?Jazz Views has rapidly become one of the most important jazz websites in the UK.?
Provocateur Records
| EDITORIAL: Is Downloading Killing Music? MIROSLAV VITOUS: New Sounds, New Concepts. The bassist talks to John Kelman. JAMIE CULLUM: With the launch of the eagerly awaited ?Twentysomething?, the singer/pianist talks to Paul James. DENYS BAPTISTE: Let Freedom Ring, our roving reporter Euan Dixon, catches the saxophonist in concert and in conversation. MUSICIAN?S PLAY LIST: Pianist, Dominic Alldis picks ten of his favourite albums. RIK WRIGHT: Isomorhism in Seattle. Guitarist, Rik Wright explains. TOMMY SMITH: The process of evolution. The saxophonist talks to Nick Lea. LIVE REVIEWS: The Stan Tracey Trio, and Alan Barnes & Alan Plater?s ?Song?s For Unsung Heroes?. NEW RELEASES: Some forthcoming releases for November. COMPETITION: Your chance to win one of three copies of the eagerly awaited major label debut from Jamie Cullum, in our November give away. Also, we have a pair of tickets to give away to hear the Tina May Quintet with Scott Hamilton on 15 November. CD REVIEWS: Releases from Jamie Cullum, Peter King, Bob Stewart, Cynthia Kaay Bennett, Art Pepper, Tore Johansen, Ravi Coltrane, Rik Wright, John Taylor, Alex Welsh?and more. NEW RELEASES: Check out the forthcoming releases for November. JAZZ VIEWS RECOMMENDED RELEASES: Check out the releases that we at Jazz Views have particularly enjoyed. SITE MAP: For a quick reference key in your search words to locate page references and links. SUBSCRIBE TO JAZZ VIEWS: Subscribe to Jazz Views to receive regular updates. Fill in your details at the foot of the Home Page.
 For those of us who have been avid collectors of LPs before the invention of the silver disc, many will remember the slogan on the back of the album sleeve proclaiming that ?Home taping is killing music!? The record industry kicked up a stink about the copying of vinyl albums onto cassettes bought for ?home use? and the huge loss of income that this practice inflicted upon their artists, and even tried to impose a levy on the sale of blank audio cassettes as a compensation for lost revenue. Water under the bridge perhaps, but with such a decline in the purchase of recorded music in the last few years, a scenario that may well rear it?s head again.Indeed, it can be argued that anybody who has the facility to be reading this editorial also as the ability through a programme built into their computer at the time they purchased it, to copy or ?burn? their own CDs and therefore infringe copyright laws, again depriving the industry of potential sales and revenue. And what about the ?free music downloads? that are so openly advertised on the internet? While it cannot be denied that this is a very real threat, and is sure to impact on sales of CDs, how does this affect the market for jazz? Well I might suggest very little. The record companies seem willing to invest, as the recent signing of Jamie Cullum indicates, with perhaps a shift in the market and ?target age groups? becoming apparent. It is no longer the teenagers who are spending the most on recorded music, but rather the ?adult market? with age ranges from 35 to 50 who appear to be shelling out the most; and the industry seems to set to target this audience. Perhaps less likely to have the time or inclination to ?download? or ?burn? their particular choice of music, and somewhat akin to the practice of ?collecting records? have merely changed their chosen format to compact discs. Indeed, this may well be the case for the jazz fraternity. With a reputation for having a significant number of ?anoraks? in our midst, the notion of ?building a collection? is very difficult one to shake, and many I know would prefer to have an officially released disc as opposed to a copy. So does this mean a higher proportion of jazz disc being sold in our stores, played on the radio, and given prominence in the national press? I very much doubt it, but as long we carry on buying discs via the internet and at gigs, we can be assured that the independent labels that provide us with so much superb music from some of the best musicians in the UK and further a field will continue keeping the music alive and well. Declining sales for the mass market maybe, but a quick look through this month?s CD Reviews show that jazz is very much alive and well! Top of Page
Interview by John Kelman  Following an eight year hiatus from touring and recording, bassist/composer Miroslav Vitous returns in full force with Universal Syncopations (ECM, 2003), an album that reaffirms his position as a driving force in contemporary improvised music. It joins an already outstanding catalogue of releases for the ECM label that is at once timeless, aware of the tradition that came before it, and yet retains a keen eye for what the future holds.History Vitous, well-known as one of the founding members of Weather Report along with Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter, and leader of the contemporary jazz classic, Infinite Search, returned to his acoustic roots in 1979 when he began recording for the ECM label with a quartet that lasted nearly four years. The group, consisting of John Surman on reeds, Jon Christensen on drums and the late Kenny Kirkland on piano (later to be replaced by John Taylor when he left to join Branford Marsalis? band), was ?an amazing group,? says Vitous, ?that I wish I still had today, it would be incredible. First Meeting, our first record for ECM, was literally the first time we had played together. I called the musicians and they agreed to do it; we booked a date for the recording studio, went in, rehearsed a little bit and then recorded the album.? Conforming to producer/label owner Manfred Eicher?s MO of two days to record and one day to mix, 1980?s First Meeting was the first of three ground-breaking albums of Vitous compositions and outstanding group interplay. Followed by 1981?s Miroslav Vitous Group, and 1983?s Journey?s End, the group created a small but consequential body of work that, as is the case with all of Vitous? recorded work for ECM, stands the test of time, sounding as fresh and contemporary today as it did when it was first recorded. Following the dissolution of the quartet, Vitous realized a life-long dream to record a solo bass record. The result, 1986's Emergence, ?took a lot out of me?, explains Vitous. ?I was totally exhausted after the recording, because playing in such a virtuoso style, with a lot of speed, is very difficult; I remember being very tired after the recording.? That being said, Emergence stands as one of the finest solo bass recordings ever released. It highlights Vitous? deft pizzicato ability, coupled with his unmistakable Arco voice. His choice of instrument has helped project these capabilities. ?My bass is a master instrument,? Vitous continues, ?from a Czech violin maker named Homolka. It?s an absolutely gorgeous instrument for playing classical/Arco, but it also works incredibly well for playing pizzicato, which is unusual as it?s usually one way or the other.? In the late 80s, Vitous began a musical relationship with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek. The first project they recorded together, 1991?s StAR, with Peter Erskine on drums, was successful enough to warrant two tours; and the obvious rapport with Garbarek resulted in another recording, the sublime 1993 duet recording, Atmos. A Long Hiatus ? Refresh and Recharge It was at this time that Vitous took a hiatus from recording. ?I took a break,? says Vitous, ?for different reasons. First, I created a symphonic samples library that was a very time consuming project; it took almost eight years to finalize.? Now the de facto standard in orchestra samples, Vitous? reason for developing the library was strictly musical. ?I put it together in order to have the material with which to compose,? Vitous continues. ?I didn?t do it for business, the business was a secondary thing; but when I started spending over half a million dollars I realized I would somehow have to recoup my investment. But I initially did it for the music, and now I have this whole beautiful thing at my disposal.? Vitous also needed time to refresh and recharge. ?I needed to take a break from traveling and playing,? Vitous explains, ?because I wanted to change some things, and the best way to make a change is to stop playing for awhile.? By 2000, however, Vitous felt ready to tackle a new project and a new direction. ?I wanted to make an album,? Vitous continues, ?without anyone?s influence; exactly as I wanted it.? Universal Syncopations is the stunning result. Comparisons have been made to Vitous?s first solo album, 1970?s Infinite Search. ?The concept,? says Vitous, ?is the same in general, but much more advanced, more mature. On ?Miro Bop? and ?Sunflower?, for example, the bass doesn?t play all the time, and this is an extension of what I did on Infinite Search. But here it?s quite different, in that it?s more my playing being a statement of either an answer or introduction to the other musicians. This creates a new concept in playing: the bass frees the roles of the other instruments, so there are no more roles; everybody solos and nobody solos; it?s about the music and not the individual effort.? To be certain, one of the big differences that has occurred in the thirty years between Infinite Search and Universal Syncopations is that the brashness of youth has been replaced by a more mature musical vision; music played by a group of artists who have nothing left to prove. The Beginnings of Universal Syncopations And what a group of artists. First in was drummer Jack DeJohnette because, as Vitous explains, ?he was my favourite drummer thirty years ago and still is.? DeJohnette and Vitous spent four days in 2000 recording the bass and drum tracks, at Vitous? studio in St. Maarten that would be used as the basis for the rest of the sessions.  At this point, Vitous approached Manfred Eicher. ?I let Manfred hear a couple of tunes from those sessions, ? says Vitous, ?and he was very interested, so we talked a little bit, and decided to go with the idea of musical guests, sort of a ?Miroslav Vitous and Friends? album. I asked Manfred if he was going to finance the sessions, and he said that because he was unsure of the outcome of the project, he could not do that. So I went on and financed the whole album, finishing it completely by myself. Manfred was then kind enough to help me with the mix, and had some great suggestions in the end for making some edits. But, basically, Universal Syncopations is a completely self-produced record.?Next up was pianist Chick Corea. ?We have played together many times,? Vitous says, ?but always with Chick calling me to play with him. This time I decided to call him and have him play on this new music because I felt he would be the right person to do it. We recorded Chick?s takes in Florida, and he gave me exactly what I needed, it was great.? Roadmaps Given the piecemeal approach to recording the album, it was important that Vitous have a firm roadmap of how it was going to take shape. ?I wrote out motifs,? explains Vitous, ?things I wanted them to play at particular places, because the bass was suggesting them; I asked them to digest the motifs, and play them the way that they would play them, not so much the way they were written by me; how they would feel a certain phrase, for example. ?On a track like ?Univoyage?,? Vitous continues, ?it happens a lot; there are a number of different sections, where you can clearly see the statements coming in and then we continue. So essentially you have statements, and improvisations between statements; the bass sets the direction, we go on improvising for a while, another statement comes and we go on from there. The bass is leading the way, which is something I?ve done with all my ECM recordings, but this time it got to the point where it crystallized into a new concept, and this is definitely the direction I will pursue in the future.? After Corea recorded his tracks, Vitous travelled to Berne, Switzerland, where he recorded a brass ensemble consisting of trumpeter Wayne Bergeron and Valerie Ponomarev on trumpet/flugelhorn, and Isaac Smith on trombone, ?great musicians,? says Vitous, ?and beautiful big band players.? Finishing the Recording Vitous then called upon John McLaughlin, in Monaco, to record tracks for two songs on the album. ?John was on Infinite Search,? Vitous says, ?and he sounded so great that I just had to call him to be part of this project. Also, for another reason, because he was part of the Miles Davis sound of the 70s, when music took a change for the better. I felt, before I made it, that Universal Syncopations would be another of those albums that moved things forward, and I wanted to have McLaughlin?s sound as part of that.? Jan Garbarek was the last musician to record for the album, this time at Rainbow Studio in Oslo, home of so many classic ECM recordings. ?Jan is one of the greatest musicians in the world,? Vitous explains. ?He understands my music incredibly well, and we have a fantastic rapport. We share a certain folk element because I am Slavic and, since his father was Polish, Jan also shares a similar root. That?s one reason why I think we have such a good understanding.? Surprisingly, given that it was recorded in pieces over a long period of time, the album has a remarkably live and interactive feeling. ?This concept, ?says Vitous, ?would have been very difficult to execute in one room with the existing musicians, because we would have fallen into old playing traps; even with such great musicians we would have fallen into old ways.? Now that the concept has been formalized, however, it will be easier to translate to a live situation. ?Now the musicians can listen to it,? Vitous explains, ?and understand the concept. It shouldn?t be difficult to execute live, but it would have been nearly impossible to create in the studio with all the musicians there at the same time. I think this was the way it had to be done.? Co-compositions The majority of the tracks on Universal Syncopations are composed by Vitous alone. On two tracks, ?Beethoven? and ?Brazil Waves?, Garbarek is listed as co-composer. ?On these tracks,? Vitous says, ?I didn?t write anything for Jan, I just let him answer the bass line, and because he did such a beautiful job, because he put such nice melodies in there, I gave him credit because I felt he was co-composer.? ?Medium? is the only other shared composition, this time with DeJohnette. ?It?s a duo between Jack and I,? explains Vitous, ?and I wanted to show my appreciation to Jack for his wonderful playing on the album.? Once the tracks were recorded, the work was far from over. ?There was a lot of editing,? describes Vitous, ?and in the end I spent over a year editing the album to put everything in its place in the mix. Much of the concept had to be created using Protools for editing, but now that it?s done, the concept is clear and reproducible.? Re-entering the Fray Now that Vitous has re-entered the fray with one of the best albums of 2003, he is working on getting back to performing in a big way. In October of 2003 he performed a series of solo concerts in the United States, which allowed him to introduce his unique use of orchestra samples. ?I play some standards,? Vitous says, ?but I always try to play them in different ways; change the changes, change the lines, put in an ostinato, just to be as creative as I possibly can be. With my own pieces it is an excellent situation; I can do things on the bass, wait until the right moment and bring the samples in when it is absolutely the perfect time. It?s not the other way around, where I am playing to the sequences; I set them up and when the time is right I trigger them; this keeps the creative force in play. ?I have pre-recorded my own statements,? continues Vitous, ?two bars, four bars, sixteen bars, what have you, and I trigger these sequences when I want; so I now have pieces prepared where there are perhaps five or six sequences . Of course there are also some pieces without the samples; I need to balance it, it seems to work very well when I balance sampled pieces with acoustic pieces.?  The next step for Vitous is a potential tour to support Universal Syncopations, with Jan Garbarek and Jack DeJohnette. At the same time, he is currently auditioning musicians for a regular working quartet. ?I am in the process,? Vitous explains, ?of putting a group together so when the next festival season comes we will be ready. I can?t tell you who will be in the band yet, because I am still trying out different people; but I can say that I will have the band together by spring of 2004; there is a lot of interest coming up because of Universal Syncopations.?Future Recordings Thankfully with the interest, both critical and publicly, that Universal Syncopations has received so far, Vitous already has plans for more recording. ?I still have about three or four songs left from the first recording,? says Vitous, ?which I am going to finish; I want to release another album with this band, exactly the same as on Universal Syncopations, but perhaps without McLaughlin as he is semi-retired at the moment. And then I would, of course, like to release an album with the new quartet, using the symphonic samples and showing that new direction as well.? Charting new directions is the norm for Vitous. While people may have wondered where he went after his last recording in 1993, he is clearly back with new sounds and new concepts, all supported by his unique voice on double-bass. Universal Syncopations is the first of a new wave of activity by a talent that had gone missing for far too long. Thankfully it won?t be the last. For more information on Universal Syncopations visit www.ecmrecords.com Top of Page
Interview by Paul James Wednesday 29th October 2003  Earlier this year, Jamie Cullum gave his first interview to JAZZ VIEWS. This happily coincided with his signature on the ?1m contract from Universal ? a deal that brought him to the attention of a wider audience through the interest of the national media.This was further enhanced by his appearance on the ?Parkinson? show on Saturday 26th April, which led to his Candid CD ?Pointless Nostalgic? topping the charts of the on-line retailer Amazon. Jamie?s first CD for Universal ?Twentysomething? (see this months CD Reviews) was released on 20th October and accompanied by huge press and promotional coverage. The launch was at HMV?s flagship store in Oxford Street, and it was perhaps fortunate that Jamie didn?t have any more gigs for a couple of days after this, as his piano playing might have been hampered by a repetitive strain injury caused by signing so many CDs! It was after this that we met to discuss both the new CD and what has been happening to him since April. ?After signing with Universal, I had a huge amount of initial promotion work to do with all elements of the media ? written, audio and visual. Most of it was providing background to the announcement and talking to journalists about what I had been doing prior to appearing ?on their radar?. ?I had done a fair amount of promotional work when ?Pointless Nostalgic? came out, but this was significantly more intense ? especially as a lot of the questions were about me, rather than the music and that took some getting used to. ?My personal manager Marc Connor at Air, Alan Bates at Candid Records together with Universal?s London team helped me significantly in this. I can?t stress too highly how much that support, together with that of my friends and family, has meant to me, and it enabled me to keep a good perspective on things and to get settled into working on the new CD after the initial blaze of publicity. One of the great attractions for me in signing for Universal was the confidence they showed in my songwriting. They were extremely keen for me to record new material for the CD and to be comfortable with what I was doing. I had already written several songs by the time I signed and had taken the opportunity to work on them when performing live. I gave ?All at sea? its first public performance when launching ?Pointless Nostalgic? at London?s Caf? de Paris. It sounds ?cheesey? I know, but this was written when I was working on a cruise ship and was feeling somewhat alone ? if the inspiration strikes I write it down and then see what it looks and sounds like in the cold light of day. ?Twentysomething? came out of my experiences as a student and trying to find out where I was going. I was at a party with friends and we got talking about how we were all finding things and it just seemed the most natural thing for me to write about and, once written, it stood out as the title track. Working in the studio with producer Stewart Levine was a real privilege. Stewart brought years of experience, together with a really practical approach and took the important decision to make the recordings analogue rather than digital which gives a greater immediacy and warmth to the sound. He was able to rein in my enthusiasm on occasion ? especially when I went into the studio one Monday morning after appearing with the BBC Big Band in Guernsey saying that I just had to record a big band arrangement. Stewart gently dissuaded me. But you never know, it might appear on the next one! I really enjoyed my time in the studio working on this album, but I missed the live work. Once it was finished, I knew I was going to be able to get out gigging again. September really epitomised the different live experiences I?ve had this year. I played Wakefield Jazz Club and was told that, for the first time ever, they?d had to close the doors as the club was full! I had the incredible experience of doing ?Proms in the Park? in front of a massive open-air audience. That was unreal. You?ve heard of a ?sea of faces? ? well that?s what it was!  Then I was at Solihull with the Midlands Youth Jazz Orchestra and I tell you, there?s nothing quite like singing with a big band. That was the last gig in the UK before flying over to New York at the end of September for 3 weeks at The Oak Room in the famed Algonquin Hotel. I met so many people there, including Norah Jones.I have no illusions. Universal has put a lot of faith in me with this contract and with the release of ?Twentysomething?, it?s now up to me. The signs are good though and I am so lucky to be doing something that I really enjoy. Of all the things that have happened to me in recent months, the only one that I really struggle to get my head around is being recognised in the street!? Jamie?s two appearances on ?Parkinson? have shown how he has developed as a performer on television. He has an ability to project the energy of his live appearances onto a television screen in a way that few can. His live performances have enhanced his reputation and have made even the most cynical sit-up and take notice. There are few performers who can get jazz club audiences to sing along and who demonstrate such an obvious and infectious enthusiasm for what they do. Some jazz fans feel that the music should always be taken seriously. Well, there is nothing to say that you can?t enjoy it as well as be serious about it. If you look back to its origins, jazz was played to give enjoyment and Jamie Cullum certainly provides that. For someone who has achieved so much critical and popular success at such an early stage, he remains remarkably unaffected and, perhaps more promisingly for his future sanity, extremely level headed. He is constantly looking to improve and would, one day, like to be able to consider himself a sufficiently good pianist to get a gig with his bassist Geoff Gascoyne?s band! His commitment to what he does was amply demonstrated by his schedule on the day of the interview. He appeared on the BBC TV flagship children?s programme ?Blue Peter?; travelled to Sutton Coldfield Town Hall for a gig in the evening; did the soundcheck and then did the interview with me prior to the gig. I saw that the raw talent and slightly self-conscious stage presence I had seen first some 18 months ago has developed into something truly exceptional and exciting in this age of pre-packaged music. Joined by Geoff Gascoyne on bass and Sebastiaan de Krom on drums, he gave a dynamic performance and built a terrific rapport with the audience with anecdotes about his trip to the States, and his life since signing for Universal. What is encouraging for jazz fans and music fans in general, is that the audience age range went from mid-teens to pensioners ? and they all gave him a standing ovation at the end. In pop circles, there is a syndrome known as ?the difficult second album?. Jamie has produced a good second album and the signs are that it will be a huge success ? at the time of writing it is at No. 6 in the UK album charts. Jamie?s own compositions and the one contributed by his brother Ben are the ones that stand out for me on ?Twentysomething?. Their lyrics reveal a great talent for observation ? both personal and general. They also show that he is an ?original?, rather than someone?s clone and this bodes well for his future. The wider benefits are that Jamie, through ?Twentysomething?, through the attendant publicity and through his live performances is bringing jazz to the attention of a larger audience. For me, the really interesting CD will be his next one.  Postscript ? Saturday 1st November 2003This interview was written up on Thursday 30th October. Today?s Independent newspaper carried a story confirming the impact of the CD. It has achieved ?gold? status having sold 159,000 copies to stores in the 11 days since the CD was launched. This is a spectacular success in anybody?s book ? even more so for a jazz artist. I hope that this will give Universal further confidence to let him develop his unique talent in his own way. For more information visit www.jamiecullum.com. Top of Page
Interview by Euan Dixon  Denys Baptiste at 34 is one of the fastest rising instrumental stars of the British jazz scene as evidenced by a clutch of recent awards including British Jazz Award for Rising Star in 2000. With his ambitious orchestral suite ?Let Freedom Ring? just released on CD and currently on national tour he now reveals himself to be a composer and bandleader with a talent to rival the best of the international leaders.Born in London of St Lucian parents Denys studied music from the age of 13 and in 1990 went on to study at Brunel University continuing his education at the Guildhall School of Music where he came under the tutelage of former Jazz Messenger, Jean Toussaint. His ultimate entry to the London jazz circuit was facilitated by way of his participation in a `Tomorrow?s Warriors` jam session where his talent was quickly recognised by Gary Crosby, bass playing leader of `Nu Troop` who invited him to join the then newly formed group. Since then he has fulfilled many projects and engagements including a stint with guitarist Martin Taylor. ? Martin?s a great mate and I learned a lot playing with that group?, Baptiste told me when I met up with him at the sound check prior to his performance of the aforementioned ?Let Freedom Ring? suite at the Royal Northern College last month which was being presented as part of their excellent autumn series ?Jazz at The Northern?. The sum of all these lessons and experiences, including leadership of his own group ?Alternating Currents? have now coalesced to bring forth this powerful piece of music which judging by the painstaking detail he applied to the sound check, traversing the auditorium to check the acoustic from every possible angle, has required much time and dedication. The suite, commissioned by the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and the Jerwood Foundation, combines disparate musical elements with the recorded voice of poet and author Ben Okri in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King?s famous ? I Have A Dream? speech. Which came first, I asked, the commission or the idea? ? I actually thought of the idea about two and a half years ago. I wanted to use the speech represented in this way but at the time thought it would be a very expensive and time consuming project so I concentrated on the more conventional format that is found on my second album?. The commission made realisation of the larger project possible though in its original form it was purely instrumental without the addition of Ben Okri`s soundtrack. Why were Okri`s words (drawn from his epic poem ?Mental Flight?) chosen in preference to the actual text of Dr King?s speech? ?The whole point of the piece ? Baptiste elucidated, ?was to take the original speech from 1963 and put it into 21st century context posing the question- 40 years on are we still in the same situation, considering not only what has happened in America but recognising that virtually every continent has its own injustices and infringements of liberty. I think the way Ben Okri puts it is kind of more of a global view speaking from the viewpoint of someone living in our own time. Using the original speech might have been a bit obvious but I think Ben Okri is similar to Dr King in the way he puts things: I see them both as very great orators both from different times but each representative of the same idea.?  So how does the music reflect these ideas? We learn from the disc?s liner notes (see my comments in this month?s CD Reviews) that the metrical underpinning of the original speech informs the rhythmic structure of the music but what about the juxtaposition of classical and jazz elements? ? I think my intention was to give the idea of different things working together and in acknowledging that Martin Luther King was neither a separatist nor a supremacist, mix music from different places to represent the idea of people coming together. Just like the band for instance who hail from all over the place, UK, USA, Jamaica, Cuba, India, Nigeria etc., and bring their own influence into the music. I love classical music too and listen to it a lot so the use of violin and the cello though it isn?t something you see a lot of in jazz we use them in a way that attempts to marry everything together?. I would have thought bringing everything together constituted quite a challenge in a work that featured solo explorations alongside scored passages and I wondered whether Denys had to exert any directorial control over the style of individual soloists. ? A little, but I suppose all I?d really say is to listen to what?s going on around you. I think if you are in any musical situation you have to listen to what the rhythm section is doing, what?s the drummer and the bass player doing. These parts are already written so if the soloist seems to be moving away from the general principle I?ll say why don?t you approach it from this sort of way but generally I don?t have to do that because they are all very good and capable musicians who have the skill to be able to listen to the rhythm section and work out where they should be? This facility was amply demonstrated in the performance that followed and as you would expect the power of the music came over with much more force than it does on the recording, excellent though that is. The jazz element was particularly pronounced with extended solo space being allocated to the main protagonists. The only substitution to the recorded line up was the inclusion of guitarist Giorgio Serci whose Neapolitan musical accent brought yet another international flavour to the mix. Cutting an imposing figure violinist Puente thrilled the audience with a couple of searing solos in the manner of Sugar Cane Harris whilst, with the help of Jenny Adejayan`s sensitive cello voicings, helped to bring an air of profundity to the more reflective sections of the score. Trevor Mires gut bucket trombone proved another highlight punctuating the gospel sections with some real `good time` testifying whilst trumpeter Abram Wilson, a young American, played in a confident, colourful style peppered with slurs and growls. Of the remaining horns, not counting the leader who delivered one stirring solo during the frenzied `protest` section in the third movement, Nathaniel Facey on alto crafted some fresh, cogent lines that impressed with their clich? free directness. Above all this is a piece in which rhythm and syncopation plays a central role. Shifting through a variety of time signatures from straight-ahead 4/4 to Latin oriented 12/8. Baptiste`s rhythm section proved equal to the task with Rod Youngs on drums and Satin Singh on congas and percussion working tirelessly to maintain the complex pulse. Gary Crosby?s resonant bass also played an important role which came over very well and pianist Andrew McCormack provided a flowing accompaniment to the ever changing musical landscape as well as pounding out some gutsy comping in the gospel section. The exultant final movement with its joyful sing along mantra ?Free At Last? enabled Baptiste to air his rather pleasant singing voice as he manfully tried to elicit a response from the rather straight-laced Manchester audience but the final applause was sufficient to dispel any notion that people were not enjoying themselves. What sort of reaction did he expect of the audience I asked, given that this was much more than a piece of entertainment. ? At the simplest level I?d like people to enjoy themselves but at an intellectual level if people can pick out in the music the elements that constitute Martin Luther King?s ideas of freedom, justice and equality I?d consider that to be a positive re-action.? The concert at Manchester?s Royal Northern College was the fourth in the current series, which continues until the end of November visiting Bristol, Southampton, Leicester, Liverpool and Norwich, including a date in the capital during the London Jazz Festival. I asked Denys whether it would fulfil one of his personal dreams to be able to take the piece to the USA, the home of Dr King?s liberation theology. ? It would be lovely to be able to perform the piece in the Lincoln Centre but America is a long way and we have all of Europe to cover yet with a date in Sarajevo planned for next month and Paris scheduled for next February.? Speaking of personal aspirations for the future he spoke of the need to continue to grow as an artiste and his involvement in musical workshops like the ones scheduled alongside his current tour, which provide encouragement and tuition for young people. ? I think it?s really important. I went through workshops with Tim Whitehead when I first started. They were held at the Guildhall and the West London Institute, a summer school with John Parricelli. Now as a slightly older musician I feel I have a responsibility to pass on any knowledge people would like to have. I?m always open to helping people because you can get a lot out of playing jazz and it?s a pity that fewer and fewer youngsters want to play and simply set their sights on becoming D. Js. If through my example I can encourage people to come along to concerts, perhaps play an instrument, I?ll be quite happy to carry along in my own merry way and let what happens happen.?  As the last vestiges of applause faded away it was clear from the warmth of the response that the ` happening` at the forefront of the minds of those leaving the auditorium was the centre stage arrival of a major British jazz talent whose future career will undoubtedly command our approbation and respect.For more information visit www.denysbaptiste.com and www.dunejazz.com. Top of Page
 This month?s Play List is provided by vocalist and pianist, Dominic Alldis. A fine interpreter of the songs of Noel Coward as well as repertoire from the great American songbook, his most recent album ?Watch What Happens? released on his own Canzona Music feature the songs of Michel Legrand (see this month?s CD Reviews. Errol Garner - ?Gemini? This was the first album I ever owned. My mother bought it for me when I was 9 years old and I listened to it incessantly until the age of 12. I can still sing the whole album from start to finish. For me, Garner epitomises the spirit of jazz, its warmest and good humour, an art form bursting with creativity and invention. Bill Evans ? ?You Must Believe In Spring? I discovered Bill Evans in my late teens, after being obsessed by Errol Garner and Oscar Peterson through school. Like many people, I first heard him on the seminal Miles Davis album ?Kind of Blue?. He is the pianist who most influences the way I choose to play now. The album ?You Must Believe In Spring? is beautifully recorded and represents Evans during one his most eloquent periods. Elis Regina & Tom Jobim ? ?Elis and Tom? During the 1980s I lived in Paris where I played regularly in a piano bar in the Latin Quarter called ?Les Trois Mailletz?. The other regular pianist was Bernard Maury, he introduced me to Brazilian music by lending me this seminal album. The first track ?Aguas de Mar?o? (?Waters of March) stuck in my head for weeks, and the album still sounds as good now as when I first heard it. Joao Gilberto ? ?Live from Montreux? Joao Gilberto voice is so sweet and understated, and his guitar accompaniments are so apt, that it makes him the greatest interpreter of the songs from the bossa nova. I like to hear him in his solo recital guise. This Montreux album is a live concert, it is appallingly recorded but somehow very moving. Unbelievably, the 70-year old Gilberto came to the Barbican two years ago to play an impeccable solo concert. It was the most extraordinary experience, something I never thought I would get to hear. Toots Thielemans - ?Brazil Project 1 & 2? - Jobim and Gilberto gave birth to a whole new wave of Brazilian artists; including Ivan Lins, Djavan, Chico Buarque, Dori Caymmi, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil. All these artists are well represented on these two albums made by the Belgian harmonica player Toots Thielemans. They are beautifully arranged and give a stunning overview of the talent and creativity of a whole generation of Brazilian musicians. Shirley Horn ? ?You Won?t Forget Me? After living in Paris I returned to London to be resident pianist at Pizza on the Park in London. During an 18-month tenure, I played opposite some of the greatest cabaret-jazz performers such as Blossom Dearie, Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough. However, I never thought of singing myself until one evening in Paris in the early 90s, I caught the Shirley Horn Trio at a small club in St. Germain des Pres. I was mesmerised by her performance, her artistry at the piano as well as her intelligent delivery of lyrics. I left feeling I had spent two hours in a musical paradise and I somehow I had to get back in there! Frank Sinatra ? ?Only The Lonely? The conductor and arranger John Wilson turned me on to the classic recordings that Sinatra made for Capitol during the 1950s. Sinatra is like an addiction for me, his persona is so consuming I never tire of it. As with many artists, you have to catch their best period, which for Sinatra was the 50s and early 60s, long before he recorded ?My Way? and ?New York, New York?. He made both ballad and swing albums, both equally amazing. ?Only The Lonely? is arguably the greatest of the ballad albums. Pierre Boulez ? ?Repons? Though my tastes are somewhat lush and sentimental, I have a keen interest in contemporary classical music. I spent many years going to new music concerts to watch my father conduct his seminal choir - The John Alldis Singers. During the 60s and 70s he championed new music for small mixed chorus, consequently the sound of Messiaen, Birtwistle and Boulez has never left my ears. Boulez?s ?Repons? is an orchestral masterpiece, full of glistening percussion and live electronics - it provides a wonderful antidote to the excesses of my romantic temperament! Johann Sebastian Bach, played by Glen Gould ? ?48 Preludes & Fugues? I come from a classical music background and cannot live without J S Bach. I still begin most mornings playing an hour of classical piano, which has become one of the most important rituals in my life. The keyboard music of Bach is where it all begins: equal temperament, the modern piano, the virtuoso performer etc. For me, Glen Gould is the greatest interpreter of Bach on record. Wolfgang Amadeums Mozart with the John Alldis Choir ? ?Requium? My final choice has to be classical, and predictable as it may be, the Mozart Requiem is my choice. The recording my father?s choir made with Colin Davis in the 70s is still available on cd and is considered one the finest oratorio recordings of all time. If there is a greater performance of this piece out there, I have yet to hear it. Dominic is on tour this month performing the music of Michel Legrand with a band featuring Iain Ballamy (saxophones); Malcolm Creese (bass); Chris Wells (percussion) and the Pavao String Quartet Tour Dates:  1 November - Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (Glasgow) ? 0141 332 5057 2 November - Queen?s Hall (Edinburgh) NOTE: 3.30pm ? 0131 668 2019 6 November - Lighthouse (Poole) ? 01202 685222 7 November - Phoenix Arts Centre (Exeter) ? 01392 667080 8 November - Jacqueline du Pr? Music Building (Oxford) ? 01865 276821 14 November - Wiltshire Arts Centre (Bradford-on-Avon) ? 01225 860100 For more information visit www.dominicalldis.com Top of Page
Interview by Nick Lea  Guitarist, Rik Wright, is a musical experimentalist who is totally unafraid to cross stylistic barriers to achieve his musical vision. Quite simply, such barriers do not exist for him, although others may restrict their own musical interests or listening by defining them in terms of a particular genre.I came across Rik?s music purely by chance, when, the postman delivered a package from his record label, HipSync, containing some background information and a copy of Rik?s CD ?Isomorphism?. I read the blurb, defined in terms of genre, tried to categorise (and failed) and decided that perhaps it was not for me. And all before listening to the disc! That now makes twice I have taken the sucker punch and fallen into that trap. However, a quick spin of the aforementioned disc stopped me in my tracks. No amount of background info could prepare me for what I was listening to. After giving myself a suitable chastising, it was time to bite the bullet and seize the opportunity offered by Rik and HipSync for an interview, and to learn more about the man, his music and the process itself. JAZZ VIEWS: As a new name to many of the visitors to the Jazz Views website, perhaps we should start at the beginning. Tell us a little about your musical background and development. RIK WRIGHT: I started out playing drums when I was six and switched to the guitar when I was eight?. So that makes over 25 years I?ve been playing the instrument. When I was 16 I began touring with alternative rock bands in the States, by 20 I?d been signed to a major label. For many reasons, that all went down in a horrible spiral and eventually I ended up leaving the rock scene to study jazz performance at a state school. After that I toured around in jazz ?casual? bands, playing cruise ships and hotels until I decided what I wanted to do with my talent. After living all over the country (Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco) I finally settled in Seattle, where I really started discovering myself as a unique musical entity. Since I?ve been here, I?ve been concentrating on my own compositional and improvisational skills. I?ve performed on about half a dozen releases for other artists, and I?m just about to release my third recording as a band leader. JV: I know you don?t see yourself as exclusively a jazz musician, and are involved in numerous projects and musical disciplines. Perhaps you could elaborate on this? RW: I?ve never been driven to be a jazz musician. I?ve been driven to understand the backbeat, to understand dotted eighths, to understand complex harmony and polyrhythms; and from a technical perspective I studied jazz because of these things. These are all tools I use to communicate. For a musician, a jazz education is a step above being trained as an ensemble player or a classical soloist. However, from a listener?s perspective, I find that classification is for critics. Just because someone fancies Bartok doesn?t mean that same person will enjoy Beethoven. Conversely, Swing and Blues and Bluegrass are all of the same bloodline; they?re cousins so to speak. What I?m alluding to is that personally I don?t believe there are genres in music. Furthermore, I don?t think any musician with any experience perceives themselves as classifiable. Music is about communicating something to an audience via sound. Sound connects with human beings at level much lower than intellect. So I?m not really interested in whether what I?m playing is considered to be rock music, or jazz music, or even noise for that matter. One person?s raucous is another person?s lullaby. To that regard, I pick my projects by whether or not I think the project is a good mechanism for me to connect with a listener or not. I?ve played on pop records, free jazz records, electronica records. I?ve done shows with big bands and with DJ?s and with punk rock groups. At each and every performance, someone inevitably walks up to me and comments on how the guitar connected with them. That?s what my music is about. What concerns me is whether or not it moves my audience. It?s the connection that is important, not the adjectives. JV: You?re based Seattle where I believe there is a somewhat unique and ?open? music scene?  RW: Yes, actually Seattle inspired and helped refine me as a composer and performer. There are an amazing number of world-class musicians walking the streets of Seattle with hardly any recognition at all. Every week I?ll play a gig with some cat who could easily stand next to Joe Lovano or Joshua Redman, but has never played a gig east of California. What?s more, the musical community here isn?t very genre-specific. I know fantastic jazz musicians who regularly perform with Ska groups and stellar country players who sit in with swing bands.The thing that stands out to me about Seattle is that it is a destination for musicians who operate outside of the mainstream, in much the same way as, say, Amsterdam is to the European jazz scene. Seattle is the first place outside of the New York downtown scene where I heard electronic manipulation with acoustic orchestration ? and this was ten years ago! Seattle is one of those unique places where you can walk into your local shop to grab a coffee and hear the cellist from the ballet and the trombonist from the symphony and the DJ from the hip hop club jamming together on a little stage in the corner. JV: Your latest album, ?Isomorphism? on HipSync Records is an eclectic mixture of styles, with a judicious manipulation of studio technology. How did this concept come about? RW: Like most things in life, it was partially intended and partially accidental. The technology we have available to use to make audio recordings has significantly changed in the past ten years. At the same time, urban soundscapes have become an ever-increasing influence on our international psyche. ?Isomorphism? was heavily influenced by both of these. It is intended to be jazz composition for the 21st century. As if Charlie Parker wrote the score to ?Blade Runner?. In my opinion, far too many recordings are made focusing on jazz music from a traditional and historical perspective. I wanted to do my part to push the idiom a step forward. In doing so I wanted to embrace the technology without betraying the heartfelt qualities of acoustic instruments. Until recently there has been a common misperception that digital and acoustic instrumentation can?t co-exist. I wanted to prove that to be rubbish. All of this was in my mind as we began the pre-production sessions for ?Isomorphism?. JV: The album has a fascinating blend of disparate parts that hang together to give a totally satisfying whole. From the sensuous ballad ?Even Odds?, to the free improvisation that is the following title ?Some Assembly?, the music has its own internal logic. All the songs on the album are credited to yourself (apart from ?Speaking In Tongues? which is co-composed with saxophonist, Dan Blunck). Do you write specifically for certain musicians, or are the compositions a natural extension of what develops from within the band when you play live? RW: Yes. I write for myself and the compositions also are a natural extension of what develops from within the band. There are many different levels to composition. The initial effort is almost always personal. I am struck by a certain chord progression, or melody or rhythm, or all of the above. For some reason, a particular succession of notes or the intervallic structure or cadence or sequence of beats intrigues me enough to write it down and develop it further. But then once I?ve captured that initial concept, the next level is how I choose what to represent that to the musicians. Do I notate every nuance of the performance, or do I leave some of it up for interpretation? Do I write ?staccato? on the score or do I write ?angrily?? How much do I insist the performer play what?s in my head and how much do I allow him or her to superimpose themselves on the piece? Each tune has different answers. The next level is the interaction of the various musicians? interpretations of my ideas and how we begin to influence each other. How much do I direct the group to my original concept and how much do I allow the players to discover on their own? For these sessions, we had three full band rehearsals before the actual one-day recording session. This is where the band?s influence on each composition really starts to come out. Finally, there is the production level. What recorded material do I keep and what material do I throw away? How do I choose to sequence that material? Putting the final recording together is just as much an art form as composing any one track. What is the story I am telling? What is the landscape? If this were a movie or book, which tune is my protagonist? Which tune is my hero? The end result is a confluence of all of these factors. JV: One, or should I say two, of the quieter and more reflective moments come with your composition ?Minor You? which opens the disc as a prelude, and is reprised as the closer. The track has been compared to segments of Miles Davis? ?In A Silent Way?, and is intriguing with its use of a double rhythm section. Do you find such comparisons a help or a hindrance? Perhaps it is better for the listener to approach your music as a blank canvas and with an open mind?  RW: If a reviewer or listener is going to talk about you, they have to draw comparisons. Otherwise the whole content of the article would just be ?hey, listen to this?. As a musician you can?t control what a listener brings to the table. It?s where they end up that you can influence. To that regard, obviously I don?t mind being compared to Miles Davis. However, I?m not egotistical enough to go along with the premise that I anyway achieved anything with ?Isomorphism? that could stand next to ?In a Silent Way?. Every player on that record is a legend and those tunes have influenced generations of musicians. The original context of that quote (which was in an article by Paul DeBarros, a prominently recognized jazz critic) was that the mood evoked in ?Minor You? is similar to the mood evoked in ?In a Silent Way?, and in retrospect that?s certainly true. Although I?ve probably only listened to that particular Miles Davis recording two or three times in my whole life. JV: As we?ve just mentioned Miles, perhaps now is a good opportunity to ask about your influences, and what moves you? RW: Sound moves me. Miles Davis. Crickets in the woods. Children talking on a playground. Wind chimes. Telephones. Computer modems. My cat purring (talk about polyrhythms!) From a jazz perspective, I?ve been deeply influenced by Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, John Zorn and Ornette Coleman. From a guitar perspective I?ve been touched by John McLaughlin, Joe DiOrio, Pat Martino, Frank Zappa, Derek Bailey, The Edge and Sonny Sharrock. From a human perspective I?ve been influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, Frida Kahlo, Hermann Hesse and Pablo Neruda, among others. They all influence my music. JV: And what about your own artistic vision and plans, where do you go from here? RW: When I completed ?Isomorphism? I thought it was the end of a journey. However, just after we finished performing at the CD release party the bassist turned to me and said ?You?ve just walked through a door?. He was totally right. HipSync Records is just about to release ?Polymorphism?, the follow-up to ?Isomorphism?. It will contain many of the tunes that originally appeared on ?Isomorphism? as they are currently being interpreted by my live touring ensemble. It will also contain live versions of a few of the tunes that didn?t make it on the ?Isomorphism? recording. So on the next record, I?ve put the concepts that led to ?Isomorphism? into the context of a live ensemble, and I thought that was the end of the journey.  However, the band keeps getting asked to play and so we keep at it. And inevitably players move on and before I realized it I had an entirely new group of people who interacted with the material differently than the last group. And then we garnered accolades and more label interest and so I find myself going into the recording studio once again at the end of this year to record a whole new compilation of material, and honestly, I just have no idea where the end of this road will turn out to be. I just know that I haven?t turned all the corners on it yet.For more information check out www.rikwright.com and www.hipsync.org |
Copyright ? 2002-2006 Jazzviews