8:00 PM; $5 - $15 sliding scale suggested donation at the door (cash/checks only).
Seattle composer/pianist Keith Eisenbrey continues his tour through the Prelude cycles of Seattle composers Ken Benshoof, Greg Short, and Lockrem Johnson. In addition he will perform the entirety of his own cycle of 24 Preludes for Piano (2009 - 2011).
Eisenbrey brings to his pianism a composer's imaginative musical understanding, and to his composition a mysterious and majestical whimsy. Cerebral and sensuous, remorselessly speculative, his music seeks to illuminate those most intimate of our personal spaces: the silences across which, in which, and out from which music, thought, and utterance unfold. His oeuvres includes solo pieces for various keyboards, songs, and chamber works. He studied composition with Dell Wade, Ken Benshoof, John Rahn, and Benjamin Boretz, and piano with Victor Smiley, Joan Purswell, and Neal O'Doan. He is a charter member of The Barrytown Orchestra, an interactive music-making ensemble based in Barrytown, New York, and is a co-founder of Banned Rehearsal, an ongoing argument in creative musical expression, now in it’s 29th year. His critical and theoretical work has appeared in Perspectives of New Music, News of Music, and Open Space, and he assisted in the editing of Boretz’s Meta-Variations: Studies in the Foundations of Musical Thought for its republication.
In terms of pure sound, I am attracted to intricate texture; the microscopic, the unexpected, the naturally rhythmic and the adventurous; to sound atmospheres and layered perspectives, to sounds that conjure mood and imagination, that convey ideas and express the human heart and soul.
Dadson is a sound installation artist, solo performer, experimental instrument maker and composer. He is the founder of the sound-performance group From Scratch (1974 - 2002), which developed an international reputation for an innovative sound and performance style that included sculptural, ritual and theatrical elements with large, custom-built plastic instruments and industrial and natural materials.He is co-author of the From Scratch Rhythm Workbook and Slap Tubes and Other Plosive Instruments, a DIY guide to building a variety of slap tube instruments.
Since 1990 he has received many major awards and commissions, including a Fulbright travel award to the U.S., and research, exhibition and performance grants to Canada, Japan, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Hungary, Austria, UK, India and Argentina. A New Zealand Arts Foundation Laureate Award in 2001 led Dadson to further expand – in festival appearances, various new commissions; an Artist-to-Antarctica fellowship; and recently, a 2011 expedition of nine artists into the South Pacific, called the Kermadec Ocean Project, to produce works in support of a Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary.
The featured artist of this year’s festival is one of Puget Sound’s most expansive creators. Here, bassist and composer Evan Flory-Barnes explores new musical possibilities with stellar Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame bassist Jeff Johnson and expressive pianist Dawn Clement, in one of Seattle’s greatest acoustic spaces.
8:00 PM; $5 - $15 sliding scale suggested donation at the door (cash/check only)
New York-based tuba player Dan Peck makes a wide swing over to the Left Coast to join a crew of Seattle improvising stalwarts with Bill Horist (guitar), Eyvind Kang (viola), Lori Goldston (cello), Greg Campbell (percussion, French horn). This quintet is as likely to drift into whispered tones as metallic thrashing, and anywhere in between.
Tatsuya Nakatani is a creative percussionist originally from Osaka, Japan, currently based in Easton, PA. He uses drums, gongs, cymbals, singing bowls and much else to create organic, intense music. Tonight he plays solo and in a first-time duo improvisation with special guest violist Eyvind Kang.
Presented by Earshot Jazz Festival. Support provided by the Consulate General of The Netherlands.
Reeds man Ab Baars and violist Ig Henneman, both long-established members of the theatrically avant-garde New Dutch Swing pantheon, bring an unmistakable playfulness to their collaborations as a musical duo. The husband-and-wife team deliver lyrical, expressive pieces that animate memories of tiptoeing down a hallway, dancing outside or hiding beneath the bed. For all of its sharp dissonances and off-kilter rhythms, their sound is like a simple game of tag.
Percussion by Dean Moore in collaboration with butoh artist Alan Sutherland and Acrobalance performers Jason Williams and Evelyn Bittner (aka Dr. Calamari & Acrophelia of Circus Contraption). With special guest percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani performing with butoh artist Vanessa Skantze.
The long-awaited CD release from Tempered Steel, featuring Ffej, Frank Junk, and Dennis Rea playing amplified, electronically processed thumb pianos. The trio's seamless improvisations conjure everything from phantom harpsichords and subaquatic percussion to as-yet-uninvented stringed instruments and vintage musique concrete. Opening are Lube Fondue, featuring Noisepoetnobody and Briana Jones.
Composed by John Teske, murmur explores through sound the subtleties of human consciousness, awareness and experience. As our society becomes more interconnected, it can feel as if time is accelerating and the sense of self, of authenticity and intention can be lost in a scattered existence. By slowing the experience of time through music, the listener's attention is brought to detail. This focus can open a door to a deeper awareness of the environment, sensations in the body, and other people. The Broken Bow Ensemble is a 26-piece orchestra dedicated to performing original contemporary classical music. This new ensemble features local musicians, including Tari Nelson-Zaglar, Brianna Atwell, Jessie Polin, Greg Campbell, and more.
Local saxophonist Neil Welch explores the underbelly of the saxophone. From whisper soft gestures to bellowing cries, Welch's musical voice centers around extremes on the instrument - multiphonics, pitches clusters, and minimalist sound-cycle repetitions are strong components of his performances. The show tonight features two sets of acoustic material, some composed and some improvised.
Two great quartets in the Seattle avant jazz and experimental scene. Opening the night will be KROMER, featuring Ivan Arteaga (sax), Katie Jacobson (voice), Cameron Sharif (piano/keyboards), and Evan Woodle (drums). Empty Boat, led by drummer Don Berman, features Kate Olson (sax), Geoff Harper (bass), and Dennis Rea (guitar).
There’s been a lot of judging or discussions of judging in the online jazz world recently.
Ethan Iverson started one of the balls rolling with his questioning of the value and artistic merit of jazz competitions. This was prompted by the announcement of the impending Thelonious Monk competition, which this year focused on drums. The competition was subsequently won byJamison Ross. People weighed in with varied opinions which ranged from outright support to outright opposition.
Then in another dust-up, the very strange jazz critic Brent Black launched an attack on George Colligan, ludicrously dismissing him as ‘second rate’. Needless to say this triggered an outpouring of scorn for Black’s opinion, and Black did himself no favours with a bitter, mean-spirited and puzzling tirade directed at Colligan’s gracious response.
And finally the Canadian pianistAndrew Boniwell responded to Peter Hum’s review of his new recording with what might be best described as icy fury.
All of which made me think about this whole issue of our being judged by others, and indeed judging others ourselves. To what extent does the judgment of critics have an effect on musicians? What effect does winning a competition have? Or what effect does losing a competition have?
Seventeen years ago I was a competition winner myself - the 1996 Julius Hemphill Composition Competition for this piece:
I must say I didn’t benefit immediately from winning, though it has to be said that competition was very small compared to the Monk Competition. Nor was it a stressful event for me, since there was no performance element involved, and no jury to look at out of the corner of my eye as I played. What winning did do for me was to give me a lot of confidence as a composer, and there’s no doubt that this kind of public approval of your work can have a very positive effect on you. On the other hand, If I hadn’t won it I don’t think I’d have been discouraged – I didn’t expect to win, and no-one was more surprised than me when I did.
But Ethan’s main point was whether such a competition would encourage individuality, or whether it would have the opposite effect, rewarding whoever was closest to the mainstream. The question is sometimes asked whether Monk could have even got into the final of the competition named after him? There's no doubt that if you have a panel of six judges, the winner will have to not only impress as many of them as possible, but also do whatever he or she can to alienate as few of them as possible. The more personal and idiosyncratic a performer is, the more likely they are to polarize the jury. There have been many famous cases of this in the classical world, the most celebrated of these being the Chopin competition of 1980 where Ivo Pogorelich, (a performer for whom the word idiosyncratic could have been coined), was eliminated in the third round, despite Martha Argerich calling him a genius. I have a feeling that a performer like Monk - a guy whose playing very much flew in the face of the prevailing pianistic orthodoxy of the day - would have had an equally polarizing effect on a jazz piano jury......
There's no doubt that in these difficult days for jazz musicians, anything that can help you to raise your profile is welcome, and winning something like the Monk competition is about as high-profile as it gets for jazz competitions. No doubt winning this competition will help Jamison Ross, but looking at his profile and bio, it's clear that he was already on his way - as were the 2nd and 3rd prizewinners, which confirms for me what I've believed for a long time - jazz is a meritocracy and always has been.
It's also a marathon rather than a sprint, and though something like winning a competition or getting a gig with a famous bandleader will definitely help, in the end it's the work you produce over a long period of time that will ultimately decide whether you succeed or fail. There are many examples of players who got a lot of press and attention at one time, maybe even a major record deal, and yet are hardly remembered these days. And I believe that this is because they ultimately didn't have something that could be sustained over a long period of time. They undoubtedly had some aspect of their music that was attractive for a while, (at least to the jazz media), but in the final shake-up it wasn't sustainable and didn't develop, and their star waned as a consequence of that. Jazz is quite Darwinistic in this sense and I think this is a good thing.
Jazz musicians have to deal with a lot of unfairness - the dice is loaded against them in so many ways - but within the jazz community I think, over a period of time, musicians achieve the status they deserve. I believe that if you are a really great player, and you have something original and personal to offer, then sooner or later you will get recognition for that.
Often you hear a story about this or that guy being a great player but never getting recognition, but as a general rule I don't buy it. If there's a truly great player who's not working, there's usually a reason for it - they're alcoholics, or junkies, or socially impossible, or difficult to deal with, or completely flaky, or recluses, or cripplingly shy, or something along those lines. I've yet to meet a truly great player who takes care of business but who's sitting at home forlornly waiting for the phone to ring........
Maybe New York is an exception to that rule, in that there are just too many musicians there, so someone can indeed be a great player but struggle to get recognition among the jostling crowds of other great players. But NY is different - a once a year gig at Small's under your own name and a 'tour' of Europe consisting of 6 gigs counts as being a success for a lot of people there.
But even in NY you can make a career for yourself if you're talented enough and have something to offer over the long term. In this way jazz hasn't changed - ultimately what's going to decide your status is your own playing. If you're a great player, you're immune from the slings and arrows of outrageous critics like Brent Black. His attack on George Colligan is toothless because Colligan's career demonstrates more than words ever can, the stupidity of Black's opinions. Someone who has played with a who's-who of contemporary jazz, including being a current band member of Jack DeJohnette's band has the ultimate imprimatur of the jazz world. His work and success is the the proof of his quality - this is the final arbiter of his quality and nothing that Brent Black can say can alter that.
And jazz has always been like that and even though the jam sessions, that for many years were the proving grounds of aspirant jazz musicians, have ceded their Gladiatorial position as arbiters of musical ability, it's still true to say that the opinion of your peers is the one that is most important. Play well and you will eventually get the attention of established players, play with them and you will get the attention of the public and the media. I've lost count of how many times I first heard hitherto unknown (at least to me), great players when I went to see a band led by someone of real status - Mulgrew Miller with Woody Shaw, Terence Blanchard with Art Blakey, Gabriele Mirabassi with Rabih-Abou Khalil etc.
Yes it's nice to get a good review, yes it would be useful to be on the cover of Downbeat, yes it would be very helpful to win a major jazz competition. But ultimately what a jazz musician needs in order to succeed over the long term is the approval and admiration of his or her peers. Jazz has always been a meritocracy and it still is one. Competitions and critics may come and go, and you (or media admirers of yours) may talk a good game, but eventually you're going to have to shut up and show everyone the music. And thank heavens for that.
Flutist/vocalist Emily Hay, pianist Motoko Honda, and percussionist Brad Dutz are all major players in the Los Angeles experimental/ improvised music scene. As the trio Polarity Taskmasters they create abstract experimental soundscapes through intense improvised ensemble interaction combined with electronic effects, jazz idioms, extended classical techniques, primal vocals, and stories from the id. Developing a vocabulary utilizing both the inside as well as the exterior parts of the piano, using preparations and objects, German pianist Magda Mayas explores textural, linear and fast moving sound collage.
For over 30 years, Rova Saxophone Quartet has explored the synthesis of composition and collective improvisation, creating exciting, genre-bending music that challenges and inspires. Founded in 1978 and inspired by a broad spectrum of musical influences - from Ives, Varese, Messiaen, Xenakis, and Feldman to Art Ensemble of Chicago, Coltrane, Braxton, Lacy, Taylor, Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman - ROVA began composing, touring, and recording, collaborating with such like-minded colleagues as guitarists Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith and saxophonist John Zorn, along with fellow Bay Area trailblazers Kronos Quartet and Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. In 1983 ROVA became the first new music group from the USA to tour the Soviet Union. Their new projects are the Celestial Septet with the Nels Cline Singers, and Electric Ascension, an epic re-imagining of John Coltrane's masterwork with an all-star large ensemble.
Paul Hoskin's annual eighty-minute contrabass clarinet solo improvisation. Hoskin is currently working with language form as he extends his approach. He fully recognizes the vocal elements of a solo. Besides, he is currently listening to Archie Shepp's Blase. Extended technique is a given, simply develop form in the moment. Spontaneous composition rather than improvisation.
Monktail Creative Music Concern presents an evening of new music for percussion and ensemble, featuring compositions and improvisations from Sam Yoder (Midday Veil), Nick Gonzalez (Curious Mystery), Mark Ostrowski, Stephen Fandrich and others.
Big Crinkly Trio was formed in 2010 by Jim Knodle, Doug Lilla, and Pete Turner, three musicians who have a long history, but hadn't played together for some time. The trio consists of the slightly unusual instrumentation of trumpet, bass, and drums with each member trying to maintain balance with the other two. The material they present consists of originals by all three members plus pieces by Monk, Steve Swallow, Carla Bley, Bill Frisell, Dave Holland and others.
The photo on the cover of my new CD 'Renaissance Man' is of my father Brendan, taken in about 1950, it shows him in a very relaxed moment, complete with cigarette and cup of tea, and is one of my favourite photographs of him
Renaissance Man is written in memory of my father and its genesis goes back a long way in that if it hadn’t been for my father it’s doubtful if I, or my brother Conor, who plays drums on this recording, would be involved with music in the way that we are today.
My father passed away at the age of forty eight, when I was seventeen, and he was an extraordinary character. He wasn’t a musician but he was an absolute devotee of music, with very specific tastes – classical music from 1880 onwards, and jazz from 1945 onwards. So we were raised with the music of Bartok, Stravinsky, Ravel, Shostakovitch and Prokofiev, and the music of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Errol Garner. As children, (there were eight of us!), he would play games with us where we would have to identify the instruments of the orchestra, or identify a particular soloist in a jazz piece. We didn’t realize it, but he was giving us a fantastic aural musical education, and for some of us he was setting the course of our future careers in music.
This was 1960s Ireland, a conservative, culturally isolated place, so our experience of all this great modern music was pretty unique for a child of those times. And when you’re a child, the music you hear is the music you hear – nobody told us that ‘The Rite of Spring’ was ‘difficult’ music, or the music of Bartok or Miles – to us it was just our everyday music. And it wasn’t just in music that my father played the role of cultural evangelist, he was also interested in literature, film and the theatre and introduced us to everything from the Marx Brothers to Lewis Carroll, from ’Twelve Angry Men’, to ‘Three Men in A Boat’. Thanks to him we had a thorough cultural education at a time, and place when something like that was very hard to come by.
I wrote this piece on the 30th anniversary of his passing and I decided to write a piece for jazz guitar trio and string quartet – two classic ensembles of their respective genres that would be the perfect vehicle for what I wanted to express. In choosing the musicians to play the piece it was a foregone conclusion that my brother Conor would play drums on the project, for obvious familial reasons as well as the fact that we'd played together for over 20 years.
(John, Conor and I at the rehearsal for the 1st performance of the music) In choosing the guitarist for the piece, I wanted someone who could not just play the instrument well, but play in many different emotional climates - which is not a common quality in many players, and certainly is rare in young players. So I asked John Abercrombie to do it - we'd worked together several times previously and I had studied with him in Banff in the mid-80s, so we knew each other on both a personal and musical level. John is of course one of the great contemporary guitarists with a unique approach that is much more multi-faceted than most guitarists, or indeed musicians. John has the ability to play completely sparsely and quietly, or to completely burn. he also has a unique harmonic approach and sound and is a true improvisor. His sensitivity to the music and what I was trying to do with it was perfect for this project and he played the music beautifully.
In choosing the string quartet, I knew I needed really good players - in writing the piece I wanted to represent my father's love of modern classical music and I definitely didn't want a typical jazz 'string pad' effect. The writing for the quartet is very involved and very challenging at times, and Ioana, Cliodhna, Cian and Kate really did an amazing job on the music, I couldn't have asked for more.
(Rehearsing the piece at the 1st performance in 2005)
The piece itself is in six movements, each one inspired by some memory of my father: some are inspired by quotes from his favourite books, some by music he loved, and some by general memories I have of him.
1) Stillness/Movement
A recollection of my father taking me cycling up to Killiney Hill, a local beauty spot, at dawn on a summer morning around 1970 when I was about 12. There were few cars in those days, and even fewer at 5am, and there was this feeling of being the only two people in the world - utter silence. Then the birdsong began, and got louder and louder till it reached a cacophony......
2) Mr. BP
Brendan Patrick Guilfoyle, was my father's name and this is a lyrical tune dedicated to him
3) George's Hat
This refers to a line from 'Three Men in a Boat' - 'It was George's hat that saved his life that day' - that my father found hilarious - and it is hilarious! If you know the book you'll know why, and if you don't then check it out!
4) This Was Very Odd Because
This refers to another line from classic literature, this time 'The Walrus and the Carpenter' from Alice in Wonderland', which my father would read to us and we would be expected to know the last line of every stanza.
5) It Was The Middle Of The Night
Although my father was a wonderful man with so many great qualities, he also had his dark side for sure, and could be pretty scary at times. This movement reflects that aspect of his personality
6) 2 Degrees East
The only explicitly musical reference, to John Lewis' blues 'Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West' from 'Grand Encounter'. My father loved this piece and played it incessantly. The theme is referred to here, but the treatment is completely different to the original.
And here is a little film about the making of Renaissance Man
My father passed away before any of us began playing seriously, and I’ve always felt that it was so unfair that he never got to hear the results of the groundwork he laid for us. But I also feel very fortunate to have been able to write this piece, and to have such great musicians perform it. Renaissance Man is written in recognition of the great gifts he gave to us, and the debt we owe to him.
As a little bonus - here's some footage of myself, John, Joey Baron and Michael Buckley playing a quartet arrangement of the 2nd movement, 'George's Hat'
Whenever you release a new recording it's an exciting and special moment, but for me, this release is particularly special and personal. In this case the importance to me of the music being widely heard outweighs any other consideration and so I'm selling the physical CD for a very low price. If you're interested in purchasing a CD you can click on the Paypal button at the top of this page. If you want to buy it in downloadable format you can do it here
The Seattle Composers’ Salon fosters the development, performance and appreciation of new music by regional composers and performers. At bi-monthly, informal presentations, the Salon features finished works, previews, and works in progress. Composers, performers, and audience members gather in a casual setting that allows for experimentation and discussion. Everyone is welcome! Composers for this month: Matthew James Briggs, Keith Eisenbrey, John Teske, John Cage.
Pacific Rims Percussion Quartet performs two works written 49 years apart on this tribute to composer John Cage on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth. Credo in Us (1942) is a prime example of Cage’s early percussion work, strictly and conventionally notated, but innovative in form and content. The instrumentation uses not only piano, gongs and tom-toms, but employs found instruments such as tin cans, an electric buzzer, and a phonograph. Four4 (1991), is one of a large group of numbered pieces he wrote during his last years, this one for percussion quartet.
Judul: OST Wedding Bahasa: Korea Genre: Pop/ Ballad Artist: Various Tracklist 01. Come On In - Park Ki Young [download] 02. Love - Park Ki Young [download] 03. A Night With Us - Park Ki Young [download] 04. Alright - Ji Hwan [download] 05. Please Don't Leave Me - Hwang Si Eon [download] 06. Madonna [download] 07. Please Don't Leave Me - Jang Nara & Ryu Shi Won [download] Full Album >>> [download]
DO NOT COPY-PASTE OR HOT LINK!!!
JUST FOR SHARING, NO ASKING OR COMPLAIN~ THANK YOU~
Presented by Earshot Jazz. Splashgirl is three creative young Norwegian musicians – Andreas Stensland Løwe (piano/lofi electronics), Jo Berger Myhre (double bass/ zither/tone generator) and Andreas Lønmo Knudsrød (drums/percussion/sounds) – playing their own music inspired by any number of musical genres.
Judul: OST Thank You Bahasa: Korea Genre: Pop/ Ballad/ Instrumental Artist: Various Tracklist 01. Thank You - Opening Title [download] 02. Thank You - Hun [download] 03. Love You - Hun [download] 04. Recorder [download] 05. On a Windy Day [download] 06. Traces [download] 07. The Green Recalls You [download] 08. I'll Love [download] 09. Accordion - Theme [download] 10. Sad Memories [download] 11. Morning Blue [download] 12. Sacrifice [download] 13. One Thousand Four [download] 14. Good Bye [download] 15. Giseo - Theme [download] 16. As Time Goes By [download] 17. Promise [download] 18. Thank You - Ending Title [download] Full Album >>> [download]
Additional songs 01. Beautiful World - Yurisangja [download]
DO NOT COPY-PASTE OR HOT LINK!!!
JUST FOR SHARING, NO ASKING OR COMPLAIN~ THANK YOU~
Presented by Nonsequitur. Composer/performers Cat Lamb and Bryan Eubanks present solo compositions as part of a North American tour. Lamb will perform Shade/Gradations (2012) for viola and filtered oscillators and Eubanks will perform (test)Spectral Pattern (2012) for soprano saxophone, feedback, and digital synthesis.
Judul: OST Hunter x Hunter Bahasa: Jepang Genre: Pop/ Ballad Artist: Various TV-Series (1999-2001) 01. Ohayō (Good morning) - Keno (1st Opening) [download] 02. Taiyō Wa Yoru mo Kagayaku (The Sun Shines at Night) - Wino (2nd Opening) [download] 03. Kaze No Uta (Wind Song) - Minako Honda (1st Ending) [download] 04. EJan-Do You Feel Like I Feel? - Nagai Masato (2nd Ending) [download] 05. Hotaru (Firefly) - Nagai Masato (3rd Ending) [download]
OVA - Season 1: Genei Ryodan 01. PALE ALE - Kurosawa Keniti [download] 02. Carry On - Kurosawa Keniti [download]
OVA - Season 2: Greed Island 01. Pray - Wish [download] 02. POPCORN - Mikuni Shimokawa [download]
OVA - Season 3: G.I. Final 01. Believe In Tomorrow - Sunflower's Garden [download] 02. Moshimokono Sekai De Kun To Boku Ga Deae Nakattara (If You And I Can't Come Into This World) - Sunflower's Garden [download]
Reboot (2011) 01.Departure! - Masatoshi Ono (1st Opening) [download] 02. Just Awake - Fear and Loathing (1st Ending) [download] 03. Departure! -Second Version- - Galneryus (2nd Opening) [download] 04. Hunting for Your Dream - Galneryus (2nd Ending) [download]
DO NOT COPY-PASTE OR HOT LINK!!!
JUST FOR SHARING, NO ASKING OR COMPLAIN~ THANK YOU~
St. Annie is the debut album of Nick Nihil. Featuring Chris Icasiano and Neil Welch (who comprise the acclaimed experimental jazz behemoth Bad Luck) and Tim Mendonsa (with whom Nihil plays in alt-rock up and comers Sad Face), the album unfolds a dreamscape narrative about the destructive nature of ego. The band weaves modern jazz, spoken word, noise, lounge crooner, and rock into an alternately terrifying and beautiful whole. Pianist Cameron Sharif has been an active participant in Seattle's improvised music scene for the past five years. Blending an angular compositional approach with sonorous piano textures, Sharif will be performing an original piece that uses both composed and improvised material as a template for expression.
It’s not that long ago that Ireland was to all intents and purposes a Theocracy, not unlike present day Iran. In a similar way to the contemporary Iranian state, right up to at least the 1960s, the country was under the thumb of a cabal of clerics who interfered with every aspect of the state and whose number one concern was the wielding of their own power. They interfered in every aspect of Irish life and left a legacy of brutality and child abuse (such as in their schools and Reformatories), which Irish people are still having to deal with today. But disgusting as the institution of the Catholic Church was, (and often still is), occasionally the behavior of some of the dimmer members of that church, through the stupidity of their actions, gave us a badly needed laugh at the Church’s expense. One such dimwit was Father Peter Conefrey.
Conefrey was the founding member and leading light of the ‘Anti-Jazz League’ in the 1930s – a movement he hoped would rid Holy Catholic Ireland of the corrupting effect of jazz. Coneferey was convinced that jazz (although what he thought of as jazz would certainly not be recognised as such by any jazz fan or musician), was destroying the morals of the young people with its unholy rhythms and lewd dancing. He managed to lead a march against jazz through a tiny town in Ireland and through his contacts get questions asked in parliament about why Irish music was getting displaced on the radio by this sinful jazz music. But under the thumb of the clergy though Irish politicians may have been, this was too ludicrous for even the most devout Irish politician and the movement fizzled out relatively quickly. There’s a fascinating documentary on it here
This coming weekend I'll be taking part in a festival called 'Down With Jazz' which humorously takes the anti-jazz movement as its theme, but has in fact the opposite intention of the idiotic Father Conefrey, in that it is celebrating Irish jazz.
Over three days sixteen bands will show the variety and quality of the music produced here in Ireland by the local musicians and it should be a great festival since there's never been a higher standard of jazz music being played in ireland than there is now.
I think it's fair to say that in western Europe, Ireland's jazz scene is the one that is least known outside of its own borders. Every other scene in western Europe - the French, Italian, German, and various Scandinavian scenes for example - all would be known through various famous practitioners who have gained international reputations and are well known everywhere. Musicians such as Enrico Rava, Martial Solal, Jan Garbarek, and John Taylor are known internationally and through them people know there is a scene in the countries in which they live. Ireland would not be known in the same way in the jazz world, and truth be told, up to recently, while there were some great musicians here, there wasn't enough of them to constitute a 'scene'
Jazz had a slow start in Ireland - there were jazz influenced jazz bands in the 40s and 50s, but the first real jazz musicians began to appear at the end of the 50s and into the 60s with players such as the pianist Noel Kelehan and the drummer John Wadham, both of whom were world class. There were other players around the scene who were good also, but the real breakthrough came with the appearance of Louis Stewart, the great guitarist who was the first domiciled Irish musician to get international attention. Before that the bassist Rick Laird had played with musicians such as Sonny Rollins and Wes Montgomery as part of the house rhythm section in Ronnie Scott's Club in London, and later went on the play with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Due to his Mahavishnu stint and appearances on various 'Jazz Icons' DVDs, he remains Ireland's most famous jazz musician. However Louis Stewart broke the mould in that he was the first Irish jazz musician, living in Ireland whose work was recognised internationally and he performed with Benny Goodman and a host of other great musicians during his career. A phenomenal guitarist, he inspired a generation of Irish players (including me), and made them believe that this music could be played at the highest level by Irish jazz musicians.
My peers and contemporaries, who came up in the 80s, included some really great musicians, many of whom were determined to expand their horizons beyond Ireland, some by moving abroad, some by studying abroad, and all of whom were very interested in current trends in jazz. Many of us were interested in developments beyond the customary hard bop style of the Dublin jazz scene and the result of that was a broadening of stylistic approaches in the Irish scene and the founding of something that every other European country had - a jazz school.
It took a lot of time to get the full time courses going there, but when they did the school had a real impact on the development of the music in Ireland and aspiring jazz musicians now had access to the same training and information as their European and American counterparts, as well as getting to sit in classes with many visiting musicians of renown. All of this, with the addition of the rise, development and ultimate boom (and now bust!) of the Irish economy had an explosive effect on the jazz scene here. With the coming of serious money into the economy more musicians started to land up on irish shores and this is turn enriched the scene further. Recordings were made, tours undertaken and organisations such as the Improvised Music Company, (the promoters of this weekend's event), created imaginative events and programming.
And this weekend will show the variety and quality of what's currently on offer in Irish jazz at the moment - everything from electronic-infused improvisation to traditional jazz, from through-composed large scale compositions to standards, from duos to big bands. The Irish jazz scene has come of age and the festival is a great showcase for the many great musicians and bands now playing here.
Here's Phisqa, a group that is an exemplar of what effect the influx of overseas musicians has had - led by a Peruvian drummer, it features a South African saxophonist, an Italian guitarist, a Venezuelan pianist and an Irish bassist
More traditional fare will be on display too and I'm really looking forward to playing some standards with the truly world class saxophonist Michael Buckley
I'll also be playing a set with 3G - a family affair that features my brother Conor on drums and my son Chris on guitar.
Things have really changed for jazz in Ireland and hopefully this (sold out), festival will help to make more people aware of the musical riches the scene currently contains. As they might say in Ireland, regarding this weekend's doings - 'if Father Conferey was alive today he'd turn in his grave.....'
Part 2 01. Because My Steps Are Slow - Shin Yong Jae (4MEN) [download]
Part 3 01. Bad Guy - Jang Hye Jin & MC Sniper [download] 02. Faith (Main Title-String Ver.) [download] 03. I Am Woodalchi (Great Big Choi Young) [download] 04. Smile (Lovely Face-Eunsoo) [download] 05. Sadness (Pf String Ver.) [download] 06. Flower Garden [download] 07. Move And Run (String Ver.) [download] 08. The Dangerous Time (Choral Ver.) [download] Full Album >>> [download]
Part 5 01. I See You - Sung Hoon (Brown Eyed Soul) [download] 02. Faith (Choral ver.) 03. The Blade Of Red-Moon 04. The Palace Story 05. Attack Point 06. Moon Of The Princess 07. Tears Of Soldier 08. The Justice Full Album >>> [download]
Part 6 01. Song of Wind - Young Joon [download] 02. I Am Woodalchi (String Ver.) [download] 03. Move & Run (Original Ver.) [download] 04. Forever (Carry On-Pf Ver.) [download] 05. Trick [download] 06. Shadow Man [download] 07. Dancing In The Moonlight [download] 08. War Of The Fire [download] Full Album >>> [download]
The Westerlies are a NYC-based brass quartet comprised of four friends from Seattle. They stretch the limits of conventional chamber music by emphasizing original composition and improvisation, to create music that resides in the ever-narrowing gap between contemporary classical composition, jazz influenced improvisation, and North American folk music.
Jonah Parzen-Johnson is a baritone saxophonist living in Brooklyn. Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, he was surrounded and inspired by the AACM and South Side music community. Before graduating from high school Jonah had studied under former AACM chairman Mwata Bowden and AACM member Matana Roberts. Under their tutelage he developed a dedicated focus on the essential role of composition in the life of a musician. Parzen-Johnson moved to New York in 2006.
