Long Gone

Once more I have been away for far too long, three months to be exact, and that's a shame. I will try to do better and blog more regularly.

Since my last writings, I have:

- finalized the bookings for Jazz in Malmo's spring season. I am particularly happy about Allan Holdsworth coming to Malmo for the first time (May 10), but also about Jan Garbarek (April 19). Last weekend, the planning for the autumn season started with a meeting in Gothenburg with my collegues from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. A great meeting and some very exciting possibilities.

-wrapped up the autumn term at the university and tied up all the loose ends so that the spring term started with a clean slate.

- planned IB's 2007 with Mats. Very exciting indeed with the old IB being buried and the new IB taking shape very nicely thankyouverymuch. The new IB will be a projects based organization with a more relaxed structure. A bit like IB Expo all year round. And IB Expo in the best of worlds can be like MySpace in real life. On the cards for IB is the participation in Halmstad's 700th anniversary; a collaboration with Theatre Halland on an updated version of Brech & Weill's The Threepenny Opera; a festival appearance at Gouveia Art Rock on April 21; and tentative plans for IB Expo 07.

My plans until May 31 are to be on parental leave with Otto and only work 25%. It will be a great spring, I am sure!

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"Long Gone" is a title I have used before. But then there are a number of songs with that title. So this time, I am referring to the Gillan track from the album Magic. Hardly the strongest track on the album and hardly the band's best work. I can't remember anything about the verses, middle eight or the solo(s), but I remember the chorus being catchy in a rather poppy way.

Steamin'

It's eight days since the IB Expo concert took place, and a lot of things have happened. Some good, some bad. Nevertheless, the IB Expo concert was simply too good to let go that easily, so here's some more info and a couple of pics.

The concert in itself was wonderful, it really was. Had I not been involved, I would have had a seat in the middle of the theatre and loved every second of it. As it were, I was involved, and loved every second of it.

I think a setlist says more than 1000 words, at least when I am as tired as I am today - having hosted Otto's namegiving party today, including a very free interpretation of Ruby, My Dear by yours truly. More later.

Here's the setlist from IB Expo 06 (more info in IB's forthcoming newsletter and on IB's MySpace page):

First set:

Conundrum (featuring Kjell, Klas & Pat)
Soundscape (by Markus)
Open/Dark II
Celestial Vessel (featuring Bjorn)
Vrooom
Tuner improv (featuring Bjorn)
Can
Absinth
Krin
Variations on a theme from the Carneval in Venice (Christian solo)



Second set:
Sonata (by Ginastera, as played by Christian solo)

Warszawa
Lake District
Song for a Crow Angel
From Here to Eternity
Coming from the Silence
B'Boom
THRAK
Wild as a Toad
Mariola

Encore:
Magnificent Giant Battles

Extra encore:
Theme from The Coachman


And here's the team from IB Expo 06

From left to right: Klas Assarsson, Kjell Severinsson, Pat Mastelotto, Fredrik "Gicken" Johansson, Linnea Olsson, Mats Johansson, Thomas Olsson, Jonas Christophs, Markus Reuter, Christian Saggese (seated), Jan Severinsson, Luca Calabrese, Noca Ramos (one of two honoured guests from Portugal, the other - Luis Loureiro took this photo) and finally Franco Feruglio.

* * *

I'm not a big fan of jazz standards, but when the material is played as well as Davis, Coltrane, Garland, Jones and Chambers perform it on Steamin', I have no objections. As on all the albums recorded by this classic Miles Davis quintet, the interaction amonst the musicians is startling. They certainly knew what they were doing. As I am a sucker for most things Monk, I recommend the quintet's take on "Well, You Needn't". But do listen to "When I Fall in Love" and enjoy Davis' one-of-a-kind ballad playing. Ohhh, that phrasing!

It Could Have Been a Lot Worse

IB Expo 06 started gradually this year. Luca was the first to arrive since he had gigs with sax player Carlo Actis Dato and Enzo Rocco duo, making the duo a trio. The first concert was arranged by Jazz i Malmo at Jeriko, the second at Mejeriet in Lund. The Malmo gig was a hoot! You may recall that Frank Zappa asked the highly relevant question "Does Humor Belong in Music". Had Mr. Zappa heard this trio, he needn't have asked. Now, if these three guys weren't great musicians, the whole thing would have been incredibly embarrasing, but since they are the canine's testicles everyone was truly impressed while laughing. Thanks for coming to Malmo Luca!

The next arrival was master drummer/electronica wiz Pat Mastelotto. I had a wonderful talk with the man despite him being knackered following a long flight and losing his bag. Sadly, I couldn't attend his workshop on Sunday, neither be at the first two days of IB Expo due to a heavy workload and my girlfriend coming down with a bad migraine.

Luckily, Mats sent me some pictures I would like to share with you, so here goes:

Here's Markus Reuter leading the troops












Pat and Kjell solving a conundrum under Klas' supervision




And here's Franco bowing his legendary IKEA bass



There's more to come...

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To me, Tim Berne is one of the most interesting composers within the field of contemporary jazz. Working within long structures with tightly woven themes while leaving space for challenging improvisations, Berne has never disappointed me. "It Could Have Been A Lot Worse" is the first track on the Nice View album by his band Chaos Totale (featuring my very favourite contemporary jazz composer Django Bates). This CD has been out of print for a number of years, but is now back in print on the highly recommeded Winter & Winter label. Get it!

Workin'

I've neglected my blog once more. Sorry blog! The reason is a heavy workload and a young son I want to spend time with. I hope you excuse me.

A short report on what's happening:

September was a very intense month at the department of Musicology. Lots of meetings, loads of papers to be handed in to university authorities about the power draining Bologna process, due next autumn term. Also lecturing and supervising papers of course.

At Jazz in Malmo I am working with booking for the spring season. Several strong and interesting names, among them a couple of personal favourites. Hopefully, at least one of them will come to Malmo in March or May respectively. On a more problematic note, the audience seem completely uninterested in local groups, even though they may be terrific. For some reason, only a small number of audients turned up to hear an incredible evening of contemporary Norwegian jazz with Maria Kannegaard Trio and BOL. Fantastic music, great musicians but a complete let-down from the audience. Having said that, the people who turned out loved every minute of it and were most enthusiastic.

Finally IB. All the work preparing IB Expo will lead to the realization of this years' event next week. So far, so good. Some minor administrative and practical issues to deal with, but nothing major.

It has been very easy to work with our international guests and I am sure next week will be wonderful and creative.

Pat Mastelotto has provided us with some interesting ideas for songs to play. Nuff' said at the moment.

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Workin' is one of the albums that came out of two sessions in 1956 with the first legendary Miles Davis Quintet. It never ceases to amaze me how fresh-sounding these recordings are. They have a timeless quality to them, perhaps even before their time. The interplay and togetherness of this combo is dazzling. Davis and Coltrane in particular play beautifully. They make it sound so easy!

Trumpet No End

Can someone please explain the reasons for this strange behaviour? Which behaviour? Strictly speaking, it's no behaviour at all, I just wanted to quote an 80's group I never really liked.

Still, I have discovered something weird. My four-month old son, Otto has tried out several brands of nappies. One of them has cuddly animals, stars and... a trumpet! Why is it that of all instruments, a trumpet has a place of honour on my son's body?




Suggestions? I can't wait.

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Duke Ellington probably recorded what will be the ultimate version of Irving Berlin's "Trumpet No End", featuring the remarkable trumpet player Cat Anderson. Considering his stratospheric escapades, he may have worn nappies. Maybe even with a trumpet on them.

Please Mr. Postman

Starting a few years back, I have started to recieve CDs from people for one reason or other. Sometimes I get them as a sort of thanks for something, as was the case with excellent cellist/conductor Mats Rondin a while back. I helped him make contact with an organization that was looking to give him some money, so the kind Mr. Rondin sent me a handful of CDs he has appeared on. Great music, in particular the duo CD with pianist Hans Pålsson where this dynamic duo perform all of Beethoven's cello sonatas. Highly recommended!

Another category is musicians giving me CDs in hope of me getting them a gig. Very rarely does this happen, but in the case of Television Pickup a demo CD resulted in a gig which I promoted recently. Je ne regrette rien, they played great! Very interesting compositions by Katrine Amsler mixed with humourous laptop comments and good use of free improvisation. Get their brand new CD Da jeg var lille var alting större. I can honestly recommend it.

Most of the time, CDs are given to me because people tell me they want my opinion on their music. Students, people I meet at festivals, friends and people fall into this category. I don't mind this. In fact, I have had several positive musical experiences from unexpected CDs, but not in all cases. Most of the time, people want to hear good things about their music, which is perfectly understandable, but not something I can be trusted to deliver. If you want the truth, don't count on me to tell you a lie.

When I was at Gouveia in April, I had the pleasure of meeting a nice composer/keyboard player from Spain, Carlos Plaza. He asked me if he could send me a CD and I told him yes. The brand new album Omphalos by Carlos' group Kotebel arrived last month, but I haven't really had much time to listen to the record until recently. Now that I have, I can recommend it to any fan of prog rock.

Omphalos is good prog, not bland, derivative stuff, but music that is well planned and well performed. The highlights for me are Carlos' compositions with lots of recurring themes and clever variations. I also think the vocals and the lyrics are quite good. The packaging is also nice. So, support this band. Get the album!

I am always happy to have my postwoman deliver CDs from pals Mick Karn and Luca Calabrese. The stuff they have sent me have never disappointed me. Au contraire! Their recordings are constant eye-openers and a joy to enjoy! Speaking of which, Luca kindly sent me two of his latest recording projects. One CD by Tiziano Tononi & Daniele Cavallanti featuring stellar bass player William Parker among others. The other is a free improv 2-CD with Italian musicians (and a spectacular insert made of wood), among them another good friend, double bass master Franco Feruglio (of Metamorfosi Trio, together with Luca and Christian Saggese). I haven't had the time to listen to these surely great recordings yet, but I am sincerely looking forward to it. Maybe next week, when I am going back to work again. My time spent on the commuter trains is made a lot easier with some music accompanying my travels.

On the IB front, things are looking up. We have our line-up (Pat Mastelotto, Markus Reuter and Björn J:son Lindh), now we have got to focus on the music. But that's not something I need to worry about.

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The Beatles recorded many great songs and at least a handful of true classics in the field of music, period. Their second album, With the Beatles , from 1963 is not one of them. "Please Mr. Postman" is certainly not one of my favourite Beatle recordings by far. It doesn't even make the top 100. This is not why the group made it to the very top. Give me the often ridiculed "Piggies" anytime.

Long Gone

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.

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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.