Posts Tagged ‘Gilad Atzmon’

This concert had everything you need to make a really enjoyable and exciting evening.  It had a very strong theme, that is music inspired by the Charlie Parker with Strings album made in the early 1950s, virtuosic playing from Gilad Atzmon and the Sigamos String Quartet, a combination of  serious musical content and accessibility to keep both  the jazz fan and the more general fan happy, an excellent approach to presentation with clear and entertaining announcements and a good appreciative audience.

What particularly impressed me was the way Gilad and Ros Stephens, leader of the string quartet and Musical Director for the project had developed a mix of material some of which was quite close to the original Parker performances, e.g. April in Paris (or April in Birmingham as Gilad called it!) or Laura, others being arrangements that had taken inspiration from the approach without being on the original Parker album and then others that moved some way away from the theme and drew on the Middle Eastern material that Gilad has been working with recently with the excellent Orient House Ensemble.  This made for an extremely varied evening of music with almost perfect balancing of the material so that we began quite close to the original Parker, then moved away into the Middle East and finally moved back to more familiar tunes.

Gilad was on top form, mostly on alto saxophone showing the Parker inspiration in his solos but building on the bitter sweet aspects of that style by adding in his own very forceful character.  He also played soprano saxophone and clarinet getting a great reedy Arab sound on the latter.  The Sigamos String Quartet added immensely to the evening with their interpretations of Ros Stephens’ excellent arrangements and with their enjoyment of the music they were playing very apparent on their faces.

It all got a very good response from a large audience.  The music is recorded on Gilad’s In Loving Memory of America album

But we were of course the promoters.  Did other people agree with me about the music?

Tony

This project features the UK based Gilad Atzmon with his Orient House Ensemble and the Sigamos String Quartet playing music inspired by Charlie Parker’s renowned collaboration with strings late on in his career. The music has been recorded on Gilad’s album In Loving Memory of America.

Gilad has always been a stunning player in the bebop style, a style he is totally relaxed and fluent in, but he has always sought to broaden his music by incorporating elements of later styles of jazz and also of Middle Eastern music.  Gilad was born in Israel, but has been based in UK for many years.  On this occasion Gilad is on the road with his acclaimed Orient House group, featuring Frank Harrison on piano, and the Sigamos String Quartet led by Ros Stephens interpreting both the  Charlie Parker material, plus some originals by Gilad.

Charlie Parker was of course the great genius of bebop, but late in his short life he felt some dissatisfaction with the confines of small group jazz and sought to expand his range. Out of that came the string project on which Parker played with great intensity and creativity. To be honest, some of the original arrangements for strings were a bit cheesy, but the interpretations of the Sigamos String Quartet put that right with much tighter and darker versions.

Gilad is a great asset to the UK jazz scene and is always coming up with different projects based on his passion for the music. This one promises to be one of his most interesting. He has collaborated regularly with Ros Stephens, especially in her Tango Siempre band.  Gilad has also been a member of the Blockheads originally led by Ian Dury whose life is dissected in detail in the current film Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll. The Blockheads still exist and Gilad still tours with them, but, as far as I am aware, he does not appear in the film.

You can book for the concert at the CBSO Centre on Friday 22nd January here.  There will also be tickets available on the door.

Interestingly, this is one of two projects built around Charlie Parker’s music that Birmingham Jazz is presenting in the first half of 2010.  On April 10th Django Bates brings his Beloved Bird Trio with two Danish players to the CBSO Centre.

Tony

We wish all our supporters a very happy New Year!  Jazz always takes a bit of a break over Christmas, but we are now back with a very full and exciting January in prospect.  Rush Hour Blues, the Friday sessions at Symphony Hall, start again this Friday, 8th January with one of the top Birmingham bands, Bryan Corbett Quartet. If you haven’t tried one of these sessions, they are one of the best musical events in Birmingham!  They take place every Friday in the foyer area at Symphony Hall from 5.30 to 7pm and present some of the best jazz in the country free of charge.  The Bryan Corbett Quartet is a very good example of the quality of players and bands that appear at RHB.  He is currently in Japan with Us3, but returns in time to do this with his regular quartet.  Coming up at RHB in January are Edgar Macias Latin Jazz Quintet on 15th, Adrian Litvinoff and Interplay on 22nd and Delano Mills’ Tribute to Grover Washington on 29th. These are sessions where you can relax, have a drink and enjoy the music.  And if you don’t, you can just slip away!

Our 2010 gigs at the CBSO Centre start on Friday 22nd January with Gilad Atzmon Quartet playing with the Sigamos String Quartet. This is a very special project of Gilad’s that pays tribute to Charlie Parker’s wonderful albums made with strings in the early 50s.  Gilad is an amazing saxophonist and this is undoubtedly one of his best projects.  You can read more about it here.

We also strongly recommend the Jan Garbarek Group at the Town Hall on Friday 29th January (this is a Town Hall concert supported by BJ).  Jan Garbarek is a defining voice in European jazz and a player that epitomises the beautiful and atmospheric sounds of Norwegian jazz.  This is his first visit to Birmingham since 2004 and the concert will feature a special collaboration with Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu.

Then we have three excellent gigs in our more informal venues: saxophonist  Chris Aldridge brings his Beebe group to the Jam House on Tuesday 19th January, we run a special session on Tuesday 26th January at the Fizzle session at the Lamp Tavern with two young graduates from the Birmingham Conservatoire jazz course, saxophonist Alex Merritt and trumpeter Sam Wooster playing with two vastly experienced players: drummer Mark Sanders and bass player John Edwards. Finally, our Jazz Club series at that great music pub, The Rainbow, starts again on Wednesday 27th January with Led Bib, the group whose album Sensible Shoes was nominated for the Mercury prize in 2009.  The Jazz Club sessions create a great atmosphere at The Rainbow and present some of the most exciting young UK groups.

Tony

Friday 22nd January
CBSO Centre
8pm
£13 (£11 Members & Concessions) Book Tickets

Gilad is one of the hardest working musicians in the country. Saxophonist, band leader, producer, writer and Blockhead it’s a small wonder he has time to tour at all. This date is the last of a UK tour for this project which features Gilad’s Orient House Ensemble and the Sigamos String Quartet playing interpretations of Charlie Parker’s legendary Strings recordings, as well as some new works by Gilad. The combination of Atzmon’s unparalleled bebop virtuosity with stunning string arrangements promises to create a special performance.

Listen to Gilad Atzmon on Spotify: