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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 I S S U E 2 4 4 ESSENTIAL CDS, VINYL, BOOKS & GIGS REVIEWED ISSUE 244 SEPTEMBER 2019 £5.90 M I C H A E L J A N I S C H W O R L D S C O L L I D I N G : Carl Hyde Photo W W W . J A Z Z W I S E M A G A Z I N E . C O M “All this music comes crashing together” Michael Michael JanischWorlds Colliding Jan Bang PUNKT Power Chris Batchelor Takes Five “When we play it’s joyous” Nérija In Full Bloom Jim Mullen Volunteer Vibes Scott Hamilton Turning Point PLUS Art Themen • Fabian Almazan • Chiminyo 001_JWCoverSept19-3.indd 1 01/08/2019 15:52 For the latest breaking news visit www.jazzwisemagazine.com News By Mike Flynn, Spencer Grady and Jon Newey Editor in chief Jon Newey Editor Mike Flynn Production editor Spencer Grady Design Calvin McKenzie Instrument co-ordinator David Gallant Email: dpg.base.t21@btinternet.com Gig Guide editor Rosie Hanley roseanne.hanley@gmail.com Contributors Philip Clark Jane Cornwell John Fordham Kevin Le Gendre Brian Glasser Selwyn Harris Nick Hasted Mike Hobart Michael Horovitz Ken Hunt Martin Longley Stuart Nicholson Edwin Pouncey Brian Priestley Peter Quinn Thomas Rees Andy Robson Alyn Shipton Robert Shore Daniel Spicer Peter Vacher Val Wilmer Photographers Tim Dickeson William Ellis Michael Putland Roger Thomas Val Wilmer Advertisement Manager Ros McRae Tel: 0141 334 1735 Email: ros.mcrae@btopenworld.com Marketing Assistant Hayley Sigrist Editorial Director Martin Cullingford Publishing Director Paul Geoghegan CEO Ben Allen Chairman Mark Allen SUBSCRIPTION RATES UK PERSONAL Quarterly Direct Debit £14.50 Annual Direct Debit £57 Annual Credit Card £60 Two Year Annual Credit Card £102 Three Year Annual Credit Card £102 Subscribe online: www.magsubscriptions.com Subscribe by phone: +44 (0)1722 716997 Judi Jackson Gary Bartz Michael Wollny Luft with his take on Grant Green’s funky stylings (Kings Place, 22 Nov). Bauhaus and Blue Note tributes among latest additions to EFG London Jazz Festival The latest names announced for this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival, which runs from 15 to 24 November, include several concerts seeking fresh perspectives on the music’s past, as well as a centenary musical celebration of Germany’s Bauhaus art movement. The latter sees the Bau.Haus.Klang project (commissioned by the Bauhaus Festival) performed by acclaimed pianist Michael Wollny, who will interpret the influential art school’s manifesto through sound, improvising against a mechanical “phonola”, a music machine from the 1920s that operates a second grand piano programmed by fellow German pianist Wolfgang Heisig. Completing this innovative concert will be saxophonist Emile Parisien, electronics artist Leafcutter John and drummer Max Stadtfeld, while support comes from Brooklyn-based acoustic trio Dawn of Midi, who perform their response to Bauhaus’ austere aesthetic style. Elsewhere, there’s a spiritual jazz summit featuring former Charles Mingus and Max Roach saxophonist Gary Bartz, part of a night under Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here banner which also includes Dwight Trible and Maisha (Royal Festival Hall, 16 Nov); as well as an evening of avantgarde electronica with Brighton-based musician Gazelle Twin collaborating with ‘drone choir’ NYX, who create visceral soundscapes with an edgy operatic twist (QEH, 20 Nov). Vocalist/performance artist Elaine Mitchener also pushes boundaries with her ‘Vocal Classics of the Black Avant-Garde’, which features her group of saxophonist/ MD Jason Yarde, trumpeter Byron Wallen, pianist Alexander Hawkins, bassist Neil Charles, drummer Mark Sanders and poet Dante Micheaux, all presenting the music of Eric Dolphy, Archie Shepp, Joseph Jarman and Jeanne Lee, among others (Purcell Room, 21 Nov). Further additions to the programme include a tribute to the music of Blue Note, the label marking its 80th anniversary this year, with archival classics reinterpreted by musicians associated with influential London promoters Total Refreshment Centre (Queen Elizabeth Hall, 15 Nov). This show is complemented by north London’s monthly Jazz in the Round showcase, who present ‘Tributes to our Musical Heroes’ with Hexagonal playing the music of Bheki Mseleku and McCoy Tyner; Brit-jazz bass boss Dave Green saluting Oscar Pettiford and Jimmy Blanton, and guitarist Rob Other concerts announced include singer Judi Jackson (Islington Assembly Hall, 17 Nov); African cellist Abel Selaocoe and Austrian percussionist Bernhard Schimpelsberger (Kings Place, 20 Nov); Pulled By Magnets, featuring Seb Rochford, Pete Wareham and Neil Charles (St John on Bethnal Green, 21 Nov); and Get the Blessing’s 20th Anniversary concert (Moth Club, 23 Nov). These shows join those already announced in Jazzwise, who are festival media partners. For the full line-up and tickets www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk www.markallengroup.com Jazzwise is published by MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB Tel: +44 (0)20 8677 0012 Website: www.jazzwisemagazine.com Please read our privacy policy, by visiting http://privacypolicy.markallengroup.com. This will explain how we process, use & safeguard your data MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, 2019. All rights reserved. No part of the Jazzwise may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Publishing Director. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editor or Jazzwise Advertisements in the journal do not imply endorsement of the products or services advertised. ISSN 1368-0021 Printed by: Pensord Press Ltd, Blackwood, NP12 2YA Founded by Charles Alexander in 1997 4 Jazzwise September 2019 Hancock Heads Barbican Jazz Blitz Herbie Hancock (pictured), Brad Mehldau and Wynton Marsalis are among the forthcoming attractions at London’s Barbican. Hancock crops up for a couple of dates, delivering a programme of much-loved melodies and surprise deep-cuts (17 November), before hooking up with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the stewardship of their renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel for a set of Latin American classical music, along with offerings from the venerated Hancock catalogue (19 November). Meanwhile, further-in-the-future thrills see the Brad Mehldau Trio continue to chart their singular course through jazz exploration, classical romanticism and pop culture (9 March, 2020), while Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra enter ‘The Jungle’, a musical portrait of New York City, in the company of the London Symphony Orchestra and its baton-wielding boss man, Sir Simon Rattle (30-31 May 2020). Keep the diary clear, too, for other jazz-related activity at the Barbican, including Hackney Colliery Band, registering in full collaborative effect with select guests including UK jazz-funk legend James Taylor (5 October); Brooklyn-based Afro-beat ensemble Antibalas, paying tribute to the Queen of Soul with their ‘Respect to Aretha’ revue, featuring Zara McFarlane, Bettye LaVette and Alice Russell (12 September); Irreversible Entanglements’ Moor Mother, confronting colonialism and slavery via ‘The Great Bailout’ in collaboration with the London Contemporary Orchestra (23 October); former Mercury nominees Portico Quartet unleashing fresh sounds from their upcoming full-length on Gondwana Records (2 November) and iconic avant-gardists Art Ensemble of Chicago, celebrating 50 years of making “Great Black Music” (23 November). For more details on these and other events visit www.barbican.org.uk
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Ronnie’s 60th sells out Royal Albert Hall, packs Frith Street and curates exclusive Jazzwise CD The 60th anniversary celebrations for iconic London jazz club Ronnie Scott’s kicked off in serious style with their inaugural street party on Saturday 20 July, which drew thousands of people to a day of free gigs on a stage erected outside the venue on Frith Street, Soho. Performers included saxophonists Pee Wee Ellis and Nubya Garcia (below right), with crowds stretching back to nearby Soho Square and the surrounding area. first played with the jazz legend aged 17. The club’s resident pianist and MD, James Pearson, will lead the Ronnie Scott’s All Stars, while bandleader Pete Long will direct the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra. Look out for October’s issue of Jazzwise, which will include an exclusive Ronnie Scott’s covermount CD telling the story of the club through exclusive audio interviews and music associated with the venue. For more info visit www.ronniescotts.co.uk special, and already sold out, charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 30 October. The starry line-up includes Van Morrison (pictured right), Imelda May, Madeline Bell, Kurt Elling, Georgie The celebrations continue next month at a special, and already sold out, charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 30 October. The starry line-up includes Van Morrison (pictured right), Imelda May, Madeline Bell, Kurt Elling, Georgie Fame, Pee Wee Ellis and Courtney Pine. Ronnie’s regulars also appearing include acclaimed singers Natalie Williams, Ian Shaw and Liane Carroll, plus leading trumpeter/ arranger Guy Barker, whose association with the venue goes back to his teenage years and an early encounter with Dizzy Gillespie, when he arranger Guy Barker, whose association with the Ronnie Scott’s at 60 A journey through the last 60 years of the club Featuring memories from artists including Georgie Fame, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Ronnie Scott, and the music of John McLaughlin, Yusef Lateef, Sarah Vaughan and more. Editor’s Note A sense of community can be a powerful thing. It’s what underpins the life and work of this month’s featured artists, be it in the form of bassist and label boss Michael Janisch’s transatlantic bridge-building to unite US and UK scenes, or the extended family of Brit jazz musicians that rallied around to support much-cherished guitarist Jim Mullen in his hour of musical need. It can also be seen in the communal nature of Nérija’s close-knit creative process when recording their superb debut album, Blume, and it’s a like-minded sense of mission that’s enabled Jan Bang’s PUNKT festival to last 15 years and draw in leading experimental musicians from around the world. And it can certainly be found at your local jazz jam session where instant connections are formed in the space of a few bars of music. Stylistically, jazz is becoming an increasingly broad church, but its intrinsic message remains universal, a creative conduit for togetherness and cooperation. Mike Flynn Editor, Jazzwise Cherise Adams-Burnett Nominees announced for Parliamentary Jazz Awards The names have been revealed for this year’s Parliamentary Jazz Awards, with the winners to be announced at an awards ceremony at PizzaExpress Live, Holborn, on 3 December. The shortlists of names, initially chosen through an online public vote, has been selected by a panel of jazz experts and professionals with a wide knowledge of, and passion for, the music. The winners will be chosen by the judging members of the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG), which is comprised of 80 members from the House of Commons and House of Lords across all political parties. Reflecting the diversity and depth of the current British jazz scene across nine categories, the nominees are: Jazz Vocalist of the Year: Claire Martin, Georgia Mancio, Cherise Adams-Burnett and Zoe Gilby. Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year: Brian Kellock, Nikki Iles, Jason Rebello and Josephine Davies. Jazz Album of the Year: Sons of Kemet – Your Queen Is A Reptile; Adrian Cox – Profoundly Blue; Fergus McCreadie – Turas, and Jean Toussaint –Brother Ray. Jazz Ensemble of the Year: Ezra Collective, London Vocal Project and Gareth Lockrane Big Band. Jazz Newcomer of the Year: Xhosa Cole; Fergus McCreadie and Luca Manning. Jazz Venue of the Year: Marsden Jazz Festival, Bebop Club (Bristol), Watermill Jazz Club (Dorking) and Verdict Jazz Club (Brighton). Jazz Media Award: Jazzwise, Kevin Le Gendre and Ian Mann (Jazzmann website). Jazz Education Award: Pete Churchill, Jamil Sheriff and Nikki Iles. Services to Jazz Award: Henry Lowther, John Fordham and Cleo Laine. For more info visit www.pizzaexpresslive.com/parliamentary-jazz-awards scene across nine categories, the nominees are: Claire Martin, Georgia Mancio, Cherise Adams-Burnett and Zoe Gilby. Nikki Iles, Jason Rebello and Josephine Davies. Adrian Cox – Year Fergus McCreadie and Luca Manning. Jazz Club (Dorking) and Verdict Jazz Club (Brighton). (Jazzmann website). Henry Lowther, John Fordham and Cleo Laine. For more info visit www.pizzaexpresslive.com/parliamentary-jazz-awards Fergus McCreadia Jim Mullen, Partisans and Liane Carroll skip to Scarborough The 17th annual Scarborough Jazz Festival takes place from 20 to 22 September at its longstanding home of the town’s Victoria Spa Grand Hall with a strong selection of leading Brit-jazz names and exciting newcomers. Chief among the opening night headliners are award-winning vocalist Liane Carroll and versatile multi-reedist Alan Barnes, while Saturday’s top names include pianist/singer Jeremy Sassoon’s crowd-pleasing 17-piece Ray Charles Project, who appear fresh from their storming set at Love Supreme in July. The final night closes in emphatic style with the garrulous jazz-rock of Julian Siegel and Phil Robson’s group Partisans, and a finale featuring revered jazz guitar man Jim Mullen (pictured) and his all-star Volunteers big band (see this month’s feature p24). New names to look out for include Jasmine, a quintet led by northern alto-sax talent Jasmine Whalley; young saxophonist Sam Rapley and his band, Fabled, and fusion-into-folk sounds from trombonist Rory Ingham’s Bonsai. The full line-up is as follows: Friday 20 September: Jasmine, Wild Card, John Law’s Re-Creations, Freddie Gavita Quartet, Liane Carroll and Alan Barnes + 11. Saturday 21 September: Sam Rapley’s Fabled, Kate Peters Big Band, Tony Kofi & The Organisation, Clark Tracey Quintet, Dave Newton and Jeremy Sassoon’s Ray Charles Project. Sunday 22 September: Bonsai, Alec Dankworth’s Spanish Accents, New Jazz Extempore, Partisans and Jim Mullen’s Volunteers. For full details and tickets visit www.scarboroughspa.co.uk Jazzwise September 2019 5

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S E P T E M B E R

2 0 1 9 I S S U E

2 4 4

ESSENTIAL CDS, VINYL, BOOKS & GIGS REVIEWED

ISSUE 244 SEPTEMBER 2019 £5.90

M I C H A E L J A N I S C H

W O R L D S

C O L L I

D I

N G

: Carl Hyde

Photo

W W W . J A Z Z W I S E M A G A Z I

N E .

C O M

“All this music comes crashing together”

Michael

Michael JanischWorlds Colliding

Jan Bang PUNKT Power

Chris Batchelor

Takes Five

“When we play it’s joyous”

Nérija

In Full Bloom

Jim Mullen Volunteer Vibes

Scott Hamilton

Turning Point

PLUS Art Themen • Fabian Almazan • Chiminyo

001_JWCoverSept19-3.indd 1

01/08/2019 15:52

For the latest breaking news visit www.jazzwisemagazine.com News By Mike Flynn, Spencer Grady and Jon Newey

Editor in chief Jon Newey Editor Mike Flynn Production editor Spencer Grady Design Calvin McKenzie Instrument co-ordinator David Gallant Email: dpg.base.t21@btinternet.com Gig Guide editor Rosie Hanley roseanne.hanley@gmail.com Contributors Philip Clark Jane Cornwell John Fordham Kevin Le Gendre Brian Glasser Selwyn Harris Nick Hasted Mike Hobart Michael Horovitz Ken Hunt Martin Longley

Stuart Nicholson Edwin Pouncey Brian Priestley Peter Quinn Thomas Rees Andy Robson Alyn Shipton Robert Shore Daniel Spicer Peter Vacher Val Wilmer

Photographers Tim Dickeson William Ellis Michael Putland Roger Thomas Val Wilmer

Advertisement Manager Ros McRae Tel: 0141 334 1735 Email: ros.mcrae@btopenworld.com Marketing Assistant Hayley Sigrist Editorial Director Martin Cullingford Publishing Director Paul Geoghegan CEO Ben Allen Chairman Mark Allen

SUBSCRIPTION RATES UK PERSONAL Quarterly Direct Debit £14.50 Annual Direct Debit £57 Annual Credit Card £60 Two Year Annual Credit Card £102 Three Year Annual Credit Card £102 Subscribe online: www.magsubscriptions.com Subscribe by phone: +44 (0)1722 716997

Judi Jackson

Gary Bartz

Michael Wollny

Luft with his take on Grant Green’s funky stylings (Kings Place, 22 Nov).

Bauhaus and Blue Note tributes among latest additions to EFG London Jazz Festival The latest names announced for this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival, which runs from 15 to 24 November, include several concerts seeking fresh perspectives on the music’s past, as well as a centenary musical celebration of Germany’s Bauhaus art movement. The latter sees the Bau.Haus.Klang project (commissioned by the Bauhaus Festival) performed by acclaimed pianist Michael Wollny, who will interpret the influential art school’s manifesto through sound, improvising against a mechanical “phonola”, a music machine from the 1920s that operates a second grand piano programmed by fellow German pianist Wolfgang Heisig. Completing this innovative concert will be saxophonist Emile Parisien, electronics artist Leafcutter John and drummer Max Stadtfeld, while support comes from Brooklyn-based acoustic trio Dawn of Midi, who perform their response to Bauhaus’ austere aesthetic style.

Elsewhere, there’s a spiritual jazz summit featuring former Charles Mingus and Max Roach saxophonist Gary Bartz, part of a night under Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here banner which also includes Dwight Trible and Maisha (Royal Festival Hall, 16 Nov); as well as an evening of avantgarde electronica with Brighton-based musician Gazelle Twin collaborating with ‘drone choir’ NYX, who create visceral soundscapes with an edgy operatic twist (QEH, 20 Nov). Vocalist/performance artist Elaine Mitchener also pushes boundaries with her ‘Vocal Classics of the Black Avant-Garde’, which features her group of saxophonist/ MD Jason Yarde, trumpeter Byron Wallen, pianist Alexander Hawkins, bassist Neil Charles, drummer Mark Sanders and poet Dante Micheaux, all presenting the music of Eric Dolphy, Archie Shepp, Joseph Jarman and Jeanne Lee, among others (Purcell Room, 21 Nov).

Further additions to the programme include a tribute to the music of Blue Note, the label marking its 80th anniversary this year, with archival classics reinterpreted by musicians associated with influential London promoters Total Refreshment Centre (Queen Elizabeth Hall, 15 Nov). This show is complemented by north London’s monthly Jazz in the Round showcase, who present ‘Tributes to our Musical Heroes’ with Hexagonal playing the music of Bheki Mseleku and McCoy Tyner; Brit-jazz bass boss Dave Green saluting Oscar Pettiford and Jimmy Blanton, and guitarist Rob

Other concerts announced include singer Judi Jackson (Islington Assembly Hall, 17 Nov); African cellist Abel Selaocoe and Austrian percussionist Bernhard Schimpelsberger (Kings Place, 20 Nov); Pulled By Magnets, featuring Seb Rochford, Pete Wareham and Neil Charles (St John on Bethnal Green, 21 Nov); and Get the Blessing’s 20th Anniversary concert (Moth Club, 23 Nov). These shows join those already announced in Jazzwise, who are festival media partners. For the full line-up and tickets www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk www.markallengroup.com

Jazzwise is published by MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB Tel: +44 (0)20 8677 0012 Website: www.jazzwisemagazine.com Please read our privacy policy, by visiting http://privacypolicy.markallengroup.com. This will explain how we process, use & safeguard your data MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, 2019. All rights reserved. No part of the Jazzwise may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Publishing Director. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editor or Jazzwise Advertisements in the journal do not imply endorsement of the products or services advertised. ISSN 1368-0021 Printed by: Pensord Press Ltd, Blackwood, NP12 2YA Founded by Charles Alexander in 1997

4 Jazzwise September 2019

Hancock Heads Barbican Jazz Blitz

Herbie Hancock (pictured), Brad Mehldau and Wynton Marsalis are among the forthcoming attractions at London’s Barbican. Hancock crops up for a couple of dates, delivering a programme of much-loved melodies and surprise deep-cuts (17 November), before hooking up with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the stewardship of their renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel for a set of Latin American classical music, along with offerings from the venerated Hancock catalogue (19 November). Meanwhile, further-in-the-future thrills see the Brad Mehldau Trio continue to chart their singular course through jazz exploration, classical romanticism and pop culture (9 March, 2020), while Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra enter ‘The Jungle’, a musical portrait of New York City, in the company of the London Symphony Orchestra and its baton-wielding boss man, Sir Simon Rattle (30-31 May 2020).

Keep the diary clear, too, for other jazz-related activity at the Barbican, including Hackney Colliery Band, registering in full collaborative effect with select guests including UK jazz-funk legend James Taylor (5 October); Brooklyn-based Afro-beat ensemble Antibalas, paying tribute to the Queen of Soul with their ‘Respect to Aretha’ revue, featuring Zara McFarlane, Bettye LaVette and Alice Russell (12 September); Irreversible Entanglements’ Moor Mother, confronting colonialism and slavery via ‘The Great Bailout’ in collaboration with the London Contemporary Orchestra (23 October); former Mercury nominees Portico Quartet unleashing fresh sounds from their upcoming full-length on Gondwana Records (2 November) and iconic avant-gardists Art Ensemble of Chicago, celebrating 50 years of making “Great Black Music” (23 November). For more details on these and other events visit www.barbican.org.uk

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