Maurizio Minardi - Blind Bee Jazz

Maurizio Minardi - Accordion

A second visit within a fortnight to Jazz at Blind Bee (1 CHANGE ALLEY, LONDON EC3V 3ND) saw this night start to evolve from chrysalis to butterfly with the performance of Maurizio Minardi's quartet (18/09/2014).

Shirley Smart - Cello

If you haven't visited the venue then give it a go, with free entry and a sophisticated ambience it has the wind behind it, but there are the twin issues of background noise and lighting still overcome. Despite all 4 musicians dwelling in the darkest corner you cannot ignore the figurehead of Maurizio Minardi and his accordion. A man who reveals so little through his persona yet lays a whole gamut of emotions at your feet through his music.

You never forget the first time that Michael Nyman's music cascades over you. Its unrelenting waves, the pulse, the queer emotions that release themselves. Minardi undoubtedly possesses this power of simplicity too. At first his accordion marched us along with wheeze and guff, but alongside Shirley Smart on cello this soon turned to drama. Our emotions squirming out of safe hands and physically it felt though they had spilled out onto the floor before us.

Milko Ambrogini - Bass

It was such a broad range of speeds, themes and colours from Maurizio Minardi, with joy and menace in tunes that spoke of Germanic deaths, darker corners and Grimm fairytales. Alongside Shirley Smart they painted the pastoral too, a slow hollow-hearted start led to a landscape at peace, with a fresh wetness to the grass and a vastness to the sky ranging above us.

Marco Quarantotto - bass

Marco Quarantotto is fast becoming a favourite of mine to draw, his mushroom cloud of hair always appears to have exploded after a particularly strenuous attack of the drums. He imbibes in quiet moments and I catch the thought of Henry Spencer of Eraserhead fame under the Blind Bee's electric blue light. Milko Ambrogini unfortunately languished (only pictorially) in the pit of the dark. I made a sketch of what I saw but it might have been Nosferatu playing the bass for all I knew, such was the cloak of blackness that surrounded him.

The music was so strong it transcended light and dark, it rose and fell, it sparked with emotive charge. We even had time for a chase sequence that propelled the quartet along the narrowed streets of ours mind. Though we ran and ran, throats burning and with oversized hearts bursting, it was joy we felt. Pure unadulterated joy.

You/we have the opportunity to hear both Maurizio Minardi and Shirley Smart with Melange tomorrow night September 24th at The Vortex.

AL.

Arhai & Jon Sterckx Drumscapes

Jon Sterckx - drumscapes

Jon Sterckx added his drumscapes to Arhai's wandering vistas at RichMix this week (14/09/2014) in an expansive panorama that let the mind break free of its urban shackles. This was not my first visit to hear Arhai duo Jovana Backovic and Adrian Lever, the last proving a struggle for a man who felt completely out of his depth.

Alex Teymour Housego -
Bansuri

Jon Sterckx and flautist Alex Teymour Housego sat cross-legged between the standing Arhai pair. This was a relaxed and collaborative affair that projected ease and pleasure through its complex themes. Sterckx latter produced a second set solo performance that allowed the audience to experience these layered narratives without us being dab hands at the cryptic crossword.



Jovana Backovic - Arhai

Linchpin Jovana Backovic was the thread for the whole performance and as ever her vocals were possessing. Rarely did you, or could you, focus on the content of her lyrics. Changing between 6 languages is in itself disorientating. More than that the words become chants and motifs rather than hooks to hang meaning onto. To either side of Backovic were keyboards linked up to a computer full of earthy noises. The combination of traditional instruments and electronic gelled seamlessly which allowed Backovic's voice to float above in her trademark ethereal stream. She continuously caught the eye, with a presence more enchanting than Morgan Le Fay at her seductive best.

Adrian Lever - Arhai

Amongst the gypsy spells and Balkan beats the cross-legged Alex Teymour Housego rotated his collection of Bansuri. His grey socked toes peeped out from under his black robes. The dancing beats bobbing them back and forth as though they were little mice eager to escape from their holes.

If Jovana Backovic was our Le Fay then Adrian Lever was our Merlin. Possessing rapid dexterity his willowy figure towered over us on Medieval dulcimer and tambura. After several aborted attempts I captured broadcaster and turntablist DJ Ritu in my sketchbook. She not only provided us with tunes before and between performances but also interviewed the musicians post performance.


DJ Ritu

It was night of layered sounds and textures that transported the mind and imagination. Jon Sterckx's drumscapes were the pinnacle of this sentiment. A revolving door of percussion instruments were played into his computer and spat out with an energising fruitfulness. The permutation seemed endless, the avenues that lay before us boundless and his performance understandably spoke of freedom. With a drum as big as the moon sitting on his knee he conjured up the image of a storyteller. While his sound spoke in a tribal voice that swelled in the pit of our stomachs.

AL.



Will Butterworth Quartet at Blind Bee Jazz

Nick Pini - Bass

It was a descent into London's subterranean vaults to realise that Will Butterworth and his quartet need more air to breathe and more people to hear their story. It was a first visit (04/09/2014) to a new night at the exclusive Eight Members Club, near Bank station and in the dark heart of the city.

The night, Jazz at the Blind Bee, is currently being established by Middle East music specialist Shirley Smart. The inaugural gig in August was reserved for the talents of Alex Hutton and he was followed by Will Butterworth, a new visitor to the Art of Jazz sketchbook. All the nights start at 8pm, but you'll have to be on the list to get in! Negotiating stubborn bouncers will not be a problem just email jazz@eightmemberclub.co.uk or join the next gig at www.facebook.com/blindbeejazz

You would imagine, a descent into the city's heart of darkness would be as disorientating as Joseph Conrad's novel itself and you would be right. Several flights of stairs flush you out into a plush interior that is less Congo than opulent urban cool. Jazz it seems would be a perfect bedfellow for this world but it will need Shirley Smart and a few more gigs to make sure that Jazz at Blind Bee doesn't die horribly like Kurtz himself. It will need the jazz crowd to match the city workers in numbers and make them take notice.

Marco Quarantotto - drums

This was not a night for authors to set their scenes with lengthy prologues despite Will Butterworth's current muse being Oscar Wilde. It was the time to grasp the fleeting moment, to capture the ephemeral in your mind before the thudding bass of nearby establishments drove Butterworth's music from your heart.

The first tune 'Cage' gave me a mere glance at the assembled musicians, Seb Pipe immediately drawing the attention on alto saxophone. It was the second, 'The Nightingale', that let the pencil and mind roam with freedom. Nick Pini (Bass) was both dark in timbre as well as in light and I could just see his silhouette and few wisps of ruddy hair in the gloom. The opening third was slow and easy, pedestrian, not in insult but in appreciation. It made you want to strut with latent power rather than frivolity. With the kind of walk that makes people take notice, whether you prowl a New York Avenue or Bromley High Street.

Will Butterwoth - piano

The middle third of 'The Nightingale' danced with the rapidity of ideas. This was a conversation, one in tone and pace that was quicker than the brain can compute. An enigma machine would have been needed to dissect it's full meanings. There was beauty too, especially when Will Butterworth (piano) was all alone. He was a pensive runaway and there was joy in his escape and flight.

The final third gave us notes to question, a mystery, a conundrum. The mullet and brush, one held in either hand of Marco Quarantotto set the theme. There was a choking swirl from Seb Pipe's saxophone lifting us out of the depths of London. We rose into an in-between world, one very much like the city after the Footsie has shut down for night.

Seb Pipe - saxophone

'Lizard Blues' gave us a quick palate cleanser. The Rhythm section of Pini and Quarantotto were the belt that keep the rolling sax of Pipe from flopping over it's waistband. It was as though he was gorging himself on an abundance of fingers foods, quick bites that slid down our throats without even a hint of a chew.

AL.

Jazz night's at the Blind Bee is worth supporting and exploring more, coming up is Maurizio Minardi  (Sept 18th) and Al Scott (Oct 2nd). Don't forget it's Free Entry.

EYOT & Marko Miladinović - Similarity album inspiration




Similarity, EYOT (album cover) - Marko Miladinović

 We continue our album inspiration posts with a visit to Nis, Serbia and the latest offering from EYOT. 'Similarity' is the 3rd opus from the Balkan foursome, Dejan Ilijic (Piano), Milos Vojvodic (Drums), Sladjan Milenovic (Guitar) and Marko Stojiljkovic (Bass) but this album has a distinct Bristolian weight to it. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jim Barr at J&J Studios, Bristol, UK in November 2013. It also features two more Get The Blessing personnel in the form of Jake McMurchie (saxophone) and Pete Judge (trumpet).

Marko Miladinović

The artist who created the cover artwork for 'Similarity' is Marko Miladinović, whose broad portfolio includes forays into photography, art and design. He currently works at the Centre for Culture and Arts in his hometown of Aleksinac, Serbia where he was born in 1981. He has won several awards for his painting and photography, with over 20 international exhibitions under his belt.



Marko Miladinović - sculpture

The 'Similarity' artwork is inspired by an album of delicacy, the music talks of airiness and gentle persuasion. It straddles the genres of Jazz, traditional Balkan musical and electronic earthiness that gives the listener the space to breathe and dream. There are paths and walkways to explore within each track like second tune 'Druids'. While the evocative imagery in opener 'How shall the dust storm start' is a fertile ground for an artist like Miladinović. It epitomises many of the tunes, which are a blank canvas of possibilities for the listener to explore. 'How shall the dust storm start' for me talks of a hot European town in mid siesta, crackling with energy despite not having a denizen in sight.

Marko Miladinović

The title track 'Similarity' has a delicious complexity which works against the rest of the album, its tread is urban, where the remaining album stretches into landscape dimensions. X-rays and microwaves fizzle as creeping night-crawlers wander the streets. If it was a figurative vision then Edward Hopper would have painted it, combining the alien and the familiar in that unnerving style of his.



EYOT - Horizon

Dejan Ilijic explains why he chose Marko Miladinović's artwork to represent EYOT's latest offering, "I like the colours, they "sound" like our music and there is a small similarity with first album cover, Horizon, you can see some kind of the Horizon on it, that means we are still sailing full steam ahead"




Marko Miladinović - Landscape

Miladinović's artwork compliments the album and it creates the spaces for which the mind can dwell. Like the music there is still work for us to do, what we bring to the picture is what we get out of it.

The biggest clue to understanding how Marko Miladinović's  brain works is in his photography of the landscape. He cuts and trims what could be bland views into compositional gems, and the textures he conjures from both the small and large scale are what makes both his work and the music of EYOT worth devoting time to.

The album will be released on 1st August 2014 by Ninety and Nine Records NY
 www.ninetyandninerecords.com and you can get your hands on a copy here - BUY Similarity   
 
Keep up to date with the latest EYOT gigs and news at www.eyotmusic.net

AL.

Bill Mudge - Skylight - album inspiration

The original skylight drawings

Since releasing his debut album Skylight, Bill Mudge and his music have taken on an cult status. Mudge is one of the quieter members of London‘s Jazz circuit but he hasn’t gone unnoticed by discerning fans and critics alike. In 2011, the same year as his debut, he played alongside Kit Downes, Lewis Wright, Paul Booth, Tom White and Piers Green on Paul Jordanous’ debut ‘And now I know’.

He was raised in the beautiful town of Lymington, near the New Forest in Hampshire, and his compositions reflect this close relationship with nature. He now lives in London but remains true to his roots and has established a plentiful kitchen garden adjacent to his property. He is truly a renaissance man and regularly draw upon his time as an arts student in Bath, UK for his inspiration.

Bill Mudge Trio
Skylight

“My main intention is to convey an emotion through each piece of music. When writing I’m generally inspired by books, films or people, using them as the subject matter to develop the idea, whilst considering how the group might play and interpret the music.“

As The Crow Flies
Bill Mudge Trio

He is active as a musician and composer despite earning a reputation as the Bobby Fisher of Jazz. His self imposed exile from many social media platforms has meant that this album doesn't receive the kind of background noise you expect nowadays. This of course means it's all the more impressive when you track it down. It's back to the days of trawling through record shops although if you get in touch with him on Twitter - @mudgery he might have one last copy in his studio.




Big Al's Story - Bill Mudge Trio

Skylight artwork
The album artwork came from a film we made together, named after the title track. I cold-called Bill in 2010 abut using his music and he kindly agreed. I started the drawings during a rain delay at the first Test Match between England and Bangladesh (Lords 2010). Instead of cricket I visited the ceiling of the courtyard at the British Museum. Bill's music inspired me to create these spiritual pyrotechnics.

The concept being - if we could send our fireworks high enough, what would the results be?

Rejected ideas
Imagery and title came together with Skylight but we also considered three other designs for 'Fenced Patrol', 'Big Al's Story' and 'As The Crow Flies'. The latter making it onto the CD body, inside and back cover.

Fenced Patrol - Bill Mudge Trio

Sleeve Notes
The personnel on Skylight are -

Bill Mudge: Hammond B3 Organ
Kevin Glasgow: Guitar
Chris Nickolls: Drums
Piers Green: Alto Sax (Tracks 4,6,8)

Bill Mudge's main thrust nowadays is his involvement with improv trio Toy Rokit alongside Chris Nickolls and Mark Rose. They have produced a series of recording in their short collaboration and you can purchase & download their debut CD at  - http://toyrokit.bandcamp.com/album/toy-rokit-cd1-out-now as well as get your hands on a physical entity.

AL.

Colourshop - Catching rainbows

Colourshop were working against the gods when they performed at Rise 46 last Friday (27/06/2014). Not only was there a throng of hard-headed commuters to fight against as we climbed up Battersea Rise in Clapham but serious train mischief which affected London's busiest intersection with devastating consequences. There were lost instruments to contend with and due to the short set-up time neither lighting nor sound were in their favour. Despite this, armed with a determined spirit and Latin panache they turned the night around.

Alfredo Salvati - guitar

Colourshop are Alfredo and Diego Salvati, brothers originally from Rome but now living the dream on London's musical merry-go-round. The elder of the two, Alfredo, held centre stage with his vocals and guitar combo. There is wildness and passion in the eyes, a whispish fuzz to his cheek like he was indeed suckled alongside Romulus and Remus by the legendary she-wolf.

The duo's tone is one of European melancholy initially, but there are melodic grooves and folk narratives too. Understandably with two performers of a young and virile bent many of the themes roll in the long grass with love. Those with longer teeth enjoyed biting on something more intellectually meaty. New composition '3pm', inspired by the Jean Paul Satre quote “Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do” was worth seasoning and devouring. It's rhythm bumped down a suitably cobbled street in one's mind.

Diego Salvati

Diego Salvati vocally took the limelight while still languishing in the darkest shadows at Rise 46. Singing the lead on the title track to their new EP, 'Chasing life' I  used a little artistic licence with my pen. Otherwise he would have been just a black blot on this page.

There was space and range amongst Alfredo's lyrics and Diego's sporadic piano, "You and me" epitomised the 'less is more' approach. The organic flavour of this composition suited it's creeping expressive lyrics. It was held together with a groove, an ebb and exposed Diego's talents in a beautiful and striking way, like a stoic Heathcliff on the bleak moors.

There is gold at the end of Colourshop's rainbow, several new tunes gave us a taste of a promising future. The most successful of these revelled in the obsessions of the human condition rather than it's golden rays.

AL.

Shirley Smart - Melange

Shirley Smart - Cello

Sometimes a group of musicians suit their venue so well it makes the evening all the more powerful. The faded glory and peeling walls of Wilton's Music Hall played host to the flavoursome music of Melange last month (20/06/2014). Wait a minute, this 7 piece group are neither fading in their talents nor afflicted with shabbiness. It was the earthy and rooted quality of their music that sat so wonderfully at Wilton's. The grade II listed building was built in 1859 and understandably still wears it scars. It has a pock marked honesty that interior decorators often try to imitate but everything on show here had authenticity.

Like their surroundings the Melange Collective have gathered their music and narratives through an equally interesting journey. Formed by cellist Shirley Smart after returning from 10 years living, working and studying in Jerusalem they blend music from North  Africa, Turkey, Asia, Brazil and the Middle East anmongst other

Stefanos Tsourelis - Oud

Despite Smart taking centre stage it was Stefanos Tsourelis who immediately caught the eye with his oud. It is my job to translate what I hear to the sketchbook and before me was the musical equivalent. The sound of Tsourelis' pear shaped palette was light and colourful, more watercolour but with the occasional charcoal swipe. His pursed lips also gave him the air of a painter who, standing back from his canvas, squints his eyes to admire his handiwork.

Peter Michaels - Guitar

The stage lighting shot off the guitar of Peter Michaels as if he were being baked under the midday sun or trying to send Morse code via signal mirror. On his Bulgarian yogurt inspired tune his playing was fractious and bubbling. His head was bowed with the memory of the after-effects of eating the aforementioned bacterially fermented milk product.

One of the delights of this performance was the interaction between Shirley Smart and her fellow collective members. Amongst Michaels whirls and slides she was messy in the most seductive of ways. We picked through her repertoire as though she had spread it out on her bedroom floor, exotic coloured scarfs churned with postcards. There was intricate jewellery and a rich but pungent layer of foreign detritus like a gap-year student who had just returned from 6 months InterRailing. It was a delight to pick through her Turkish souvenirs in particular.

Maurizio Minardi - Accordion

Like any good collective, Melange were only as good as the sum of their parts. Lets kick fair play into the long grass though, we didn't hear enough of Maurizio Minardi. His 'This is not a Rhumba' was one of the tunes that the rest of the evening pivoted around. Wilton's Hall was so busy that I viewed just a flank of the dynamic accordionist, and amongst the further tunes we tasted his talents but were never sated.

Joe Browne - Saxophone

Joe Browne featured on selected tunes throughout the evening and he made up for his absences with a spirited performance when he did step into the spotlight. He blowed hard and fervent on soprano saxophone in particular, often his face turned a scorching puce, the commitment to the cause evident even to those in the rear seats.

Often second sets can be a disappointment after a successful first but Melange came back stronger. Michele Montolli bowing on bass, his resonance filling the high ceilinged hall. The tension as Demi Garcia Sabat worked up a lather on percussion and those glasses which slid closer and closer to the end of his nose. Fortunately never falling into his lap.

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The oud with its throaty beginning was conversational on the Iraqi tune 'Foq El-Nakhal' and Stefanos Tsourelis brought to it a humour that was thoughtful and dare I say (without sounding pretentious) philosophical. It was the playful jousting between Michaels and Minardi that brought the most joy. They teased one another with affection, like two old friends.

Demi Garcia Sabat - Percussion

Relationships were the theme for the night, of the future and the past, east and west and that between music and the atmospheric hall it flourished in. The mind and the hand which guided my pencil were happy bedfellows too. Both eye and ear would like to experience the richness of Melange again, and so shall I, for where they go I shall follow.

AL.