Patrick Cornelius - 606 AA Milne

Patrick Cornelius

Nick Vayenas

Patrick Cornelius - saxophone
Nick Vayenas - trombone
Alex Garnett - sax/clarinet
Andre Canniere - trumpet
Phil Robson - guitar
Steve Hamilton - piano
Andrew Bain - drums
Michael Janisch - bass.

Andre Canniere

Date - 8th February 2016
Venue - 606 Club, London
Current Album - While We're Still Young



 The UK CD launch of Patrick  Cornelius' "While We're Still Young," his suite for octet with songs inspired by the children's poetry of A.A. Milne, performed by a Anglo-American 8 piece band.

Cornelius' latest project is inspired by the book “When We Were Very Young” a collection of poetry written by AA Milne, the English author best known for the beloved children’s book “Winnie the Pooh”. The title of the project is “While We’re Still Young”, a title that, while similar, evokes a  bittersweet flavour.

Michael Janisch

Patrick Cornelius originally thought that he was going to be writing this suite for his children. He regularly read to his daughter Isabella from "When We Were Very Young". He assumed perhaps with unrealistic altruism that this project would be a musical homage that Isabella and her brother would someday listen to with wonder and appreciation, but as he got into the actual writing, he realized that the idea of creating this music for his kids was a vain fantasy.
 

Phil Robson

Cornelius said, "I wrote for my own childhood; remembering the wonder and spectacle of exploring our big, scary, beautiful world through new eyes. I also wrote for my music influences. For Ellington, Debussy, Evans, and Shorter, yes, but also for my peers; the wealth of talent that exists in the creative music world today, many of which I actually hired to record the music with me." Patrick Cornelius

Andrew Bain

He revels in the bittersweet step between innocence and wisdom. Despite having left the magic and fury of youth in his wake, both personally and musically, Patrick Cornelius finds himself as a parent discovering AA Milne's work again and igniting that spark of that wonder. The message of "While We're Still Young" is that we should all search for that flame of innocent joy in our own lives, remember that feeling of wonder, and try to nurture it as best we can, no matter what our age or life circumstance. 

Alex Garnett

"While We're Still Young" swells the belly in a very English affair, epitomised by 'The Invaders' which is as ripe and dripping as a Vale Of Evesham orchard. It is the rich stain of a summer pudding, the cheap white bread on the outside is slowly discoloured by the rising pink of burgeoning fruit. As the seeping fruit paints its shades of chapped hands to rope burns it finally rests on the lurid bleed of unforgettable sunsets. Don't forget the cream, the double cream, so pure and rich that it can only be balanced by the smarting twang of sour currants, reminding us of the mercurial English summer.

AL.

Steve Hamilton

 

Alex Garnett Bunch of Five

Alex Garnett

Alex Garnett Bunch of Five
Alex Garnett – tenor sax & compositions
Tim Armacost – tenor sax
Ross Stanley – piano
Michael Janisch – double bass
Andrew Bain – drums


Michael Janisch

Date - 22nd November 2015
Venue - Pizza Express Jazz Club, Dean St, Soho, London, UK.
Current Album - Andromeda (Whirlwind Recordings)

Ross Stanley

Hear him playing - Alex can be found in the depths of Soho at Ronnie Scott’s every Monday and Tuesday night for his weekly late-late show residency, when not on the road.

Raconteur Alex Garnett with his trim London/NYC five piece punch-in at the London Jazz Festival 2015.

Roundabouts and swings, never Fragonard nor My Fair Lady but those grubby shiny seats we love so dearly on this grimy isle. Wiping the dew, rain or damp off with a sleeve as the very British wind of Alex Garnett buffets us. There is a respect for our lead man, he is the big brother you always secretly yearned for with funny stories and an adoration that may well be unattainable.



Andrew Bain

Self depreciation is one of Alex Garnett's arts and that of Camp comic, not the effeminate kind but that of Hi-De-Hi, even the moustache would at first make you think of Clark Gable but it is Paul Shane that lingers in the mind.

Holmes - Happy chickens and steel-plated cats, Fritz get my coat! The happiness in not being superhuman but just a glorious fallible human, the happiness of the everyday, the happiness of you and me. Andrew Bain and Ross Stanley get you out of bed in the morning more quickly than a short circuiting Breville Teasmade. Tim Armacost is curiosity itself, evoking the spirit of playing in the street (whether imagined or real), fingers in dirty holes, young boy zeal and grubby knees.

Tim Armacost

Wipe away the silly string that Alex Garnett squirts in our eyes with his introductory patter and we see that here is a man of depth and poignancy. Dracula's Lullaby is a good example, it smears the actor's greasepaint to reveal a laid back Christopher Lee, a soporific villain relaxing with whiskey in hand.

You feel part of the bunch, the five swell to include the wider audience and we are all conspirators in the tune Delusions of Grandma. The gangs all here, hear, here she is legs swinging, bingeing, laughing, crying, meowing, one hand, no hands, hand me downs, pass the hammer Jack, on your back Jack. We are the gang to entertain you.

AL.

Alex Garnett & Brandon Allen Quartet

Alex Garnett - Tenor Saxophone

Last Thursday (25/09/2014) at the Twickenham Jazz Club was more about the double act of tenor saxophonists Alex Garnett and Brandon Allen than anything else. Yes, they were capably supported, but this was a case of the duo employing the Zulu 'Horns of the Buffalo' offense to break our post-summer malaise to smithereens.

Brandon Allen - Tenor Saxophone

I have admired Garnett since seeing him a year ago at the Whirlwind Festival and his charm, then as well as now is earthy and real. It was not lost on the Twickenham faithful either, TJC webmaster Lister Park commented "there's a certain understated arrogance behind the 'cheeky chappy' persona". The stomping Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis' tune 'Foxy' epitomises Garnett's mixture of punch and drawl. While Brandon Allen whipped us up, chopping hard, knee knocking and straining just on the end of his lyrical leash it was Alex Garnett that egged him on. More than naughty schoolboys they were men with a passion to take risks.



David Ingamells
Drums

Alex Garnett has a new album on the way from his Bunch of Five crew (inc. Tim Armacost, Liam Noble, Mike Janisch, and James Maddren) called Andromeda. I can confirm that this isn't a homage to the Greek beauty who was chained naked to a rock to sate a monster appetite but the galaxy which is 2.5 million light years from earth. A galaxy which is approaching us at 68 miles a second and is equal in force to the bullish Alex Garnett.

Pete Whittaker - Organ

Pete Whittaker gave us more of what we had been waiting for. Squelching our feet in the oozing cool of Illionis Jacquet's 'Embryo', it even resulted in some spontaneous hip action from Messrs Garnett & Allen. Consistently it was Brandon Allen which caught the eye. A rich and expressive solo on Billy May's 'Somewhere in the night' was backed up by an exuberant and hard-hitting whack on the aforementioned 'Embryo'.

Kelvin Christiane
Tenor Saxophone

In the gloom I grabbed a quick black & white sketch of David Ingamells and Kelvin Christiane. The latter played angry and mean, as though he had something to get off his chest. The three tenors on the stage were faster and more furious than their operatic counterparts. Although this may not be much of a compliment, despite Placido Domingo been known as Pitbull on the classical concert circuit.

AL.

Next up at Twickenham Jazz Club 7th October - Kelvin Christiane Big Band, 16th October - Mikhaly Borbely (Hungarian Saxophonist) with the excellent Mike Gorman Trio, 30th October -Sarah Moule.

Gareth Lockrane Grooves - Whirlwind Festival

Gareth Lockrane - Flute

Day 1 of the Whirlwind Festival came to a close with an hour set from homegrown favourite Gareth Lockrane. Bringing his award winning lips to lighten the heart of the Kings Place audience before their journeys home into Autumnal London.

Dave Whitford - bass

Not a stranger to my pen, Gareth has entered my sketchbook on a few occasions recently, most consistently as part of Mark Perry and Duncan Eagles' new release, Road Ahead. More importantly he has found his way into the hearts of many jazz lovers both on the local and international stage. His modest demeanour belies a vast talent and he is as you expect, approachable, good company and by no means intellectually challenged. He has been brave enough to choose strong stylised graphic image for his album covers and as a fellow artist they caught my attention some time ago.

Alex Garnett

Surprisingly with an initial sweep of his wand he didn't live up to expectation. A mere blip in normal service, maybe a fault of my expectations and desires or possibly a victim of his own success. The rigours of balancing teaching, recording, composing and performance may have taken a toll on energy levels. This was short lived and once Lockrane had "Put the cat out" he combined well with Alex Garnett on the second tune, "Dark Swinger"  where they both broke from trot to gallop and entwined in complex agility.

Ross Stanley - piano

 In fact the charts seem so engrossing that Dave Whitford on bass could barely raise his nose from the page. He definitely has the most low slung style on the circuit and with his left hand reaching high into the air, he has the air of urban cowboy on a mechanical bull.

Tim Giles - Drums

"Memories in Widescreen" introduced us to Ross Stanley on piano, a showcase for his emotive talents and the heart strings were ritually plucked. He is a man of two halves, the top half serene and bookish in appearance while his legs, in particular his left, pumps at a rapid rate. A repetitive stroke that could only be matched by a Viagra fuelled, foot pumping, mattress inflating desperado.

A favourite of the set was Lockrane's "One for Bheki", with its slow groove and harmonic threads which brought out an intensity in both Stanley (organ) and Tim Giles' subtle drumming. It suited the late hour too with the first flushes of sleepiness unveiling themselves. It wouldn't have been a fitting end to the first festival day so Gareth Lockrane's Grooveyard left us with the jaunty 'The Strut' to put a spring in our step.

AL.

Alex Garnett & Nick Vayenas - Whirlwind Festival

The two worlds of the Whirlwind record label collided last week (10/10/2013) with a terrific collaboration between

Alex Garnett - saxophone

the UK's very own Alex Garnett and the NYC invader Nick Vayenas. A night of contrasts with Garnett drawing from the well of his debut solo release 'Serpent', which is a Whirlwind 'oldie' and Vayenas launching his album 'Some other time' that is so new that the musical ink is still drying on the page.

Femi Temowo -guitar

After experiencing the previous two concerts of the festival where the nice lads of Partikel and Ollie Howell Quintet conversed in polite tones it was like getting one stuck on your jaw when Alex Garnett came to the stage. Here is a man with charisma of the saloon type. Dapper in attire with a handle of witty banter he reminds one of a handsome Peter Lorre or a chancer, straight from the set of the 1947 film 'Brighton Rock'. You couldn't help but warm to his 'del boy' charm but there was nothing Robin Reliant about his playing and the opener "Serpent" was suitably sleek. Hard blowing and aggressive in his pin striper the only thing I was disappointed in was that he didn't possess a hoard of watches when his jacket swung open.

Nick Vayenas - Trombone

Nick Vayenas smoothed the pace with the full and rich "City of Notions", switching from trombone to trumpet and later casting off all his accoutrements for the only vocals I experienced over the 3 days with a Bakeresque "Blame it on my youth". Unlike Chet, singing the tune with all your own teeth improves diction and sound but maybe doesn't add the backstory of the troubled early years. Although I'm sure Vayenas had time enough to misbehave at the after-show Whirlwind parties. I underestimated his throbbing vocals at the time but in retrospect they do have more than enough pathos to carry his sentiments.



Femi Temowo played second fiddle to the main duo but was radiant in his sheer exuberance and heart, making both his smile and talent sparkle on Garnett's "Three for a Moor". Due to the brief hour slots that each group was assigned I couldn't devote much time to Marc Ayza, just a quick sketch of his coquettish 'Barnet fair'.


Marc Ayza - drums

Let us not forget this was our first glimpse of Michael Janisch, throughout the Festival he stayed in the shadows, deep behind microphones and music stands. Janisch gave us plenty to mull over with bass in hand and was magnificent on the final tune, a latin firebrand called "The Pimp". He brought us three bass lines in one with total commitment to the cause and more than our money's worth.

Michael Janisch - bass

I met plenty of students in the audience who had taken up his generous offers to be there for a minimal outlay. Including young guitarist Giorgos Pafitis who I had drawn just a few weeks earlier with Melissa James. As we congregated in the foyer afterwards his beaming grin said it all.

AL.