagonist passed into eternal life.
Judy Louie Brown, Gemma Bass, Lena Eckels and Nathaniel Boyd ยฉ Tom Platinum Morley
Gemma Bass said in her programme note that her English folk song arrangements were inspired by the contrast between Mahlerโs โsimplicity and complexity.โ She told the audience that she wanted to bring out Mahlerian contrasts between the personal and the universal, nature and humanity, love and war. Even the building where the concert took place was a mixture of the manmade and the nature carvings of the Minster (such as those celebrated in The Leaves of Southwell project). Bass took songs famously set by Benjamin Britten, Polly Oliver, O Waly Waly and Come you not from Newcastle? plus the traditional Northumbrian song, The Oak and the Ash, and radically transformed them. Mezzo-soprano Judy Louie Brown sang the songs with a warm, generous tone and a gentle, folky inflexion. The string players โ Bass herself on violin, Lena Eckels on viola and Nathaniel Boyd on cello โ often seemed to provide an ironic commentary on the jolly-sounding folk tunes, in the kind of contrast Mahler would have enjoyed. So Sweet Polly Oliverโs traditional tune was accompanied by violin and viola that sounded like bagpipes and a bell-like drone, perhaps to cast doubt on the female protagonistโs decision to please her lover better, having bravely followed him to war dressed in her dead brotherโs clothes. In the bold arrangement of O Waly Waly, the strings darkly enhanced the narrative of unrequited love. Bass also wrote two Mahler-inspired instrumentals. Rosy Dawn, which took its title from the words โDie Morgenrรถtโ from Wo die schรถnen Trompeten blasen, featured a folky violin tune, soon joined by the viola, over a cello drone. There was a feeling of gently pensive stasis, which shifted like a flowing river, constantly changing but always the same. Three Geese took its title from the โdrei Gรคnsโ of Wer hat das Liedlein erdacht? It began in the same contemplative mode as Rosy Dawn but gradually became more folky, jazzy and joyful. It ended with a humorous little squiggle, which made the audience smile. A lovely end to a delightful concert.
Performers Judy Louie Brown mezzo-soprano Marcus Farnsworth baritone Libby Burgess piano Gemma Bass violin Lena Eckels viola Nathaniel Boyd cello
Festival Cabaretย Southwell Libraryย
Festival Voices ยฉ Tom Platinum Morley
Amongst the displays about the local history of Southwell, this was the first time a Festival main event took place in Southwell Library on the high street, just a short walk from the Minster. The Festival Voices performed a well-chosen mix of songs from musicals, 60s and 70s pop and rock, and music from Gershwin, Flanders and Swann, the Ink Spots, Hoagy Carmichael and Victoria Wood. All were guaranteed to raise smiles of recognition and tapping of toes in the capacity audience.
The concert began with a showcase for the superb a cappella close harmony singing of Festival Voices, including two lovely Beatles covers. Here, There and Everywhere followed the template of the original harmonies, but with added decorations in a Swingle Singers style. Blackbird was part of the concertโs avian theme, which somehow got lost along the way; no matter! The singers mimicked guitars and whistled stylishly. A false ending raised laughter from the audience, and the real ending raised more laughter. In between, there was a stunning rendition of The Ink Spotsโ 1940 hit Java Jive. There were vocal sound effects, including drumming, an upright bass and hearty โAahsโ to show how much the singers loved coffee and tea.
Individual singers from within the choir had a chance to shine, too. Chris Webb sang Hippopotamus by Flanders and Swann with operatic aplomb, and the audience gamely covered themselves in metaphorical mud in the choruses. Oliver Hunt sang Bernsteinโs On the Town in a poignant rendition, and a passionate Lost in the Stars, acting out the words expressively. Alastair Brookshaw created a Bridge Over Troubled Water, echoing the delicacy of Art Garfunkelโs voice with a liquid legato in a rousing performance. He returned in a fantastic coup de thรฉรขtre, dressed as a priest and wishing the house peace as he flew onto the stage in ecclesiastical turmoil. He perfectly illustrated the painful dilemma of the protagonist in Bishopโs Song from Sondheimโs last musical, Here We Are. There was another ecclesiastical protagonist when Carrys Jones, minus the habit of the Mother Abbess, sang an operatic, heartfelt version of Climb Ev’ry Mountain.
There was a piano interlude when the two accompanists, Libby Burgess and Paul Provost, treated us to a selection of four-hand arrangements from Gershwinโs Porgy and Bess. They played a lilting version of Summertime, a rollicking, jazzy version of It Ainโt Necessarily So, and a short but very sweet I Got Plenty Oโ Nuttin. The concert ended with more joyous close harmony frolics from Festival Voices. There was a witty version of Queenโs vaudeville pastiche, Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, complete with kazoos, honouring the bandโs famous โNo Synthesisers!โ avowal. There was Tin Pan Alley close harmony in Hoagy Carmichaelโs Skylark, with excellent solos from the choir. But perhaps the highlight of the whole concert wasVictoria Woodโs wickedly naughty Ballad of Barry and Freda (Letโs Do It), which features the immortal line, โBeat me on the bottom with a Womanโs Weekly.โ We felt sorry for poor old Barry being harassed by his wife. The song went down a storm – a fantastic ending to a superb concert. A splendid time was guaranteed for all.
Performers Libby Burgess piano Paul Provost piano Festival Voices โ soloists Chris Webb, Oliver Hunt, Alastair Brookshaw, Carrys Jones
Duke Ellingtonโs โSacred Concertโย The Nave, Southwell Minsterย
When conductor and Artistic Director Marcus Farnsworth was 12 and studying trumpet, he discovered Simon Rattleโs TheJazz Album, which he recorded in 1987 with London Sinfonietta and others. Farnsworth was fascinated by the final piece on the album, Leonard Bernsteinโs Prelude, Fugue and Riffs and always wanted to conduct it. With trumpeter Graham South, he devised a concert which included the Bernstein piece, and his dream was realised – in what he described as โa new departureโ for the Festival – an orchestral jazz concert with choir and clarinet and soprano soloists.
South and Farnsworth chose music from Duke Ellington and his long-time collaborator, Billy Strayhorn, to pair with the Bernstein. In his invaluable programme notes, South quoted a comment Bernstein made to Ellington in a TV interview in 1966,
Well maybe thatโs really the difference between us โ you wrote symphonic jazz, and I wrote jazz symphonies
Leonard Bernstein talking to Duke Ellington on 2 July 1966 ยฉ WTMJ-TV, a Journal Broadcast Group Station
The musicians were the Manchester-based Cottontail Orchestra, comprised of freelance musicians from various ensembles, including Beats & Pieces Big Band and Manchester Jazz Collective. Appropriately, they began the concert with the Duke Ellington composition Cottontail. This was lively big band jazz, idiomatically played with superbly virtuosic soloists. At one point, a sax quintet stood up to play some gorgeous close harmony, similar to what we had heard in the Festival Cabaret earlier. Strayhornโs Isfahan showcased the extraordinary talent of alto sax player Emily Burkhardt, whose beautiful tone featured sensuous slides and a melismatic flow, with quivering vibrato and bluesy note bends. A surprise but welcome addition to the programme was Ellingtonโs Happy-Go-Lucky Local, which has a slightly sleazy and sarcastic sound, describing a local train heaving its way along the track – some material from the much more famous Night Train could also be heard. For Prelude to a Kiss, the band were joined by soprano Clare Wheeler, whose voice was suitably mellow with a touch of the great Ella Fitzgerald. The final Ellington piece in the first half was Kinda Dukish/Rockinโ in Rhythm, with a lovely syncopated piano intro from Adam Fairhall, followed by joyfully intricate big band music. Farnsworth described Prelude, Fugue and Riffs as the โmeeting point of classical and jazzโ, with a prelude for brass and kit, an โactual fugueโ for saxophone, and Matt Glendening on solo clarinet in the riffs section. Touches of 20th-century classical music could be heard, such as Stravinskyโs Les noces, which features four pianos. There was an almost avant-garde section, but also some Rhapsody in Blue-style clarinet playing and plenty of stunning big band music. Farnsworth worked very hard, bringing out a superbly life-affirming performance from the players.
Duke Ellington. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Part two was devoted to Duke Ellingtonโs Sacred Concert, which has a complicated performance history. The Concert ofSacred Music was premiered sixty years ago, in mid-September 1965,at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. The Second Sacred Concert was premiered in 1968, and the Third in 1973. Ellington had reused some of his music from previous compositions, and when touring the Concert he was often joined by local choirs, and he adapted music from all three versions to suit their abilities. Farnsworth conducted a fourth version, which he described as โthe best of all three Sacred Concertsโ, produced in 1993 by John Hรธybye and Peder Pedersen for soprano solo, choir and big band. The version he chose was, in his words, โappropriate for the building.โ This was true in a religious sense, but also in an acoustic sense as the Minsterโs superb acoustics are clear, warm and generous, ideal for big band jazz and chamber choir.
Graham South (standing). ยฉ Tom Platinum Morley
Farnsworth was right to choose a version of the Concert that emphasised the choirโs contribution. The Festival Voices were ecstatic in the opening Praise God, based on Psalm 150, and when they repeated the words, there was a bluesy big band beneath. In Heaven, they sang like the best of Hollywood choruses. There were moments of sublime beauty when they sang a cappella in Freedom, Come Sunday and Almighty God. There was also the chance for soprano Clare Wheeler to demonstrate her skills, including scatting in The Majesty of God, some avant-garde vocalising in T.G.T.T. (Too Good To Title) and a warm legato in David Danced Before the Lord. The Cottontail Orchestra matched the quality of the choir. Highlights included: Graham Southโs trumpet solo in The Shepherd, using his mute to create an earthy, almost feral growling sound; Johnny Hunterโs drum solo at the start of David Dancedโฆ; and the tireless playing of bass player Joshua Cavanagh-Brierly throughout. The piece ended with an invitation to Praise God and Dance, an ecstatic hymn to God. Although there was no actual dancing in the audience, our spirits danced as the concert came to a rapturous end.
Performers Clare Wheeler soprano Matthew Glendening clarinet Festival Voices The Cottontail Orchestra Marcus Farnsworth conductor
Repertoire Duke Ellington Cottontail Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington Isfahan Duke Ellington Happy-Go-Lucky Local Duke Ellington Prelude to a Kiss Harry Carney, Irving Mills and Duke Ellington Kinda Dukish/Rockinโ in Rhythm Leonard Bernstein Prelude, Fugue and Riffs
Duke Ellington, arr. John Hรธybye and Peder Pedersen Sacred Concert
For a review of Day Two of the Festival, click here
Guthrie Govan Joins Shez Raja for Triumphant Birkenhead Show
Shez Raja (and Chris Jerome, back left)
This was a triumphant homecoming gig for bass player Shez Raja, returning to his native Birkenhead. Raja announced that he was born on the Wirral; it felt like a home audience – his parents and some of his school friends were there in the capacity crowd.
Afterwards, a relieved Raja revealed that disaster almost struck before the gig. He was being interviewed when he felt a wasp behind his ear. He flicked it away, and the wasp, obviously part of the anti-joy police, decided to sting him on his fretting hand (the left). Playing bass with a swollen index finger would have been difficult. Fortunately, his resourceful interviewer supplied antihistamines and ice, and the disaster was averted.
Guthrie Gova (left) and Shez Raja
Raja launched the first set with three cuts from his new album, Spellbound. The lineup on Friday was very different from that of the album itself, as all ’37 guest musicians’ on the album (as Raja later quipped) couldn’t come. This meant that some of the songs from the album had less of an Indian feel – there was no sitar, tabla, sarangi, or bansuri. Instead, Raja was backed by a superb rock/jazz band, with the legendary Guthrie Govan on guitar, Chris Jerome on keyboards and Adam Texeira (a new addition to the Raja fold) on drums.
Govan played guitar on three Steven Wilson albums, including Hand. Cannot. Erase. (2015), and it was good to see an audience member wearing a t-shirt with the album cover on it (this year marks the tenth anniversary of the album. Govan’s playing throughout the evening was astonishing. Govan himself often looked mildly surprised as he looked down at the incredible dexterity of his quicksilver fingers as he created a continuous flow of joy. But he also brought delicate ornamentation to one of the highlights of the first set, ‘Together We Fly’ from the new album. There was some gorgeous duetting from Govan and Raja in this song, with Raja playing the lovely melody that Fiza Haider sings on the album version. The two musicians shared a smile as they headed towards the contemplative ending of the song.
Raja, a genial host, explained that there are three different versions of Spellbound (cue rising chords from Jerome on keyboards to increase the sense of anticipation). Raja showed us the vinyl version (which sold out during the interval), the CD version, then the download, which he illustrated with a wave of the hand. He said if we liked the live versions of the new songs, we should buy the album; if we didn’t like the new ones, the album versions are better! To illustrate the point, the live version of the title track was heavier than on the album, with uplifting, virtuosic guitar and bass, and a thundering drum solo from Adam Texeira, which left the audience transfixed.
Raja did take us on a brief tour of the Punjab, with ‘Maharaja’ from 2021’s appropriately named Tales From the Punjab, inspired by his visit to the Punjab the previous year to explore his cultural roots. Govan provided Indian-style improvisations, and there was fantastic keyboard work from Jerome, syncopated chords with a lively instrumental commentary from Raja and Goven, which led to a flowing keyboard solo that drew warm applause.
The final song of the first set was ‘our craziest tune’, a stunning version of ‘Get Cosmic’, from Journey to Shambhala (2019), which Raja promised us would suck us into a black hole and out the other side. Reader, it did. The song began with eerie psychedelic noises, then an invigorating bass and guitar riff in perfect unison. There was a lovely spacey section, over which Govan’s solo was thrilling, giving the audience no time to breathe. The perfectly controlled madness of the song brought the first set to a euphoric end.
The bar had been set very high by the first set, but the second set was even better. It began withan ecstatic version of ‘Chakras on the Wall’, in which the band traded four-bar phrases which became increasingly extreme, making the audience smile. There were some cheeky moments when the four musicians quoted riffs from famous rock songs. Raja quipped that the bands might sue; an audience member replied, ‘We won’t tell anyone!’ ‘Vishnu’ from the new album ‘brought the Punjab to Birkenhead.’ This was completely different from the album version. It began with raucous drums, the kick drum providing visceral support for the syncopated, upbeat opening tune. A pensive breakdown section brought a quicksilver bass solo from Raja at the top of the fretboard. Govan played a bluesy solo with string bends and some tapping, making it all sound very easy. There was a break from all the structured jazz/rock mayhem with ‘Song for John’, a beautiful ballad written for Shez’s newborn son 14 years ago. This featured a mellow, emotional bassline played with superb legato by Raja, with a fretless bass sound reminiscent of the great Jaco Pastorius. There was a lovely repeated phrase, with a yearning interval the second time around, expressing Raja’s parental joy.
Raja quoted a review in Jazzwise magazine of the next song, ‘Quiverwish’, which apparently said it began with some Mark King-style slap bass but ‘it soon subsided.’ NickHolmesMusic enjoys a bit of slap bass, so that wasn’t a problem.This was a seriously funky track, with a Moog-like synth solo from Jerome with some evocative pitch-bends and another drum solo from Texeira, sounding like a complete percussion section on his own. According to the setlist, the band was due to play ‘My Imaginary Friend’ next, but in his excitement, Raja left it out, so we were left to imagine what his friend was like. Instead, for the encore, Raja asked us whether ‘anyone liked African music… well, we’re going to play an Eastern European folk tune.’ Before we had time to register our disappointment (although NickHolmesMusic does enjoy a bit of Eastern European folk music…), the band launched into ‘Freedom’, in which Govan introduced some African-style guitar playing, showing how versatile he is. By now, the audience was dancing and the joint was jumping. A joyful ending to an excellent evening.
Personnel
Shez Raja bass Guthrie Govan guitar Adam Texeira drums Chris Jerome keyboards
For a review of Shez Raja’s new album Spellbound click here
British-Asian bass player Shez Raja has been voted one of the โHottest Bass Players in the Worldโ by readers of Bass Player magazine. His mother is Asian, and his father is English. He began playing the violin at nine years old, then replaced that instrument with the bass guitar a few years later. He travelled with his father to the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, where he learned to play tabla. His background is similar to that of the musical polymath Nitin Sawhney, who was born in Rochester, Kent to Punjabi immigrant parents. Both musicians successfully blend East with West in their music.
Shez Raja
Raja has just released his eighth solo album, Spellbound, in a genre which has been described as Indo-jazz-funk. He is joined by an eclectic mix of virtuoso jazz and (prog) rock musicians including guitarists John Etheridge (Soft Machine) and Guthrie Govan (the Aristocrats, Asia, Hans Zimmer, Steven Wilson), drummers Dennis Chambers, Jamie Murray and Sophie Alloway, and saxophonists Vasilis Xenopoulos and Tony Kofi. He is also joined by traditional Indian instrumentalists Gurdain Rayatt on tabla, Roopa Panesar on sitar, Ashan Papu on bansuri (bamboo flute) and Zahab Hassan on sarangi (a three-stringed bowed instrument).
‘I believe that the ultimate goal for a musician is to make music that is raw, real and from the heart, that moves and inspires people’
Shez Raja
Raja’s bass playing, on a custom-made Fodera, is superb throughout the album. His lower notes sometimes bring to mind the great Jah Wobble (Public Image Limited), the bass lines prowling around in almost dub style. Above this, he sometimes plays ornamental lines towards the top of the fretboard and makes imaginative use of effects pedals. The album is recorded in pristine quality, in audiophile sound (the review copy was available in high definition). For that reason, it’s only available on CD and vinyl, and as a download, rather than on streaming services that may degrade audio quality.
The opening track, Quantum Spirits, is infectiously joyful jazz-funk with deliciously spiky guitar. Mahirishi mindtrip begins with a drum flourish and then throws itself into a groove with an Indian flavour from the sarangi and a spacious, bluesy feel. The title track has a lovely running saxophone line and a gloriously syncopated main riff. The drumming is stunning, and nicely balanced with percussion from the tabla. Together we fly is an evocative, gently aspirational ballad with melismatic vocals from Fiza Haider, which become more Indian in style as the track progresses, with a yearning sitar solo and subtly offbeat drumming. Lucid path to the golden lotus is the only track to feature bansuri, which sounds at first like the flute playing of the late, great Barbara Thompson, then becomes more Indian in style near the end with a weeping sound that is so characteristic of the instrument, but there’s also a hint of Moog-style soloing. Vishnu is a life-affirming track, with blistering, joyfully dystopian guitar, and an evocative breakdown section with a moving call and response section. Through the multiverse features cascading sitar and an infectious bass part. Our journey takes us into darker parts of the multiverse; we head into King Crimson territory, where everything is darkly ambiguous, a fractured universe with an explosive saxophone solo.
Shez Raja live at Ronnie Scott’s
The album ends with two live tracks recorded at Pizza Express Live Soho in London. The first is a live version of the opening track, Quantum Spirits, with the raw, emotional and supremely virtuosic soloing of guitarist Guthrie Govan. The second is Rabbits, which builds to a stunning climax. Both tracks bode well for Raja’s forthcoming live performances.
Spellbound is out now via ShejRaza.com. Raja plays live at Future Yard, Wirral on 18 July, at Ronnie Scott’s on 17 September and at the 606 Club on 21 November.
