The Antarctic Biennale
CNN / VICE / MONOCLE 24: A pioneering expedition to the seventh continent sought to break down boundaries between art and science.
Richard Bona – Jazz Cafe, 30/3/08
It’s an incredible story. Born in a small village in Cameroon, Richard Bona was raised by a musical household and developed a talent for building instruments. As a teenager he was inspired to take up bass guitar after hearing Jaco Pastorius. In 1995 he moved to New York and has flourished into an international star....
John Scofield – Jazz Cafe, 29/3/08
How to begin a review of a concert at which one’s musical outlook has been picked up, shaken about, flung around haphazardly and finally set back down in a completely different state? John Scofield has enjoyed a rich and varied career, the nature of which is aptly mirrored in his guitar playing. Material from his...
Acoustic Ladyland – Vortex, 28/3/08
As the act which opened the new Vortex in 2005, Acoustic Ladyland hold a special place in the hearts of many club regulars. The band returned on March 28 to a full house of over 100 people, with the usual table layout abandoned to create an entirely different atmosphere. It is a standing audience which...
The Blessing – All Is Yes
One of the most sideways-thinking groups on the vibrant UK jazz scene, The Blessing are rapidly expanding outwards from their Bristol home. Signed on a three-album deal to Candid Records, the band has just completed a successful nationwide tour to promote the first in the series, All Is Yes. The title fits. It’s evident that...
Three Gigs, Two Cities, 48 Hours
An epic musical journey from downtown Bristol to fashionable Shoreditch via London’s South Bank, this could definitely be regarded as a full weekend. Saturday November 24 saw three of Bristol’s finest live acts and numerous DJs swarm to The Attic in Stokes Croft, a new underground venue starting to attract a lot of talent. A...
Tord Gustavsen Trio / Stefano Bollani & Enrico Rava
London Jazz Festival, Wednesday 21/11/07 In an evening designed to showcase the celebrated European record label ECM, listeners at the Barbican Centre were treated to a pair of highly differing acoustic performances. The Italian duo of maverick young pianist Stefano Bollani and veteran trumpeter Enrico Rava played with a zestful understanding that openly defied their...
Us3: The Struggle Continues
In 1992 Geoff Wilkinson produced the groundbreaking jazz/hip-hop crossover track “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia),” gaining international recognition with his Us3 project. Fourteen years and six albums down the line he’s still going strong, but it could all have been very different. Here he tells AAJ contributor Frederick Bernas about the highs and lows of his long...
Blessed With Good Taste
From starting out as a loosely-organised acoustic jazz tribute act, The Blessing have moved on to develop a unique sound which matches their exotic culinary preferences. Frederick Bernas met two members of the Bohemian Bristol-based group. Easton is a part of Bristol with a notoriously interesting reputation, so naturally I was eager to step out...
James Taylor Quartet – Don’t Mess With Mr. T
James Taylor’s vintage Hammond-led outfit has consistently delighted lovers of jazz, funk and R&B in equal measure over the last twenty years. The group is most famous for its signature tune, the “Theme From Starsky and Hutch,” but this album shows greater variety than the standard jam workout. Don’t Mess With Mr. T: James Taylor...
Robert Mitchell – Equinox
British pianist Robert Mitchell, yet another distinguished alumnus of bassist Gary Crosby’s Tomorrow’s Warriors development programme for young British jazz musicians, throws up many questions on his ambitious solo release Equinox. Performing alone is not unusual to Mitchell: as recently as 2004 he played opening recitals for saxophone luminaries Wayne Shorter and Branford Marsalis. The...
Elan Mehler Quartet – Scheme For Thought
Scheme For Thought was released on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings in September 2007, accompanied by a series of gigs around London by pianist Elan Mehler and his quartet. This group has completely abandoned standard notions of jazz: the absence of a drummer and repeated use of arco playing on the double bass give an almost...
Empirical
Empirical burst onto the international music scene at the 2007 North Sea Jazz Festival, beating four other bands to win the inaugural European Jazz Competition. Two days later, with perfect timing, their self-titled debut album hit the shops. British saxophonist Courtney Pine had been keeping a keen eye on the quintet’s progress and produced the...
