Stravinsky rakes off jazz time slots

[Serial_Apologist]

Sat 24 April
9.30pm - J to Z
Kevin Le Gendre presents an interview with piano great and anti-apartheid activist Abdullah Ibrahim, dubbed "South Africa's Mozart" by Nelson Mandela. Now 86, Ibrahim shares some of the music that has inspired him and stories recalling jazz listening parties in the townships. He also discusses his mentor Duke Ellington and his philosophies on life and music. Plus an exclusive preview of next weekend's Cheltenham Jazz Festival with live recordings from Soweto Kinch, [rising drummer] Jas Keyser* and more.

Note time change.

*Possibly not a misprint.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000vfs2

Sun 25 April
4pm - Jazz Record Requests
Alyn Shipton looks forward to next weekend's online Cheltenham Jazz Festival with requests for music by some of the scheduled artists including pianist and composer Geri Allen and collaboratively, guitarist Mary Halvorsen with special guest vocalist Robert Wyatt.

http://www.alynshipton.co.uk/blog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000vh03

The French composer Eric Satie - probably best known for his Gymnopédies, unobtrustively exploited for restaurant musak and keeping call centre queuers entertained, though he did write Three Pear-Shaped Pieces in response to a jibe from Debussy that his music lacked form - happens to be next week's Composer of the Week. There is some argument that Satie composed the first ragtime-influenced piece by a non-American classical composer - his Le Piccadilly - five years before Debussy's now re-titled Cakewalk, one of his Children's Suite of 1909. Here it is, replete with score, in order that Ian Thumwood can have a go at it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXmcar_3Z70

Thurs 29 April
11.30pm - Unclassified
This episode gives mention of jazz pianist Matthew Bourne's new album.

Meanwhile, on telly:

BBC4 - Friday 30 April
10pm - Ronnie's: Ronnie Scott and His famous Jazz Club
Documentary from 2020 charting the history of Iconic Soho jazz club Ronnie Scott's. Utilising rarely seen archive footage and more recent interviews, the film explores the life of co-founder Scott, a tenor saxophonist, and examines how his venue evolved to become a major destination for cutting-edge musicians including Nina Simone, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. ****rated in Radio Times.

11.45pm - Jazz 625: for One Night Only - repeat.
Hosted by Andi Oliver from the 2019 Cheltenham Jazz Festival, this programme pays tribute to the trailblazing series, which originally ran on BBC2 from 1964 to 1966. Gregory Porter, Charlie Watts, Joshua Redman, Jacqui Dankworth and Cleo Laine are among the guests, alongside archive footage and features looking back at a classic era for jazz.

[Serial_Apologist]

Excellent Jazz Record Requests just now - much more interesting than usual - whoever had the idea of getting musicians due to appear at Cheltenham to choose recordings, including several musicians I'd not previously heard of. Kit Downes was right about the Geri Allen track. I like her early stuff best - full of original ideas nimbly executed. Fascinating to hear the Mary Halvorsen track for the Slapp Happy influences so clearly on display. How many people remember that 1970s band, one of the more adventurous in Prog Rock of the time, which shared personnel with Henry Cow, who in turn collaborated with Mike Westbrook in the late 70s, leading eventually to The Cortege.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Spinning off from the JRR Jimmy Giuffre track, France Musique re-broadcast two one hour 1991 studio concerts, one this Saturday, one Sunday evening. The reformed trio of Giuffre, Bley and Swollow. They are both still available on the France Musique website.

I listened again to that trio's "Fusion" from 1961 at the weekend. It's a set that passed me by at the time, too "pastoral" perhaps given what else was going on. But it's a remarkable record, Bley especially, who really shapes the direction and provides the edge. Much recommended.

[Serial_Apologist]

Spinning off from the JRR Jimmy Giuffre track, France Musique re-broadcast two one hour 1991 studio concerts, one this Saturday, one Sunday evening. The reformed trio of Giuffre, Bley and Swallow. They are both still available on the France Musique website.

I listened again to that trio's "Fusion" from 1961 at the weekend. It's a set that passed me by at the time, too "pastoral" perhaps given what else was going on. But it's a remarkable record, Bley especially, who really shapes the direction and provides the edge. Much recommended.

I have Evan Parker, somewhere in my C90 collection, speaking of that recording as having got him started on his own creative journey. Or maybe it was another one.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I think they did two or three at around the same time. Swallow on acoustic bass, pre electric. "Fusion" is the easiest to get into, it's a great record with pointers to what would follow. Really impressed with Paul Bley on this, Giuffre can be a bit limped, but Bley's playing more than compensates. It was reissued on ECM, a rare tribute in itself, with "Thesis" as it's companion.

[Old Grumpy]

Giuffre can be a bit limped

Perhaps he had a leg injury at the time

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Perhaps he had a leg injury at the time

Very good! I looked at that twice and it didn't look right but I still couldn't see why. Age. So instead of Limpid, I offer "Languid". A languid clarinet.

[Serial_Apologist]

[B]

Meanwhile, on telly:

BBC4 - Friday 30 April
10pm - Ronnie's: Ronnie Scott and His famous Jazz Club
Documentary from 2020 charting the history of Iconic Soho jazz club Ronnie Scott's. Utilising rarely seen archive footage and more recent interviews, the film explores the life of co-founder Scott, a tenor saxophonist, and examines how his venue evolved to become a major destination for cutting-edge musicians including Nina Simone, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. ****rated in Radio Times.

11.45pm - Jazz 625: for One Night Only - repeat.
Hosted by Andi Oliver from the 2019 Cheltenham Jazz Festival, this programme pays tribute to the trailblazing series, which originally ran on BBC2 from 1964 to 1966. Gregory Porter, Charlie Watts, Joshua Redman, Jacqui Dankworth and Cleo Laine are among the guests, alongside archive footage and features looking back at a classic era for jazz.

Just re-flagging this up in case anyone's interested.

[Tenor Freak]

Just re-flagging this up in case anyone's interested.

The Jazz 625 is worth another look, especially for Gregory Porter's tenor man Tivon Pennicott, who is excellent on this show.

[Ian Thumwood]

I think they did two or three at around the same time. Swallow on acoustic bass, pre electric. "Fusion" is the easiest to get into, it's a great record with pointers to what would follow. Really impressed with Paul Bley on this, Giuffre can be a bit limped, but Bley's playing more than compensates. It was reissued on ECM, a rare tribute in itself, with "Thesis" as it's companion.

The trio reformed in the the early 1990s and made two albums for the French "Owl " label called "Saturday" and "Sunday" as well as a third for Soul Note called "Conversations with a goose." I have the first album and the last one is part of the 10- CD Soul Note Paul Bley box set which was available at a bargain price a few years ago. The later incarnation of the trio is still pretty decent although I would add that Bley was recorded prolifically during this period and his work with the Giuffre trio is probably eclipsed by some of his solo and other collaborations from the same time.

I have to say that I find Giuffre as really curious musician. I get the description of his playing as "languid" yet this over-looked the range of his music which started with pieces for Woody Herman before he established himself as a composer / arranger for the likes of Shorty Rogers on the West Coast. Interesting to see how he developed from this through to the trio with Bley and Swallow as well as the stuff with electric keyboards in the 1980s. The one album he was involved with which has always hugely impressed me in Bob Brookmeyer's "Traditionalism revisited" which is one of the greatest small group jazz recordings of the 1950s. Giuffre's somewhat cool playing is an excellent combination for Brookmeyer's rather gruff and curmudgeonly sounding valve trombone and Jim Hall's guitar really contributes to the group. I am amazed that this record seems to get overlooked on this board as it is one of the most creative attempts at revisiting historic repertoire simply because it makes no effort to "modernize" the music, preferring to re-cast it instead. The strangest aspect of this record is just how much it anticipates the work of more contemporary jazz musicians such as Bill Frisell. For my money, it is a classic.