Photograph of Hiromi sourced from the EFG London Jazz Festival website http://www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

EFG London Jazz Festival 2015, Wednesday 18/11/2015

The Wednesday of the Festival was a very busy day for me as I managed to catch something of six performances at four different venues beginning with;

TOY ROKIT / URCHIN, PIZZA EXPRESS JAZZ CLUB

This free lunchtime double bill at the Pizza featured the music of two new bands, the electro-improvising trio Toy Rokit and Urchin, the latest project from the young guitarist and composer Leo Appleyard.

TOY ROKIT

First up were Toy Rokit, a trio featuring Bill Mudge on keyboards and electronics, Mark Rose on electric bass and Chris Nickolls at the drums. I’ve heard Mudge playing Hammond before and prior to today’s event I was expecting to hear a relatively conventional organ trio. However Toy Rokit are very different to that, their music is much more contemporary and is far more influenced by contemporary dance music and electronica than by Blue Note era classic jazz.

Mudge’s set up included loopers and samplers and various other electronic devices and only a rudimentary keyboard, his role was very much that of sound manipulator. With electric bass and drums in the equation the focus was also very much on groove and rhythm, there was little of the feyness or abstractedness of some other electro-improvising groups.

As Rose later explained the trio’s music is entirely improvised and they began with a twenty minute excursion that began in spacey, ethereal fashion before the interlocking pulses generated by Mudge’s keyboards and electronics and Nickolls’ Roland drum machine coalesced to create a kind of electro-jazz that owed more to Kraftwerk and other bands from the ‘Krautrock’ era than to orthodox jazz sources. The space theme continued with Mudge triggering voice samples of astronauts from the Apollo/NASA space programme before Rose and Nickolls locked into a groove to form the bedrock for a more conventional keyboard solo from Mudge. It hadn’t been what I’d expected to hear but it was interesting and imaginative and also accessible and enjoyable.

As if to emphasise the improvisational nature of the music Rose enquired of his bandmates “who’s going to start this one” as they embarked upon their second improvisation. Following the 70s influences of the first piece the trio now moved on to embrace 80s synth pop with a series of catchy hooks and strong grooves. This second piece lasted around fifteen minutes with the trio upping the ante with some banging grooves that echoed the sounds of house and techno before moving closer to the realm of math rock as the rhythms and grooves became more complicated.

A shorter final piece saw Rose’s bass taking on melodic duties for a while before eventually locking in the Nickolls, a man once famously described on the Jazzmann site as the “groovemeister”, to produce some suitably hypnotic rhythms to accompany Mudge’s flights of fancy and deep space explorations on synthesisers and electronics. Sometimes I was reminded of Hawkwind and maybe Pink Floyd too.

This was improvised music accessible enough to be warmly appreciated by a lunchtime audience who were maybe unsure of quite what they were going to get. I hope I’ve managed to convey something of what Toy Rokit’s music sounded like but this quote from their website http://www.toyrokit.com also summarises it nicely;
“Toy Rokit always launch into the unknown on a mission to take their electronic improvisation to uncharted space. Fuelled by Jazz and experimental music, Toy Rokit’s beats and soundscapes evolve over time, touching down on styles from House to Hip-Hop as they tweak loopers, samplers and any other gadgets they can get their hands on”

URCHIN

Guitarist and composer Leo Appleyard’s début album “Pembroke Road” was released to considerable critical acclaim in 2014. It was very much a jazz record and featured the clean, clear classic jazz guitar sound of the leader. I later saw the “Pembroke Road” quintet give an excellent live performance at The Hive Music and Media Centre in Shrewsbury.

Appleyard’s latest project sees him taking an unexpected turn into the world of song based music and forging closer links with the world of pop and soul with vocalist Agne Moties fronting an eight piece band featuring Duncan Eagles (soprano sax), Piers Green (alto sax), Hoagy Plastow (tenor sax), Paul Jordanous (keyboards) and Holley Grey (bass) with Chris Nickolls returning to the drum stool to play his second gig of the day. Collectively known as Urchin the octet looks set to be Appleyard’s main creative outlet for the foreseeable future. 

Of the above line up only Eagles remains from the “Pembroke Road” band and in general the music of Urchin is more energetic and dynamic than that of the quintet with electric instrumentation more widely used. For all the pop and soul influences there is still plenty of jazz content in Urchin’s music as exemplified by the spirited all instrumental opener which saw the solos shared around the three man horn section.

Motie joined the band for the second tune (I think it may have been called “Right Place”), singing her own lyrics to Appleyard’s original composition with Eagles taking the instrumental honours with a fine soprano sax solo. Appleyard has cited artists such as Cinematic Orchestra, Portico Quartet, Mark Guiliana’s Beat Music and Robert Glasper as influences on his new band’s sound while his own website likens them to the pop/rock band London Grammar but with a three man sax section.

The next piece began more reflectively before gaining momentum with Motie’s soulful vocals augmented by some keyboard work on a two manual instrument by Paul Jordanous, a versatile musician best known for his work as a trumpet player.

Appleyard explained that the song “Sketches” had grown out of jam session at his local pub and his funky rhythm guitar allied to Jordanous’ synth provided the launch pad for an earthy tenor sax solo from Plastow.

Far from the pure guitar sound of “Pembroke Road” Appleyard’s axe was drenched in echo effects on the intro to the next song, a slice of pop melody adorned by solos from Green on alto sax and Appleyard himself on guitar.

An all too short set concluded with a cover of “Show Me Love”, the 1990 clubland hit by the American artist Robin S. Not surprisingly the original is a song that rather passed me by but I thoroughly enjoyed the version by Urchin which again saw Appleyard showing off his lead guitar skills. 

The music of Urchin may be very different to that of “Pembroke Road” but it still has much to commend it. These are young musicians and it’s a perfectly natural process for them to pursue aspects of the pop and dance culture that they’ve inevitably grown up with. It’s less to my personal taste than Appleyard’s more jazz orientated material for quartet/quintet but the Urchin sound has the potential to reach out to a far wider audience. The group was certainly well received by a predominately jazz audience today which suggests that Appleyard will retain a substantial portion of his existing fan base, myself among them. There’s clearly more than one string to Leo Appleyard’s bow (and six to his guitar!), his is a star that will continue to rise. 

YAZZ AHMED QUARTET, RAY’s JAZZ AT FOYLE’S

I first discovered the music of trumpeter and composer Yazz Ahmed at the 2014 EFG London Jazz Festival when her septet Family Hafla gave an enjoyable Sunday afternoon performance at The Vortex in Dalston. More recently I attended and reviewed the première of her suite “Alhaan al Siduri”, commissioned by the Birmingham based Jazzlines organisation, Ahmed being one of three ‘Jazzlines Fellows’ appointed in 2014 with the support of the Jerwood Charitable Foundation.

Ahmed’s suite was performed at the CBSO Centre in Birmingham by a ten piece ensemble and was an artistic triumph. However today’s show in the new performance space at Foyle’s was very different, the quartet essentially being a scaled down version of the Family Hafla group featuring Ralph Wyld on vibes, Dave Manington on electric bass and Will Glaser at the drums.

Much of the material played tonight also featured at last year’s Hafla show, some of it sourced from her 2011 début recording “Finding My Way Home”, a follow up album is imminent.

Tonight’s show began with “Wah-Wah Sowhawha”, a tune from that first album which featured the sound of Wyld’s bowed vibes on the intro before Manington set up a five string electric bass groove augmented by the shuffling rhythms of Glaser’s drums on a tight, riffy piece that explored Arabic scales and rhythmic patterns. Solos came from Wyld with a dazzling demonstration of the four mallet technique and from Ahmed herself on trumpet, the leader sometimes manipulating her sound electronically via means of a Kaoss pad.

The atmospheric “Whispering Gallery” was part of Ahmed’s EFG London Jazz Festival commission for 2014 and was inspired by St. Paul’s Cathedral and the field recordings captured there by the composer. More reflective than the opener the piece featured Ahmed on flugelhorn , looping and layering the instrument to increase the textural richness of the piece. Wyld and Manington delivered delightfully melodic solos as the piece segued into the ballad “Finding My Way Home” with Wyld again featuring as a soloist. Ahmed informed us that the melody of the second piece was a transposition of an improvised solo by the electric bass virtuoso Janek Gwizdala, one of Ahmed’s collaborators on the “Finding My Way Home” album.

“El Ahmadi” continued the earlier explorations with Arabian rhythms and included solos from Wyld on vibes, Ahmed on electronically enhanced trumpet and Manington on beautiful, liquid, Steve Swallow style electric bass.

I would estimate that this was around the halfway point of the performance but unfortunately I had to leave early to head down to the South Bank for my next event. It was good to see Yazz Ahmed perform live again, especially in a different format to the two previous events I’d witnessed. I shall look forward to the new album with anticipation and hope to capture another full live performance again at some point in the future.

HIROMI, ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL

The Japanese pianist and composer Hiromi Uehara, known universally simply as Hiromi, is one of the big success stories of jazz, an artist with a huge following that transcends genres, many pop and rock fans are also drawn to Hiromi’s music, hence her headlining the 2000 seater Royal Festival Hall.

I first heard of Hiromi back in 2003. Then aged twenty four she appeared at that year’s Brecon Jazz Festival at an outdoor stage as part of the Stroller programme. Ironically that was the only time I’ve ever missed Brecon entirely, I was obliged to attend a wedding in far off Ramsgate which entailed going away for an entire weekend.

However my friend Sarah attended the Hiromi gig at Brecon and enthused wildly about this astonishing young Japanese pianist. Sarah plays piano herself so I set great store by her words and remembered them a full twelve years later when Hiromi was scheduled to play At EFG LJF 2015.

I must admit that despite Sarah’s recommendation I’d never really checked Hiromi out on disc despite there being some ten albums to choose from, I always got the impression that they might be a bit too fusion like for my current tastes. But it was Hiromi’s technical skill and dynamism as a live performer that most impressed Sarah so I decided that the opportunity to witness this live performance was too good to miss.

Hiromi has released three albums with her current band The Trio Project featuring the veteran American electric bassist Anthony Jackson and the acclaimed rock session drummer Simon Phillips.
Jackson has performed with many of America’s leading musicians across a variety of genres, Phillips has appeared on literally hundreds of albums.

Music technology was to play a significant role in tonight’s event with a mini synthesiser perched on top of Hiromi’s grand piano and with Phillips, looking like a superannuated hippy, almost hidden behind a monstrous drum kit that could have doubled as a percussion showroom. Jackson played his distinctive six string “contrabass guitar” but he was far too low in the mix and the subtleties of his playing were too often drowned out by the forcefulness of his bandmates, particularly the hard hitting Phillips.

Hiromi, with her hair piled high upon her head introduced the first tune “Spark” with a passage of solo piano, subsequently doubling and layering the melody line on synthesiser before her colleagues came in. The music had a rhythmic drive that reminded me variously of E.S.T. and the Neil Cowley Trio and it was apparent from the start that Hiromi is a pianist with a prodigious technique and that she is also an energetic and flamboyant entertainer. A highlight of the first number were her vivid and animated exchanges with the technically gifted Phillips, a monster drummer but ultimately a rock player who, for me, lacked the sympathy and subtlety of the best of his jazz counterparts.

All of the pieces on the Trio Project’s latest album “Alive” sport one word titles. “Player” incorporated a feature for Jackson but even when he was soloing his playing still wasn’t sharply defined enough in comparison with the other instruments. Jackson could still be heard relatively clearly as he played a walking bass line behind one of Hiromi’s few conventional jazz solos as Phillips temporarily sat out. Hiromi’s solo was a typically dazzling affair and even managed to throw in a Thelonious Monk quote to keep the purists happy. A closing section featuring rapid fire arpeggios with Hiromi’s hands and fingers a blur was little short of stunning.

Following a further solo piano introduction the tune “New Indulgence” added a soul jazz element with Jackson playing funk bass lines with his thumb and finding more of a space in the mix.

It was back to the hammer and tongs approach for the set closer, an often thunderous affair that included some dynamic contrast thanks to the dialogue between Hiromi on piano and Jackson on guitar like contrabass. But this was eclipsed by Hiromi’s later solo as she pummelled the keyboard with her fists in another crowd pleasing display that combined showmanship with a prodigious technique. The partisan crowd, which included a high proportion of Japanese nationals was equally excited by Phillips frequently explosive drum feature, another example of phenomenal technical prowess. Following all this expending of energy both band and audience were glad of a rest.

Set two offered no let up in the intensity, but unfortunately no adjustments had been made to the sound and Jackson’s playing remained indistinct. However we began with a real concert highlight as Hiromi came out alone to play a brilliant solo piano version of her composition “Place To Be” that introduced a welcome dose of lyricism and which was absolutely riveting, even the occasional interior scrapings. For some audience members it may have represented a tempting aperitif before Keith Jarrett’s solo piano concert in the same hall scheduled for two nights later.

Jackson and Phillips returned for “Take Me Away”, another piece with an expansive and impressive Hiromi solo and a playful Phillips drum feature but with Jackson too often inaudible.

“Seeker” featured a lengthy solo piano introduction in which I thought a detected an allusion to a reasonably contemporary pop hit although I had no idea what it might have been. As Hiromi and Jackson conversed over a solid Phillips backbeat I noted that Jackson was surrounded by a glass booth, presumably so he could hear his own playing.

The second set closed with the epic “In A Trance” introduced by a piano and drum dialogue and featuring staggering solo features from both Hiromi and Phillips as Jackson again found himself somewhat sidelined. Hiromi’s solo was a tour de force, as a pianist she really is a force of nature. Phillips’ monumental drum solo dated right back to the mammoth hammerings of Ginger Baker and other behemoths of the prog rock era as Hiromi abandoned the piano stool and wandered over to the drummer’s side of the stage so that she could watch her bandmate more intently.

Naturally the audience loved these musical fireworks and summoned the group back for a hard driving encore that included a final feature for Jackson.

I came away with mixed feelings, the show had certainly been a high energy technical tour de force presented with verve and showmanship. I could see why so many people loved it and were so impressed, Hiromi and the trio elicited something like hero worship from some sections of the crowd. But for me it was lacking in real substance, not enough genuine light and shade apart from Hiromi’s solo piano feature on “Place To Be”, for me the real highlight of the performance. And of course the position of Jackson’s bass in the mix was a constant source of irritation throughout. Speaking to other fans after the gig it seemed that many were of the same opinion An interesting experience nevertheless, and one that I’m glad I took the opportunity of enjoying. A rather belated thank you for the tip off, Sarah.

KIT DOWNES and ROBERT LANDFERMANN
PETER EHWALD’S DOUBLE TROUBLE,
THE VORTEX

After the Hiromi gig I hotfooted my way to the Vortex hoping to catch something of the late night double bill featuring the Kit Downes/Robert Landfermann Duo and the band Double Trouble led by Berlin based saxophonist and composer Peter Ehwald.

I arrived in time to hear the very last number from pianist Downes and bassist Landfermann. However it turned out that this wasn’t a duo as the pre-gig publicity had suggested. The pair had been joined throughout by cellist Lucy Railton, Downes’ regular partner in the group Tricko, and for this final number the band had grown to a quartet with the addition of drummer Jonas Burgwinkel.

Instead of the lyrical and delicate piano and double bass duets I’d been expecting this was spiky, full on group improvisation as the quartet extemporised around a Lanfermann composition simply titled “Rot” (or “Red” if you prefer). It was powerful stuff and I was sorry not to have seen more of this.

Landfermann and Burgwinkel were soon to return to the stage as part of Double Trouble, a new quartet led by Peter Ehwald, a musician best known to UK audiences as a member of the Anglo-German group Paragon.

Double Trouble is unusual in possessing two double bass players with Landfermann and Burgwinkel being joined by Andreas Lang in a very busy engine room. The first number “In The Zone” began by featuring Lang playing pizzicato bass and Landfermann arco but this was far from typical. The majority of the time both bassists played pizzicato but passed the rhythmic, melodic and soloing duties around constantly with the roles frequently alternating several times within the course of a single tune. It was fascinating to watch this process in action and to marvel at the rapport between the players, there was very little actual doubling up going on.

Meanwhile the melodic focus was almost exclusively on Ehwald who rose to the challenge magnificently. As evidenced by his work with Paragon his playing always possesses an underlying lyricism no matter how far he probes or digs in on his solos. As a band Double Trouble thus remains accessible even in its most challenging moments. This approach was exemplified by the tune “Double Trouble” itself which began with the two basses dovetailing above the sound of Burgwinkel’s gentle and highly musical mallet rumbles. The drummer and Landfermann already have a well established rapport thanks to their long standing collaboration as members of pianist Pablo Held’s trio. Later during the course of the tune Ehwald soloed expansively on tenor sax as the bassists continued to change roles freely and fluidly.

The next piece also featured a twin bass intro followed by a tight, riffy theme played by Ehwald on tenor sax before he embarked on another freewheeling solo. I suspect that this may have been “Mr Soju”, a a track from the band’s excellent album “Double Trouble Live” recorded at various locations across Germany.

The atmospheric introduction to the next piece, described by Ehwald as a ‘love song’ (I think it may have been “Rain” from the album, Ehwald’s announcements were frequently enigmatic and rarely included actual titles) featured flamenco style strumming on the twin bass intro plus Lang’s distinctive work below the bridge allied to the sound of Burgwinkel’s bowed cymbals. Ehwald moved to soprano for this one, eventually breaking loose to demonstrate his considerable abilities on the straight horn.

Ehwald returned to the tenor for the next item delivering a blisteringly intense solo above the thunderous rhythms generated by Burgwinkel and the two bassists. Burgwinkel was featured as a soloist as was Landfermann who produced some juddering, almost impossibly grainy arco figures. I suspect that this was “Bohdan”, a tune from the album that also features a solo from Burgwinkel.

A tune written by Ehwald about the sense of alienation he felt as his high school reunion introduced an element of quirkiness of the kind I sometimes associate with Paragon with its pecked sax phrases and Landfermann using his bass as an auxiliary percussion instrument.

Finally the new tune “Speed Dating” ended the performance on an energetic note. The emphasis was very much on speed with the quartet delivering some delicious Acoustic Ladyland style skronk with Lanfermann sawing away on his bow as Ehwald honked and hooted and Burgwinkel pummelled his drum kit. Great stuff. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Double Trouble’s performance and later got to speak with the amiable Peter Ehwald plus publicist Lee Paterson. It turned out that in his capacity as a fan Ehwald had been to some of the same gigs as me, turning up to support his friends in Amok Amor at The Vortex on Monday and marvelling at the Maria Schneider Orchestra at Cadogan Hall on Tuesday. Ehwald had been particularly keen to check out the tenor playing of Rich Perry, the American clearly being a key influence and something of an idol to the young German. However Ehwald has clearly found his own voice on saxophone and looks to become a significant force on the European jazz scene in the years to come.       

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