I thought I should publicise this event on a separate thread from my Jazz in the Smoke thread, which few people seem to take notice of, although the general idea was intended not as an ego-promulgating look-how-lucky-I-am-to-be-here excuse, but to give some idea of what's on offer in the capital right now, and especially to introduce some of the promising new personalities I have encountered and been impressed by, taking the music in fresh directions.
Anyway, Keith started up the Rare Music Club in Bristol in the early 1990s, unofficially under a cloak-and-dagger subrubric of "No Baroque, No Jazz-Rock, and No Fred Wedlock" - the idea being to showcase his own main outlet of the time, the quartet Mujician with Paul Rogers, Paul Dunmall and Tony Levin, alongside artists in contemporary music and folk music genres. And so, the events forthcoming at Cafe Oto in Dalston next week mark something in the way of a reunion, albeit one centred on the improviser/composer in his latest incarnations.
Thus on the Thursday we have the intimate Couple in Spirit man-and-wife duo that the saxophonist Larry Stabbins has described working with as akin to being in Keith and Julie's bedroom (!), and Keith's composed Celtic-tinged jazz suite The Nine Dances of Patrick O'Gonogon, which is on record and has been doing the rounds for the past couple of years - an excellently produced video of which I reproduce below from the last appearance of this combination at Oto. Those more into Keith's "jazz" side than the free improv stuff are advised to fast-forward to 36 minutes in for the O'Gonogon suite. While personally recommending both, the suite shows Keith still well capable of offering new and often complex ideas that nevertheless take conventional frameworks forward in his usual spirit of freedom and convivial celebration. The Wednesday will consist of a trio of Keith, Julie, and a young virtuoso violinist called Theo May, who, coming from a classical background and has chosen improvisation as a major vehicle for his talent, is quite a find. I think we should be truly grateful to whoever it was who produced the video reproduced below, which manages to reproduce the atmosphere at Cafe Oto with remarkable fidelity. Maybe this little plug will motivate one or two readers with time to spare to find their way there.
Enjoy!
Anyway, Keith started up the Rare Music Club in Bristol in the early 1990s, unofficially under a cloak-and-dagger subrubric of "No Baroque, No Jazz-Rock, and No Fred Wedlock" - the idea being to showcase his own main outlet of the time, the quartet Mujician with Paul Rogers, Paul Dunmall and Tony Levin, alongside artists in contemporary music and folk music genres. And so, the events forthcoming at Cafe Oto in Dalston next week mark something in the way of a reunion, albeit one centred on the improviser/composer in his latest incarnations.
Thus on the Thursday we have the intimate Couple in Spirit man-and-wife duo that the saxophonist Larry Stabbins has described working with as akin to being in Keith and Julie's bedroom (!), and Keith's composed Celtic-tinged jazz suite The Nine Dances of Patrick O'Gonogon, which is on record and has been doing the rounds for the past couple of years - an excellently produced video of which I reproduce below from the last appearance of this combination at Oto. Those more into Keith's "jazz" side than the free improv stuff are advised to fast-forward to 36 minutes in for the O'Gonogon suite. While personally recommending both, the suite shows Keith still well capable of offering new and often complex ideas that nevertheless take conventional frameworks forward in his usual spirit of freedom and convivial celebration. The Wednesday will consist of a trio of Keith, Julie, and a young virtuoso violinist called Theo May, who, coming from a classical background and has chosen improvisation as a major vehicle for his talent, is quite a find. I think we should be truly grateful to whoever it was who produced the video reproduced below, which manages to reproduce the atmosphere at Cafe Oto with remarkable fidelity. Maybe this little plug will motivate one or two readers with time to spare to find their way there.
Enjoy!