- I was on parental leave with Otto, the whizz kid
- I went to Portugal to work with IB Expo at the Gouveia Art Rock Festival, to visit my dear friends Luis, Catia, Fred and Inez with my loved ones Annika & Otto. I also happened to hear Robert Fripp, California Guitar Trio, Magma and Christian Saggese's moving solo recital in the church of Gouveia (now called the church of Saggese). I also monitored the round table discussion on composition vs. improvisation
- I turned 40
- I had a garden party for my 40th birthday
- I booked interesting acts - and some not so interesting - for the Jazz i Malmø autumn season. Favourites are Chris Potter, Bob Brozman, Zawinul Syndicate and Sonore.
- I heard Jan Garbarek in Malmø, a booking I initiated
- I have met and heard one of my all time heroes at my own venue: Allan Holdsworth at Jeriko. A packed house loved what they heard. A very special day for me.
- I worked hard with the Bologna process, which is supposed to start on September 1 at Lund University. A long, hard and boring road.
- I attended the final performance of the sold out Panta Rei performance at Halmstad's 700 anniversary
- I booked acts for IB Expo 07: Christian, Luca, IB, Pamelia Kurstin and Mike Keneally. A great line up!
- I have started recording guitar overdubs for Fred Lessing's forthcoming album.
- I have worked hard in our garden
Now I am back in action and hope to blog more frequently. Sorry for the lazy behaviour.
* * *
What I did on My Vacation is a compilation album by the brilliant band Gillan, formed by Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan in the late 70's. Perhaps my favourite Purple offspring. I've got the album on vinyl, I'm not sure if it's available on CD or download. Get some of the original albums instead: The Gillan Album, Mr. Universe and Glory Road. Excellent stuff!
* * *
NP: an artificial waterfall at Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania in Oslo. Makes you desperate for the bathroom.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
Clap hands
My 11-month son Otto is a keen percussionist. Last week, he discovered the fine art of hand clapping. He tends to work on his timing while changing nappies and sometimes while listening to music. Hardly metronomic, he compensates for this with rich washes of enthusiasm. That goes a long way, at least if you are a proud father.
Very interesting developments on the IB side of things. Stressful Panta Rei compositions sound good despite enourmous pressure on Mats and people not doing what they were supposed to do. The Threepenny Opera sessions will recommence in early April followed by the IB Expo appearance at Gouveia on April 21.
Speaking of IB Expo, planning for IB Expo 07 is proceeding and I am currently working on the line-up. Once more, it will be an unforgettable evening, I can assure you.
I was saddened to hear about a musician friend who seems to have writer's cramp and also a rough financial patch. If I only were Bill Gates, or at least Ingvar Kamprad...
At Jazz i Malmö, I am trying to get the bookings done for three summer dates and the autumn season. Unexpectedly, I ran into some problems that can affect the booking in a serious way. The bottom line of this was that someone I thought was on my side turned out to look after his own interests exclusively, which turned him and his club over to the other side (ie the representative of the artists' side). Luckily, offers come in heaps. Unfortunately, the money doesn't.
* * *
"Clap Hands", from Tom Waits' Rain Dogs is an intriguing tune. Take away the vocals, and you have an almost ambient background with a very nice and basic percussion based texture. Add Waits' stream-of-consciousness-nursery-rhyme-lyrics and you have sometheing truly unique. Add to that Marc Ribot's dirty guitar licks and Michael Blair's well-suited percussion playing. The man himself is one of a kind. And "Clap Hands" is a really good tune.
Very interesting developments on the IB side of things. Stressful Panta Rei compositions sound good despite enourmous pressure on Mats and people not doing what they were supposed to do. The Threepenny Opera sessions will recommence in early April followed by the IB Expo appearance at Gouveia on April 21.
Speaking of IB Expo, planning for IB Expo 07 is proceeding and I am currently working on the line-up. Once more, it will be an unforgettable evening, I can assure you.
I was saddened to hear about a musician friend who seems to have writer's cramp and also a rough financial patch. If I only were Bill Gates, or at least Ingvar Kamprad...
At Jazz i Malmö, I am trying to get the bookings done for three summer dates and the autumn season. Unexpectedly, I ran into some problems that can affect the booking in a serious way. The bottom line of this was that someone I thought was on my side turned out to look after his own interests exclusively, which turned him and his club over to the other side (ie the representative of the artists' side). Luckily, offers come in heaps. Unfortunately, the money doesn't.
* * *
"Clap Hands", from Tom Waits' Rain Dogs is an intriguing tune. Take away the vocals, and you have an almost ambient background with a very nice and basic percussion based texture. Add Waits' stream-of-consciousness-nursery-rhyme-lyrics and you have sometheing truly unique. Add to that Marc Ribot's dirty guitar licks and Michael Blair's well-suited percussion playing. The man himself is one of a kind. And "Clap Hands" is a really good tune.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Too Hot to Händel
Or rather, "Too Hot to Handle". Since my teens, I have enjoyed UFO's take on melodic hard rock with clever guitar playing (and lyrics I rarely could relate to). The other day, the opportunity presented itself to go listen to the band at KB in Malmö.
With the ever-present (at least physically) vocalist Phil Mogg, most-of-the-time-UFO-basist Pete Way and frequent keyboardist/guitarist Paul Raymond in the ranks, this is close enough to the classic line-up of the Michael Schenker years, at least as close as I am likely to come to hearing this line-up. These three spaceship veterans were joined by drummer Simon Wright, stepping in for the ankle injured original UFO drummer Andy Parker, and lead guitarist Vinnie Moore.
Should you be unfamiliar with Mr. Moore, he can be described as one of the better and more interesting shredders of the neo-classical era. If you're into that kind of thing, you can do a lot worse than cupping an earful of his Mind's Eye album.
So, the million kronor question was: how does this neo-classical italian-american guy compare to Herr Schenker? The ten kronor question was: in what condition would Mogg and Way be in? One thing at a time and first things first.
Vinne Moore is a technical player, a fast player and a Red Bull drinker. But he can't blend blues phrases with classically influences patterns the way Michael Schenker did - and still does. Moore is - technically speaking - a superior guitarist to Schenker (a guitarist who only uses three fingers on his left hand), but he is not as inventive, not as compositionally strong and not as dynamic as the Flying V axeman. Moore's rhythm chops also left something to be desired. In other words, I rate Schenker higher. For evidence, listen to Moore soloing on "Rock Bottom", "Love to Love" or "Shoot Shoot" and get your old vinyls out (CDs will do nicely, as will downloads). Compare and you will see what I am talking about.
I am sure Vinnie Moore is less volatile than Michael Schenker, and I am certain that the american is much easier to work with. Still: give me the wah-wah drenched three-fingered arpeggios of Schenker anyday.
The state of Mogg and Way? Let's just say remind ourselves of the name of Pete Way's old band: Waysted. They were. Having said that, Phil Mogg sang surprisingly well even though he was completely blotto. I wonder if Pete Way has sold off his trusty Gibson basses? In Malmö he played an Epiphone, which is of course a much cheaper instrument. I found it striking that a musician can play professionally for more than thirty years and still have piss-poor technique on his instrument. Very punky, but also very poor musicianship.
* * *
"Too Hot to Handle" is, of course one of the most well-known songs by UFO. It's taken from the excellent Lights Out album released in 1977. Hardly one of my favourite UFO tunes, but it's an OK rock 'n' roll stomper. Probably best heard on the live Strangers in the Night album.
With the ever-present (at least physically) vocalist Phil Mogg, most-of-the-time-UFO-basist Pete Way and frequent keyboardist/guitarist Paul Raymond in the ranks, this is close enough to the classic line-up of the Michael Schenker years, at least as close as I am likely to come to hearing this line-up. These three spaceship veterans were joined by drummer Simon Wright, stepping in for the ankle injured original UFO drummer Andy Parker, and lead guitarist Vinnie Moore.
Should you be unfamiliar with Mr. Moore, he can be described as one of the better and more interesting shredders of the neo-classical era. If you're into that kind of thing, you can do a lot worse than cupping an earful of his Mind's Eye album.
So, the million kronor question was: how does this neo-classical italian-american guy compare to Herr Schenker? The ten kronor question was: in what condition would Mogg and Way be in? One thing at a time and first things first.
Vinne Moore is a technical player, a fast player and a Red Bull drinker. But he can't blend blues phrases with classically influences patterns the way Michael Schenker did - and still does. Moore is - technically speaking - a superior guitarist to Schenker (a guitarist who only uses three fingers on his left hand), but he is not as inventive, not as compositionally strong and not as dynamic as the Flying V axeman. Moore's rhythm chops also left something to be desired. In other words, I rate Schenker higher. For evidence, listen to Moore soloing on "Rock Bottom", "Love to Love" or "Shoot Shoot" and get your old vinyls out (CDs will do nicely, as will downloads). Compare and you will see what I am talking about.
I am sure Vinnie Moore is less volatile than Michael Schenker, and I am certain that the american is much easier to work with. Still: give me the wah-wah drenched three-fingered arpeggios of Schenker anyday.
The state of Mogg and Way? Let's just say remind ourselves of the name of Pete Way's old band: Waysted. They were. Having said that, Phil Mogg sang surprisingly well even though he was completely blotto. I wonder if Pete Way has sold off his trusty Gibson basses? In Malmö he played an Epiphone, which is of course a much cheaper instrument. I found it striking that a musician can play professionally for more than thirty years and still have piss-poor technique on his instrument. Very punky, but also very poor musicianship.
* * *
"Too Hot to Handle" is, of course one of the most well-known songs by UFO. It's taken from the excellent Lights Out album released in 1977. Hardly one of my favourite UFO tunes, but it's an OK rock 'n' roll stomper. Probably best heard on the live Strangers in the Night album.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
What Now?
I am currently on parental leave with Otto, ten months young today. I still take care of the bookings at Jazz in Malmo (but all via e-mail), still lecture on one course at the university and still work with IB.
Things are not looking good at the university. For some reason, only a small number of students are interested in studying musicology. I find this strange, since I have only ever met one person who has claimed to be uninterested in music. And since money apparently makes the (university) go 'round, we have been downsized to a skeleton crew. So far, I am still on board.
On the other hand, the IB side of things look really good. First of all, a visit with IB Expo to the brilliant festival in Gouveia, Portugal in April. One interesting project called Panta Rei which is part of Halmstad's 700 anniversary; the very exciting prospect of IB reworking Brecht & Weill's Threepenny Opera; and two highly rewarding meetings with a couple of fine musicians: guitarist/composer Erik Wollo and thereminist extraordinaire Pamelia Kurstin. There will be some fantastic music made with these two!
Also on the cards: the embryo of an international group featuring Mats on keyboards. Still early days, but very interesting and potentially musically excellent! And a couple of other things too, but these are still laying around at the drawing board.
2007 has the potential to be a wonderful IB year. Let's hope so!
* * *
Kenny Wheeler used to be a really interesting trumpet player, but having heard him a few years ago with a Swedish Big Band, I am not so sure he's still got it. Nevertheless, his album What Now? featuring Dave Holland, Chris Potter and John Taylor is a fine record, if not outstanding. I must admit that frequently, Wheeler's sidemen more than upstage the main man. Having said that, there are some nice compositions by Mr. Wheeler on this album. The title track is a slow number with beautyful interplay between all the musicians on a relaxed but confident level.
Things are not looking good at the university. For some reason, only a small number of students are interested in studying musicology. I find this strange, since I have only ever met one person who has claimed to be uninterested in music. And since money apparently makes the (university) go 'round, we have been downsized to a skeleton crew. So far, I am still on board.
On the other hand, the IB side of things look really good. First of all, a visit with IB Expo to the brilliant festival in Gouveia, Portugal in April. One interesting project called Panta Rei which is part of Halmstad's 700 anniversary; the very exciting prospect of IB reworking Brecht & Weill's Threepenny Opera; and two highly rewarding meetings with a couple of fine musicians: guitarist/composer Erik Wollo and thereminist extraordinaire Pamelia Kurstin. There will be some fantastic music made with these two!
Also on the cards: the embryo of an international group featuring Mats on keyboards. Still early days, but very interesting and potentially musically excellent! And a couple of other things too, but these are still laying around at the drawing board.
2007 has the potential to be a wonderful IB year. Let's hope so!
* * *
Kenny Wheeler used to be a really interesting trumpet player, but having heard him a few years ago with a Swedish Big Band, I am not so sure he's still got it. Nevertheless, his album What Now? featuring Dave Holland, Chris Potter and John Taylor is a fine record, if not outstanding. I must admit that frequently, Wheeler's sidemen more than upstage the main man. Having said that, there are some nice compositions by Mr. Wheeler on this album. The title track is a slow number with beautyful interplay between all the musicians on a relaxed but confident level.
Monday, January 29, 2007
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!
* * *
"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.
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!
* * *
"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.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
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!
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!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
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...
* * *
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!
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...
* * *
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!
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