Michael Janisch & Aruan Ortiz - Whirlwind Maestros

Michael Janisch - Bass

It was the final throws of a heavy few days but every hour had been worth my undivided attention. Not every Whirlwind Festival gig had been sketched but still 13 in three days is worthy of a little fanfare. Its incomprehensible what organiser and record boss Michael Janisch must have endured but if you gamble big then I suppose the rewards are significant. This was the end and the beginning. The Saturday night 10pm (12/10/2013) slot brought it to a close while audiences and musicians alike left King's Place dreaming of what to expect in 2014.

Aruan Oritz - Piano

There was a serious no talking, no shit attitude to the last curtain finale. Seriously no anecdotes, very unlike a normal jazz concert. I believe there wasn't even one reference to a CD being on sale, which as you might know is de rigueur for journeymen and bright jazz sparks alike.

Greg Osby - Saxophone

Here there was an energy between the players as if they were held together by Nature's bond. Not too close though, mutual respect helped keep a healthy distance but you could feel the invisible force. Co-leader, Aruan Oritz  of course could survey from his poop deck, ducking the right shoulder when the storm wave from the quintet hit his piano.

Mark Ayza - Drums

Greg Osby by comparison barely flinched in the face of the night's peak and troughs. Gabardined in a tight Burberry and matching trilby he rivalled a stylish Shaft in style and power. Sparse doesn't do his performance justice but there was a streamlined directness and penetration that achieved its goal with the minimum of fuss.

Raynald Colom - Trumpet

Insert a section that describes the texture of the tunes and their themes it says on the label before me. That rule book went out the window when I started this Whirlwind odyssey, and this last gig was one that just washed over this storm battered man. Now two and half weeks later my gig notes are surprisingly absent but I remember the entertaining figure of Mark Ayza. He is becoming one of my favourites to draw. Never a muppet on drums but it seems one in my sketches. If his hair was a shock of orange then he would have unmistakably transformed into Beaker, the shy laboratory assistant.

Stephen Jay - Photographer

It was a night of hats and Raynald Colom's had an air of Shemp Howard with its comic air. These lips were not made for smiling though and Colom took his shift as the figurehead of this fighting ship frequently. A mature and inspiring set that propelled Colom to the fore early on with "Precisely Now", followed by "Please Stand By" and Osby with his directness.

Dan Redding

As if in harmony with the third tune "Orbiting" I quickly took a final sweep around the auditorium as I perched in its upper tier. Amongst the off-duty musicians there was Stephen Jay, Dan Redding and Steve Pringle, still photographing and filming. I imagine their films are still uncurling in editing suites throughout south London, slowly being sifted and honed.

This isn't a festival that talks solely of promise, it is ready for consumption now! Virtually all the musicians were at the top of their games, in the prime of their young lives and full of ideas for the year to come. Yes the future is significant, with a 12 month gestation period before us it is going to be some 2014 for the Whirlwind Record label and its flagship Festival.

Viva "The Maestro", their final tune.

AL.

Phil Robson - Whirlwind Slap

Phil Robson - Guitar

With a gauntleted slap we were challenged by Phil Robson on the final session of Day 2 (11/10/2013) at the Whirlwind Festival. To engage with the music we did not need to discover all the hidden secrets of his album 'The Immeasurable Code' but the brain had to be in its most alert and functioning state. This was not a concert that revealed all its delights in the short 50 minutes format, in fact the music has lived with me longer than any other. Armed with the recorded music and a fast broadband speed I am only now appreciating its full depth.



Ernesto Simpson - Drums

Phil Robson's music has a burning intensity that is written all over his face, his trilby was the kettle lid perched upon a furrowed brow and his red head looked as though it was touching boiling point throughout the performance. Hot and fierce on the outside, I suspect his cerebral cooling system is exemplary because his playing was measured, assured and direct.



Gareth Lockrane - Flute

Gareth Lockrane and his flute had certainly regained some of his pep from the previous day and Robson squeezed every conceivable facet of this man's talent out of him. 'Nassarius Beads' with its short cascades had the audience swaying with shoulders and heads before Lockrane's misty funk worked down to their hips.

Stan Sulzmann - saxophone

Second tune "Telepathy and Transmission" with its fractious beat/sound gave Ernesto Simpson the chance to dig deep and Robson showed that he is willing to dirty his hands to provide us with a gritty challenge. We were asked to roll up our sleeves too.

Michael Janisch - Drums

In contrast "Telegram" gave it to us on a plate, its title and introduction from Robson served its themes like an Edwardian calling card. Stan Sulzmann provided the shiny train tracks on which the rest of the group steamed along, whilst we in contrast, had time to stare out the window and let our imaginations blossom from the safety of our chairs.

Michael Janisch was resident on the bass, supporting his long time friend Robson and stepping into the latter's new tune "Berlin". After several attempts to sketch him, this is one of my favourites, capturing his strong angular features and that often slack mouth with bouncing lower jaw which is an indicator that  he's really in the groove.

Stephen Jay

Gareth Lockrane brought us to a sleepy conclusion with "A Serenade" and for the first time I watched Whirlwind photographer Stephen Jay put down his camera and just take it all in, probably partly in exhaustion. Lockrane drew out the subtlety of the composition as if transforming his flute into a slender rolling pin and slowly flattening our soft pastry edges. I was cooked too after sketching for 6 hours and was happy to retire and contemplate Phil Robson's music at my leisure.

AL.