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6 gigs in a couple of weeks
Posted by georgemc on 19 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: music
it has been a splendid last couple of weeks for going to gigs here in Edinburgh:
27th July: Georgie Fame
I was a bit dubious about this but my brother-in-law Ally tempted me with the “Hammond B3″ lure, and indeed it featured. I was just a wee boy in the 60s, so my memories of Georgie are of the tunes that got further playing as I got older, such as “Bonny and Clyde” and “Yeh Yeh”. Turns out the gig was much better than I expected, maybe because I haven’t listened to his happy banter between songs before, or experienced him belting out the songs with a very impressive voice, and that his encore on solo piano was stormingly good, as he quipped “eat your heart out Mr. Jules Holland”.
28th July: Jafala
Jafala stands for “Jazz and Funk and Latin and Other” and they are a local band featuring my drum teacher, Terry Sloan, so I was very keen to go to this gig, and they were great. Which is more than can be said for the pub audience, some of whom had their backs to the band while talking. I have a friend of a friend who would pour his pint over such people. Anyway, I very much enjoyed their set, especially when Terry let rip on the kit.
Whatever Jazz cred I may have had I blew by identifying their opening number as “Freddie Freeloader” rather than “All Blues”. So rather than dwelling on my failing brain, may I just say that their very fine sax and horn players know their stuff even if I don’t.
1st August: Dr John and the Lower 911
The band rocked and Dr John delivers magic. I hate to mention it, but our local newspaper gave this gig a hostile review which was oblivious to the sheer musicality and theatre of the event, so I cheerfully borrow the above photo from them and ask them to employ reviewers who love music. My only prior knowledge of the Dr. is the wonderful Marianne Faithfull album Strange Weather where he has a brilliant solo spot on piano. Based on that I was prepared to be entertained by the live experience, and indeed, I was, and then some. Splendid!
So I’m hoping this set with the Lower 911 is a great introduction to the music I shall hear when I go gigging (in the giving a seminar and software expo sense) with Perspector in New Orleans at the end of October at PPT Live!
5th August: Spencer Davis Group
Spencer Davis had hitherto never meant much to me other than being the bloke that had the band with the young Steve Winwood belting out “Gimme Some Lovin”. This great clip on YouTube demonstrates that he was also the coolest dude saying “Hey” at the time. Wind forward 40 years and we find a stormingly tight and expert group who delight at every turn. So since I didn’t know much about SDG, the major revelations were
- Miller Anderson, who has an amazing voice as well as a guitar technique honed by 40 years of professional playing. Miller was a member of the Keef Hartley Band who played at Woodstock, but they didn’t appear in the movie. His fascinating career involving many bands over the years is documented on his website.
- Eddie Hardin, who had the task of taking over from Steve, and has being doing so for 40 years. I didn’t know that, and again I found his website very interesting too. He knows his way around the Hammond.
- Colin Hodgkinson, killer solo spot and solid rythmn. Again, an amazing CV.
- Steff Porcell, tough also to fill Pete York’s shoes, but Steff does so with aplomb.
They played a great set, but the evening was not complete since they are touring with:
5th August:The Yardbirds
A very good value double bill, since the The Yardbirds did not drop the torch from SDG but kept on rockin. The original members Jim McCarty (drums) and Chris Dreja (rythmn guitar) have recruited great younger blood who you can read about here. They work together and make stirring loud music (what more do you want?).
13th August: Tony Montana Organ Trio
Who I blogged about here. And if you missed that post, may I just say that you should go and hear Tony’s trio if you can.
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A very inspirational couple of weeks and proof that old rockers still have a lot to offer. I already knew that having gone to see The Who at Hyde Park last year, but it doesn’t hurt to broadcast the thought. Keep on rockin!
And Jeff Beck, and your mate Jan Hammer - please come back to Scotland!
Tony Monaco Organ Trio in Edinburgh
Posted by georgemc on 15 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: drumming, music
On Monday I went to The Jazz Bar to see the Tony Monaco Organ Trio; it was a fantastic gig, and if you are in Edinburgh this week, they are playing every night at 11.00pm until Sunday 19th August.
Tony has an amazing command of the Hammond B3; he provides the bass line on pedals and lower manual, while working melodic magic on the top manual. I love the dynamic range of effects, voices and volume the Hammond has to offer, and Tony knows how to show them off.
Just as important to the task at hand, Tony and the rest of the trio groove really well together, and Ross Milligan (guitar) and Adam Sorenson (drums) get to show off their chops too.
Here is a great clip posted on YouTube from a Jazz Bar gig from last year for the same lineup:
For a very interesting interview with Tony where he talks about a phonecall from Jimmy Smith on his 16th birthday, go to here.
The Body As Source
Posted by georgemc on 09 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: music
Nick Rothwell is a pal who shared my joy of electronic music and music technology when we compared notes on such stuff in the 80s and early 90s. We recently traded emails and it was with increasing pleasure that I listened to his mp3s on http://www.myspace.com/cassieldotcom - here is my review of them:
“The Body as Source” - excellent - I loved the build up, and then regretted that it had to end. Great “orchestral pads” in the middle. Bravo. I like the way Nick isn’t afraid to have different levels of VOLUME.
“Insidious Sedation” has a nicely isolated piano over a *very* Schulzey vocoder thing going on. (Schulze is Klaus Schulze, and you should seek him out, I recommend everything before, but including, Audentity).
plate 21 - splendid! Bells and drums and stuff.
fumi - sounds like the soundtrack to a David Lynch movie, which is fine…
Cheers Nick!
Chaosmachine
Posted by georgemc on 04 Jun 2007 | Tagged as: music
A few weeks back when I was selecting a hosting service for my blog, I came across the Blamcast site, which has an endorsement of the An Hosting service which I also ultimately chose and which I am happy to report is panning out fine, but more importantly, I discovered the fine music of Chaosmachine (aka John Forsythe, Blamcast’s creator).
For tracks just randomly discovered on the net it is amazingly good; it somewhat pains me to compare/label, but I hope John won’t be offended if I suggest an echo from the works of Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin). Anyway, check out the tracks. I think my favourite is “to live as if you were dreaming”, which has very pleasing detunings and an effective drum track.