It's been two months to the day. This is basically a dead blog by most bloggers' definitions, but I will try to resucitate this blog anyway. It remains to be seen if I succeed or not.
I have been meaning to write about a lot of things: Joe Zawinul and his gang of merry men; Dave Holland's gentelmanly troupe; Zappa Plays Zappa; Daniel Lanois; fatherhood; student concerts; teaching a summer course; Isildurs Bane's goings-on etc. So much to blog about, so little time!
Instead, I will just leave things as they are and start anew. Any interaction is encouraged!
Today, I had one long and two short conversations with Mats regarding the imminent future of IB and a number of concert offers. Unfortunately, we have to decline most of them due to economic reasons which is a pity. Sadly, the fact is this: it costs money to put IB on the road. We either have to fly in and trust the arranging part to provide us with a backline or rent a van, get our equipment in and head off. Either way, it will cost a certain amount of money, money that is not necessarily recouperable. We would love to go all over the world to play, but we are not in a position to pay to play.
On a more positive note, IB Expo is coming along nicely and I am really looking forward to hearing Pat Mastelotto and Markus Reuter play and interact with IB and the Metamorfosi Trio musicians. More on this later.
* * *
Long Gone is a great track by British rockers UFO, taken from their 1981 album The Wild, The Willing and the Innocent. Written by then lead guitarist Paul Chapman and vocalist Phil Mogg, this is a great dramatic track by a frequently overlooked band, especially the Chapman years. Filling Michael Schenker's shoes was a hard task, but I think Paul Chapman coped incredibly well and he did it in a very mature way, i e by contributing to UFO's songwriting and thereby bringing his own compositional and playing voice into the band. As he did on this track. Having said that, this album has more than it's share of filler material. But in all honesty, so did most of the Schenker-era UFO albums.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Sunday, May 21, 2006
See My Friends
Let me backtrack a month or so. At the beginning of April, I went to Portugal to visit my good friends Luis and his girlfriend Catìa, and also to attend the Gouveia Art Rock festival where I also participated by chairing a panel discussion loosely based on the paper I delivered last year. I have been to the Gouveia festival with Isildurs Bane in 2004, came back to deliver a paper in 2005, and I was kindly invited back again this year.
After an early, but good flight with Luxair including a stopover in Luxemburg - I even managed to take a few steps in this rather small European country best known for its radio station - I arrived at Porto airport and was met by my hosts. The sun was shining, I had been served vegetarian food on the plane and I was in excellent company!
Being the great hosts that Luis and Catìa are, they took me to Guimares, the place where Portugal was founded (and incidentally, the place where another good man - Carlos Tavares - teaches physics). We took a nice walk, visited the old castle, took a walk around town and had lunch at a bar where the owners took some interest in classic movies. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to spend more than a couple of hours in this lovely town with many old beautiful houses, which kind of reminded me of Ystad in the south of Scania.
Next, we went to get something to eat at a huge shopping centre very close to where Luis and Catìa are living. Apparently this place was open until midnight on a Friday. I feel sorry for the shop assistants! At least I could find some tasty veggie grub, which was necessary since we were about to leave for Gouveia, a two hour trip from Porto. Despite some half-scary sounds from the brakes of Luis' car, we had a good trip and arrived at the rented house around midnight. I was knackered, but decided to join Luis when he suggested we should go meet some people as a warm-up to the festivities starting the following day. I was greeted by several friendly faces as soon as I set foot inside the bar, which was really heartening. At the same time, I was reminded that not all European countries have decided to ban smoking in public places. Luckily, the friendly faces made up for the smokey environment. Still, I was a beaten man when I fell into bed more than an hour later.
Saturday was the first day of the festival and for me, it began with setting up the Isildurs Bane sales table and saying hello to one of the really good guys, Mario of ProgCDs. If you ever need any prog music, get it from him! He has all of IB's back catalogue in stock. During the course of the festival, I met so many old and new faces I had the pleasure of talking to. One of the great things about this festival is that the whole atmosphere is very positive, friendly and intimate with a clear focus on music. The organizers share their love of art rock with the audience and most of them are very open and encouraging to new sounds. This is just one reason why the Gouveia Art Rock festival is the festival for this kind of music.
The bands.
Taal were not my cup of tea. A loud prog-metal band with a lot of enthusiasm, but lacking in compositional skills and dynamics according to my ears. Also, they should have brought a sound engineer and not relied on the organizers to have one on hand.
Matthew Parmenter was a most pleasant surprise. I wasn't familiar with his previous work, but since he kindly gave me a DVD I can safely say that I now know his music. And he really is a good singer/songwriter indeed with interesting topics. He performed his songs on his own with conviction on the Gouveia theatre's Steinway (and some pieces on acoustic guitar) and it was a pleasure to listen to songs like Polly, probably my favourite song of his. To be honest, I think it would be selling Mr. Parmenter's abilities short to label him prog. He is a good singer/songwriter, period. He needs the prog label like Mac users need Bill Gates.
After the rather subdued music of Matthew Parmenter, a contrast was needed and we really got one: Present! Listening to this band live is like being run over by a bulldozer well-versed in music. In a good way. Intense, dynamically rich, sometimes intricately lyrical, sometimes dissonant and dirty, but always musically interesting. Some of the festival's best musicians played in the group: Pierre Chevalier (keyboards), Pierre Desassis (saxes) and Keith Macksoud (bass) were impressive! Kudos to the band for bringing a good sound engineer, Udi Koorman. Standout track: Promenade au Fond d'un Canal.
Peter Hammill ended Saturday night on a high note, albeit decidedly different than Present. His voice in fine condition, Hammill played a well-balanced set including a couple of surprises, such as the encore of Still Life, a classic if you ask me. Here was a man who is so much more than a prog icon. A great songwriter and one of all too few people who can write really good lyrics. And the man's voice is still expressive, impressive, moving and intense.
What a great way to end the first day of any festival! As if that was not enough, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Hammill and speaking to him about music in general, my paper (which he had read), Daniel Barenboim's thoughts on how to start a piece of music, Hammill's performance with the Kronos Quartet at the Barbican in 1994 and more. A true gentleman with informed views on music and a true artist.
After a few hours of sleep, Sunday morning started with an intimate concert by a new line-up of Trape-zape. This group has been a bit of a mainstay at the festival: brilliant guitarist Fernando Guiomar played a solo set in 2004; Trape-zape played as a quartet on the main stage in 2005 and this year, they performed as a trio at the library. Despite having the worst drummer of the festival, a guy called Roland who was very stiff, but easily controlled (by a foot pedal). Hearing the band in this intimate setting, I could really enjoy Fernando's Terje Rypdal-influenced vibrato and beautiful classical guitar playing.
Following the short concert, yours truly chaired a panel discussion on prog at the library in Gouveia. The discussion was loosely based on the paper I held last year, which had conveniently enough been printed (title: Is There Anybody Out There?) and sold at this year's festival. The room at the library was packed with interested audients, some of whom were very involved in the discussions. Along with yours truly, the panel consisted of musician/composer Carlos Plaza, Fernando Guiomar and Matthew Parmenter.
Without blowing my own horn, I think activities such as these really add something to a festival like this. After all, most people coming to the festival are really committed to music and they have strong opinions on their likes and dislikes. Having said that, I didn't feel any hostility at all, despite my being provocative in my paper. Like I said, this is not just any festival, this is the best.
After having tea with my friend Nuno, it was time to go back to the concert venue. The first band to tread the boards on Sunday were my fellow countrymen (and -woman) Anekdoten. I was familiar with the band, but having never enjoyed their music on record, I was hoping for something of a revelation, as a live performance can be sometimes. As it turned out, I was very disappointed. Anekdoten were even duller live than on CD. They sounded like a badly mixed shoegazing indieband. I couldn't stand it, so I left for the bar, where I met up with Fred and his lovely family. We had a game of Uno - I won - and a beer. Later that day, I was very kindly given a bottle of red wine by these super nice people. I treasure it and will save it for a suitable occasion.
Next up were Alamaailman Vasarat from Finland. This band were a most welcome addition to the festival and shows the far-sightedness of this festival: this is all about good and interesting music first and foremost, wheather you can call it prog or not is neither here nor there. Alamaailman Vasarat play a colourful mix of traditional music from several geographic areas with an intense attack and a great sense of humour. Yes, lest we forget, humour does belong in music!
The band selected to close the festival were German veterans Amon Düül II. I like many of the so called Krautrock bands, but this lot is not one of them. Musically, they weren't really in good shape either with lots of sloppy playing and seemingly unrehearsed endings. Once in a while though, there were moments of, not exactly greatness, but at least some musical excitement. Unfortunately, these moments were few and far between. The concert was also marred by a couple of power cuts which didn't make things better.
Full of the great music we had heard over the intense weekend, we headed back to Porto, tired, but very happy. The following day, Luis and Catìa kindly took me to the airport, we had some tea, I had some kind of sticky pastry thing and then I was on my way back home again, many IB records lighter, but filled with warm and wonderful impressions of a lovely festival and above all, nice people. I'll be back!
* * *
I like many songs by the great Ray Davies, but See My Friends is not one of them. It sounds unfinished, it's not played very well and it sounds like a parody of a British band from the 60's trying to do something with Indian influences. It's a shame, Ray.
* * *
NP: Robin Eubanks podcast
After an early, but good flight with Luxair including a stopover in Luxemburg - I even managed to take a few steps in this rather small European country best known for its radio station - I arrived at Porto airport and was met by my hosts. The sun was shining, I had been served vegetarian food on the plane and I was in excellent company!
Being the great hosts that Luis and Catìa are, they took me to Guimares, the place where Portugal was founded (and incidentally, the place where another good man - Carlos Tavares - teaches physics). We took a nice walk, visited the old castle, took a walk around town and had lunch at a bar where the owners took some interest in classic movies. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to spend more than a couple of hours in this lovely town with many old beautiful houses, which kind of reminded me of Ystad in the south of Scania.
Next, we went to get something to eat at a huge shopping centre very close to where Luis and Catìa are living. Apparently this place was open until midnight on a Friday. I feel sorry for the shop assistants! At least I could find some tasty veggie grub, which was necessary since we were about to leave for Gouveia, a two hour trip from Porto. Despite some half-scary sounds from the brakes of Luis' car, we had a good trip and arrived at the rented house around midnight. I was knackered, but decided to join Luis when he suggested we should go meet some people as a warm-up to the festivities starting the following day. I was greeted by several friendly faces as soon as I set foot inside the bar, which was really heartening. At the same time, I was reminded that not all European countries have decided to ban smoking in public places. Luckily, the friendly faces made up for the smokey environment. Still, I was a beaten man when I fell into bed more than an hour later.
Saturday was the first day of the festival and for me, it began with setting up the Isildurs Bane sales table and saying hello to one of the really good guys, Mario of ProgCDs. If you ever need any prog music, get it from him! He has all of IB's back catalogue in stock. During the course of the festival, I met so many old and new faces I had the pleasure of talking to. One of the great things about this festival is that the whole atmosphere is very positive, friendly and intimate with a clear focus on music. The organizers share their love of art rock with the audience and most of them are very open and encouraging to new sounds. This is just one reason why the Gouveia Art Rock festival is the festival for this kind of music.
The bands.
Taal were not my cup of tea. A loud prog-metal band with a lot of enthusiasm, but lacking in compositional skills and dynamics according to my ears. Also, they should have brought a sound engineer and not relied on the organizers to have one on hand.
Matthew Parmenter was a most pleasant surprise. I wasn't familiar with his previous work, but since he kindly gave me a DVD I can safely say that I now know his music. And he really is a good singer/songwriter indeed with interesting topics. He performed his songs on his own with conviction on the Gouveia theatre's Steinway (and some pieces on acoustic guitar) and it was a pleasure to listen to songs like Polly, probably my favourite song of his. To be honest, I think it would be selling Mr. Parmenter's abilities short to label him prog. He is a good singer/songwriter, period. He needs the prog label like Mac users need Bill Gates.
After the rather subdued music of Matthew Parmenter, a contrast was needed and we really got one: Present! Listening to this band live is like being run over by a bulldozer well-versed in music. In a good way. Intense, dynamically rich, sometimes intricately lyrical, sometimes dissonant and dirty, but always musically interesting. Some of the festival's best musicians played in the group: Pierre Chevalier (keyboards), Pierre Desassis (saxes) and Keith Macksoud (bass) were impressive! Kudos to the band for bringing a good sound engineer, Udi Koorman. Standout track: Promenade au Fond d'un Canal.
Peter Hammill ended Saturday night on a high note, albeit decidedly different than Present. His voice in fine condition, Hammill played a well-balanced set including a couple of surprises, such as the encore of Still Life, a classic if you ask me. Here was a man who is so much more than a prog icon. A great songwriter and one of all too few people who can write really good lyrics. And the man's voice is still expressive, impressive, moving and intense.
What a great way to end the first day of any festival! As if that was not enough, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Hammill and speaking to him about music in general, my paper (which he had read), Daniel Barenboim's thoughts on how to start a piece of music, Hammill's performance with the Kronos Quartet at the Barbican in 1994 and more. A true gentleman with informed views on music and a true artist.
After a few hours of sleep, Sunday morning started with an intimate concert by a new line-up of Trape-zape. This group has been a bit of a mainstay at the festival: brilliant guitarist Fernando Guiomar played a solo set in 2004; Trape-zape played as a quartet on the main stage in 2005 and this year, they performed as a trio at the library. Despite having the worst drummer of the festival, a guy called Roland who was very stiff, but easily controlled (by a foot pedal). Hearing the band in this intimate setting, I could really enjoy Fernando's Terje Rypdal-influenced vibrato and beautiful classical guitar playing.
Following the short concert, yours truly chaired a panel discussion on prog at the library in Gouveia. The discussion was loosely based on the paper I held last year, which had conveniently enough been printed (title: Is There Anybody Out There?) and sold at this year's festival. The room at the library was packed with interested audients, some of whom were very involved in the discussions. Along with yours truly, the panel consisted of musician/composer Carlos Plaza, Fernando Guiomar and Matthew Parmenter.
Without blowing my own horn, I think activities such as these really add something to a festival like this. After all, most people coming to the festival are really committed to music and they have strong opinions on their likes and dislikes. Having said that, I didn't feel any hostility at all, despite my being provocative in my paper. Like I said, this is not just any festival, this is the best.
After having tea with my friend Nuno, it was time to go back to the concert venue. The first band to tread the boards on Sunday were my fellow countrymen (and -woman) Anekdoten. I was familiar with the band, but having never enjoyed their music on record, I was hoping for something of a revelation, as a live performance can be sometimes. As it turned out, I was very disappointed. Anekdoten were even duller live than on CD. They sounded like a badly mixed shoegazing indieband. I couldn't stand it, so I left for the bar, where I met up with Fred and his lovely family. We had a game of Uno - I won - and a beer. Later that day, I was very kindly given a bottle of red wine by these super nice people. I treasure it and will save it for a suitable occasion.
Next up were Alamaailman Vasarat from Finland. This band were a most welcome addition to the festival and shows the far-sightedness of this festival: this is all about good and interesting music first and foremost, wheather you can call it prog or not is neither here nor there. Alamaailman Vasarat play a colourful mix of traditional music from several geographic areas with an intense attack and a great sense of humour. Yes, lest we forget, humour does belong in music!
The band selected to close the festival were German veterans Amon Düül II. I like many of the so called Krautrock bands, but this lot is not one of them. Musically, they weren't really in good shape either with lots of sloppy playing and seemingly unrehearsed endings. Once in a while though, there were moments of, not exactly greatness, but at least some musical excitement. Unfortunately, these moments were few and far between. The concert was also marred by a couple of power cuts which didn't make things better.
Full of the great music we had heard over the intense weekend, we headed back to Porto, tired, but very happy. The following day, Luis and Catìa kindly took me to the airport, we had some tea, I had some kind of sticky pastry thing and then I was on my way back home again, many IB records lighter, but filled with warm and wonderful impressions of a lovely festival and above all, nice people. I'll be back!
* * *
I like many songs by the great Ray Davies, but See My Friends is not one of them. It sounds unfinished, it's not played very well and it sounds like a parody of a British band from the 60's trying to do something with Indian influences. It's a shame, Ray.
* * *
NP: Robin Eubanks podcast
Monday, May 08, 2006
Three of a Perfect Pair
…and then there were three
I have been a sloppy blogger lately. This is due to a massive workload and that I became a father on Thursday, April 27 at 12.06 pm when Otto was born. He was 49 cm tall and weighed 3015 g. Not bad for a premature young man, eh? He was supposed to meet the world on June 9, but apparently he couldn’t wait. I am writing this at the hospital in Helsingborg, where A and myself were taken by ambulance in the middle of the night at high speed.
As of this writing, all three of us are doing just fine. Otto is the largest baby in his room and is already showing tendencies to become the perfect child (says the proud father).
Hail King Otto!
* * *
"Three of a Perfect Pair" is a song that took me a while to appreciate, but now I like it. Adrian Belew's solo version of this on the King Crimson tour of 2000 was astonishing. Check it out on the live 3-CD Heavy ConstruKction, filled to the brims with excellent Crimson live music.
* * *
NP: Gong – Live at Chateau Neuf, Oslo, Norway, December 15, 1974. I am not much of a Gong fan, but since this recording features Bill Bruford, I wanted to hear it. To these ears, it’s Bruford that saves the day with his immediately recognizable drumming. The flying (tea)pot-heads really needed someone to kick them in the rear with some distinct and serious drumming. Mind you, Steve Hillage throws in some neat guitar playing on a few tracks. Quite an individual player. Maybe I should check out some more of his playing.
I have been a sloppy blogger lately. This is due to a massive workload and that I became a father on Thursday, April 27 at 12.06 pm when Otto was born. He was 49 cm tall and weighed 3015 g. Not bad for a premature young man, eh? He was supposed to meet the world on June 9, but apparently he couldn’t wait. I am writing this at the hospital in Helsingborg, where A and myself were taken by ambulance in the middle of the night at high speed.
As of this writing, all three of us are doing just fine. Otto is the largest baby in his room and is already showing tendencies to become the perfect child (says the proud father).
Hail King Otto!
* * *
"Three of a Perfect Pair" is a song that took me a while to appreciate, but now I like it. Adrian Belew's solo version of this on the King Crimson tour of 2000 was astonishing. Check it out on the live 3-CD Heavy ConstruKction, filled to the brims with excellent Crimson live music.
* * *
NP: Gong – Live at Chateau Neuf, Oslo, Norway, December 15, 1974. I am not much of a Gong fan, but since this recording features Bill Bruford, I wanted to hear it. To these ears, it’s Bruford that saves the day with his immediately recognizable drumming. The flying (tea)pot-heads really needed someone to kick them in the rear with some distinct and serious drumming. Mind you, Steve Hillage throws in some neat guitar playing on a few tracks. Quite an individual player. Maybe I should check out some more of his playing.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Jekyll and Hyde
Starting today, I will look back on a series of interesting days. Today's topic: Bill Frisell's 858 Quartet in Malmo.
One of my all-time guitar heroes, Bill Frisell, came to Malmo to play with his 858 Quartet featuring Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola) and Hank Roberts (cello). Having been responsible for getting this unique group to Malmo, I took it upon myself to pick the quartet up at Kastrup airport. Earlier that week, I had spoken to Frisell's tour manager, Claudia, and was informed that the leading man was ill with some kind of flu or cold. Luckily, when I asked him about it, Mr. Frisell said he was "a thousand times better now". Even so, the leader sneezed once during the show (in time, of course).
The music was great. I am very impressed by Bill Frisell's ability to constantly reinvent himself and seemingly always being on the lookout for new musical ventures. The 858 Quartet is a fairly new group, having playing together on Frisell's Unspeakable from 2004 for the first time. The range of musical sounds and styles available from this excellent quartet was nothing short of astounding: early music and contemporary art music (imagine Pachabel, Arvo Part, Philip Glass and Bartok working together); jazz; a Bacharach cover; intense rock guitar sounds; you name it, they played it. And did they play it well! Dynamic, playful and highly imaginative music was the order of the day in this musical table tennis game where composed parts and improvised sections came and went faster than the speed of light.
Amazing music, fantastic musicians, wonderful people with a great sense of humour. I was very kindly given a CD by Jenny Scheinman, and for this I am very grateful. In fact, this CD deserves - and will be given - an entry of its own eventually.
* * *
The ill-fated guitar hero group GTR only released one album, simply called - you guessed it - GTR. "Jekyll and Hyde" is one of several AOR tracks from that album. As with most of the songs on GTR, the highlights are the guitar parts by Steve Hackett and Steve Howe. A quote from Frank Zappa comes to mind when thinking about this album: "Shut up and play your guitar".
One of my all-time guitar heroes, Bill Frisell, came to Malmo to play with his 858 Quartet featuring Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola) and Hank Roberts (cello). Having been responsible for getting this unique group to Malmo, I took it upon myself to pick the quartet up at Kastrup airport. Earlier that week, I had spoken to Frisell's tour manager, Claudia, and was informed that the leading man was ill with some kind of flu or cold. Luckily, when I asked him about it, Mr. Frisell said he was "a thousand times better now". Even so, the leader sneezed once during the show (in time, of course).
The music was great. I am very impressed by Bill Frisell's ability to constantly reinvent himself and seemingly always being on the lookout for new musical ventures. The 858 Quartet is a fairly new group, having playing together on Frisell's Unspeakable from 2004 for the first time. The range of musical sounds and styles available from this excellent quartet was nothing short of astounding: early music and contemporary art music (imagine Pachabel, Arvo Part, Philip Glass and Bartok working together); jazz; a Bacharach cover; intense rock guitar sounds; you name it, they played it. And did they play it well! Dynamic, playful and highly imaginative music was the order of the day in this musical table tennis game where composed parts and improvised sections came and went faster than the speed of light.
Amazing music, fantastic musicians, wonderful people with a great sense of humour. I was very kindly given a CD by Jenny Scheinman, and for this I am very grateful. In fact, this CD deserves - and will be given - an entry of its own eventually.
* * *
The ill-fated guitar hero group GTR only released one album, simply called - you guessed it - GTR. "Jekyll and Hyde" is one of several AOR tracks from that album. As with most of the songs on GTR, the highlights are the guitar parts by Steve Hackett and Steve Howe. A quote from Frank Zappa comes to mind when thinking about this album: "Shut up and play your guitar".
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Bro
It's a great day today! I am going over the bridge to Kastrup airport to pick up one of my heroes, Bill Frisell. He will perform tonight at Palladium, a concert organized by Jazz in Malmo and Musik i Syd. Unfortunately I have had reports of Mr. Frisell being ill for at least part of this tour, but I will keep my fingers crossed for him to be on the road to recovery.
And tomorrow, I will cross that bridge between Sweden and Denmark once more, since I am off to my good friends at the Gouveia Art Rock festival to lead a discussion on all things Prog. It will be great to see my good friends Luis (and his lovely girlfriend Catia) and Nuno again, not forgetting Eduardo, Carlos, Mario and all the other heroes of this lively, wonderful festival.
This will be the first time I fly with Luxair, and also the first time I will be in Luxemburg, even though it's just for changing planes. I have no hopes for the vegetarian food, but I have hopes of finding a good bottle of Scotland's finest on my way back. And in the best of cases a bottle of Slibovitz, not for myself - I don't touch that stuff - but for Mr. Zawinul, who apparently loves the stuff. At least that's what his agent told me, and I want to have a happy musician on stage on Tuesday and Wednesday at our club.
* * *
"Bro" (Swedish for bridge) is the standout track on The Jolly-Boat Pirates' eponymous debut album. Moving between free jazz, some rock elements, aural signs of folk music, and I even hear some minimalism in there. They don't quite go the distance, but "Bro" is really good.
NP: The Jolly-Boat Pirates - The Jolly-Boat Pirates
And tomorrow, I will cross that bridge between Sweden and Denmark once more, since I am off to my good friends at the Gouveia Art Rock festival to lead a discussion on all things Prog. It will be great to see my good friends Luis (and his lovely girlfriend Catia) and Nuno again, not forgetting Eduardo, Carlos, Mario and all the other heroes of this lively, wonderful festival.
This will be the first time I fly with Luxair, and also the first time I will be in Luxemburg, even though it's just for changing planes. I have no hopes for the vegetarian food, but I have hopes of finding a good bottle of Scotland's finest on my way back. And in the best of cases a bottle of Slibovitz, not for myself - I don't touch that stuff - but for Mr. Zawinul, who apparently loves the stuff. At least that's what his agent told me, and I want to have a happy musician on stage on Tuesday and Wednesday at our club.
* * *
"Bro" (Swedish for bridge) is the standout track on The Jolly-Boat Pirates' eponymous debut album. Moving between free jazz, some rock elements, aural signs of folk music, and I even hear some minimalism in there. They don't quite go the distance, but "Bro" is really good.
NP: The Jolly-Boat Pirates - The Jolly-Boat Pirates
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Wishful Beginnings
Some brief updates. The course in rock that I have been teaching will be wrapped up next Wednesday with an exam. I have noticed an unusually large amount of absent students when I lectured on the 70's. Also, I have a feeling many of the students have not worked nearly as hard as they should.
At Jazz in Malmo I have been busy organizing a suitable hotel for one of the acts performing at Jeriko this spring. Our regular four star hotel was not acceptable, and to cut a long story short, I was able to book rooms at another hotel. The difference in cost was 500 Euros.
Some good and some bad news on the IB front. The bad news is that we can't muster a proper team at the library inauguration because Klas was busy elsewhere, Jonas will be arriving only a few hours before the gig and our dear Italian friends couldn't make it because they were busy too. Pity, because things are not the same without them.
The good news is that I have recieved two positive initial responses to my invitations to IB Expo 2006. Just like last year, our first choices EG and PM were interested and we will now go on to see if our schedules can fit. My thanks to Tom Griesgraber, who did some serious groundwork and connected me with PM. These are wishful beginnings indeed, but if everything comes together, this will be a fantastic IB Expo!
* * *
On David Bowie's Outside, you will find the track "Wishful Beginnings", co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno. Hardly a standout track, in all its monotony it works as a platform for Bowie's storytelling, which the bizarre tale that is told on this album really needs.
At Jazz in Malmo I have been busy organizing a suitable hotel for one of the acts performing at Jeriko this spring. Our regular four star hotel was not acceptable, and to cut a long story short, I was able to book rooms at another hotel. The difference in cost was 500 Euros.
Some good and some bad news on the IB front. The bad news is that we can't muster a proper team at the library inauguration because Klas was busy elsewhere, Jonas will be arriving only a few hours before the gig and our dear Italian friends couldn't make it because they were busy too. Pity, because things are not the same without them.
The good news is that I have recieved two positive initial responses to my invitations to IB Expo 2006. Just like last year, our first choices EG and PM were interested and we will now go on to see if our schedules can fit. My thanks to Tom Griesgraber, who did some serious groundwork and connected me with PM. These are wishful beginnings indeed, but if everything comes together, this will be a fantastic IB Expo!
* * *
On David Bowie's Outside, you will find the track "Wishful Beginnings", co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno. Hardly a standout track, in all its monotony it works as a platform for Bowie's storytelling, which the bizarre tale that is told on this album really needs.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Returning I
You could be excused for believing it's yours truly who's returning, since it has been a while since I last blogged, but that's not what I had in mind.
A couple of weeks ago, IB bassist and major Pink Floyd fan "Gicken" wrote me and e-mail and asked me what I thought about David Gilmour's new album On an Island. Yes, it's Gilmour who is returning. On top of that, guitar great and nice guy Christian Saggese also wrote me an e-mail telling me that he thought Gilmour's album was fantastic, and what did I think about it? I had only heard the promo version of the title track, so even though I had gotten a bite out of this tasty dish, I was hungry for more. "Gicken" and Christian's e-mails helped wet my appetite.
I had planned to get On an Island the very day it was released, but just hadn't had the time to go to my regular record shop - yes, I know I am old fashioned - to get the album until Friday. When I came home and listened to it, I instantly recognized David Gilmour's ulta tasty note choices and his sound-to-die-for after only a couple of seconds into the first track, the instrumental "Castellorizon". This is what good guitar playing is made of!
But, on the other hand, the vocal tracks are a bit of a disappointment, I am sad to say. Sure, it does sound like old Pink Floyd ever so often, and by that I mean older Floyd, like pre-DSotM (that's Dark Side of the Moon for you non-Floyders). I can hear some Beatles influences and some Dylan in there too. But I am not really impressed. Considering it has been more than a decade since the last album Gilmour composed music for (Pink Floyd's The Division Bell from 1994) and considering it's 22 years since his last solo effort, I was expecting more from the man. I find the vocal compositions weak. There's no drive, no hooks, no strong melodies, no interesting changes, no surprises and nothing odd. To really enjoy an album, I need at least a couple of these ingedients - the more the better, but at least two - for me to be happy about an album.
On this album, I like Gilmour's lead guitar playing. No wonder, it's simply beautiful and once more do I understand why he is one of my favourite guitarists. I also like the production and the cover with it's elegant design. Unfortunately the cons outweigh the pros at this stage. But I will give this album more spins, and who knows, maybe I will change my mind.
I have to mention The Bad Plus. On March 9, they played a blinder at Jeriko. Really good guys to work with, nice people with a mission to give people good music. Wheather you want to call it jazz or not is up to you. I would call it jazz. But it's also good music, period. Before they arrived, their rider had caused quite a stir not only in my office, but also at the rental company. Now, this is an experienced rental company who have dealt with mega stars on many occasions, but in this case, they were slightly worried. Why? In one of the paragraphs in the rider it basically said that if we don't provide the drummer with this particular set of drums and these drum skins, "you will have no drummer". This is scary stuff. Sensing that we were worried, both tour manager Jonin and drummer David King put me at ease and explained that this paragraph was a joke. OK. The house was packed with a remarkably young audience who cheered for the excellent trio. Probably the best concert of the year so far.
I watched a documentary on Swedish keyboardist Mats Oberg earlier today. An amazing musician, Mats is able to fit into rock, jazz and folk contexts with surprising conviction and ease. After watching the hour-long documentary, one question remained with me, having seen and heard Mats Oberg waltz through at least a handful of bands playing some really hard-to-play parts: how can he remember it all? Check him out live if you can! I have yet to do so, but I can recommend any recording by Mats & Morgan.
Earlier this evening, to take my mind off correcting a term paper and several papers, I watched another documentary. Touch the Sound on another fabulous musician, percussionist Evelyn Glennie. Apart from being a wonderful percussionist with some interesting ideas, she tends to surround herself with interesting musical partners. No exception in this documentary, where you can hear her play on a rooftop with a wrecking ball and amazing drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez (one of Jack Bruce's current drummers). Even more exciting was hearing her improvise in an abandoned factory with the one and only Fred Frith. Amazingly, Frith played some straight ahead guitar in a way I have never heard him play before. Oozing with lyricism and armed with an electric guitar, a Fender amp, a volume pedal and a Line 6 delay pedal, he really surprised me. Magic. Wouldn't this man be great for IB Expo 2006?
* * *
The headline for this blog is taken from Robert Fripp's soundscape album A Blessing of Tears. This is may favourite soundscape CD on an emotional level. I find it very moving, with many seemingly reflecting lines full of dynamic expression. This goes for Returning I too, of course.
A couple of weeks ago, IB bassist and major Pink Floyd fan "Gicken" wrote me and e-mail and asked me what I thought about David Gilmour's new album On an Island. Yes, it's Gilmour who is returning. On top of that, guitar great and nice guy Christian Saggese also wrote me an e-mail telling me that he thought Gilmour's album was fantastic, and what did I think about it? I had only heard the promo version of the title track, so even though I had gotten a bite out of this tasty dish, I was hungry for more. "Gicken" and Christian's e-mails helped wet my appetite.
I had planned to get On an Island the very day it was released, but just hadn't had the time to go to my regular record shop - yes, I know I am old fashioned - to get the album until Friday. When I came home and listened to it, I instantly recognized David Gilmour's ulta tasty note choices and his sound-to-die-for after only a couple of seconds into the first track, the instrumental "Castellorizon". This is what good guitar playing is made of!
But, on the other hand, the vocal tracks are a bit of a disappointment, I am sad to say. Sure, it does sound like old Pink Floyd ever so often, and by that I mean older Floyd, like pre-DSotM (that's Dark Side of the Moon for you non-Floyders). I can hear some Beatles influences and some Dylan in there too. But I am not really impressed. Considering it has been more than a decade since the last album Gilmour composed music for (Pink Floyd's The Division Bell from 1994) and considering it's 22 years since his last solo effort, I was expecting more from the man. I find the vocal compositions weak. There's no drive, no hooks, no strong melodies, no interesting changes, no surprises and nothing odd. To really enjoy an album, I need at least a couple of these ingedients - the more the better, but at least two - for me to be happy about an album.
On this album, I like Gilmour's lead guitar playing. No wonder, it's simply beautiful and once more do I understand why he is one of my favourite guitarists. I also like the production and the cover with it's elegant design. Unfortunately the cons outweigh the pros at this stage. But I will give this album more spins, and who knows, maybe I will change my mind.
I have to mention The Bad Plus. On March 9, they played a blinder at Jeriko. Really good guys to work with, nice people with a mission to give people good music. Wheather you want to call it jazz or not is up to you. I would call it jazz. But it's also good music, period. Before they arrived, their rider had caused quite a stir not only in my office, but also at the rental company. Now, this is an experienced rental company who have dealt with mega stars on many occasions, but in this case, they were slightly worried. Why? In one of the paragraphs in the rider it basically said that if we don't provide the drummer with this particular set of drums and these drum skins, "you will have no drummer". This is scary stuff. Sensing that we were worried, both tour manager Jonin and drummer David King put me at ease and explained that this paragraph was a joke. OK. The house was packed with a remarkably young audience who cheered for the excellent trio. Probably the best concert of the year so far.
I watched a documentary on Swedish keyboardist Mats Oberg earlier today. An amazing musician, Mats is able to fit into rock, jazz and folk contexts with surprising conviction and ease. After watching the hour-long documentary, one question remained with me, having seen and heard Mats Oberg waltz through at least a handful of bands playing some really hard-to-play parts: how can he remember it all? Check him out live if you can! I have yet to do so, but I can recommend any recording by Mats & Morgan.
Earlier this evening, to take my mind off correcting a term paper and several papers, I watched another documentary. Touch the Sound on another fabulous musician, percussionist Evelyn Glennie. Apart from being a wonderful percussionist with some interesting ideas, she tends to surround herself with interesting musical partners. No exception in this documentary, where you can hear her play on a rooftop with a wrecking ball and amazing drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez (one of Jack Bruce's current drummers). Even more exciting was hearing her improvise in an abandoned factory with the one and only Fred Frith. Amazingly, Frith played some straight ahead guitar in a way I have never heard him play before. Oozing with lyricism and armed with an electric guitar, a Fender amp, a volume pedal and a Line 6 delay pedal, he really surprised me. Magic. Wouldn't this man be great for IB Expo 2006?
* * *
The headline for this blog is taken from Robert Fripp's soundscape album A Blessing of Tears. This is may favourite soundscape CD on an emotional level. I find it very moving, with many seemingly reflecting lines full of dynamic expression. This goes for Returning I too, of course.
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