Monday 31 October 2016

Monocled Man - We Drift Waterloo

Rory Simmons

Monocled Man
Rory Simmons​ ​- trumpet​, f​lugelhorn​, ​keyboards​, ​guita​r, ​electronics
Chris Montague​ ​- guitar
Jon Scott​ ​- drums​, ​electronics
Emilia Mårtensson​ ​- vocals
Ed Begley​ ​- vocals

Date - 27th October 2016
Venue - Jazz Nursery, Waterloo, London, UK
Current Album - We Drift Meridian (Whirlwind Recordings, 2016)


Jon Scott
The minute islands and atolls amidst the vastness of our world’s oceans provide intriguing inspiration for Monocled Man’s second album, We Drift Meridian – a concept devised by trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist and composer Rory Simmons. With established colleagues Chris Montague (electric guitar) and Jon Scott (drums/electronics), plus vocal contributions from Emilia Mårtensson and Ed Begley, Simmons layers-up haunting electronic and acoustic soundscapes which reflect the remoteness and sometimes curious histories and characters associated with these far-flung, isolated spaces.

Chris Montague
Monocled Man’s cinematic beds of sound, carefully crafted with modular synths, sequencers and chopped audio, are all fashioned into an expansive framework which provides a springboard for individual artistry. Chris Montague’s characteristically oblique guitar style and Jon Scott’s hard-hitting, sparky drumming – both of which are unwaveringly inventive – join with Simmons’ plaintive trumpet in generating these appropriately drifting, searching panoramas.

Ed Begley
'Tromelin' (a small, uninhabited sandbank island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, with a history of shipwrecks and abandoned slaves) is depicted by electronic call signs, dramatic percussion and forlorn trumpet riffs, whilst 'Deception Island' bubbles with electronic vigor and Ed Begley’s punky vocals.

Emilia Mårtensson
One of the most eery island tales – interpreted in both Scott Moorman Adrift and Fiction Afloat – recalls when a 17ft whaler, with a crew of five, went missing off Hawaii. Several years later, a small, Hawaii-registered boat was discovered on atoll Taongi, 2,000 miles away… and a shallow grave alongide revealed a human jawbone which was matched to crew member Scott Moorman’s dental records. Such bizarre, aching hopelessness is represented by chiming repetition, seabird-calling trumpet and, later, Mårtensson’s and Begley’s intertwined vocals which speak of history becoming immortalised in stories.

AL.


Friday 28 October 2016

Munk Montague - Jazz Nursery

Alex Munk

Munk Montague/Montague Munk
Alex Munk - guitar
Chris Montague - guitar
Calum Gourlay - bass
Tim Giles - drums

Date - 27th October 2016
Venue - Jazz Nursery, Waterloo, London, UK

Calum Gourlay
One of London’s most eccentric music venues, Jazz Nursery opens its doors on the final Thursday of each month and is currently resident at i’klectik arts lab, Waterloo.  The night showcases cutting edge talent, creating a stage for the best up and coming bands in London. Constantly reinterpreting jazz and improvised music, our artists play new material, try things out and bring their sound to a wider audience.
Entrance is £10, there’s a good value bar all night and two great bands over the course of the evening.


Chris Montague
Chris Montague is one of the most innovative guitarists and musicians to emerge from the UK in recent years, he is widely recognised for his skills as a composer and performer. As a founder member of Troyka he has garnered a reputation for his distinctive approach to the guitar and has gained much acclaim for his contributions to many contemporary recordings.

Having established himself as one of the capital’s most in demand guitarists, Alex Munk formed the group Flying Machines in 2014. Centred around Alex’s unique compositions, the band have established a sound that is entirely their own, fusing emotive melodies with visceral, rock out guitar improv and luscious backdrops. The musical influences are numerous, from the frenzied rhythms of Tigran Hamasyan to pearly pools of sound reminiscent of Bill Frisell.

Commodore 64 worm chasing itself, the pixels vibrate and jump. Colours rub against one another, static charged. Burgundy and red are the guitars of Munk and Montague, clashing sap-green and lime. Giles has a straight line speed that jags across the Jazz Nursery, he is a flickering etch-a-sketch.


Tim Giles
Bill Frisell's Strange Meeting lies a damp white towel across my face, I am Ronnie O'Sullivan, melancholy and forlorn. They adore me but I hate them, I need them but they don't care about me. They will never know what it is to be me, and I'll never know what it is to be them. Huxley says I will never know what it is to be Sir John Falstaff or Joe Louis.

The mystery train stops in this town of sun blanched store fronts, if ever a tune needed a solitary figure to populate it then it is this one. Just the one to talk of loneliness, otherwise it would a conversation about emptiness, which is a far easier thing.

AL.






Tuesday 25 October 2016

Jonny Debt - Stranger fruit

Jonny Debt
Jonny Debt
Jonny Debt - vox, guitar
Adam Neumann - bass, vox
Josh(?) - drums

Adam Neumann
Date - 21st October 2016
Venue - OSLO, London, UK
Current Album - Sexy Cowboy (Porcelain Records, 2016)


Emerging out of the hot Hamilton music scene in Canada, Jonny Debt delivers charismatic performances and catchy alternative rock songs. His lyrics capture his unique pseudo-psychedelic approach, creating an appeal driven by universal themes and the magnetic personality of the band. 
drums


Jonny’s vocal style, his five-finger banjo-style picking on guitar and “banjitar”, and songs, often with shades of Leonard Cohen and Van Morrison, brand him as a truly unique artist. Sexy Cowboy is the new album released in August 2016. 


There are sweet apples to pick from Jonny Debt's tree but the wild ones are the juiciest. Those that rise beside desolate roads on the Canadian map, a walk off-road, past taut wired fences. Droplets tremble from these steel lines in the early mornings, touch one on your tongue and it tastes of salt and ash. A heady mixture of Debt's perspirational performance and the smokiness of his persona.

Choose the 'Strange Like Trees' fruit, it will reward you with the richest brew.

AL.


Shapes and Lines of Beauty exhibition

Next week (04/11/16) sees the opening of  an exhibition exploring the concept of Beauty at The Conference Centre Gallery in St Pancras Hospital, London, UK. It will include 15 drawings/paintings from the pages of this very blog. In the last few years the Art of Jazz has branched out beyond the boundaries of jazz but is still flourishing in London's live music scene. This is an opportunity to see these drawings dance beyond the confines of the digital world and onto the walls of the gallery.

The exhibition preview on Friday 04/11/16 includes a visual presentation by Richard Kaby, as a visual backdrop to a live music set of jazz, blues and soul from Key Changes, a charity that provides music engagement and recovery services in hospitals and the community for people experiencing mental health problems.  Alban Low's work on display includes portraits of 8 musicians from the Key Changes programme. Other drawings include George Crowley, Gabi Swallow, Jacqui Dankworth, Jan Ponsford, Darek Herbasz, Ben Castle and Tom White

‘Beauty’ is sometimes linked to the ‘Beast’, as if one is more attractive than the other. THE SHAPES AND LINES OF BEAUTY contemplates this dichotomy alongside other beliefs and values commonly expressed within our discourse. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder “and "beauty is only skin deep’ to name but two. This exhibition encourages us to consider the nature of ‘beauty’ and whether or not pleasing appearances are always a guide to the true beauty of what we see.

Where: The Conference Centre, St Pancras Hospital, 4 St Pancras Way, London NW1 0PE
Opening night and preview: Friday 4/11/16 5.30 to 8.30. 
Exhibition:  Monday 7/11/2016 to  Thursday 19/1/2017  Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm.

Travel:  Bus – 46 and 214. Tube – Mornington Crescent Station and King’s Cross Station.  Overground - Camden Road Station

10 artists explore ‘beauty’ in this group show curated by Peter Herbert and The Arts Project, they include Sybil Adelaja, Chris bird, Edward Blake, Ruby Bradley, Shaun Cole, Manel Guell, Richard Kaby, Kathy Keefe, Alban Low and Georgia Mathews.


Will Gibson: Facets album launch

Will Gibson
Will Gibson Septet
Will Gibson - saxophone
Sam Leak - piano
Kevin Glasgow - bass
Dave Ingamells - drums
Paul Jordanous - trumpet
Trevor Mires - trombone
Leo Appleyard - guitar
Sam Leak

Date - 20th October 2016
Venue -
The Bull's Head, Barnes, UK

Current Album - Facets (Pathway Records 2016)

Future performance
Central Bar at Royal Festival Hall, 5.30pm – 7pm, Free

Paul Jordanous
Will Gibson (b.1986) is a London-based saxophonist, clarinettist & composer. He began clarinet, piano & writing music at an early age. From 1996-2005 he attended Junior Trinity College of Music in London on Saturdays, where he continued his instrumental lessons & studied composition with Cecilia McDowall. He took up saxophone around the age of 14 after becoming more influenced by jazz & in particular John Coltrane. He also joined the Pendulum Youth Jazz Orchestra, where a large part of the repertoire was by Kenny Wheeler. During this time he was awarded the Chappell Prize for Composition, the Hambourg Prize for Improvisation & won the European Piano Teachers Association Composition Competition. 

Trevor Mires
From 2005-2009 he went to Trinity College of Music where he obtained a BMus (Hons) in performance. Here he studied with Mark Lockheart, Julian Siegel, Michael Whight, Fiona Cross & Andrew Poppy. He became involved in ensembles from both jazz & classical sides, & was awarded the Ronnie Verrell Award for Big Band & the Wilfred Hambleton Clarinet Prize.

Leo Appleyard
Since graduating Will has performed extensively throughout the U.K. & Europe in various bands & projects. In 2012 he was awarded second place in the Worshipful Company of Musicians Dankworth Prize for Jazz Composition for his big band piece Solicitudes, which was performed by the Trinity College of Music Big Band in Ronnie Scott's. 

Zigguratt hiccup, the gulping Will Gibson septet raising an intimidating wall of water. Gibson is the lighthouse, standing tall, his bursts of light flickering the underside of the dark clouds overhead. There is an unpredictability about the men here, a certain amount of fear from the audience, but the septet's flash of brightness always has warm hues as orange fires flicker in these thunderstorms. The black mica of our cliffs glitter with these sparks while the swell of emotions are stirred by the dark waves which slew our shores.

Dave Ingamells
You huddle in the coves that Will Gibson creates in these musical storms. At first Ingamells (drums) is the modern Poldark, with that mixture of cultured air and bare-chested desire. He cuts us off from the mainland, the elements slashing at our anoraked backs. While Will Gibson rolls and revels in the tavern winelight we are caught in a trick of the eye, Ingamells isn't the devilish storm peppering the panes but the quiet traveller beside the fire. The shadow of his face dissolves into the black and the slow spread of his light-sided smile warms us, like the burn of golden whisky that swills in his hand.

Kevin Glasgow
AL.




Monday 24 October 2016

OYSLAND - Klezmer Panache

John Macnaughton
OYSLAND

Lori Secanska -vocals
Olga Baron -violin
John Macnaughton - clarinet
Chris Ormiston - bass
David Tappeser - drums
Lakovos Loukas - guitar
Karen Yarnell - percussion

Olga Baron

Date - 19th October 2016
Venue - A World In London, Resonance FM, London, UK

Current Album - Oysland E​.​P  (2015)

Future performance


Lori Secanska
Top notch next-generation klezmer by Oysland on this A World In London!

Click HERE to listen to OYSLAND on A World in London 
David Tappeser

Seven-piece band, Oysland, embody the new generation of Yiddish roots music, serving up an exuberant and soulful cocktail of wedding songs and lamenting lullabies. They swoop through centuries of traditional pieces gleaned from Eastern Europe with panache and fresh takes adding wider scopes from the Balkans, whilst preserving all the esse...ntial & original ingredients.

Chris Ormiston
Two members of Oysland are protégés of The London Klezmer Quartet virtuosos Ilana Cravitz & Susi Evans, hence, Olga Baron and John Macnaughton lead a feisty top line on violin and clarinet that does their klezmatic gurus proud! A third LKQ member – Rupert Gillett - is the accomplished producer responsible for Oysland’s splendid debut EP and his skills are scheduled to record their first album next month, sealing in the talents of other Oyslanders - vocalist Lorien Lori Secanska, percussionists Karen Yarnell & David Tappeser, Iakovos Loukas on guitar, and Chris Ormiston on bass. If you haven’t a clue about klezmer you’ll find some of the answers right here on this AWIL. What’s not to like?

A World in London say a sad farewell & massive thank you to our wonderful producer Anthea Hyrule as her traineeship at CC finishes this week and wish her super joys for the future.
Lakovos Loukas
Next week Bafula at Resonance, and No Wahala Sounds & Johnny Mooney at SOAS.
On #Mixcloud, #ResonanceExtra, and #DAB! https://resonancefm.com/listen Repeat 8am Monday on Resonance 104.4FM. Repeat 5pm Weds on Resonance Extra. #AWorldinLondon – IN ITS TENTH YEAR! live on Wednesdays with Cultural Co-operation at 6.30pm Resonance 104.4fm www.resonancefm.com & 4pm Soas Radio London mixlr.com/soasradio https://www.facebook.com/DjRitu Twitter:@djritu1 @aworldinlondon www.djritu.com. www.culturalco-operation.org Subscribe to Resonance FM’s newsletter http://newsletters.resonancefm.com/h/r/607E5058DD8AC51E

Karen Yarnell
AWIL LIVE @Southbank Centre Dec 9 with Lambrego & The London Lucumi Choir – FREE!
#London #globalmusic #klezmer #Yiddish #Balkans #Cyprus #Slovakia #violin #clarinet #folkmusic Sofia Gaetani Morris Adriana Rozario Duarte SOAS Musicians SOAS Music Department

Monday 17 October 2016

FLUX - A World In London

Michael Goodey
Preetha Narayanan
FLUX
Michael Goodey - piano
Preetha Narayanan - violin
Shammi Pithia - bansuri, cajon
Matthew Winter - bass

Date - 12th October 2016
Venue - A World In London, Resonance FM, London, UK


Current Album - Shadowlines (Prisms 2016)

Future performance - Flux
October 23rd 2016 - West Handyside Canopy Kings Cross, London, UK

November 4th 2016 - Kings Place, London, UK
With the recent success of their debut album ShadowLines, FLUX take this opportunity to premiere a new work created in collaboration with dancers Richard Bermange, Nandita Shankardass, Simone Muller Lotz and George Baàn. Titled In Other Words, this new piece for music and dance explores the personal search for identity — uncovering the boundaries and limits of separation that we experience but also create in our lives.


Sensational cinematic music by FLUX
Shammi Pithia

When four young friends met in London 2014 and formed a band called FLUX it proved to be extra special. Together, they embody the spirit and confidence of a new generation of intercultural music makers, that have absorbed fusions of the past and know exactly where to take things forward for the future, writing new chapters for a 21st century score uncluttered by definitions. FLUX purely & simply create a mellifluous sonic bliss of rich chords built upon a solid bed of b-lines & piano, then topped with exquisite Carnatic strings & beautiful bansuri flutes. Their melodic sea of perfection, drawn from Memphis, Mumbai, and, um...Upton Park, is all from SOMEwhere but could be about ANYwhere. FLUX’s sound is instantly appealing and compulsive with intricate hooks and harmonies proving that songs can be magnetic even without words in them.
Matthew Winter

Listen to FLUX on A World in London here



or
www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-12th-october-2016/                 
                                                   
DJ Ritu
Next week (19th October 2016, 6.30pm) 
A World in London at Resonance FM
Oysland
https://resonancefm.com/listen
#AWorldinLondon – IN ITS TENTH YEAR! live on Wednesdays with Cultural Co-operation at 6.30pm Resonance 104.4  


Don't miss AWIL LIVE @Southbank Centre Dec 9 with Lambrego & London Lucumi Choir – FREE!

AL.


Wednesday 12 October 2016

Samuel Eagles' SPIRIT - Inventions and Dimensions

Samuel Eagles
Samuel Eagles's SPIRIT
Samuel Eagles - alto saxophone
Duncan Eagles - tenor saxophone
Ralph Wyld - vibraphone
Sam Leak - piano
Max Luthert - bass
Dave Hamblett - drums

Ralph Wyld
Date - 6th October 2016
Venue - Inventions and Dimensions at the RamJam Club, Kingston, UK

Current Album - Next Beginning (2014)

Future performance of Samuel Eagles Spirit
The Spice of Life – Soho, London Jazz Festival - 11/11/2016
Jazz at Lescar – Sheffield - 10/05/2017
Southampton Modern Jazz Club - 4/06/2017
Kokomo – Guildford - 05/06/2017  
Jazz Co-op – Newcastle - 13/06/2017
The Sound Cellar – Poole - 15/06/2017
The Fleece – Colchester - 16/06/2017

Dave Hamblett
Future performance at Inventions and Dimensions
13th October - Partikel
20th October - Toy Rokit
27th October - Penelope Dreaming
3rd November - Andrew Bain International Quartet
10th November - Andre Canniere Sextet

London altoist Samuel Eagles grows his quartet into a sextet that is now his SPIRIT. This new host still captivates audiences with its ethereal and piercingly emotive brand of music. Dave Hamblett replaces Eric Ford on drums while Max Luthert is the new Ferg Ireland on bass. The two new instrumental and personnel additions to the band are Sam leak on piano (Aquarium) and brother Duncan Eagles playing tenor saxophone.

Max Luthert
My first return since the inaugural night of Inventions and Dimensions saw a full Ram Jam Club respond with heart and excitement to two complete sets of brand new material from Samuel Eagles. There aren't many like Eagles (S) who can cast a light so bright, such is his sensitivity that he has a warmth and brightness all of his own. His first album unveiled a Mediterranean sun, creating pools in which to dwell in, sometime to hide but mostly to think. Next Beginning was like a whole day in these stripes of light and dark, the midday bright cutting a razor sharp shadow while those of dawn and dusk were blurred, soft and inviting. There is more power in these latest tunes, a radiance that emanates from this quietly spoken champion. Samuel Eagles' SPIRIT will be releasing on Whirlwind Recordings in 2017.

Duncan Eagles
Spirit winds up the tiny toy of spring, with sun swirling a steaming dew, it is a satisfied breath. The veins spread out, flowing under the turf, pushing an intravenous kick. So much is hidden upon first listening yet we see the multitude of burrows bobbing golden hares and wild white rabbits.  Duncan Eagles doesn't forget his kicking horse roots despite being shoulder to shoulder with his Cheshire lynx brother. As always Duncan's cup runneth over, he fills his music to the brim and plays a game of spill and toss while Ralph Wyld is those fine rivulets that run down the sides.


Sam Leak
Hear His Voice is an exotic geometry, intricate circles talk in abstracts that overwhelm senses and sense. Sam Leak is an ornate spire, an ever embellishing balustrade, a kind of gormenghast of cross wires and pounding hearts. Those hearts are ours. The applause too.

AL.


Tuesday 4 October 2016

Key Changes Music - Drop In


Sybil


Ace
Key Changes
Ace
Dan Clarke (Mentor)
Nicky Winter (Key Changes Veterans Music Club)
Michelle
Peter Leigh (General Manager)
Maurice
Fozia Bebe
Razi
Poetic Justice
Stickz
Tee Minus
Sybil
Vic 
Cherry

Fozia
Music can play a valuable role in recovery from mental illness. It can stimulate emotional and aesthetic responses, develop creative, technical, social and vocational skills, improve expression, communication, confidence and self-esteem, and facilitate positive changes in behaviour and wellbeing. Key Changes structured programme promotes recovery and encourages progression to new life opportunities through in-reach engagement in hospitals and pathways to mainstream creative and vocational music activities in the community. They work in partnership with NHS and other health and social care agencies and provide services for over 1500 people each year

Maurice
The service was developed in response to concerns from mental health professionals in London hospitals about a lack of services relevant to "hard to reach" patients who may be unresponsive to conventional therapies, non-compliant with medication or experiencing difficulties engaging with other activities or services. Key Changes aim to have a positive impact on health and wellbeing through reducing symptoms and relapse rates, increasing leave privileges and contributing to discharge plans for in-patients, and creating new life opportunities for people using specialist mental health services in the community.

Michelle
Every Thursday there is a weekly drop-in that promotes positive and physical wellbeing through a range of social activities including sport and music. Football starts at 3pm on the nearby courts on Central St, London. Afterwards between 4.30-6.30pm at St Luke's Centre there is a much more social air. Here you can  relax, sit, eat, drink and chat or perhaps tap into Key Changes creative juices with Open Mic (Poetry, singing etc), Snooker, Live Art, Gardening Massage, Social Media, Legal Advice. Sessions are free but you need to be using mental health services and be referred by a care coordinator.

Nicky Winter
It is a bright and vibrant community under the guiding hand of general manager Peter Leigh. Although sketching the musicians brought me to Key Changes I had the opportunity to observe first hand the diversity and ambition of the whole organisation. Becca Sturley runs the social media workshops to help get the Key Change musicians connected to their audience through the likes of Twitter and Soundcloud. They are also launching a new group for Veterans that is being ably led by ex-serviceman Nicky Winter.

Peter Leigh
If you would like to find out more information about Key Changes then visit their website at
http://www.keychanges.org.uk/
or email
info@keychanges.org.uk

Vic
Key Changes will be performing at the launch event for the Shapes and Lines of Beauty exhibition in the Conference Centre Gallery at St Pancras Hospital on 4th November 2016, 5.30-8.30pm

Listen here to some of the musicians

Stickz - Devil Guy

Tee Minus - Social Isolation

Razi - Pretend

Poetic Justic - Gully Bop



Cherry


Dan Clarke