Our favourite jazz club in Paris is called the Caveau des Oubliettes, a terrific Jazz venue which is located somewhere in between Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Notre Dame. Great concerts and jam sessions take place in the dusty cavern that used to be a jail, as is witnessed by the presence of chains and prisoner’s inscriptions on the wall! Entrance is free but you pay a little more for drinks. Jazz that is played here is contemporary (unlike the classic old jazz tunes that is played at the Caveau de la Huchette nearby!).
So on Friday night we went to see Amar Sundy who is a Tuareg-born guitarist from Algeria. Tuaregs are known as the blue men of the desert, because of their blue turbans. It definitely was a good thing that Sundy decided to turn his blue turban into blues music and moved to Chicago in the eighties. His performance that night in the Caveau was an original mixture of genuine Chicago-style electric blues that reminded me very much of Buddy Guy’s earlier days, and more traditional music from the Arabian deserts.

Click on pics to enlarge.

At our friends' wedding party in the very heart of London, we saw this unusual jazz trio for wedding party's, consisting of a bassist, guitarist and saxophonist, who played classic jazz tunes throughout the wedding breakfast. N had been discussing with the double-bass player, a professional musician who seemed very glad that we paid some attention to their performance.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

While exploring the neighbourhood near the rue des Saint-Pères in Paris, we passed through Rue de Verneuil and came across the house on number 5 bis with heavily tagged walls. It was here where the French lyricist and musician Serge Gainsbourg once lived. I took some pictures because I know Sinoc is a big fan... I like the red-marked message saying: Tu étais aux dieux, te voilà aux anges. "Aux dieux" which means "to the gods", is phonologically ambiguous because its pronunciation can also refer to "odieux" (meaning "obnoxious").



Click on the picture to enlarge. Yes, I messed around with the colours and obtained the present image... By the way, more info on the walls that honour Gainsbourg's memory can be found here.

...parce que je le vaux bien!


Isn't that marvelous? D managed to picture two Dutch clichés in one shot: (1) Dutch people are tall; (2) Dutch people love to eat "broodjes"!

Last December we watched the documentary Piano Blues (part of the DVD set Martin Scorsese presents the Blues) in which Clint Eastwood shares his fascination with piano jazz and blues. This documentary also features Dr. John, the colourful pianist and singer from New Orleans but currently living in New York. His earlier music from the sixties and the seventies is a melting pot of funk, New Orleans-style Rythm & Blues, psychedic rock, and Voodoo mysticism (of which the skull placed on top of his piano -see picture- is reminiscent). With his band, The Lower 911, Dr. John has recorded a CD as a tribute to the victims of the hurricane Katrina that devastated parts of his hometown New Orleans. Dr. John's performance was backed up by a guest appearance of saxophonist Branford Marsalis and contributed more to a swinging and funky ending of a terrific jazz festival.
The doctor was in good shape for a 64 year old man. He even got up from his piano and danced a few steps to the joy of everyone.

On festivals such as the North Sea Jazz fest, you are not only going to see musicians that you've been aching to see live for ages, it is also a formidable opportunity to discover new musicians. Such was definitely the case for us when we went to the small Yenisei Hall to see the Moutin Réunion Quartet, a French combo led by the Moutin twin brothers. The Quartet's music has been labeled as "contemporary bop", and sounded complex and sophisticated: the result of having two highly talented musicians who also hold a PhD in physics (François) and a MSc. in mathematics (Louis)? Anyway, Louis plays the drums, his brother excels in stand-up double bass and they are accompanied by Pierre de Bethmann on piano and saxophonist Rick Margitza.
When initially the twins played some tracks together, one could notice the natural connectedness between the two who have been jamming together since they were 5 years old. They seem to engage in some spirited telepathy as some journalist from the Boston Herald put it after he saw the brothers playing. Drummer Louis put his drumsticks away to continue with his hands and wrists to create dazzling sounds from his drum-set, and was in perfect interaction with his brother the bassist. Wow, these guys gave themselves for an uncompromising 2x100%, and were completely spent (as their sweat-soaked t-shirts attest) at the end of the concert, leaving the audience enchanted by their jazz sound, brought with immense skill, passion and enthusiasm. Encore! Encore!

Whereas N was very keen on seeing the Bluesman Buddy Guy, D had to see Paco de Lucia. So we did by booking extra tickets because an additional fee had to be paid to see the Spanish Flamenco guitarist at work.
Paco arrived on stage alone and played for 10 minutes some jaw-dropping guitar flamenco. D. had seen Steve Vai (and Steve can play the guitar!) but what Paco de Lucia was demonstrating at this moment was totally dazzling.
Then a percussionist and harmonica player entered the stage and played a couple of titles with Paco. This was followed by the entire ensemble (an electric bass player, another guitarist and a female singer) performing some beautifully deep flamenco, as sad as blues and as electrifying as jazz. But the first 10 minutes of Paco de Lucia playing alone were unforgettable.

Having attended The Bad Plus Clinic session, we were looking forward to their actual performance on stage. The festival’s guide classifies the trio's music as modern creative, but we are not so sure whether this label really covers their music (or any label for that matter...) The Bad Plus mixes devious deconstructions of jazz and rock hits combined with free improvisations. They even did a quite unexpected but bold interpretation of Narc, a track from Antics by one of N’s favourite indie rock bands Interpol.
Pianist Ethan Iverson uses some sort ceremonial effect, as if he were playing a pompous version of a Rachmaninov prelude... but beware, while bassist Reid Anderson instigates the grooves, David King drums as if his life depends on it, with a style that is unambiguously rock-oriented, sharp and pinpointed (and he knows how to amuse the audience by using a Fisher-Price toy from the sixties as an auxiliary percussion instrument!). Do we really have to take The Bad Plus seriously? No, just check these guys out and enjoy it!

Like a reverse Anakin Skywalker, Manu Katché has left the dark side of pop music for the jazz side. D, The world according to moi

In France Manu Katché is mostly known for his role as the severe (but righteous!) jury member of the French version of Idols. What most people ignore is that the drummer is the main protagonist in the jazz project entitled "neighbourhood". Katché has been a renowned drummer that played with numerous popstars such as Sting and Peter Gabriel, but he recently turned to his first love, jazz and created his own band Tendances in 2004. The project features trumpeter Tomasz Stanko and associated pianist and bassist. While the album was recorded with the brilliant saxophonist Jan Garbarek, it was the younger Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Steim who accompanied Katché et al. at the concert.
The tracks of Neighbourhood, most of which were played during the concert features the drummer's original compositions, and even though Katché is the leader of the gang, he does not dominate the music, leaving enough space for the other musicians as well. His drumming style is particularly impressive and colourful (he uses those small cymbals to add a whole range of subtle sounds to his [some people call it rock] drumming), but he isn't just focused on the soloing that Branford Marsalis has been complaining about. In all, the concert was a very enjoyable and powerful performance. We decided to buy the Neighbourhood album, a very atmospheric and evocative jazz album, with a minimalist sounds that are constructed in a linear fashion (not quite like the non-linear sounds of The Bad Plus and the likes). We highly recommend being in Katché's neighbourhood. It is -according to N- the perfect album when you need to drive at night! (though D prefers Led Zeppelin)

Mr. Carvin is one of the finest jazz drummers, someone who can compress his sound down to a whistle or spread it out like a building collapsing. Peter Watrous, New York Times

Sometimes hearing only one track is enough to appreciate the quality of a particular musician. N knew this terrific track played frequently on the French jazz radio TSF, which is entitled The lamp is low. This Ravel-derived melody is placed in a shuffle groove by the Carvin Quartet in such a way that makes you pat your foot to describe it in Carvin's very own words. The 61-year old drummer who recorded over 150 jazz albums (!) and founded his own Carvin School for Drumming, has remained relatively unknown, but recently stepped out of the anonymity by making a record for Marsalis Music (Honors Series). On that record, he is accompanied by three young and very talented musicians with whom he also played at the festival. It was cristal clear that Carvin is very pleased to be surrounded by these youngsters, as could be noticed from the way he presented them to the audience twice or three or even more times (let's hear it for Marcus Strickland [saxophonist], Marcus Strickland ladies and gentlemen, here is Marcus Strickland!!). But no pretense, Carvins's classic jazz standards groove ferociously, have a strong rhythmic character led by the man behind his kit, and are played with skill and passion. The drummer himself truly believes that if you don't have the beat, forget it... The Michael Carvin Quartet definitely has got the beat that we are not quite willing to forget!

The critically acclaimed trumpet player Roy Hargrove might be best known for his straight-ahead bebop jazz albums that he recorded with his quintet, but he also plays and sings in his band RH-factor which plays a mixture of R&B, Soul and jazz. Although Soul isn't really our cup of tea, seeing the concert was very nice because it brought together different styles of music. The RH-factor neatly bridges the gap between jazz, funk and soul, Hargrove being anything but a narrow minded jazz purist.

The Nile concert hall featured multi-screen video projection that were used to enhance visibility in every part of the hall.

A musician is someone who understands the art of creating emotion through sound. Branford Marsalis

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first jazz clinic with the Bad Plus on Friday, we decided to attend a second jazz clinic that was led by the New Orleans born saxophonist Branford Marsalis. This time, the small Volga concert hall was packed with people eager to learn what the charismatic saxophonist had to say about jazz. It definitely should be a lot, given the man's impressive CV and family credentials. Marsalis not only recorded numerous jazz albums, but he is also well versed in classical music (he played for instance a classically toned program with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra during the festival, a concert we missed). On top of that, he recently founded his music label called Marsalis Music from which several bands played in Rotterdam (e.g. the Michael Carvin Quartet).

For over an hour, people in the audience asked questions to Marsalis who exposed in a very informal and clear way his ideas on jazz music and how he learned to become a respected jazz musician himself merely by listening hours a day to a variety of musicians such as Ben Webster (whose tenderly song can add significantly to the power of seduction when played to a female audience according to Marsalis), John Coltrane, but also Bach and Chostakovitch.
A musician in the audience asked Marsalis how he deals with fear of failure, upon which he replied that he always bears in mind that it is more important where he goes than where he stands in his artistic development. Marsalis tries to see failure as an opportunity to play better next time whenever he felt he hadn't been playing all that well.
As surprising as it may seem, Marsalis turned out to be rather critical towards contemporary jazz musicians, blaming them for being far too focused on soloing. For instance, the bassist and the drummer should not play solos according to Branford (Note that the three acts that we saw that day after this clinic session are all led or strongly based on the drummer!). Whether or not one should agree with Marsalis remains a question of taste, but the man is certainly doing a great deal for the development of jazz music, and tries to popularize it. According to the Who's who festival guide, Marsalis was a musical director of the popular American Jay Leno's Tonight Show, has performed with artists such as Sting, and scored the smashing hit single Another day with Buckshot Lefonque a few years ago.
Attending a clinic with Branford Marsalis turned out to be very instructive, and we sort of regretted not having seen Marsalis in action, but then we did not know Marsalis would make a guest appearence on Sunday...

In spite of our sophisticated apparatus, the conditions were not always optimal to take nice pictures (i.e. distance between audience and musicians in the bigger concert halls -see post on Paco de Lucia; using flash-light was not always allowed etc.) N is still learning how to use her camera, but she has made some progress as can be seen as you scroll up this weblog. Sometimes N even managed to work her way through the crowds up to the front ranks of the stage to take pictures of Buddy Guy, Benny Golson or Dr. John, and was even thought to be a journalist at some point by a guy who probably reckoned that having a fancy camera around one's neck provides the necessary skills for being a good reporter...

As can be seen on this photo D. was wearing a t-shirt bought during the recent Zappa plays Zappa tour: Titties and beer, Zappa. I guess only people who have been to these concerts have this t-shirt. I was pretty surprised to see 4 people in all also wearing it in the Ahoy centre. And each time we acknowledged each other sometime with just a wink, sometime with a little chat. How's that for just a simple t-shirt? I now call it "The T-shirt of Luv".

I just wanted to watch Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Little Walter and them play the Blues like it's supposed to be done. Buddy Guy

Let's face it, Buddy Guy was the very reason for N coming to the North Sea Jazz Festival in the first place (well, she would have come anyway, but seeing Buddy Guy live was definitely on the top of her wish-list for a long time). Needless to say, Buddy Guy has influenced generations of rock titans, and not the least (Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix to name but a few). According to Clapton, Buddy Guy is simply the biggest Blues legend alive... and still kicking! What a hell of a performance: there was so much energy coming from the man who turns 70 by the end of July and used to joke that it is the Blues that keeps him young ! Guy played tracks from his latest album Bring 'em in, did a fabulous cover of the classic Fever, and honoured John Lee Hooker launching a "Boom Boom" at the end of his concert. Apart from being a great Bluesman, Buddy Guy is a genuine showman who got off the stage to continue playing and singing right in the middle of the audience, playing there as much for himself as for his audience, he licked trades with his keyboard player, and ended up picking and plugging strings with his teeth (reminds you of someone?) All in all, it was a stunning performance that is best described by the Legend himself who, near the end of the concert, whispered in his husky voice: I like it like that! So did we, Buddy, so did we!

Crossing the entire Ahoy centre from where the Golson concert took place to the Nile stage where Buddy Guy was going to play, was a nightmare. Hundreds of people were trying to do the same as us and hundreds more were trying to go the other way around. All this gigantic human traffic jam took place in a 5 meter wide corridor and the airco could not keep up with human-produced heat. But then D. saw a familiar face. Some old man was laughing and joking with friends and D. could not put a name on this face, albeit seen hundreds of times. Then, after having reached the Nile stage and swallowed a life-saving lager, this very visage appeared on a video played in between concerts on a giant screen. N. came to the rescue and said his name Ike Turner.
Yes, D. had seen Ike Turner in the crowd, or someone that looked a lot like him. As far as we could gather, Ike was not playing this year at the North Sea Jazz festival. Was he a special guest, just a spectator, or was it just not Ike?

Tenor saxophonist Benny Golson’s performance was entitled remembering Clifford, as a tribute to the jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown who died tragically in a car accident when he was only 26 years old.
Golson’s music is frequently defined as hard bop, which is -according to Wikipedia- an extension of bebop style, but incorporating Rhythm & Blues, Gospel and Blues influences, especially in the saxophone and piano playing. Hard bop was intended to be more accessible to the audiences unfamiliar with bebop (characterized by fast tempos and improvisation). Apart from the usual rhythm section, Golson was accompanied by two master trumpeters Dr. Eddie Henderson (a real doctor in psychiatry; Golson quipped that Henderson would face crazy people during the day and jazz people during the night) and Roy Hargove,who excelled at playing Charlie Parker’s Confirmation.

After the mind-boggling Bad Plus Clinic session, Golson’s classic jazz concert was almost reassuring and made a swinging hard bop tribute to Clifford Brown.

In collaboration with the International Association for Jazz Education, the festival presented a number of interesting “clinic sessions” during which visitors had the opportunity to interact with the jazz artists and become acquainted with numerous aspects of jazz music.

In the Bad Plus clinic session, the audience participated in a one-hour jam session (photo shows bass player Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King in action), during which the members tried hard to come up with an interpretation of a rush song. Although jam sessions are generally for the benefit of the performers, and not part of a public performance, it was really interesting to attend the clinic in that it gave a good impression of the process of creation and interaction between the three members, working slowly towards artistic coherence and consensus.

The audience was also free to comment on the jam session and to ask all sorts of questions to each of the three members about their opinion on music in general, their personal approaches to creating music, other musical activities (e.g., drummer David King is also a founding member of Happy Apple). A spectator asked David King how one can train to play in such an off beat manner with constant rhythm changes. David King replied that the best way was to repeat and repeat and to try, for instance, to emulate Joe Morello in Dave Brubeck Quartet famous "Take Five".

We have been called an avant-garde populist band by a NY paper, and we like that. Dave King