... it bore not beauty's name

[Ian Thumwood]

Caught this group playing in Troyes on Thursday night albeit the line up had Celine Bonacina on baritone and soprano. Quite impressed by the leader's vibes as well as the guitarist and trombonist. The music was a mixture of Dave Holland's Quintet and the kind of stuff put out by ECM in the early 80's. I hadn't heard og David Patrois before but the group linked up well and then was augmented by the students from the local college to play his composition "Quasar."

All in all and interesting night although I will think twice about using buses in France in future as I was lucky not to be stranded in the suburbs due to the service shutting down after 8.30. At least the jazz was more entertaining than ESTAC (Troyes) v Dijon which revealed French League 2 to be worse than watching Portsmouth !

The line up for Vienne this year is almost devoid of jazz. Probably the last year for me....

[Ian Thumwood]

Link to Celine Bonacina's site shows that she too has been performing with Gwilym Simcock this year...

http://www.celine-bonacina.com/

I wasn't over-impressed but the group seemed to be playing a lot of written music and each composition seemed to feature one or two of the soloists. I think she was at Vienne once but reference to the ACT label would have out me off. Not a fan of this label which concentrates on European jazz and seems increasingly remote from the music's origins. I would imagine that her trio would give you a better impression.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

worse than watching Portsmouth !

[Ian Thumwood]

Calum

Thanks for that clip!

Wondered if you were aware where Portsmouth are in the league at the moment? They are currently third from bottom in League 2 and three points from safety. With Northampton regaining some form and Portsmouth's woeful inability to score goals, I wouldn't mind betting they will be non-league next season. Even my friends who support Portsmouth have started to lose faith in them especially as they seem unable to score goals. Even as a Saints fan I would have to argue that they are a great club with fantastic support but the current fan-based ownership made a rash appointment in acquiring Richie Barker as their new boss with results taking a turn for the worst and the style of football lacking any form of entertainment. Expect another club from West London with Redknapp at the helm to take a similar nose-dive when they fail to get promotion this season. Loved by the press, surely Harry must be a nightmare for fans of clubs with middling resources and aspirations of grandeur.

Troyes v Dijon ~ Two goals for the home team but a missed penalty, inability to put crosses in, lack of movement and failure for passes to reach their destination hugely surprised me given the quality we expect from French players in the Premiership. The 20k stadium was only 40% full and the constant drumming and chanting of the home fans was a marked contrast to the lack of incident on the pitch. No where as near as entertaining as watching Winchester City this season let alone the mighty Saints.