Monday, January 31, 2011

The campaign starts here: Evan Parker should be asked to curate Meltdown 2012

The past five nights have seen the mini-festival Suggested by Evan Parker running at The Vortex. Each night the club has been packed to capacity with an excited, enthusiastic atmosphere pervading the place. The music has been different on each night, but the standard has been uniformly high; the musicians have all risen to the atmosphere and sense of occasion. Evan Parker himself played on three of the five nights, in three contrasting settings - with Django Bates' trio in a tribute to the music of Charlie Parker, as a soloist in Hans Koller's ensemble launching their album Cry, want, and in an improvising duo and trio with the legendary Stan Tracey and his son Clarke Tracey. The other two nights featured exciting young talent in the shape of Alex Hawkins Ensemble and Empirical

As a result of all this, the conclusion is clear: Evan Parker is an obvious choice as a great curator for Meltdown. Next summer's Meltdown already has a curator in the estimable form of Ray Davies, http://meltdown.southbankcentre.co.uk/ so 2012 is the one for Evan Parker to curate. (As a matter of interest, Parker is older than Davies by two months.) Anyone wary of an improvising musician as curator should take a moment to remember the runaway success of Meltdown 2009, curated by Ornette Coleman. Parker played at Coleman's Meltdown and also at Scott Walker's Meltdown in 2000.

Parker has all the characteristics of a successful Meltdown curator. He is widely respected and liked by musicians and punters alike. He is eclectic in his own music, playing in a great variety of settings - in the past these have included recording with Scott Walker and Vic Reeves! - and seeking out new ones. He has a track record of encouraging and bringing on talented younger players.

Yes, he is the man for the job. OK folks, get lobbying!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Volunteering at The Vortex

Did I mention before that I am now one of the crew of volunteers that keeps The Vortex going? Thought not. Well, I am now into my eleventh month. On average I volunteer for about five or six evenings a month, from 7pm until gone 11pm - once everything is cleared away and ready for the next day. Volunteering involves all sorts of tasks and duties; these can include: shopping e.g. for lemons or loo rolls, serving behind the bar, being on the door to collect money, collecting up bottles, glasses and rubbish at the end of the evening... No pay, but volunteers get to see the gig for free (and others when they're not volunteering.) I also get to meet some like-minded music fans plus the knowledge that I'm helping keep a great venue on its feet.

The reason I bring it up now is that January 26th to 30th is a series of gigs entitled Might I suggest? suggested/curated by Evan Parker. I have volunteered for four out of the five nights. Tonight, Wednesday,  Alex Hawkins' Ensemble is on, with Dominic Lash on bass - one of his last appearances before he disappears off to New York. On Thursday, Parker himself joins Django Bates' trio to celebrate the music of Charlie Parker, as featured on the trio's album Beloved Bird. Friday is the launch gig for Hans Koller's wonderful album Cry, want, which was released on Parker's Psi label at the end of 2010. (On Saturday, young lions Empirical play; they were winners of the Mobo Best Jazz Award for 2010.) To round off a great run, Sunday evening sees Evan Parker paired with Stan Tracey for a freely improvised set. Tracey will also do likewise in a duo with his son Clarke on drums. Tasty, eh?

If the idea of volunteering appeals to you, why not follow this link and click on "Support the Vortex": http://www.vortexjazz.co.uk/

Saturday, January 22, 2011

New Year resolution: Get back to the workshop regularly!

Not having been to Eddie's Friday evening workshop since an enjoyable all-day session in September, I entered 2011 resolved to attend regularly. Not weekly, but regularly. There are too many good gigs on Fridays for me to promise myself that I'd attend every week. Friday 14th January, the Charles Gayle trio were on at Cafe Oto, and were amazing. Seymour Wright was at that gig too, I noticed, so wasn't at the workshop - which salved my conscience somewhat! On Friday 28th January, I am going to the Vortex for the album-launch gig by Hans Koller. Having already reviewed the album for All About Jazz (five stars!) I am looking forward to this gig. Koller's twelve-piece ensemble features Bill Frisell and Evan Parker, although Frisell will not be at the Vortex gig, I hear.

Sandwiched in between those two unmissable gigs, I managed to get to the workshop this week, on 21st January. It was like coming back to a group of old friends, even though I did not know many of the participant well. As ever, Eddie was welcoming and friendly to everyone. How he does it week in week out is beyond me - the man is a marvel! There were nineteen of us there, with enough regulars there for me to feel the reassuring sense of belonging - a sense that is reinforced by the act of playing with people - tonight in two duos and a quartet at the end; in the duos (with cello and then with electronics) I was rather restrained - too rerstrained, maybe - a result of coming back after a lay off. For the quartet - my sax, another sax, Eddie on percussion, Paul Abbott on electronics etc - I felt more relaxed (maybe quartets suit me better than duos?) and was more outgoing. Pity I won't be back for two weeks. Looking forward to it.

At the workshop, there was news of a two-day festival called As Alike As Trees (great name) over the first weekend of March, featuring lots of workshop regulars as well as Hubbub and AMM. Looks exciting. Follow this link for more info: http://www.asalikeastrees.org/