Femi Temowo - Opitmistic Tendencies

Femi Temowo - Guitar and Vocals

Hot off a sparkling performance at the Whirlwind Festival in October with Nick Vayenas and Alex Garnett we experienced the solo work of Femi Temowo last month (25/10/2013) at the Forge, Camden. He brought his quartet to keep him company before a modest audience and they more than just made up the numbers.

Femi Temowo is a charming and unassuming frontman, with a winning smile and his soft gentle tunes it was a night of the lure rather the hook. Despite Temowo's obvious charisma it was the togetherness of the 4 that left the strongest impression. All bathed in the Forge's warm pink glow, they seemed to blur before our eyes as though knitted from the most lush Merino wool. Even compositions with the hardest of topics, like those inspired by the Nigerian Civil War of the late 1960's or the harsh reality of segregation developed optimistic tendencies in the hands of Temowo. He was lyrical and generous with his gift especially on 'Asiko Aye' from his last album, Orin Meta.



Karl Rasheed Abel

Again and again the lanky and thoughtful figure of Karl Rasheed Abel stood proud, not just because of his stature but his playing too. In fact, on the dripping bouncy opener 'Orin Meta' there was huge void when Rasheed  stepped out of the groove. He gave us a jumping motif and a cool strut that more than once propelled us along throughout the evening.

Troy Miller - Drums

Troy Miller dominated the early exchanges between his drums and that of Joseph Oyelade's talking variety. His succinct fast pace on second tune 'Orin Ayo' caught our attention along with his handsome thin face and those sculpted strands of wisped hair that tumbled from a high forehead like a well groomed spider plant. This sex appeal that was only heightened on the fourth tune when forsaking his skins he rapped his drums sticks across his thigh as though slapping a bare arse.

Joseph Oyelade - Talking drum

Femi Temowo was a hard man to draw, always animated and I haven't achieved a good likeness of him yet. In contrast, talking drummer Joseph Oyelade came off the pen in a flash, his talking drums slipping off the shoulder as though he'd spent a day filling it with shopping from Oxford Street. A serial pouter with pursing lips in the early stages he took a stronger role as the night developed. Finishing with a fabulous bass and talking-drum combo on final tune 'Blackbird', a variation on the Beatles classic. A tune that talks of racial tensions and suppression but cast from the open hands of Temowo it was light and carefree.

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.