As Lage as life seen through narrow slits

**Serial_Apologist** · 11-07-21, 15:57

Never thought I'd be hearing any Pacific Eardrum on JRR! This was a late 70s outfit pioneering jazzfunk in Britain with something of Weather Report in its eclectic mix - associates of Ian Carr, 3 of whose Nucleus were in this line-up. Shame we didn't have a track with singer Joy Yates featured - she is/was (?) a Maori, and missus to Dave McRae - they went back to NZ in the 1980s sometime, iirc.

This has been the best JRR for some time - thanks to whomever for the brilliant Julian Siegel big band track - great free soprano from Mr Siegel who seems to have absorbed his early Shorter influence into his own approach, and an intriguing arrangement. Might even consider getting this one! One thing that has been becoming noticeable has been the number of British jazz requests - if only J to Z paid more attention to the indigenous stuff, of which there is plenty to delight.

What did anybody think of Ms Salvant yesterday? Okaaaaaaaaaay was my verdict: I was much more impressed by her pianist, whose nimble conjunction of fast right hand lines with intricate left hand work was remarkable.

**Alyn_Shipton** · 11-07-21, 16:35

Thanks S-A for your comments on JRR. Julian’s commission was broadcast on the late lamented Jazz Now and it was that recording that was remixed and mastered for the CD (which I really like and was glad it had been requested). I am a big fan of Cecile McLorin Salvant since having heard her live at Quebec Festival a few years back. She always has pianists of note with her - Sullivan’s predecessor was the impeccable Aaron Diehl. Coming from a Francophone background she’s also a big star in France and has worked with several musicians there. Few singers have explored the early repertoire as effectively as she has alongside contemporary fare and I had a great chat with her about her enthusiasm for Blanche Calloway (Cab’s sister) who is now largely a forgotten figure.

**BLUESNIK'S REVOX** · 11-07-21, 16:35

It was a very good show and kind of established a mood. I've always been a sucker for Johnny Griffin's "boisterousness" (Jrooks track) and the rest followed, if more calmly. Well, until the Art Ensemble who apparently annoyed Alyn's dog!

I've heard Ms Salvant before on French Radio etc. I did like her subversion of standards, their sexism.etc, Girl Talk being one, and Wives and Lovers for another. It now more generally seems a bit (tactful) mannered and detached. Singers eh?! Reaching for my Carmen McRae box set...

**Constantbee** · 11-07-21, 16:37

Originally posted by Serial_Apologist View Post

Never thought I'd be hearing any Pacific Eardrum on JRR! This was a late 70s outfit pioneering jazzfunk in Britain with something of Weather Report in its eclectic mix - associates of Ian Carr, 3 of whose Nucleus were in this line-up ...

This has been the best JRR for some time

Having heard Alyn's invitation for requests for favourite jazz fusion tracks I had to have a quick delve to see whether I could find anything I could send a request in for George the jazz cat. And what did I find?

Well, quite a lot, and the 'family tree' of some of the early British jazz fusion bands is certainly worth exploring. Nucleus appears to be a seminal outfit that hosted many of the great and the good of the early 70's, Allan Holdsworth, for example, who appears on Ian Carr's 1972 album Belladonna, issued under Carr's own name not Nucleus. Don't know why. The album is quite brilliant, btw - er ... if you like that sort of thing. The more of this stuff I hear the more fresh and modern it sounds. Could have been cut yesterday, imho.

Both Cécile McLorin and Julian Lage sounded pretty good yesterday on J to Z to me. Have to give it another listen to make sure.

**Alyn_Shipton** · 11-07-21, 17:05

Lots about Belladonna in my Ian Carr bio. It’s among the current crop of Universal reissues including the Dankworth/Wheeler Windmill Tilter…

**Ian Thumwood** · 12-07-21, 05:27

Originally posted by Alyn_Shipton View Post

Thanks S-A for your comments on JRR. Julian’s commission was broadcast on the late lamented Jazz Now and it was that recording that was remixed and mastered for the CD (which I really like and was glad it had been requested). I am a big fan of Cecile McLorin Salvant since having heard her live at Quebec Festival a few years back. She always has pianists of note with her - Sullivan’s predecessor was the impeccable Aaron Diehl. Coming from a Francophone background she’s also a big star in France and has worked with several musicians there. Few singers have explored the early repertoire as effectively as she has alongside contemporary fare and I had a great chat with her about her enthusiasm for Blanche Calloway (Cab’s sister) who is now largely a forgotten figure.

I have seen her a few times in Vienne, initially with the Keystone Big Band. I agree that that her choice of repertoire is such that she must be an authority on early jazz. From recollection, she has also recorded Bessie Smith compositions too. In my opinion, Bluesnik is spot on regarding her style being "mannered" and I regret to say that she is one of the few contemporary jazz musicians I cannot bear. Seeing her perform live, I feel that the effect is even more amplified and she comes across as a bit theatrical - certainly even more so than Dee Dee Bridgwater. One singer I had not heard before but who impressed me last week when I heard her on the radio was Jazzmeia Horn who is firmly in the Betty Carter tradition. Wondered if anyone had any opinions of her work?

It is interesting how different the French perception of contemporary jazz is to the UK and Salvant is just a number of jazz musicians who have a far greater profile across the Channel than is the case here. Perhaps the player with the bigger "profile" at the moment is the bassist Avishai Cohen whose popularity in France is well in excess of how he is perceived over here. He is a regular at Vienne and there is a real affection for his bands. He is a difficult musician not to warm to and there is a genuine connection between him and his audience which you rarely see in the UK. I have seen the same with the Korean jazz singer Youn Sun-Na who similarly seems to have a appeal beyond jazz over there. She is so original and startlingly different that I find myself hooked hearing her perform. I suppose she is the prime example of Sonny Rollin's comment about the "Sound of surprise" albeit the quality of her voice as a musical instrument is a shock to the system as there cannot be too many singers in jazz whose benefited from operatic training. I would say she is an "acquired taste" and certainly would not appeal to most people posting here. She is about as far away from the "tradition" as expressed by Salvant as is possible and I suppose illustrates how broad the jazz experience can be. Again, her profile in the UK is a fraction of what it is in France where she is resident.

There is a kind of "pop jazz" appeal with musicians like Salvant, Cohen and Youn Sun-Na that I feel is apparent in France which is absent in the UK where I think audiences are more sceptical and perhaps even mistrustful of this kind of approach. In the case of Cohen and Youn Sun-Na, I could never see either of them getting a similar kind of following in the UK - in the case of Cohen I think the smoothness of his music is a bit contrary to what is preferred here. He is probably too slick to appeal to a British audience and I think that , as a nation, we are rightly more sceptical about promoting Israeli artists. Promoting artists from this country does not sit well with the British audience and the French are really slow to pick up on this. The French seem to perceive the British taste in jazz as being for more edgier styles of jazz. You just feel that we are much more puritanical about jazz than the French.

**Quarky** · 12-07-21, 11:36

Originally posted by BLUESNIK'S REVOX View Post

I've heard Ms Salvant before on French Radio etc. I did like her subversion of standards, their sexism.etc, Girl Talk being one, and Wives and Lovers for another. It now more generally seems a bit (tactful) mannered and detached. Singers eh?! Reaching for my Carmen McRae box set...

Agreed with BN to an extent, but looking at the entire package, I think she is an extremely skillful jazz singer. Taking "Wild is Love" on J to Z, as an example, she has a habit of slipping into a self-conscious ingratiating voice for a phrase or two, but then slips out of it just as quickly, perhaps when she finds the music more interesting. (Hannah Peel has a somewhat similar voice trait). I'm guessing that is what BN finds annoying.

Just wondering whether this is a social background issue. Cecile comes from a Classical Music and Lawyer background, whereas most singers, at least in days of yore, had to work from the "ground up" where mannerisms probably would not occur.

As Lage as life seen through narrow slits

As Lage as life seen through narrow slits

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