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.

Graeme Taylor - Fat Sax

Piers Green - Alto saxophone

Ahead of us are so many obvious pitfalls that I will endeavour not to afflict upon you too many cringeworthy metaphors, nor make this journey to odious. Despite having 9 musicians and an elephant in the room at Twickenham Jazz Club (19/06/2014) Graeme Taylor's Fat Sax still had room to swing the modest audience by their coat tails. The elephant in question shot himself in the foot midway through the performance with the aid of two goals from Luis Suarez. Yes, this was the night of England's game against Uruguay in the 2014 World Cup. I will not say anything more it, for all our sakes.

Damian Cook - Alto

Graeme Taylor's Fat Sax project tips its hat to the world's most classy tribute act of all time, Supersax. Created in 1972 to honour the iconic bebop music of saxophonist Charlie Parker. It went on to feature a ever changing role call of talented musicians, including a personal favourite, Blue Mitchell. Taylor has kept true to the original format of 2 alto saxes (Piers Green, Damian Cook), 2 tenor saxes (Sam Walker, Toby Stewart) and  baritone (Ollie Weston), trumpet (Sid Gauld) and a rhythm section of bass (Rob Hutchinson),  drums (Mike Bradley) and the man himself on piano.

Sid Gauld - trumpet

The early exchanges surprisingly weren't dominated by the saxophone, this was reserved for trumpeter Sid Gauld. He was the lone herald on a battlefield, playing with clarity while the cavalry's steeds pawed the ground behind him. Gauld certainly wasn't cannon fodder and his 'hammerhead' approach broke through our defences with power and grace. On the 3rd tune, John Coltrane's 'Moment's notice' he stood proud, but we were starting to feel charge of the saxophones.

Toby Stewart - Tenor Sax

It was a overwhelming sensation to be sat in front of the Fat Sax wall of sound. It was not only their broad shoulders that blocked out much of The Bloomsbury 'atmospheric' lighting but the rolling wave of music that dominated the rest of the night. Often playing as one organic force they resembled a manly waterfall. Bud Powell's 'Tempus Fugit' epitomised this fast and furious approach, where the saxophones seem to fire all together yet spray off in their own jets of pleasure. A little like 5 men synchronised at an urinal but with much sweeter consequences.

Graeme Taylor - piano

Graeme Taylor broke into the rush of joyous and swinging saxophones with his own up-tempo artistry. Taylor is hard to capture in the sketchbook, he looks both muscular and light of foot and his eyes seem to have the sort of permanent twinkle reserved for American sitcoms and Casanovas. He is one of the movers and shakers at The Gunnersbury, where Big Band's perform on Sunday lunchtimes including his very own the Hot Waffle Big Band. Modest as always he lurks in the background but let me shed just a little light on his talents as a composer and arranger. You can now gets your hand on his 'charts' at Big Jazz Face, which isn't a euphemism but an invitation to play White Sand, his fast, furious, fantastic Latin composition with your own big band.




Sam Walker - Tenor Sax

The second set was equally attack minded with Sam Walker's tenor proving a talking point amongst the modest, attentive and knowledgeable crowd. Attributes (I do not know about modesty) displayed by Walker himself, for no other performer listened more keenly at his comrades playing nor applauded more generously. 'Moose the Mooche' gave us the shot in the arm that is Rob Hutchinson on bass but also a vocalising scatting interlude by polymath and drummer Mike Bradley.



Mike Bradley - drums

The over-riding theme of the night was the interchange between the Brass' togetherness and each individual's skill. Dexter Gordon's 'Cheese Cake' was the manifestation of this theory, compositionally switch-hitting between pace and personnel. Continuity kept on taking a cigarette break while the aforementioned Hutchinson and Bradley decadently blew smoke rings in our direction.

Ollie Weston - Baritone Sax

It is hard to single out one performer from the united line of saxophones but Ollie Weston's baritone was at it's most lyrical during Fat Sax's rendition of Charlie Parker's 'Confirmation'. Weston was nimble and light footed whilst negotiating the tune's complex chord changes. He was the gate that let me enter Fat Sax's wall of sound and sit up in my ivory tower as I watched the desolate England football fans sadly trudge below.

AL.

Rob Hutchinson - bass

Clement Regert - Wild Card

Clement Regert - guitar

Being embedded in London's Jazz circuit you get to hear about many of the musicians way before you ever get a chance to listen to them live. One such name is Clement Regert who has forged ahead with his Wild Card trio alongside Andy Noble (organ) and Sophie Alloway (drums). Since arriving in England in 2005 he has steadily made a name for himself amongst our Jazz elite and it is no surprise that he called upon such talented musicians as Dennis Rollins, Graeme Flowers and Pedro Segundo for this gig at Soho's Pizza Express (12/06/2014).

The usual balance of young professionals and adventurous tourists had been upset by the first night of the World Cup finals. Many of London's white collar community had fled to the suburbs and we were left with a smattering of couples with eyes only for one another and a melting pot of nationalities hell bent on boosting the trade in union jack hats and Oxford Street bargains.



Andy Noble - organ

Those that chose to stay at home and be dazzled by Brazil's yellow strip soon realised that all that glitters is not gold. Clement Regert's Wild Card kicked off with the finest of Brazilian exports by comparision. 'Canto de Xango' by Baden Powell de Aquino gives you not only compassion, but dexterity and most of all intellect, a quality not always associated with his fellow footballing countrymen. Regert gave us his own brand of Baden Powell, one which was brassy, turning Powell's usually dainty footsteps into deep and confident grooves.



Pedro Segundo - Percussion

'Sweet Smoke' choked off any more thoughts of round balls full of hot air. It was an early view of tonight's most impressive performers, Andy Noble and Pedro Segundo (percussion). Noble is another import to London's jazz family, from Australian stock originally. Our statuesque man on keys climbed even higher with his deep pulsing work on 'Place du Tertre', which is the square on Montmatre and the home to a small army of caricaturists. I do not need to exaggerate any of Noble's vital statistics in picture nor words.



Lowly Worm

Both artist and audience alike needed their night vision goggles to spot the olive skinned dreamboat Pedro Segundo in the Pizza Express' darkest recesses. Compositionally he was perfectly balanced by the fair complexion and white shirt of Sophie Alloway to his right. Together they looked like the King and Queen of a jumbled up chess set. Segundo provided much of the night's texture and his subtle solos were worth pricking up the ears for, especially on Kenny Barron's 'Sunshower'.



Sophie Alloway - Drums

The Latin themes that were carried so successfully by Noble and Segundo brought out the best in Clement Regert too. His lithe sleek frame wiggled and swayed to the infectious rhythms. With his trademark hat atop his head and hips swaying he resembled the iconic Lowly Worm of Richard Scarry fame. It wasn't all upbeat finger popping and Regert's intelligence came to the fore on his version of 'Feelin' Good'. He has a tendency to chew the melody with a dancing jaw and here because of the tune's slow pace he resembled a Spaghetti Western villain not unlike a French Lee Van Cleef.

Dennis Rollins - Trombone

Much of the evening's joy was reserved for the twin barrels of brass from Graeme Flowers (trumpet) and Dennis Rollins (Trombone). 'You are Amazing", a Regert penned tune, rubbed both organ and guitar together with a verve like two ancient Greeks oiling themselves. The tune's hero was Graeme Flowers, who gave us the glory. A real modern day Achilles. Sophie Alloway was above such manly macho camaraderie being the "Goddess of Groove" as Jazzwise's Jon Newey describes her.

Graeme Flowers - Trumpet

I hate to break the bad news that Alloway and the rest of Wild Card are indeed mortals. On the upside it means they are easier to track down. See them next week, Thursday 26th June at The Plough, not the big dipping variety but the pub in Ealing, which is much easier to get too.

AL.

Electro Deluxe - London optimism

James Copley

The first thing that slaps you in the face is the sheer charisma of Electro Deluxe's frontman James Copley. His clean lines and true voice make it almost impossible to look the other way. That is how I spent most of last Tuesday (10/06/2014), rubber necking at the Camden Barfly, as this 7-piece French import crash landed upon London's shores.

Thomas Faure - sax

Electro Deluxe are more than one man, with an impressive range of up-tempo dancefloor swingers that use both lyrical and instrumental hooks to pulse a crowd to life. This was a modest affair for their first visit to the UK and one that without doubt will spurn a longer and more ambitious run of gigs in the future. You could fill a venue 5 times the size just with the eager Francophiles who inhabit London's bedsits and house-shares.

There is very little that makes their brand of Beat, Brass and Class exclusive to Gaulish music lovers but there is a devil-may-care attitude that refreshingly makes our stiff upper lip feel like an irritation in such a buoyant atmosphere as this.

Bertrand Luzignant - Trombone

Mathieu Gramoli - drums

James Copley wore a healthy sheen of sweat within seconds of Electro Deluxe's first tune along with a bow tie and blue silver 'Gump' suit that like it's most famous exponent, Norman Wisdom, was held together by one solitary button that strained under it's owner's excesses. It was the instrumental 'Ground' that was an early 'tour de force', horn led, with Bertrand Luzignant's trombone pumping in the verve. It epitomised the group's high energy brand of authentic bone-shaking funk.

Gael Cadoux - Keys

Going against the grain with the gentle and soulful 'Comin Home' James Copley illustrated why he is worth his weight in blue-eyed twinkles. Amongst the more high octane tunes in their repertoire you would imagine this tune would be a damp squib, but in Copley's hands it is an opportunity for interaction with his audience. His voice was gentle and soft like the fur on a peach but as you bit deeper into Copley's richness you couldn't help but feel his sweet juice roll down your chin.

Vincent Payen - Trumpet

Not all that Electro Deluxe served us was as well balanced, there were moments of pastiche that caught in the throat but they served their purpose amongst more complex dishes. 'Play' gave us a high moment in both fluidity and intelligence. Led by the horn section that included both Vincent Payen (trumpet) and Thomas Faure (Saxophone). It soon showcased the dexterity of Gael Cadoux on keys and it was a welcome diversion, a melodic voyage and at its peak the tune was a runaway train.


The engine of Electro Deluxe's locomotive is powered by the bass of Jeremie Coke and evident in 'Showdown', another cut from their 4th studio album 'HOME' that was released at the end of last year. Coke is one of the original pioneers of the Deluxe sound and a qualified engineer in his own right so it is no surprise he lays the foundation for the group as a whole.

Jeremie Coke - Bass

With a healthy tour ahead of them it will not be long before their infectious beats spread further than the French motherland and into the European continent. It doesn't take a genius either to examine the evidence from this night's performance. They are an upbeat and talented group that rouse the crowd and appeal to their optimistic inclinations. This sentiment as you might know can sometimes be slow to rise in the heart of London's metropolitan set, but now their cups runneth over.

AL.