Both barrels from The Twelveheads

Peter Ibbetson - drums

Last Tuesday (05/03/2013) I witnessed the birth of a new band, it wasn't a difficult delivery, in fact no gas or air was needed and we smoothly entered a new era for the SE Collective's Peter Ibbetson. The new arrivals were 'The Twelveheads' who broke their waters at The Amersham Arms in New Cross, London.

This is a new monicker for the quartet who I had seen under their previous name, Pseudonym, just a few weeks earlier (November 2012, Spice of Life).
The S.E. Collective at the Amersham Arms have built a hard and cutting edge reputation in their brief history and this was another rapier like thrust into the soft underbelly of the London's music scene.

Although it's been through lean times, we have a nimble and expressive group of old and new Jazz musicians writing and performing some fantastic new material during Britain's darkest days of austerity. Capitalising on the appetite for fresh and original tunes Ibbetson was recording the night's endeavours with the help of Alex Bonney, who hid in the shadows, illuminated only by the glow of his laptop.

Alam Nathoo - saxophone

It was a patient and measured start that sucked the air from the venue itself (I Hate Nostalgia, I Want Nothing To Do WIth It.), creating a build up of latent energy that left me emotionally thirsty.
Then we felt the pumping rhythms of Alam Nathoo and the wafting & sweeping of Tom Challenger (Tenor) saxophones on 'All That Was, and How It Is Now'.

Nathoo is soft shouldered player, giving no indication of his power and intensity from the outside. Again Challenger has a disarming and prepossessing demeanour that is more Teddy bear than Grizzly. Although both took the spotlight on regular occasions  their power was at its greatest when working together. They elevate their performance not by competition but by nurture and building upon each other successes.



Tom Challenger - Saxophone

Entering the middle phase of the recording and Ibbetson's beats pulsed from his electronic box. They we're evocative and subtle throughout. For example in a composite of 'You Never Listen' and '51 Rue Cler' the electronic sounds we're reminiscent of a bell, perhaps warning you of an incident in a distant (mental health) ward. Ibbetson was restraint itself throughout, developing beautiful layers through scratches and washes. Although physically in the background he's very much the leader, both conducting with a lone hand at one point, and more commonly with eyes full of intensity.

At last we passed half-way and the quartet let rip with the bouncy melodic 'Here Comes Mylo'', a tune about an excitable dog. Apologies for this ham-fisted metaphor but 'The Twelveheads' were let of the lead, Challenger leaned back like he was begging for treats, Ibbetson's sticks rapped a barking beat, Tom Framer on bass wagged his shaggy tail and like a mischievous hound Nathoo pissed up the legs of the audience with devilish charm, and even cracked a smile at the end.

Tom Farmer - Bass

On the last tune of their recording Nathoo and Challenger again worked so well together under Ibbetson's direction. Both took turns building up the structure of 'Too Much To Think' until they then smashed their creation down with  both barrels of their collective saxophones.

Like many a musical evening we leave the venue picking through the pieces of our memory, humming the shard of
a tune or recreating a slideshow of images to replay in the future. The snapshot I'll leave with is not an image of Peter Ibbetson's first musical baby..... but of his twins, Challenger and Nathoo, crying in honeyed harmony. Don't take my word for it, look out for the CD that will grow up to be one of the 'big boys' of the Jazz playground.

AL

Foreign Slippers - Gabi Froden and Phil Wilkinson

Gabi Froden

Beauty and the Beast took to the Water Rats stage on Wednesday this week (27/02/2013) in the guise of Gabi Froden and Phil Wilkinson from Foreign Slippers. This was not a reincarnation of the musical that left London's West End in 1999 and now had returned to downtown King's Cross. Nor a hard worked metaphor, that reflects the attractiveness of the duo themselves, although each was bathed in contrasting lights that emphasised their differing roles.

The Beauty..... the voice of Froden.

The Beast...... the dark electronic beats of Wilkinson

It was a night of juxtapositions. Gabi Froden was glowingly beautiful under the red spotlight but her lyrics have a chilling and melancholy feel at times. She has a deadpan relationship with her audience and you cannot help but be captivated by her Scandinavian delivery. Like the mouse that is being toyed with by the cat, you know you are in her thrall although within a playful grasp. But unlike the mouse you never want to escape.
Froden bookended the night's performance on guitar but spent the majority on keys.

Phil Wilkinson lingered in the blue shadows cast by Froden but should take just as much credit for the night's excellent performance. For this duo it was an opportunity to warm-up and energise new material ahead of a tour with FOY VANCE, starting tomorrow at Newcastle's Cluny.
Tour dates here.
Wilkinson's brave electronic beats were at their most effective during 'Road to Ruin', the sound of them crunching and spitting out at us. Musically it was an almost tactile path through Blake's 'And did those feet in ancient time'.
Froden's voice was the rolling hills of a 'Green and pleasant Land' and Wilkinson's cloud of beats erupted from those 'dark Satanic Mills'.
Froden and Wilkinson weren't persistently at loggerheads either, their voices regularly combined creating smooth folk landscapes.

Mike Watts

Amongst the Water Rats' Greek columns we heard some modern material too, including 'Sleepwalker', written by Wilkinson. Earlier in the evening Gabi admitted to me that she finds it hard to accept Phil's ideas when first presented to her -

"I'm very critical at the start when Phil conjures up a new song for us. I find it very hard to own a song that I haven't written but eventually I fall in love and it becomes part of my identity too".

I had been invited this evening by a 'Face', as they say on the circuit. Whether I have achieved that honour yet I do not know but this face belonged to Mike Watts, who as a supporter and photographer of live music is a regular on the folk circuit and beyond. He is a man (usually with his wife Gail) that can be seen at many venues, listening to any genre, but with a keen ear for the New.
He has followed the progress of Gabi Froden (particularly her collaborations with Duke Special) for a while and gave me an insight into the music.

"When she takes the high notes her voice retains its fine quality but with a touch of vibrato, it just has that accuracy and tone! The most memorable night was at Belfast's Waterfront where she sang Ruby Murray's 'Jimmy Unknown' in front of two and half thousand people with a 26 piece orchestra behind her".



Phil Nelson -
First Column Management

Both Mike and I left a healthy crowd at The Water Rats with Foreign Slippers and their manager Phil 'Leveller' Nelson. I never know whether this nickname was earned because of his previous management fame or because he has that imposingly strong demeanour. Answers on a postcard...

 Although Mike and I got lost on the way home, I know we'll find each other again soon. I'm his guest at Ben Castle's gig at the Pizza Express, Soho on 8th March.

Your next chance to see/hear Foreign Slippers here in London is on the 13th March at the Islington Assembly Halls. See if you can resist the potent wave of Gabi Froden's voice and Phil Wilkinson's dark beats.

AL

Bethany Jameson - Racing Pulses

Bethany Jameson

Mr Rainlore has just written a review of Bethany Jameson's Cabaret Vérité Live At The Royal National Theatre Foyer, South Bank, London SE1, Sunday 3rd February 2013.

Read it here -
LINK HERE to Rainlore's World Website

Chico Chica - Cult Classic

Tom Hannah - 'A Scientific Fact'

We didn't see the best side of the genre hopping trio Chico Chica this week (19/02/2013) at The Green Carnation, Soho. In fact it was very hard to see any side of this dynamic group of multi-instrumentalists. Through no fault of their own they performed in a state of near darkness, illuminated only by a throbbing kaleidoscope of colour projections. They worked hard to make it an enjoyable night for the motley crew of foreign drifters and snogging fellas who were enthusiastic about the night's entertainment. More than once I heard a 'So cool' in a thick Spanish twang.

It was mostly latin and jazz standards with Barbara Snow's rendition of 'Berimbau' a stand out. As professionals they had assessed their audience, jettisoned their own tunes and adapted the repertoire. Perfectly correct, but it left me frustrated when we saw glimpses of their originality and brilliance later in the evening. When we did get the chance to encounter the full Chico Chica experience I was spellbound.

The night hinged on one tune. Tom Hannah stood up, dusted himself off and with microphone in hand started with spoken word. The deep green light bounced off the chartreuse walls and Hannah's happiness monologue interrupted Soho's murmur of murky gossip.

Barbara Snow

The tune, 'A Scientific Fact', expresses Hannah's own view that it's "daft that people use science to state the obvious". He was sensational as he subsequently dropped his microphone and hit the dancefloor with a flurry of finger-clicks and moonwalks. By stepping out into the audience he made us all uncomfortable and equally mesmerised, and it was only after the finale when Tom Hannah sat down that you realised you hadn't blinked for a full 5 minutes. There's every chance that this routine will become a cult classic in the style of Christopher Walken's cameo in 'Weapon of Choice' (Fatboy Slim).

Alas the brightest star in the evening quickly diminished,
but there is good news on the horizon because Chico Chica are busy preparing for a new album (their 2nd). In fact Barbara Snow has written more than 20 tunes in preparation, so my desires will be fulfilled.

Hilary Cameron

How I wish I could have heard these original compositions at The Green Carnation. I did though find comfort in the voice of Barbara Snow, the dancing of Tom Hannah and the hypnotic eyes of Hilary Cameron.

AL

Nigel Price - Naughty but Nice

Nigel Price -

Nigel Price's reputation preceded him, so I arrived at The Bloomsbury (14/02/2013) last Thursday with a bag full of comic material. I'm not just talking about his comedy posts on Facebook but also his family's resemblance to a Beano cartoon-strip . Over the past year we've been treated to some excellent shenanigans from his son, especially his letters home from school. These would have been funny enough even without them been tampered en route and littered with classic adolescent humour.
 Like son, like father in many cases too, because Nigel cannot resist a prank or two. My favourite was the note Nigel left on a badly parked BMW in a multi-storey car park which read (from memory)
'Well done...
I have posted a picture of this on
WWW.YOUPARKLIKEAC*NT.COM'.

His demeanour in real life doesn't dispel the vision of him as a larrikin either. As I walked in he was perched on his stool with guitar in hand, his feet barely touched the floor. But this is where humorous anecdotes end.
He was the model professional and quite simply brilliant.


Bob Martin

The evening was a curious one, very much a night of two halves. In the first set Bob Martin (alto), who is the epitome of west-coast cool, was almost too hip to function. Very much in the finger-clicking style of Peter King, he remained unphased by the packed audience in front of him. He never raised his eyes and continually checked his watch, and we watched and worried that he is ailing in some way. If that is the case then his revival in the second set was impressive.
It could be argued that the interjection of Kelvin Christiane and his Baritone sax injected a pump of energy and fluidity into his fellow saxophonist.

Bob Martin although distant with the audience showed his appreciation for some of his fellow musicians. His Errol Garner style yips and yelps accompanied the man on his left, Pete Whittaker on keys. As you know I have worked closely with Whittaker's stunt double Bill Mudge, so it was a real pleasure to experience a man that rivals Bill's skill on the organ.

Pete Whittaker

I didn't have a good view for drawing  Pete Whittaker but was able to pay special attention to his style of playing. As the whole quintet came to life with a rendition of 'Old Folks', Whittaker's left hand resembled a desert lizard on hot sand with digits alternating, no two fingers touched the keys at any one time. His right hand resembled a reptile too, definitely a cobra, it hovered for a beat of the heart before striking the keys at lightning speed, and then recoiled.

The style of Matt Home on drums was all wrists too.
He must possess real power in them because his upper body hardly moves, even when he is in full swing. They snapped and crackled through out the evening.

Matt Home - drums

Even though the night started out as a puzzle, and took time to warm up it ended in good heart. The future looks good too for the Twickenham Jazz Club.
I spent the last few late-night minutes at The Bloomsbury with 'The Dudes' who have been working on the clubs new website - www.twickenhamjazzclub.co.uk.



'Dude' Andy

We talked about the next TJC night which I'll miss unfortunately (21/03/2013: Willie Garnett and Enrico Tomasso Quartet) and the one after ,which I'll be sketching at, (25/04/2013: Georgia Mancio) and got a ringing endorsement from hot-blooded 'Dude' Andy.

Yearning for Delirium - Joanna Strand



Joanna Strand

Before I started my journey into the realm of 'Delirium' I had to be prepared. Although I'd read Joanna Strand's manifesto for a future

including altered states and celebrated imperfections I knew not whether I would find a dystopia or utopia at the Pizza Express last Thursday (07/02/2013).

 

The previous days I had been sketching in a simulated mental health ward at Kingston University for a commission so I did (for once) feel qualified. The 'patients' I had worked with had been potentially violent, addicted, anxious and possessed minds searching for salvation. Understandably I found myself sitting in Pizza Express' tomblike catacomb in an agitated and exhausted state myself.

 

As I dropped into my seat and looked across the table at the stranger opposite, alarms bells sounded in my skull. Underlit by the venue's dramatic lighting he turned to me and said 'Jekyll or Hyde?'

John Gregson

The stranger took another swig of Peroni and I wondered whether this was his 'potion'. Within moments I was luckily put at my ease, this wasn't a challenge to my sanity but an introduction. The charming man opposite was none other than the guitarist John Gregson who had worked with Joanna on the hit musical, Jekyll and Hyde.

 

Before we could exchange our life stories the lights abruptly dimmed and we plunged into 'Delirium'.

 

Yazz Ahmed

Strand had promised a world of juxtapositions and the group of musicians before us didn't disappoint. She occupied the centre of the stage, fully at ease and with an open warm face. Her wide gestural arms enticed us into her embrace and although absolutely confident (at least on the outside) she still displayed a hint of fallibility.

 

Where Strand offered us openness, in contrast, Trumpeter Yazz Ahmed's magnet pull was through her crisp understated playing and the those thick lashes under a heavy fringe.

Ahmed epitomises Delirium's statement to represent the yearning, longing and craving represented in music and poetry. To quote it word for word, the audience found themselves 'Wishing for the unattainable'.

 

Romano Viazzano -
Accordion

To my right was Romano Viazzano, and his bright red jumper was the only colour in a understated 6 piece group. He is a hard man to describe, this night his smile spread slowly, like an assassins, but a few days earlier I'd sketched him in the National Theatre Foyer, where he performed in front of a crowd of families (including his own 5 children) and he displayed a joyful exuberance. Right now his head was bowed in concentration as he tackled Asaf Sirkis' tune 'Sailing'.

 

Asaf Sirkis - drums

Again as a juxtaposition sat Sirkis himself, head held high like a thoroughbred on the Epson Downs. Lets face it he is a drummer who would win the jazz equivalent of the Derby by 10 lengths.

I have worked briefly with Asaf on Alex Hutton's Legentis album and he is by no means a temperamental colt.

Once again he was outstanding, performing with grace and tenderness.

 

Nick Pini - Bass

 As we listened to 'Easy Living', the final tune of the first set, I frantically sketched Nick Pini on double bass. He is hard to capture on paper. He starts every tune with his copper hair neatly pinned behind his ears but eventually the music is too powerful and he reaches the final note in a state of wild dishevelment.

 

As I got to know John 'Mr Jekyll' Gregson in the interval I asked his professional opinion about the music,

"This is my first taste of Delirium, but what I'm struck by is the textures. The instruments provide us with layers and depth, they work together rather than take the spotlight in their own right."

John Bailey - Piano

 I'd sketched this same outfit (less Frank Walden) at The Forge in 2012 for Mr Rainlore's review, but I enjoyed the ambition and depth of these tunes more. This was a team working together intellectually as well as physically.

 

 Not every aspect was a success though and I believe Delirium were 'Striving for the Ideal' (to quote Joanna Strand again) and occasionally found themselves in a no-man's land where even a combination of talent and strong emotive intentions was not enough to influence the audience. The poetry was beautiful and well crafted but I couldn't transport myself to the tangible Natural world suggested by it while sitting comfortably in the warm, safe and privileged surroundings of the Pizza Express. I am full of admiration though that they aimed high and as a result we soared at a lofty altitude. Higher even than my previous experience whilst Fly(ing) Transatlantic with them.

 

Joanna Strand was at her most mesmerising whilst singing Poulenc and the sentiments she paints with her French palette transported me back to the small village of Cambieure, where I still have my studio and many friends. So many French words play with your mind using both sound and meaning, the Papi of all them all is 'oublie' for me. At once reminding me of those people I miss and those that I never want to be parted from.

 

Eventually I parted myself from Joanna Strand, Delrium and John Gregson but it will not be so easy to forget them.

 

AL.

 

Ray Gelato - Bloomsbury's Top Cat

Ray Gelato - Top Cat

Like the phoenix rising from the flames, Ray Gelato resurrected the newly revived Twickenham Jazz Club last Thursday (24/01/2013) with a stellar night of swinging tunes. It's no surprise that Lesley and Kelvin Christiane chose Ray to kick-start the Club, he is the totem of the current swing revival and resurgence of 1950's values & tastes.

 Although he's been nominated for Jazz's highest awards he has never been a member of the Jazz Elite preferring to rub shoulders with us mere mortals. In fact that is part of his charm and he has retained his youthful vigour and humour throughout the years and most reminds me of the loveable Top Cat from Hanna-Barbera's animation. With his witty alley-cat jokes and roguish tom-cat charisma he had us all purring with delight by the end of the evening.



Kelvin Christiane - Saxophone

Ray Gelato's repertoire was pure unashamedly old-school with tunes by Count Basie (Doggin' Around & Topsy), Nat King Cole (The Frim-Fram Sauce), Jesse Greer (Just You Just Me) and Coleman Hawkins (body and soul).

The dark-suited and dapper Kelvin Christiane joined Gelato on stage for 'Robbins' Nest' and Duke's 'Cotton Tail'. Richard Busiakiewicz was very much an unassuming figure visually on keyboards, but more than stole the show musically once given his chance. He has a trance like zombie playing style, perfected by Bill Evans, with chin hung against his chest whilst deep in concentration.



Richard Busiakiewic - keys

It was good to get a proper look at Julian Bury on bass. The last time I'd drawn him was at Pizza Express for the Burton Bradstock CD launch, where you have to avoid strategically placed pillars and tomblike lighting to produce a sketch.
This was my first view of Matt Fishwick  (drums), although I have drawn his twin-brother Steve before. He has a sit-up-and-beg style with a beautifully straight back, and is a musician I would like to see and hear again.



Julian Bury - Bass

Matt Fishwick - drums

The jazz cats weren't restricted to the stage either and I spotted some very cool ones in the audience too.
There was a group of ruddy cheeked dudes whose 'Boss Cat' was the sleek Lister Park, with Colin and Andrew either side.

Lister park - Dude

I'll look forward to seeing them all on Valentine's Day, not for a romantic rendezvous, but to see Nigel Price playing at the next instalment of the Twickenham Jazz Club.

AL