It is always a pleasure to hear Christine’s singing, and she performed this very demanding role with her usual zest and captivating expression, opening with “Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer” (from the repertoire of Bessie Smith), linked by a brief drum solo with brushes to the group’s title track: “Freight Train”, by Elizabeth Cotten. So far we had heard songs from the traditional jazz and the skiffle repertoire, but with “The Oid Church Yard” – a song so ancient it is mentioned in Samuel Pepys 1660s Diary – we had entered English folk music territory, and Christine sang in beautifully. Then came a lovely venture into Celtic music with “Innisfree”. The singer took a break for Clarvis and Noble to romp through the old jazz standard “Whispering”, with the pianist’s solo also embracing the bebop classic based on its chords: Dizzy Gillespie’s “Grooving High”.

Other highlights came from popular songwriters, including Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird”, and Paul Simon’s “I Do It For Your Love”, both given a folk-influenced sonority.

But the highlight of the night, to my ears, was a song by Cathy Jordan, “Curragh Wrens”, about the historic exploitation of teenage girls in Ireland. With Noble creating long tones on a small synth, Christine’s performance of this harrowing tale was incredibly moving.

This concert was presented by the Lichfield Jazz section of Lichfield Arts.

Freight Train with Christine Tobin appears on Thursday (January 16) at The Tin Music And Arts, The Coal Vaults, Coventry Canal Basin, St Nicholas Street, Coventry, and on Friday (January 17) for Birmingham Jazz at 1000 Trades, in Frederick Street, Jewellery Quarter.

The post Freight Train with Christine Tobin first appeared on UK Jazz News.

The incident happened on the first day of the festival, and two concerts that night were allowed to go ahead in the town’s Cultural Centre before the strict curfew on music began at midnight. It was originally declared that only one day of mourning would allow the festival to continue on the Sunday, but that rule was changed, meaning that two of the three days of the festival could not go ahead, with artists including US saxophone legend David Murray and trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso and their quartets prevented from performing.

Some of those concerts were being arranged for the future, but the three-day ban on music has left the festival in a desperate financial plight, as all the events had been sold out. However, the festival’s single evening opened with great sensitivity. Israeli pianist Shai Maestro began his solo performance with words of condolence, before sitting quietly at the keyboard for a few minutes, and then starting his improvisations with single isolated notes, developing very gradually into gently played chordal clusters and eventually into a tumult of harmonic shifts and flurries of expertly interwoven single lines and chords, Maestro then developed the free improvisation to comprehensively rework songs including Jerome Kern’s “All The Things You Are” and Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”.

The performance reached an even higher level when he was joined on stage by the sensational Italian drummer Francesco Ciniglio, who was originally only scheduled to perform in the quartet of the following act, American singer Robin McKelle. The Maestro-Ciniglio duet was a masterpiece of improvisational intensity, with an almost volcanic quality.

McKelle is a smooth and capable singer, and her tribute to Ella Fitzgerald had many fine moments, with classic songs including “Something’s Got To Give”, “Caravan” and “The Nearness Of You.” However, another unscheduled duet took her show to a much higher level when Maestro joined her very fine pianist Laurent Coulondre for keyboard duets – all four hands on the same keyboard – which inspired McKelle to far greater creative heights in the bossa nova “No More Blues”, with fine support from bassist Geraud Portal and drummer Ciniglio.

A jam session had been due to take place in the centre’s foyer after the singer’s concert, but that had to be cancelled as it would have breached the curfew. The organisers will be crossing their fingers that improved funding will be provided to enable the festival to continue next year. 

The post Pancevo Jazz Festival 2024, Serbia first appeared on UK Jazz News.

It opened at the large MTS Dvorana concert hall with New Zealand-born pianist and arranger Alan Broadbent leading the RTS Big Band in a satisfying set of his arrangements, with Croatian pianist Matija Dedic and Italian trombonist Gianluca Petrella as guest soloists. Petrella – usually a fiery player – blended perfectly with the band on Broadbent’s composition “Journey Home”, and Dedic spun a long solo piano exploration on the mellow piece Broadbent wrote as a tribute to his one-time band boss, Woody Herman, “Woody n’ Me”.

The excitement level rose considerably with the following concert starring the brilliant French-American singer Cecile McLorin Salvant and her trio, with highlights including Dianne Reeves’ song “Mister” and Kurt Weill’s “Barbara Song”, in which Cecile demonstrated her quite extraordinary tonal range. Cole Porter’s “I Get A Kick Out Of You” was unleashed at a furiously fast pace – with superb playing by pianist Sullivan Fortner, bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Kyle Poole.

The Kate Bush song “Heathcliff, It’s Me, I’m Cathy” was a quite astonishing evocation of both lyrics and theme, with Cecile’s solo voice exploring the music at length and with captivating passion before the rhythm section joined in to bring the show to a climax.

Cecile brings a great sense of fun to her performances, as does fellow American clarinetist Anat Cohen, with her group Quartetinho at the smaller Dom Omladine concert hall. Outstanding pieces included her own composition “The Night Owl”, and Thelonious Monk’s “Trinkle Tinkle”. Her pianist and accordionist Vitor Goncalves, her bassist and guitarist Tal Mashiach, and drummer-vibraphonist James Shipp brought a great deal of musical colour as well as dynamic drive to the set.

Anat declared to the audience that she is a great admirer of the French soprano saxophonist Emile Parisien, and how right her judgement is, for Emile is one of the most dazzling performers on the international scene. His quartret – with pianist Julien Touery, bassist Ivan Gelugne and drummer Julien Loutelier – gave a stupendous performance later that evening in the upstairs club Amerikana. Parisien uses electronics in a creative but subtle way to enhance the texture of his music, but Italian trombone master Petrella is currently heavily into thumping electronics and deep beats with his project Cosmic Renaissance. I have enjoyed the trombonist’s fiery improvising hugely in the past, and I’m sure I will in the future, but there was too little musical light and shade in this relentless show.

I was surprised that I also had reservations about the performance by U.S. saxophonist James Carter, a hugely capable and massively energetic player, who presented a quartet tribute to the legendary Eddie Lockjaw Davis. While expertly conveying Lockjaw’s harmonic style and rhythmic drive, Carter rather over-indulged in squeaking and honking to raise the musical temperature.

Pianist Jason Moran, however, created a gloriously tasteful solo tribute to Duke Ellington, with imaginative explorations of works including “Black And Tan Fantasy”, “I Got It Bad And That Ain’t Good”, and “It Don’t Mean A Thing . . . If It Ain”t Got That Swing”. He also powerfully explored the lowest octaves of the piano for a long percussive improvisation . . . this could only evoke one thought in my head: “Such Sweet Thunder”.

American alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa always delights – his multi-noted style with its strong infusion of Indian harmonies, sweeps the music along, and he was ably supported in his Hero Trio by bassist Phil Donkin and drummer Tim Angulo. Highlights included Charlie Parker’s “Red Cross” and Keith Jarrett’s “The Wind-Up” from the pianist’s ECM collaboration with Jan Garbarek, Belonging.

There were highs and lows in the set by pianist Kris Davis’s group Diatom Ribbons – celebrated drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, bassist Nick Dunston, and electronics performer Val Jeanty. The set hovered between powerful interplay, and long stretches where too little happened.

A Serbian Allstars show at Dom Omladine celebrated the considerable talents of mainly young Balkan musicians, including some truly outstanding soloing by flautist Milena Jancuric (a brilliant Berklee graduate and certainly a name to watch for in the future), altoist Luka Ignjatovic, trumpeter Ivan Radivojevic, and tenor saxophonist Rastko Obradovic. And the international media team covering the festival had the bonus of special private performances at the nearby RTS radio studios, with these and other artists including bassist/electronics performer Uros Spasojevic, singer Viktor Tumbas, and the group Schime.

The festival wrapped up with a strong double bill: the Bill Frisell Four – featuring the guitarist with saxophonist Greg Tardy, pianist Gerald Clayton and drummer Johnathan Blake – and the Buena Vista Allstars.

Frisell announced no tune titles, but among them were Kenny Wheeler’s “Angel Song” and the Billy Strayhorn ballad “Blood Count” – eloquently played by Tardy – before the guitarist wrapped up the show with the Burt Bacharach pop song “What The World Needs Now”.

The Buena Vista Allstars were missing their lead singer Ibrahim Ferrer Junior, who had been taken ill, but his duties were taken over by Barbarito Torres and Angel Aguiar. The vast concert hall was, happily, sold out . . . but its narrow aisles offer little wriggle room for dancing, so most of the wriggling had to be done in the seated position.

The post 40th Belgrade Jazz Festival, Serbia first appeared on UK Jazz News.

John Watson writes: It’s always a huge pleasure to photograph the inspiring trombonist Dennis Rollins MBE – he brings such joy, as well as musical eloquence, to every performance.

He appeared on Friday 7 June in the Lichfield Jazz and Blues Festival, a five day event featuring mostly regional bands at two venues: the Cathedral Hotel and the historic Guildhall.

I aimed in these photographs to capture the glorious spirit of his playing, and the way he digs deeply into the emotions of every tune – whether jazz standards, or the deep grooves of his own funky compositions.

He was backed at the Lichfield concert by the Nick Dewhurst Band – with whom he has recorded as a guest artist – and the programme extensively featured works by trumpeter and guitarist Nick, including the driving “Bird Street Blues”, “Slide and Glide”, and a new work, “Sunset With Santana”, the latter piece including a stupendously punchy solo by the trombonist.

Rollins’ sublimely relaxed and harmonically colourful arrangement of singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and his soulful tune “Shake It Down”, were splendid highlights.

Nationally and internationally, Dennis has toured with many outstanding artists in several genres, among them Maceo Parker, Jamiroquai, Blur and The Brand New Heavies.

He continues to create with his two outstanding jazz groups: The Velocity Trio and Badbone and Co, as well as working extensively as an educator. In fact, it was in the latter role that he first appeared in Lichfield many years ago with the city’s Netherstowe School Big Band, when Dewhurst was a pupil at the school and a member of the big band trumpet section.

Since then the award-winning trombonist has been back to the city several times for concerts, and has built up a loyal following among the area’s fans.

The Lichfield Jazz and Blues Festival also featured three big bands, the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Jazz Orchestra with guest artists saxophonist Paul Dunmall and guitarist Steve Ajao, the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Walsall Jazz Orchestra. Fans also heard jump and jive music from King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys, salsa with Del Camino, blues from the Emma Jonson Band, and small group jazz with the Jim Wynn Swingtet and the Svarc/Hanley/Longhawn Trio.

Dennis Rollins, trombone
Nick Dewhurst, trumpet and guitar
Tom Lindsay, keyboard and vocals
Paul Robinson, bass guitar
Carl Hemingsley, drums

The post Dennis Rollins in Lichfield first appeared on UK Jazz News.

“I always feel I’m at the beginning. Every time.”

Bill and composer Michael Gibbs – a much-honoured frequent lecturer at the conservatoire – were giving a discussion-based workshop to students on the jazz course, in the intimate setting of the building’s Eastside Jazz Club.

It was a fascinating encounter, with Bill trying to explain the ephemeral nature of his musical inspiration – how he has to “let go”, and simply play. Seeking the secret sources of his inspiration was, perhaps, like trying to bottle clouds.

Mike was asked a down-to-earth question by a student: “What is the album you are most proud of?” He and Bill laughed, for there have been so many.

“It’s like asking which is your favourite child,” smiled Mike.

However, on reflection, he could perhaps have mentioned a favourite album of mine, “Michael Gibbs and The NDR Big Band Play A Bill Frisell Setlist” (Cuneiform, 2013), which features Gibbs conducting and Frisell as soloist on the guitarist’s compositions “Throughout”, “On The Lookout/Far Away”, “Monica Jane”, and “Freddie’s Step”, plus works by – among others – Gil Evans, Lee Konitz, and Lennon/McCartney, Gibbs’ orchestrations are superb, and it’s a compelling album…or indeed the most recent release “Bill Frisell – Orchestras” (see UKJN feature on the genesis of this album by Ed Puddick).

I was delighted to catch the tail end of the workshop, before photographing Bill with his trio – completed by bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston – a they rehearsed and soundchecked on the the stage of the Bradshaw Hall, the largest concert venue at the Conservatoire. Their appearance followed concerts in London and Bristol.

I’d first photographed Bill, along with Michael Gibbs, when they appeared in Birmingham in the 1990s at the CBSO Centre, but then photographed them more extensively in 2010 when they rehearsed at the (then) BBC Maida Vale studios in London with the BBC Concert Orchestra, followed by a performance at the Barbican. Before that concert began, I interviewed them jointly in Bill’s dressing room. The interview can be read in full on my Jazzcamera website HERE.

Bill is an immensely likeable person, gentle and considerate, though I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy if a dozen photographers were pointing long lenses at him from the front of the stage.

But discreetly capturing special moments, and expressions which reflect the shifting dynamics of his music, is often a task as elusive as trying to explain his musical inspiration.

I hope these photographs reflect some of the very special moments from his Birmingham rehearsal and concert, where the music flowed majestically and the beginnings were endless.

Bill Frisell, guitar
Thomas Morgan, bass
Rudy Royston, drums

The post Workshop with Mike Gibbs & Bill Frisell + concert by the Bill Frisell Trio in Birmingham first appeared on UK Jazz News.

But Margitza has also worked with many more leading artists, including McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Bobby Hutcherson, Maria Schneider and Maynard Ferguson. He has recorded many albums as a leader, for labels including Blue Note, Steeplechase and Palmetto, and his latest recording, Sacred Hearts, was release in 2021 on the Le Coq label.

He is on a UK tour, with appearances at Pizza Express Live in London and at Jazz Hastings, and following the concert at Eastside Jazz Club, part of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, his UK quartet appears on Friday 26 January at Leeds Conservatoire.

Margitza – a muscular player in the hard bop style – has a top-drawer UK rhythm section: pianist Will Barry, bassist Mark Hodgson and drummer Stephen Keogh. A rhythm section chosen for a short tour with a star soloist can sometimes seem slightly disconnected from the featured artist – but exceptional performances are possible when the players “lock in” with the soloist. Achieving this unity is something of a jazz mystery, requiring more than skilled musicianship. But this group locked in very quickly – playing with single-minded drive from the opening number, Rick’s own composition “August In Paris”.

Margitza plays with great passion – frequently hitting the high harmonics on the instrument with ferocious intensity. But he can be witty with his phrasing too: He concluded Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” with the riff from John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”.

The ballad “Cry Me A River” opened with an eloquent solo piano feature by Barry, and concluded with a long, elaborate, passionate and hugely satisfying cadenza from Margitza. Second set highlights included Rick’s intense tune “Walts”, with outstanding playing by Barry, Hodgson and Keogh.

Margitza moved to Paris in 2003, and has worked with many outstanding French musicians including the great pianist Martial Solal. After the Leeds concert Rick travel back to France to resume his weekly appearances at the La Gare jazz club, a former railway station in Paris 19e (on Monday nights from 29 January), a venue where he has performed for five years with his French quartet.

Mention should also be made of the support band of RBC students and graduates at Eastside: alto saxophonist Nathan Evans led a confident quintet through mainly original pieces. But for a version of Billy Strayhorn’s ballad “Chelsea Bridge”, pianist Nick Manz created a really beautiful arrangement – quite epic in scope, and played with great sensitivity.

The post Rick Margitza at Eastside Jazz Club, Birmingham first appeared on UK Jazz News.

But exclusively for the Birmingham concert last night – and for tonight’s performance at St Martin in the Fields in London – they added the stupendous American vibes player Joe Locke, creating a trio which offers a huge range of new musical possibilities.

If you live in or near London, I can’t recommend this dynamic trio highly enough – you’ll thank yourself for not missing this chance to hear them tonight. Garland has accurately described Locke as an “electrifying” performer – but with “a real sensitive touch”. He is certainly among the predominant players, with a huge number of albums as a leader to his credit, the latest being Makram, released last year on Circle 9 Records.

In Birmingham, the performance opened with an eloquent duet by Rebello and Garland, before Locke joined them on stage. The breadth of Locke’s capabilities and his sheer dynamism on the vibes were certainly demonstrated in the exuberant opening piece, Garland’s composition Two To Go, which he renamed Three To Go for this special collaboration with Locke.

Rebello’s composition The Fire Of Benevolence followed, with an exquisite solo by the pianist – through his expert use of space he brings light and shade into all his phrases, creating a sparkling musical structure. Another fine piece by Rebello, The Missing Ingredient, also featured one of his most powerful solos of the evening.

Garland premiered his new work, A Prayer In Winter, with gorgeous playing on the soprano, and his expertise on that instrument was also strongly evident on the wildly-spinning Children’s Song No. 6, by the jazz legend he worked with for many years, Chick Corea.

On tenor, he can produce a huge range of tonal colour, from the softest breathy sounds to metallic brilliance, always with a sense of controlled power. Some excellent Locke compositions also featured in Birmingham, including Raise Heaven, a passionate tribute to his late friend, the trumpeter Roy Hargrove, with the mallets flying furiously over the tone bars of the vibes.

The three musicians created a performance which will be long remembered by the sold-out audience at the Conservatoire – and what an inspiration it must have been for the many music students in the crowd.

The post Jason Rebello, Tim Garland, Joe Locke at Eastside Jazz Club, Birmingham first appeared on UK Jazz News.

In past years I’ve heard and photographed artists there including American stars Joe Lovano, Ralph Towner (solo, and earlier with Oregon), Charles Tolliver, Cecile McLorin Salvant with a big band, John Scofield, Chris Potter, Steve Swallow, China Moses, Ambrose Akinmusire, Gary Bartz and James Carter. And many more.

That, however, is not the little secret I’m talking about. For – as a bonus to the festival – if you walk down the path on the side of the River Tamis you’ll find a small pontoon marked Sajka, with what looks like a doorbell to ring. Press it, and a little boat will come from the other side to take you to what could well be the greatest river fish restaurant in the world. It’s a culinary experience not to be missed. Those of us from the visiting jazz media of many countries certainly don’t miss it.

And the jazz festival is well worth catching too, of course, as well as the fish. This year the programme featured fast-rising pianist James Francies from the USA, saxophonists Andy Sheppard from the UK and now living in Europe, Maciej Obara from Poland, and Francesco Cafiso from Italy; the Flat Earth Society Orchestra from Belgium; pianist Yonathan Avishai and his trio from Israel, and many more outstanding artists from Europe and the Balkans.

Sheppard’s trio, with pianist Rita Marcotulli and bassist Carlos Bica from Italy, was simply exquisite – opening with notes that were almost whispered, and developing into gorgeous themes with superb structure and passionately-delivered cascades of notes. Andy’s playing has never been less than impressive, right from his early days on the Bristol area scene, but he continues to develop in artistic strength and technical prowess on the tenor and soprano.

Maciej Obara has a very different style – creating torrents of wildly intense free improvisations as the introduction for quite awesome rhythmically driven quartet pieces with real shape and compelling musical interest. His interplay with pianist Dominik Wania, bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten and drummer Jon Falt was immensely thrilling.

While I felt completely engaged by the group performances of Sheppard and Obara, I found myself simply admiring – and considerably so – the set by Cafiso with pianist Alessandro Lanzoni’s Trio (bassist Matteo Bortone and drummer Enrico Morello). Very fine musicianship, of course, and often beautiful, lyrical themes, but I had the sensation of being outside the music and looking in as a distant observer. Something of a musical mystery.

The Flat Earth Society Orchestra is always hugely entertaining – brass and reeds playing pulsating riffs with a rock or latin beats, and wild free improvising from members of the band. Director Peter Vermeersch creates arrangements which develop exciting styles from the Belgian brass band tradition, and there were spirited and at times ferocious solos from, among others, saxophonists Benjamin Boutreur and Michel Mast, and vibes player Wim Segers. A solo tuba feature by Berlinde Deman was off-the-charts hilarious – great blasts from low and high, and wild vocal whoops mixed with the notes.

I heard James Francies live in concert and photographed him earlier this year at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Eastside Jazz Club in the band of bassist Michael Janisch, with the great Eric Harland on drums and Walter Smith III on tenor. Previously, I had heard him on disc with Pat Metheny on the live album Side Eye, NYC, on which he extensively played synths, and Francies has since made albums as a leader for Blue Note.

I was particularly looking forward to hearing him as a group leader in Pancevo on the final night of the festival. With guitarist Mike Moreno and drummer Damion Reid, Francies created a deeply funky soundscape – and I do mean deep. His thunderous bass synthesiser dominated, while he filled in the chords on a conventional electric keyboard and alternated with rapid runs on the grand piano. Unfortunately, much of the piano sound was lost in the mix, drowned by the bass synth and by Reid’s powerful and relentlessly heavy drumming. Maybe it sounded better from the mixing desk mid-way in the hall and further back, but the audience in the forward rows had paid for tickets too.

Francies’ themes were engaging without being particularly melodic, and more breathing space in the themes would have been agreeable. But I did like his arrangement of “My Favourite Things”, with the melody broken up into eight bar segments and eight bars of strong improvised bass lines linking them. Guitarist Moreno soloed with skill and passion on this piece, and blended perfectly on others.

They were preceded on stage by a very different pianist, Yonathan Avishai, who I have heard at festivals in the past with Israeli trumpeter Avishai Cohen. The pianist’s set was much, much more subdued – very subtle themes, sensitive, but often lacking in melodic engagement.

In the centre’s foyer, impressive Serbian bands provided entertaining “after hours” sets, but the Saturday night free-stage show by young Austrian quartet Ensemble Kuhle Wampe – brought in at the last minute to substitute for a group hit by illness – was a total delight, with imaginative creations from their new album Extended (Ost.musikfonds) including recorded passages of political statements in English, including the brutal “There is no alternative.”

However, I cannot say that – for dining – there is no alternative to Sajka, for there are two other fine restaurants nearby on the town bank of the river: Sharan and Windmill. My nose, though, leads me over the water . . .

John Watson stayed in Pancevo as a guest of the festival. But he paid for all his fish.

The post Pancevo Jazz Festival (Serbia) 2023 first appeared on UK Jazz News.

He didn’t have to spell out what he was referring to, nor was he going to entirely avoid mentioning the devastating situation in his home country. “To say nothing is not enough,” he told his audience. The music, as always, would speak for itself. And what powerful, passionate music he and his quartet create – tonally glorious, and delivered with unmatched sensitivity and technical brilliance.

Tzur is undoubtedly the most original saxophonist to emerge on the international scene in recent times – with the soft, delicate texture to his tone, a quality saxophonists know as “sub-tone”, wrapping the natural metallic resonance of the instrument in a feathery, flute-like envelope of sound.

For a saxophonist to deliver this sound on the lower register of the instrument is not uncommon, but Tzur manages to create it across all the registers, even to the highest notes.

Since I first heard him in concert (at the Pancevo Jazz Festival in Serbia), he has further developed a more fiery dimension to his playing – at his Belgrade Festival concert there were raging passages of long notes which reminded me principally of John Coltrane’s classic “Alabama”.

Tzur, based in New York for several years, has a really marvellous group in pianist Nitai Hershkovits, bassist Petros Klampanis and drummer Cyrano Almeida, and they performed themes mainly from their new ECM album My Prophet, as well as works from earlier discs such as Here Be Dragons and Isabella.

The 39th Belgrade Jazz Festival featured, as it always does, a huge variety of contemporary bands at the Dom Omladine concert halls – established artists plus many rising stars, naturally including many groups from the Balkans.

The main hall (Velika sala) featured musicians including U.S. pianist Gerald Clayton, Polish pianist Leszek Mozdzer in duets with soprano saxophonist and fellow Pole Adam Pieronczyk, Norwegian free-improvisation specialist Paal Nilsssen Love with his Large Unit, Serbian saxophonist Max Kochetov with Italian trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso, American trumpeter Dave Douglas with his Gifts Trio, and Austrian saxophonist Fabian Rucker.

Upstairs in the large clubroom Amerikana, the programme offered Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, New Zealand-born saxophonist Hayden Chisholm (who is based in Belgrade), and American saxophonist Isaiah Collier with his band The Chosen Few, plus a host of emerging contemporary groups and free-improvising artists.

And for the last night of the festival there was a temporary switch to the larger concert hall MTS Dvorana for U.S. guitar legend John Scofield’s Trio and Italian saxophonist Stefano Di Battista’s group.

Pohjola’s quartet – pianist Kirke Karja, Danish-born and UK resident bassist Jasper Hoiby and drummer Olavi Louhivuori – played works from their new album Monkey Mind (Edition Records) with tremendous drive. The trumpeter has a superb sense of structure in his solos, delivered with real passion and technical mastery, particularly in the thunderous tune “Party In The Attic”. A real highlight of the festival.

Kochetov’s collaboration with trumpeter Bosso was a delightful opener for my visit to the festival – beautifully crafted lines on soprano saxophone blending perfectly with Bosso’s gloriously warm sound. Mozdzer, his face completely hidden by a curtain of long hair, opened his duets with Pieronczyk in a rather restraIned way, but the performance caught fire with a dynamic Brazilian theme, with small chains on the piano strings for rhythmic emphasis.

I tend to find many free improvising groups rather predictable, ironically, and though I had higher hopes for Paal Nilsssen Love’s Large Unit, little of great value seemed to emerge. And when the group began a Japanese-inspired theme, high pitched notes on the accordion were amplified so loudly that it became too painful to stay in the hall.

The following night Rucker’s quintet offered nothing but brilliance – a huge variety of contemporary styles, and brilliant co-ordination between the musicians.

Powerful as Rucker’s group was, American rising-star tenor player Isaiah Collier’s quartet The Chosen Few offered an overwhelmingly supercharged performance upstairs in Amerikana. I never had the chance to hear John Coltrane live, regrettably, but Collier completely evokes the immense spirit of Trane’s sound and classic quartet concept, and it was wonderful to hear it revived. Sensibly, the young tenorist presented original pieces rather than themes from Trane’s own repertoire, and it was immensely effective. The rhythm section of pianist Benito Gonzalez, bassist Micah Collier and drummer Michael Shekwoaga Ode created a glorious storm of sound for the saxophonist to majestically re-create Trane’s sweeping lines and massive tone.

The performance by trumpeter Dave Douglas and his Gifts Trio – guitarist and electronics performer Rafiq Bhatia and drummer Ian Chang – offered moments of musical pleasure, with Bhatia creating electronic soundscapes to underpin the acoustic instruments. But this style has been done much more effectively for many years by Scandinavian musicians include trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer and guitarist Eivind Aarset. Douglas’s somewhat awkward attempt to re-think Billy Strayhorn’s classic “Take The A Train” simply ended up derailing it.

On the final night, at MTS Dvorana, the entertaining Italian saxophonist Stefano Di Battista and his quartet impressed with smooth versions of compositions by Ennio Morricone, and much good humour. Guitarist John Scofield sounded a little ill at ease in the performance which followed, though he and his trio – bassist Vincente Archer and drummer Bill Stewart – have won widespread acclaim for their new ECM album Uncle John’s Band [read more on this with Morgan Enos’ interview with John Scofield]. 

There were, however, two particularly outstanding pieces: Carla Bley’s “Lawns”, and a strongly funky tune called “Mask”.

Scofield’s voice sounded somewhat croaky when he made his announcements, but he declared that the trio would be “happy to play all night, but you have to go to bed.” 

In fact, the audience had the choice of going back to Dom Omladine for late night performances by French artists, with the imaginative singer Leila Martial performing duets with cellist Valentin Ceccaldi, and saxophonist Sylvain Rifflet and his quartet Troubadours very effectively blending jazz improvisation with exotic Eastern sounds.

The post Belgrade Jazz Festival 2023 first appeared on UK Jazz News.

However, the greatest challenge for a photographer at the JAZZx Festival in Timisoara, Romania, was the extraordinarily high stage, a temporary structure set up in Liberty Square.

The height of the stage posed a particular and formidable problem when photographing Shakti, for they perform while seated cross-legged – and though they were crouched on a low riser it was difficult to see John McLaughlin’s guitar without standing in front of the audience, and to take photos including at least some of the instrument.

The mood of the music, however, was reflected in the joy and passion revealed in the faces of the players, so I have tried to capture that intensity in these images.

McLaughlin is defying the years, and at the age of 81 is clearly as passionate about the music as he was decades ago. It is extraordinary that he has found the energy to undertake such an extensive touring programme in Europe and the USA. His fingers are nimble around the fretboard, only once briefly fumbling a phrase in a near-two hour performance, and his expression on the instrument blends wonderfully with the other instruments.

Shankar Mehadevan conveys deep spirituality with his soaring voice and graceful hand gestures. Zakir Hussain’s dazzlingmastery of the tabla is the cornerstone driving the group’s performance, and his rhythmic artistry is well matched by Selvaganesh Vinayakram on multiple percussion instruments.

Violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan is the newest member of Shakti, and his sweeping melodic lines are delivered with confident intensity.

Such wonderful music to listen to, and such inspiring musicians to photograph.

The post The Joy of Shakti at the JAZZx Festival first appeared on UK Jazz News.