Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Claudia Quintet at Vortex
At the Vortex tomorrow (Thursday), The Claudia Quintet. Led by John Hollenbeck, the band includes Drew Gress, Chris Speed and others. Be there!!!! www.vortexjazz.co.uk 020 7254 4097. Just £9, or £7 if you're a concession. Much cheaper than when they play in Cheltenham at the weekend....
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Dublin 12 points
I spent two days at the new 12 Points festival put on by Gerry Godley in Dublin. Big congratulations to Gerry for working out a way of putting young musicians together in this way, giving many a great opportunity to get international festival experience at an early point in their careers. Led Bib were there, and played stormingly, as I would hope and expect. The other great impact over the two days was by Carsten Daerr from Berlin. Dynamism, tightness and effective interplay. Now I have to try and work out a way to get them to London. I was glad to hear some of the other bands there, such as Daniel Szabo from Hungary, but didn't feel that they had that "special" feature that means that I would want to bring them to London. It's always been a principle behind Babel that I try and record artists that have a uniqueness and validity to be heard beyond the confines of their own locality. It's a relief that Led Bib proved themselves here, and Fraud are one of the next in the line that I have been lucky to find.
It's vitally important that young bands get chances to cross borders and develop careers around Europe. Some governments realise this, such as the Goethe Institut. The British Council no longer knows how, concentrating on the political agenda further afield. Promoters such as Gerry do this by organising festivals, and also manage to bring in outsiders - such as me - to hear. The Vortex, by contrast, has to work out ways of integrating it into the annual programme. Such bands are coming in, often at the behest of musicians themselves, as was the case at the recent F-Ire festival, where musicians such as Stephane Payen came and played the club. It's difficult to get the curiosity levels of the public up. Persistence is one way that we'll do it, I hope.
ONE LAST REQUEST FOR YOU TO VOTE FOR FRAUD AND FINN FOR THE BBC JAZZ AWARDS. Link through from here.
It's vitally important that young bands get chances to cross borders and develop careers around Europe. Some governments realise this, such as the Goethe Institut. The British Council no longer knows how, concentrating on the political agenda further afield. Promoters such as Gerry do this by organising festivals, and also manage to bring in outsiders - such as me - to hear. The Vortex, by contrast, has to work out ways of integrating it into the annual programme. Such bands are coming in, often at the behest of musicians themselves, as was the case at the recent F-Ire festival, where musicians such as Stephane Payen came and played the club. It's difficult to get the curiosity levels of the public up. Persistence is one way that we'll do it, I hope.
ONE LAST REQUEST FOR YOU TO VOTE FOR FRAUD AND FINN FOR THE BBC JAZZ AWARDS. Link through from here.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Don't you love live music?
It's so exciting to work with some of the musicians in this scene. Such a diversity from one day to the next and such quality.
Thursday was a showcase at Steinway Hall for Richard Fairhurst and Tom Arthurs. What a sense of history when you walk around the million pounds worth of pianos there. A hall of fame including Berlioz, Stravinsky, Duke Ellington, Schnabel - and Richard Fairhurst. Totally acoustic, and incredible empathy (A word which I learnt when doing my bouncer's course.)
Meanwhile yesterday, Partisans truly confirmed why it's great when a band continues for years (in their case celebrating 10 years). It's become a sort of jazz "super group" with Phil Robson and Julian Siegel themselves proving themselves in all sorts of musical configurations. Chris Batchelor slotted in and really created a fantastic gig. The start, with Max, was gobsmacking. No wonder I couldn't get them out of the Vortex till 2 a.m. Why this band didn't get nominated for a BBC Jazz Award, I'll really never know. Of course, I'm happy for the others, such as Finn. Go for it, guys!
Thursday was a showcase at Steinway Hall for Richard Fairhurst and Tom Arthurs. What a sense of history when you walk around the million pounds worth of pianos there. A hall of fame including Berlioz, Stravinsky, Duke Ellington, Schnabel - and Richard Fairhurst. Totally acoustic, and incredible empathy (A word which I learnt when doing my bouncer's course.)
Meanwhile yesterday, Partisans truly confirmed why it's great when a band continues for years (in their case celebrating 10 years). It's become a sort of jazz "super group" with Phil Robson and Julian Siegel themselves proving themselves in all sorts of musical configurations. Chris Batchelor slotted in and really created a fantastic gig. The start, with Max, was gobsmacking. No wonder I couldn't get them out of the Vortex till 2 a.m. Why this band didn't get nominated for a BBC Jazz Award, I'll really never know. Of course, I'm happy for the others, such as Finn. Go for it, guys!
The Spitz - worrying news
The Spitz has announced that it is under risk of closing in September. Disaster, as there are so few venues for that sort of music of that size in London. How can we save it or replace it?
I hope that they find some sort of person who can act as a mentor and passionate saviour. We had this at the Vortex, with people like Tim Ward, Derek Drescher and myself, while the Hackney Empire was lucky enough to get hold of Griff Rhys-Jones. The problem faced by the Vortex was also made a bit easier that the size of venue that we were looking for was just for 100 people. The Spitz is that bit larger. Knowing the attitude of some commercial property developers making grabs at the area close to the City and in "fashionable" East London, I am really worried that the Spitz itself is lost unless there is a dramatic change somewhere.
However, with old factories and so on coming free, maybe there's an alternative even if it takes some time for it to develop. Of course, this leads to the other problem of local authorities and licensing. I know full well how problematic these guys can be in Hackney, where they don't have a jobsworth, but a Papworth.
If you've got a few million to spare, give it to the Spitz now. If you've got a building to spare, call the Spitz immediately.
Good luck Spitz! Good luck Rupert
I hope that they find some sort of person who can act as a mentor and passionate saviour. We had this at the Vortex, with people like Tim Ward, Derek Drescher and myself, while the Hackney Empire was lucky enough to get hold of Griff Rhys-Jones. The problem faced by the Vortex was also made a bit easier that the size of venue that we were looking for was just for 100 people. The Spitz is that bit larger. Knowing the attitude of some commercial property developers making grabs at the area close to the City and in "fashionable" East London, I am really worried that the Spitz itself is lost unless there is a dramatic change somewhere.
However, with old factories and so on coming free, maybe there's an alternative even if it takes some time for it to develop. Of course, this leads to the other problem of local authorities and licensing. I know full well how problematic these guys can be in Hackney, where they don't have a jobsworth, but a Papworth.
If you've got a few million to spare, give it to the Spitz now. If you've got a building to spare, call the Spitz immediately.
Good luck Spitz! Good luck Rupert
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Billy Jenkins on Youtube
Some great Billy Jenkins footage on Youtube. There's more from the Songs of Praise tour than this.
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