Birmingham Jazz at Vision June 08

Saturday night at Vision 13

2008-06-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday night at Vision was a highlight of the festival which started with a explosive set of dance and music led by Vision Festival organiser and dancer Patricia Nicholson's Celestial Moon Beams funk which took a simple funk groove and dispersed it with free passages performed by the band and the dancers.

Matthew Shipp Trio continued the evening with a dynamic performance twisting between deconstructed standards and free improvisation.

Paul Dunmall represented the British scene with a virtuosic performance, creating fascinating musical conversation with Grimes on bass and violin.

George Lewis and Joelle Leandre created a sound scape of trombone and double bass with their duo which was a playful and esoteric conversation of avantjazz.

Steve Swell/Sonny Simmons/Bobby Few/Henry Grimes/Connie Crothers

2008-06-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

Friday night was a hour avantjazz marathon beginning with a vibrant and very exciting group featuring Steve Swell on Trombone and Barry Altscul on drums. Altschul and Swell worked well together driving the band from both ends creating a fantastic mix of structured composition and free improvisation.

The next set featured Sonny Simmons and Bobby Few locking in to each other's style of playing from Few's impressionist flowing passages to Simmons' staccato interjections.

Connie Crother's solo performance was a interesting contrast in it's more classical approach, omitting any jazz language except for the odd boogie / blues lick surprising the listener.

The closing sets cam from Henry Grimes with Sabir Mateen, Rasul Siddick and John Betch which was fierce and abstract with additional vocals from Mateen and Siddick.

Vijay Iyer perfomed the last set of the evening with the Wadada Leo Smith Quartet.

Vision day 3 / Bugge Westeltoff / Bobby Previte

2008-06-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

Oliver Lake of the World Saxophone Quartet played the first set of the evening with his own Quintet project featuring young musicians and a DJ enhancing the free funk grooves with sound effects and the occasional beat drop which the band locked in to. This band was a departure from the more avant free style prevalent at the festival and set the tone for the evening as I then set off to see Bugge Westeltoff perform at a small bar in East Village called Nu Blu while just up the road Tony Dudley-Evans went to a country music bar to see Bobby Previte.

Kidd Jordan Celebration

2008-06-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

Last night was an epic 5 hour celebration of New Orleans tenor saxophonist Kidd Jordan.

The night began in the very hot but vibey theatre space with him playing alongside Hamiet Bluiett and Dave Burrell. The somewhat disjointed musical exchanges became solidified in the next set when violinist Billy Bang joined Kidd along with the formidable Hamid Drake and William Parker. Bang led the front line by working closely with in the rhythm section to steer the music through grooves accented by strong violin strokes and pizzicato riffs which then ducked and dived through exciting free passages.

Next up was a set with Clyde Kerr on trumpet who complimented Kidd's abstract free style with thoughtful and lyrical interjections supported by driving drums from Alvin Fielder and fluttering embellished passages from Joel Futterman on piano.

In the middle of these free groups the next set surprised the audience with straight ahead bop playing from a band from New Orleans featuring Kent Jordan on piano. However the free lovers among us were reunited with the avant garde in the final set featuring a contemporary of Kidd, Fred Anderson on tenor sax. Their long established musical union could be heard as the two tenors conversed between a appearance from Billy Bang which led to a very passionate finale of the evening appreciated by a standing ovation from the now capacity crowd.

first night at Vision: Dave Douglas/Taylor Ho Bynum

2008-06-11T04:59:00.000-07:00

The opening of Vision began last night with a evocative dance and spoken word Invocation featuring musicans and festival organisers William Parker and Patricia Nicholson and Hamish Drake.

What followed was a very interesting project by a young Sextet led by cornet player Taylor Ho Bynum which featured structured pieces of intricate melody interspersed with dramatic guitar effects as the band moved into waves of collective free passages. The next set came from Birmingham Jazz friends Dave Douglas, Uri Caine and Bryan Carrott in the incandescent Dave Douglas Magic Circle. A highlight of the night and Tony was met with warm reception from pianist Uri.

Tonight's gigs feature the star of the festival which is centred around a lifetime achievement celebration for New Orleans free saxophonist Kidd Jordan. He will open the night with Dave Burrell and Hamiet Bluiett and will continue his night long set playing with Billy Bang,William Parker,and a New Orleans band amongst others.