Jazz a Vienne 2017

[Ian Thumwood]

Turned up Saturday night and caught tail and of Trio Sayolmbe whose line up of drums, violin and soprano was interesting.

Sunday had a much reduced programme and the day was dedicated to Fela Kuti. The opening set by Sir Jean &Afrobeat experience was lovely and the punchy riffs produced by the horns had people up dancing. The follow up group called Kiala and the Afroblasters were almost as good with Hakim Sulaimans alto a standout.

Yesterday I missed the first free set saw the exceptional Stracho trio which produced a potent ECM like mixture of Balkan music and jazz. Bassist and drummer Stracho Temelkovski will remain a highlight of 2017 Never heard anyone play a bass guitar quite like that. An intelligent and compelling approach to jazz even if the line up of baritone / soprano and accordion looked unpromising on paper. This was wonderful music.

[Ian Thumwood]

The evening concert was a hommage to Coltrane. The opening set by Pharaoh Sanders was extremely personable. What a nice bloke.! He had people clapping and singing along to tunes like The creator has a master plan. Ollie Hayhurst on bass and Gene Calderazzo drums. Fred Henderson piano. Never really saw Pharoah Sanders as loveable but I think that word best describes last night.

Next up soprano Emile Parisian plus Dj Jeff Mills. Totally pointless. Total b/s.

Final group was Archie 'Shepp with Amir Al Saffar trumpet plus Jason Moran and Nasheet Waits. The latter 2 were incredible but Shepp seemed out of his depth amongst younger players . Sorry to say my impression of him remained unchanged. His singing was also an indulgence. His band was good and Shabaka Hutchihgs guest apperance out Shepps playing in perspective . At least Sanders had a nice time .

Just caught Lyon Conservatoire big band playing standards with a impressive girl singer

[Serial_Apologist]

The evening concert was a hommage to Coltrane. The opening set by Pharaoh Sanders was extremely personable. What a nice bloke.! He had people clapping and singing along to tunes like The creator has a master plan. Ollie Hayhurst on bass and Gene Calderazzo drums. Fred Henderson piano. Never really saw Pharoah Sanders as loveable but I think that word best describes last night.

Next up soprano Emile Parisian plus Dj Jeff Mills. Totally pointless. Total b/s.

Final group was Archie 'Shepp with Amir Al Saffar trumpet plus Jason Moran and Nasheet Waits. The latter 2 were incredible but Shepp seemed out of his depth amongst younger players . Sorry to say my impression of him remained unchanged. His singing was also an indulgence. His band was good and Shabaka Hutchihgs guest apperance out Shepps playing in perspective . At least Sanders had a nice time .

Just caught Lyon Conservatoire big band playing standards with a impressive girl singer

Good to learn of "our" Gene Calderazzo, and our (literally) Oli Hayhurst backing the great Pharaoh. Thanks, and keep us in the piccy, Ian... and don't forget to have a good time!

[Ian Thumwood]

Tuesday kicked off with the big band from Lyon conservatoire and the following afternoon sessions started with solo piano by Tatiana alamartine whose approach owed alot to Jarrett. I missed most of her set as a local band with a terrific trombonist has been jamming nearby.
The was followed by Keyboard and clarinet duo called watchdog who used a lot of electrical experimentation. Not too involving.

I caught the end of a set my Swiss trip led by pianist Florian Favre which was ok.

[Ian Thumwood]

The evening concert features Yaron Herman a trip. Again this used a lot o electronica but as soon as anything decent happened the music morphed into Jean Michel jarre territory.

Singer Anne Sila was next. She sounded like Betty Carter was a massive inluence. I liked her approach and get trio but agree with a comment by a friend that her voice was metalic.

Off for some more music and will update later.

[Serial_Apologist]

Tuesday kicked off with the big band from Lyon conservatoire and the following afternoon sessions started with solo piano by Tatiana alamartine whose approach owed alot to Jarrett. I missed most of her set as a local band with a terrific trombonist has been jamming nearby.
The was followed by Keyboard and clarinet duo called watchdog who used a lot of electrical experimentation. Not too involving.

I caught the end of a set my Swiss trip led by pianist Florian Favre which was ok.

Any relation to Pierre Favre, the drummer, I wonder?

[Ian Thumwood]

The last gig on Tuesday was an ensemble led by accordeonist Vincent peirani and emile Parisian in a 3 percussionist group playing Zawinul tunes. It was great to hear this music played love although the drummers were more dominant that the other soloists.

Missed alot the jazz the next day as I was out in the countryside looking for hoopoes. No luck. First up was Stacey Kent. I thought she was really good and seemed to sound more contemporary these days. There were a few standards but the repertoire was varied. A class act. Not really too enthused by Jamie cullum. There were moments which were ok including a recent pop cover which worked well but I didn't see it through to the end. He is a pop act and pretty average.

Yesterday it was blues all day. In the free concerts sophie malbec delivered a stonking set of Chicago blues which she delivered on guitar and vocals. Great harmonica by Pierre capony too. Impossible not to enjoy something as convincing as this. Brilliant.

Flo Bauer delivered the ' safe future' of blues promised in the festival guide and his solo acoustic guitar and vocal set was assurredly middle of the road.

Blues in the Roman theatre promised three groups. Mississippi blues guitarist Mr Sipp was fantastic. Some crunching blue collar music and fantastic. His walk around the crowd witnessed a degree of guitar playing with the kind of creativity missing from a lot of the jazz I have heard.

The more FM friendly Kenny Neal followed with a fabulous day of accomplished blues but the final group Vintage Trouble but the block with a sixties spul tribute act and I walked out and listenred to a local trip of drums keys and guitar doubling flute play a fantastic set of Brazilian styles originals. I wish I had left the concert earlier. Three brilliant musicians. Had a drink with them after their gig and will post some of their comments when I get home. Very interesting take on the current jazz scene.

Festival highlight with Roberto Fonseca and the legendary Angelique kidjo who is one of my favourites.

[Ian Thumwood]

Apologies for typing errors. Predictive text on phone.

[Serial_Apologist]

Apologies for typing errors. Predictive text on phone.

Great to hear you got to talk to some musicians. Apart from people going up at the ends of gigs saying "how are you keeping" or asking for autographed CDs there doesn't seem to be much of this taking place, especially when it comes to talking about their music, or music in general... which I think is a shame. True there are a few musicians who don't seem to want to talk much about anything, and it's easy to drop the occasional clanger, like me telling Chris Biscoe how much like Anthony Braxton's I thought his playing can be*; but my odd bits of name-dropping when writing up London gigs in here hopefully indicate how rewarding this can be, and gratifying when it comes to recognition, making for lasting friendships.

*He seems to have forgiven me that blunder, as we're still on good terms.

[Ian Thumwood]

Yesterday I started with a japanese quartet called Tri4th who performed a soundtrack to some vintage 1920 anime. The trumpet and was front line was backed by Keyboard and drums albeit the keys used a piano sound throughout. The result sounded like Tomazs Stanko but overall the result was unswinging and unpleasant.

In the free stage an electronically enhanced piano trio led Christophe waldner showed similar issues with French groups that dog this format. It was well played and inventive yet relied on ostinato patterns.
The group called The Bongo Hop were terrific and offered a brilliant set where each number has the risk of making your foot fall off through excessive tapping. Tenor plus trumpet front line with excellent vocals by Paola Barreto andsome great keyboard playing by Paul charnay. Latin jazz seems more potent than the more straight ahead variety and this group prices to be a highlight.

[Ian Thumwood]

The evening continues with singer Angelique Kidjo. Backed by a horn section and a Latin ensemble the music was engrossing since her voice first drifted unaccompanied across the stage. The concert delivered a number of back catalogue material to keep fans happy plus a few numbers in tribute of celia Cruz. The concert reached a peak with the audience encouraged to sing and clap along whilst the singer danced amongst the crowd.

This was easily one of the best Vienne concerts I have been to. A class act with an ability to take her audience with her. The concert reinforced my impression of her as one of the great musical artists of our time. It would have been impossible not to have loved that set.

Robert Fonsecas set was almost as good but the momentum stumbled with the introduction of two guests although they were both good, especially the singer. Fonseca is an amazing pianist and the largely Cuban band were up to the challenge of playing both the more traditional music and the edgier jazz material that even incorporated some greasy blue note style organ grooves albeit twisted with a Latin feel.


All in all the best day of music so far.

[Serial_Apologist]

The concert reached a peak with the audience encouraged to sing and clap along whilst the singer danced amongst the crowd.

This was easily one of the best Vienne concerts I have been to. A class act with an ability to take her audience with her. The concert reinforced my impression of her as one of the great musical artists of our time. It would have been impossible not to have loved that set.

I'm afraid I would have rushed out of the hall at that point.

The sole occasion of successful "audience participation" along these lines that I can think of was when Chick Corea encouraged his audience joining in - or rather, doing their best to join in - as he led off a succession of escalatingly complex piano "calls", starting from the simplest of premisses, which we were invited to repeat. Actually, the audience managed pretty well to keep up, more than suggesting what I've always felt about such things being most successful at their least condescendingly dumbed down.

[Ian Thumwood]

I seen Corea do this at Vienne too.

I think that the issue is of contact. This is not a concert in a hall but an open air event in front of 8000 people. Kidjo is not pofaced artist and it was clear from the off she wanted to get people dancing.

It is r' eally interesting judging audience reaction. Some audiences come for different reasons. The more high brow stuff eschews the crowd interaction but It is very much part of the Latin, blues and gospel concerts here. Even Fonseca was engaged with the audience.

I find it improbable that anyone would walk out of a concert by Angelique Kidjo concert as it is just too much fun. It will be interesting to hear what enfolds for the balance of the festival since if this proves to be this year's highlight it will replicate Beth Hart last year when fringe artists were actually much better than the jazz artists. Speaking as a jazz purist too.

[Alyn_Shipton]

All sounds fun - meanwhile in Wigan at a slightly less sunny jazz fest - a dazzling set from Ambrose Akinmusire which will be on Jazz Now on 4 Sept!

[Ian Thumwood]

Yesterday kicked off with the big band Magic 85 orchestra who plundered a mixture of pop repertoire from The Beatles through to Santana and Nirvanha. Why does ' seems like teen spirit' land itself so well to jazz?

The afternoon kicked off with quintet exloring the more soulful.aspects of jazz. No mention of the musucians ibthe programme but the singer was terrific.

The next group ArbaA presented a set reminiscent of Nic Barsch -the San funk of this group augmented by three Moroccan musicians including a lotar which is a strange life like instrument. Not really jazz but the repetitive grooves and Arabi influences can only be described as a success.