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	LIVE REVIEWS INDEX: Jazz Britannia - Live At The Barbican Pat Metheny Group - The Way Up Tour Milligan-Eagles Project with Adam Nussbaum Jayme Marques - ?A man with Bossa in his blood? Impressions In Jazz - The Magic of Miles Davis-link Jazz Britannia - Live At The Barbican 12th February 2005 The concert was quite unique as it was held in the conservatory at the Barbican. Think Kew gardens green house and your not far off. It was a marathon event held from 2pm until 7pm with just five minute turn around between performers. Django Bates kicked off the session with a lovely piano set thoughtful and inventive, with some poetry thrown in, quite beautiful, I shall have to investigate his music further. Next up was the man they now call the Godfather Stan Tracey with master drummer Louis Moholo. I have seen Stan perform many times so was very pleasantly surprised to find a new direction in a fresh look at percussion versus piano, it wasn?t as free as you may guess. Slight percussive thrusts from Louis and immediate responses from Stan kept you on the edge of your seat I look forward to the CD coming out on Ogun records on the 21st February. Orphy Robinson performed a lively set on vibes with some free form blowing from Evan Parker. Evan then performed on his own and quite took my breath away with a masterful 12 minute soprano solo using circular breathing to continue the wall of sound emitting from his instrument. Quite amazing. Mike Westbrook then took to the piano I?d never seen him perform before and apart from his early Deram recordings I have heard any of his recent work. Serious in his approach, the music was in the classical chamber Jazz style. Andy Sheppard then played with Kuljit Bhamra who is a master of the Indian percussion kit. Andy moved around the whole of the conservatory so you experienced 360 degrees of sound as you followed his movements with your ears.. Although you couldn?t see him the acoustics were superb. Kuljit responded with mesmerizing beats. Later in his set, as dusk fell, one solitary bird started to respond to Andy?s melody and to the audiences delight they exchanged 5 minutes of tunes as first Andy played & the bird copied in response. Lol Coxhill then produced one of his heavier sets commenting halfway through ?the bird doesn?t know this one!? The show ended with a breath taking performance from three of Britain?s outstanding musical genius?s John Surman on baritone and soprano, Chris Lawrence on bass and John Marshall on the traps. John?s version of Round Midnight played in the shadows of the conservatory was outstanding. That ended 5 hours of listening and I staged off to see the start of The Jazz Britannia main concert, phew what a start! Reviewed by Gareth Simmons Back To Live Reviews Index Pat Metheny Group ? The Way Up Tour Maxcy Hall, SUNY Potsdam, New York, February 14, 2005 Pat Metheny Group shows have, over the years, evolved into more than mere musical performance; they are events, with the production values of a rock and roll show including a technological stage set-up second to none in the jazz world (and many in the rock world, for that matter) and, with well-conceived lighting and a large rear projection screen, a multimedia affair to boot. This fits well with the fact that, while improvisation is a key component of any Metheny Group performance, the music of guitarist Pat Metheny and keyboardist Lyle Mays is less about falling into neat stylistic boxes like jazz, and more about music as a larger beast that defies easy categorization. No more evident is this than on their latest release, The Way Up, a 68-minute continuous piece that challenges the sound-bite philosophy that is so prevalent in not just music, but all art forms these days. Filled with complex arrangement, a host of memorable themes that are at some times so subtle they almost go by unheeded, and at other times dramatically -- but never melodramatically ? stated, and solo spots for a group that was originally based around the improvisation skills of Metheny and Mays but has now grown to include equally vital contributions from trumpeter/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Cuong Vu, chromatic harmonica player/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Gregoire Maret and drummer Antonio Sanchez, The Way Up is unquestionably the most ambitious work the group has ever attempted. While some may bemoan the fact that Mays appears to be getting less solo space these days, it?s only because the group, for the first time in its existence, has other soloists, besides Metheny and Mays, deserving of equal exposure. Past members, including Pedro Aznar, David Blamires and the late Mark Ledford, have all been key players in the incarnations of which they were members, but they were more about orchestration than strong solo voices. Now Pat Metheny Group is a strong mini-orchestra that also features a broad range of compelling soloists. The Potsdam State University of New York (SUNY) performance on February 12, 2005 was one of a handful of warm-up shows, taking place before the group?s official tour commences on February 17, as part of the University?s Community Performance Series (CPS). Taking place in the gymnasium space of Maxcy Hall might, for some groups, be a challenge ? after all, a gymnasium is hardly acoustically built for music ? but given that the Metheny Group travels with their own PA, a crew of sound and light people, and guitar and keyboard techs, the sound, after a few adjustments in the first 15 minutes or so of the performance, was surprisingly good. The two-and-a-half hour show began with the minimalist, Steve Reichian introduction to The Way Up being broadcast over the PA system. Metheny appeared on stage alone with his baritone guitar, and proceeded to layer a solo version of ?This is Not America? over it. The rest of the band ? Mays, bassist Steve Rodby, Maret, Vu, Sanchez and guitarist/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Nando Lauria, who is a member of the touring group but not the recording group this time around ? came to the stage through the audience, playing a variety of toy instruments. Once onstage the group dove into The Way Up in its entirety, stretching it out to over 80 minutes, including more extended solos and some additional composed segments not found on the album. While the contributions of Vu and Maret on the album might seem somewhat secondary to the layers of guitars and keyboards courtesy of Metheny and Mays, live it?s a different story. Watching how seamlessly their main instruments are integrated into the larger orchestral texture of the group gives a whole new appreciation for their talents. And in order to reproduce -- at least as accurately as is possible -- the myriad layers of guitars Vu and Maret, along with Lauria, were often seen to be adding guitar parts to the mix. Sanchez even strapped on an electric bass at one point near the end of the piece, alternating between simple bass line and cymbal rolls. Rodby, during what is nominally called ?Part Two? on the CD, spent much of the time alternating between playing a fretless electric bass and slinging it behind his back while he returned to double-bass. As for Metheny, one almost lost count of the number of guitars he used during the piece. Kudos to his long-standing guitar tech, Carolyn Chrzan, who made sure that every guitar was in place and in tune ? and Metheny uses a variety of non-standard tunings throughout The Way Up, so this is no mean feat. Aside from the staggering musical complexity and challenge of recreating The Way Up live, the sheer logistics become evident when watching the show, with the band sometimes performing an almost sleight of hand where one would be busy watching one side of the stage, only to return attention to Metheny and find yet another instrument there at his disposal. At one point Sanchez was playing a large shekere, only to literally toss it behind him so that he could return to the kit ? fortunately there was a tech waiting to catch it. And, as usual, the back line ? in this case Maret, Vu and Lauria ? contributed everything from percussion to vibraphone, marimba and, in the case of Lauria, a second horn. What is always astounding about the players Metheny finds for his group is their ability to transform into strong multi-instrumentalists; and while none of these additional instruments are as strong as their main axes, they manage to be completely convincing. Special mention should also be made of Lauria who, while never getting a moment in the spotlight, is clearly a talented guitarist who had to learn some of Metheny?s challenging parts and recreate them faithfully. While the role of musical chameleon is sometimes lost in the midst of all the strong voices present, Lauria?s role was absolutely essential, and should not be underestimated. The group also made some intelligent choices about performing The Way Up live, condensing the extended coda at the end of the piece, which would likely be swallowed up in any large concert hall. Still, the piece ended in a satisfying way, sticking to the almost circuitous ending of the recorded version and avoiding the temptation for a more definitive and bombastic conclusion. The decision to begin the concert with an 80-minute epic was unquestionably a bold move; no chance for the group to warm up, as they so often would with pieces like ?Have You Heard?? and ?Phase Dance.? So, after 80 minutes of continuous play, when Metheny finally stepped up to the microphone, one of his first comments, after introducing the band, was to say that, at this point, he almost felt like saying ?Thank you, and good night.? Fortunately for the nearly sold-out crowd, he had something else in mind. The second half of the concert was an interesting blend of subsets of the group ? duos, trios, quartets ? culminating in full group performances for the end of the show. Starting the second half with an uptempo duet between Metheny and Sanchez that was in the vein of his tune, ?(Go) Get It,? but was something else entirely, both players had the opportunity to further demonstrate the astounding technique coupled with sheer musicality of the first half. Metheny has spoken, at great lengths, of his excitement playing with Sanchez. Much as the Metheny Group?s first bassist, Mark Egan, was a fine player but it became clear when Rodby joined the group that he was simply the right player for the group, Danny Gottlieb and Paul Wertico may have both made significant contributions to the band, but Sanchez is clearly the drummer Metheny has been looking for all these years, capable of everything from light textural playing to powerful polyrhythms. And as Rodby has become an essential part of the group?s core over the past 23 years, one can only hope that as other players come and go, Sanchez stays for the long haul to become another core member. Following the intense duet, Rodby fleshed things out to a trio for a very liberal reading of Offramp?s ?James,? where the chord changes revealed the tune long before Metheny actually got around to playing the familiar theme. More a solo vehicle than the structured format of the original piece, this felt more in line with some of Metheny?s trio work with Larry Grenadier and Bill Stewart and, more recently Christian McBride and Sanchez. Mays joined the group for ?Lone Jack,? from the group?s self-titled first album. This time, however, instead of Metheny and Mays taking separate extended solos, they traded back and forth, building the tension and excitement and leading into a solo from Sanchez that, while staying true to the tune?s form, combined unbelievable intensity with a distinctly melodic approach. Metheny returned to his acoustic baritone guitar for a duet with Maret?s chromatic harmonica on ?Always and Forever,? from Secret Story. Maret, even when soloing in the most tender of ways, seemed almost frenetic in his body movements. Mays and Metheny then performed a duet version of ?Farmer?s Trust? ? still one of Metheny?s most provocative ballads ? with Rodby joining in for the final theme. As on the Speaking of Now tour, Vu and Metheny ? utilizing his 42-string Pikasso guitar, played an introduction to the first of two staples from the Metheny Group catalogue, ?Are You Going With Me?,? also from Offramp. The Pikasso, liberally treated with reverb, literally filled the concert space. When the group entered, Mays, who traditionally took a synthesizer solo that emulated a harmonica, traded solos with Maret on the real thing before Metheny took off with a soaring guitar synth solo that demonstrated how, while this tune has been on virtually every set list since it was first recorded, clearly still provides Metheny with a vehicle where there is still something new to say. The show closed with ?The First Circle,? a piece that is the closest thing to a ?greatest hit? as the group has. Unlike ?Are You Going With Me?,? which is largely a solo feature, ?The First Circle,? barring a strong solo from Mays, is largely a throughcomposed piece, and while unquestionably a dramatic set closer, could easily be dropped from the Metheny Group set list. Unlike ?Are You Going With Me?? there seems to be little to add to this tune. Still, it was a rousing finish to a second half which was, for the most part, more about liberal reinterpretation than faithful recreation. The group returned for an encore of ?(It?s Just) Talk,? a tune from Still Life (talking) that hasn?t been performed live in some time. With a strong Latin groove and powerful solos from everyone, it was the perfect end to an evening that combined the complex with the straightforward; the abstruse with the lyrical; and the faithfully reproduced with the more broadly reworked. A show that demonstrated not only the continuing power of the Metheny/Mays writing team, but that this incarnation of Pat Metheny Group may well be the most versatile and capable thus far in a career that has spanned 25 years and 13 recordings. If the group?s warm-up shows are meant to give them the opportunity to work out the snags ? and there were a few technical glitches -- then fans who attend the ?official? tour dates are in for a big treat. One can only hope that Metheny chooses to record and release a concert DVD of, at the very least, the performance of The Way Up. Given its logistical complexities and inability to be perceived as anything other than the extended piece that it is (one doubts there will be a The Way Up medley on future tours), this is most likely the only tour where the piece will be performed, and documentation of the event is clearly essential. For more information and tour dates, visit Pat Metheny Group on the web. Reviewed by John Kelman Back To Live Reviews Index Milligan-Eagles Project with Adam Nussbaum Theatre of the National Library Ottawa, Canada March 3, 2005 With the ink still fresh on their new CD, Milligan-Eagles Project featuring Billy Kilson, double-bassist Mike Milligan and guitarist Wayne Eagles brought their music to a sizable crowd at Ottawa?s National Library on Thursday, March 3, 2005. While the CD features drummer Billy Kilson, ex-member of double-bassist Dave Holland?s Quintet and Big Band, touring commitments with trumpeter Chris Botti made it impossible for him to be on hand for this CD release show. Fortunately, Milligan and Eagles were able to recruit Adam Nussbaum, a drummer who has played with a wide range of artists over the past thirty years, including guitarists John Scofield and John Abercrombie. In fact, Nussbaum?s experience with Scofield?s aggressive power trio of the early 80s and Abercrombie?s organ trio of the early-to-mid-?90s made him the perfect player to round out this trio which, while clearly leaning towards fusion, does so with the more thoughtful approach of groups like Abercrombie?s Gateway project with Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette. With negligible rehearsal time, the trio was surprisingly tight while, at the same time, demonstrating the kind of loose improvisational approach that makes the CD such a treat. Opening up with Milligan?s riff-heavy ?Skunk Theory,? the group set the pace for the whole evening, featuring Eagles? scorching solos combined with Milligan?s ability to maintain a strong forward motion while, at the same time, being responsive to his surroundings. While the CD was recorded live in the studio with little, if any, in the way of overdubs or editing, clearly being in front of a receptive audience pushed them to explore even further. Eagles peppered carefully considered melodies with rapid-fire and smoothly-executed legato lines a la Allan Holdsworth, with the occasional speed picking thrown in for good measure. As much a textural player as linear one, Eagles is disposed towards peppering his solos with chord shots and odd sound effects that flesh out the sound of the trio. And, while his playing was more prone to extroverted displays of skill and speed than on the CD, he also demonstrated a light touch and more tender side on Milligan?s ballad, ?Like Water,? which also featured a particularly melodic opening solo by Nussbaum, as did the group?s rendition of Wayne Shorter?s ?Footprints.? Nussbaum, in fact, combined power, dexterity, groove and melody throughout the show. Soloing over an ostinato during the trio?s take of Holland?s ?How?s Never,? Nussbaum demonstrated just how broad his reach is. While Kilson clearly comes from more of a funk background ? and Nussbaum is certainly capable of stepping up to a groove, as he did on the closing ?Exit Wounds? -- his roots in the tradition are also more evident, making ?Like Water? swing more than it does on record. His ability to divide and subdivide time is nothing short of remarkable and, while he had negligible time to prepare for the show, his ability to navigate the compositions ? in and out of regular meter ? shows just how adaptable he is to any situation. Milligan is an intriguing bassist, one who combines steady time with a penchant for more free devices during his solos, where unusual chordal passages alternated with abstruse yet melodic lines. He meshed nicely with Nussbaum on a 5/4 interpretation of Miles Davis? ?All Blues,? with a solo that was both lyrical and adventurous. And, while the group plainly worked within set structures, they also took some credible risks, in particular during the free improvisation that preceded ?All Blues.? One doesn?t often hear local players tackle completely free playing, but Milligan and Eagles were clearly up to it, with Nussbaum playing a greater role as colourist. And Eagles? open-ended introduction to ?Plankton Comes Alive? demonstrated that, while his interest may be in looser improvisation, he has a real penchant for more aggressive and effected Hendrix-like rock tones. To get a close-to-capacity crowd out on a Thursday night for an evening of adventurous improvisation in Ottawa is a rare thing. Certainly there were a number of musicians in the crowd who were attracted to the opportunity of catching Nussbaum in a relaxed and informal setting (and, let?s be honest, it?s not as if he makes it to Ottawa on any kind of regular basis), but the crowd was equally demonstrative towards Eagles and Milligan, with rounds of applause and hoots of appreciation common throughout the 70-minute set. With Eagles living in Ottawa and Milligan in Toronto, it?s uncertain whether or not this project will become more than a studio project with the occasional live performance, but on this evening a group of appreciative fans were treated to intriguing compositions and strong performances from everyone, and a particular treat in Nussbaum, a player who affirmed his reputation for sheer musicality, regardless of the context. For more information and to purchase a copy of Milligan-Eagles Project featuring Billy Kilson, visit Milligan-Eagles Project, Wayne Eagles, Mike Milligan and Adam Nussbaum on the web. Reviewed by John Kelman Back To Live Reviews Index Jayme Marques - ?A man with Bossa in his blood? 26th February, Bel Luna Jazz Club, Barcelona Jayme Marques: guitar; Miguel Angel Ejido: trombone and percussion; Manolo Heredia: drums; Lucki Guri: piano Barcelona may be in the middle of an unusual cold spell, but this did not affect the temperature in the Bel Luna jazz Club. Situated in a basement in the heart of Barcelona, the club reminds me of the Pizza Express in Soho. Marques is obviously very much at home in the club with its relaxed comfortable atmosphere, as he was happy to chat with fans at the bar and sign a few CD?s. Originating from Campo Grande in Brazil, Marques settled in Spain where he mixed with the Spanish experimentalists of the time in Madrid. I have been going to Jazz concerts for the past twenty years but this was the first time I had attended a performance by an artist from the Bossa Nova side of Jazz. The set Kicked off with an acoustic guitar led version of Berimbao. This set the scene for what turned out to be a very memorable evening containing the ?greatest hits? of Brazilian music. Tracks included were ?O Pato? ?Girl From Impanema? ?Veracruz? ?O Sapo? and ?One Note Samba?. I particularly enjoyed Manolo Heredia?s Samba School of drumming influenced solo enlightening! For an encore Marques invited Luki Guri onto the stage. Guri is a local pianist famous for being the leader of ?Barcelona Traction? a fusion based band from the 70?s. Guri proved himself to be a master of the Latin piano and played with the band for 40 minutes (some encore!) Jayme Marques is always smiling. Now having enjoyed the music live for myself, I now know why they call the Brazilian people ?The Happy People?. Review by Gareth Simmons Back To Live Review Index Impressions In Jazz - The Magic of Miles Davis National Arts Centre, Fourth Stage Saturday, February 12, 2005 As the first performance in his planned series Impressions in Jazz, local bassist Adrian Cho bit off a large chunk by not only attempting to recreate legendary trumpeter Miles Davis? mid-?60s Quintet with saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, and the late ?50s sextet that recorded, amongst other things, the classic Kind of Blue; he also strove to recreate the ?49 recording The Birth of the Cool by putting together a nonet with the same instrumentation as the now infamous and first-recorded collaboration between Miles and noted arranger Gil Evans. The results of this ambitious undertaking, which took place in the comfort of Ottawa?s National Arts Centre?s Fourth Stage, a room that has the intimacy of a small club (without the smoke), was engaging and also largely successful from a musicological perspective. Cho, a solid bassist with a disposition towards instrumental purity ? using gut strings and no amplification ? insisted on minimal miking of the various-sized ensembles, relying, instead, on each group to self-regulate its own mix. Mention must be made of Cho?s extensive programme notes ? that not only described the Impressions in Jazz series and its ambitions, but placed the three ensembles in historical musical perspective, and provided informative descriptions of all compositions being played. Cho?s intentions were clearly to educate as much as entertain, and he succeeded on both fronts. Starting with the ?60s material and working chronologically backwards in time, Cho was joined, for the first half of the first set, by trumpeter Jean Trudel, tenor saxophonist Brian Magner, pianist John Roney and drummer Jim Doxas. No surprise to anyone who saw him perform with bassist John Geggie and saxophonist Mike Murley on the same stage last year, Doxas created much of the excitement of the quintet?s treatment of material including Carter?s ?Eighty-One,? Shorter?s ?Pinocchio? and ?Prince of Darkness,? Hancock?s ?Little One,? Williams? ?Pee Wee? and the Victor Feldman staples ?Joshua? and ?Seven Steps to Heaven.? Doxas, normally based in Montreal, played with the kind of unbridled energy that paid tribute to Williams without strictly imitating him, demonstrating a similar ability to punctuate the music with motifs that were anything but non sequiturs. Roney, also from Montreal, has spent a lot of time playing with Doxas and it shows. The obvious comfort level and communication between the two was in clear evidence, especially when the quintet broke down into a trio for solos from Roney, and was responsible for many of the most magical moments of the night. Roney?s style clearly comes from the Hancock/Evans school, but his clear harmonic command and sense of composition in his solos meant that he, perhaps more so than anyone else, was able to take the material in new directions ? which is what the mid-?60s quintet was, after all, all about. Magner, a fixture on the local R&B scene for many years, is a relative newcomer to this kind of music, and he?s clearly doing his homework. While he still has a ways to go in terms of comfortably playing through the changes, rather than to them, what he lacked in Roney?s harmonic sophistication he more than made up for with a rich and robust tone, a terrific set of ears that had him interacting with the players around him, and an economical sense of style that clearly worked in terms of echoing the similarly concise and spare Shorter. Smiling often and providing the kind of eye contact and encouragement to the others that demonstrated just how plain happy he was to be there, Magner was second only to Doxas in terms of having a vibrant and commanding physical presence on stage. Sadly, Trudel was the weak link. Granted, filling Miles Davis? shoes is a tall order for anyone; but while Trudel was capable at navigating the themes, when it came to solos he had an appealing enough tone and sense of space, but lacked the kind of immediacy and presence that was really required, especially for the more exploratory nature of the mid-?60s quintet. He seemed to approach solos as distinct spaces for himself rather than points of interaction with the rest of the group. For the second half of the set the quintet was augmented by Ian Babb on alto, performing material from the late ?50s including ?All Blues,? ?Flamenco Sketches,? ?Milestones? and ?Teo.? Babb added another strong solo voice to the mix, with a tone less bold and brash than Cannonball Adderley?s, but impressive nevertheless. Doxas, shifted cleanly into Jimmy Cobb mode, but never so much so that he lost his own voice. His more playful and sometimes less straightforward approach might have rankled purists, but the fact is that this is living, breathing music, and the best interpreters of archival material are those that remain reverent while, at the same time, breathing new life and bringing a sense of modernity to it. Again, Roney and Magner were compelling soloists, both clearly understanding the essence of the late-?50s sextet. After a short intermission, the sextet came back on ? with Magner on alto and Babb on Baritone this time ? augmented by Nicholas Atkinson on tuba, Mark Ferguson on trombone and Elizabeth Simpson on French horn. Working their way through the complete The Birth of the Cool programme, Cho?s diligence at transcribing the music from the original recording and putting together the charts for the nonet was impressive. Also remarkable was how, with a group this size and minimal miking, the instrumental mix in the house was as close to perfect as one could expect. The textures were rich, with Cho and Doxas providing the necessary swing element. Trudel seemed better suited to this material than that of the first set. Clearly, with this material being more heavily structured and less about group interplay, Trudel was more firmly in the position of featured soloist and, consequently, was able to follow his muse in a more form-based environment. As good as Babb was on alto in the first set, he seemed to shine even more on baritone. Magner?s alto tone is as attractive as his tenor, and Ferguson contributed a couple of solos that demonstrated a broader melodic sense that equalled that of Roney. The group closed with a reading of ?So What,? with everyone ? including Simpson ? taking a turn at soloing. A fine ending to an overall enjoyable evening. And, with a sell-out crowd, it?s strong encouragement for Cho to continue on with the next Impressions in Jazz show, titled Suite Freedom, intended to celebrate music inspired by the Civil Rights Movement of the ?50s and ?60s. Cho will be bringing an even larger ensemble to the stage to perform music including Coltrane?s Africa/Brass, along with smaller group interpretations of music by Miles, Mingus and Joe Henderson?s Power to the People suite. Cho is nothing if not ambitious, and the clear appreciation of the audience for The Magic of Miles Davis shows how his instinct that there is an audience for this kind of venture in Ottawa is more than just a dream, it?s a fact. And that?s a good thing. For information on Adrian Cho?s Impressions in Jazz series, visit www.diadic.com on the web. Reviewed by John Kelman Back To Live Reviews Index Top of Page / Back To Main Contents
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