Friday, April 11, 2008

John Scofield in Concert

( Naar de Nederlandse vertaling.)
The International Jazz Festival of Middelburg, in the south-western part of The Netherlands, started with a great concert on the 8th of April 2008, by the John Scofield Trio with Horns at the Stadsschouwburg. In fact, this concert was an appetizer for the real festival, scheduled from 9 up to the 12th of May 2008. John Scofield performed with his rhythm section featuring Matt Penman on bass and Bill Stewart, his drummer for years. The trio was enlarged with a horn section. John Scofield, born in 1952 in Dayton, Ohio, is one of the most interesting guitar players in jazz nowadays and he belongs, together with guitar players like Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny and Mike Stern, to name some, to the best-there-is.
He is known for his participation in Miles Davis Electric Band in the early 1980s. When you listen to his music on stage, you can't imagine that he started to play in the style of Jim Hall, whose music he admired. When he had finished the Berklee School of Music he played with Gary Burton and Mick Goodrick. In a previous blog I referred to his first concert at Carnegie Hall with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker. Since that concert his music developed from the jazz-rock into fusion, free jazz and the music of Miles, with a lot of electronics and synthesizers into the style he played on stage. The fans. gathered in Middelburg, got value for money. In two sets John Scofield performed tunes from his last album, titled This Meets That, like Heck of a Job, the ballad Behind Closed Doors by Charley Rich and the opener of the evening, the well known House Of The Rising Sun.
After the break he showed his abilities using samples on the synthesizer in another classic pop tune I Can't Get No Satisfaction. Other tunes were Memorette and Strangeness In The Night, a tune with some surprising changes in tempo. The horn group, featuring Phil Grenadier, the brother of bass player Larry, on trumpet and flugelhorn, Tom Olin on tenor saxophone and flute and Frank Vacin on baritone saxophone and bass clarinet, played a minor part in the concert. They played some short, not convinced, solos. There major task was to give accents behind Scofields solos and to make a solid base with the baritone saxophone or the snoring sound of the bass clarinet (what a great instrument !) played by Frank Vacin. John Scofield ended his concert with an encore, almost entirely filled with a duet with himself using samples on his synthesizer on the floor in front of him.
The audience enjoyed it and so did the organization of the festival, who had booked a great opening act. Het is verbazend om te ontdekken dat zo'n jazzmuzikant de Stadsschouwburg van Middelburg, toch een betrekkelijk kleine gemeenschap, op een gewone dinsdagavond helemaal op zijn kop zet (= It is amazing to see how sucha jazz musician in a small community, like Middelburg, brings the Stadsschouwburg down on a regular Tuesday evening ), Renny Minnaert, the proud festival director said after the performance. Two weeks ago only 60 tickets were sold and suddenly ...... within’ a week, all tickets were gone. The Stadsschouwburg seemed to be the place to be !
During this concert the audience was informed about the artists that are scheduled for the second edition of the International Jazz Festival Middelburg in May. Great names like Maceo Parker, Archie Shepp, Bobby Previte, E.S.T., Eric Vloeimans and good old lady Rita Reys, just to name some, will give concerts in the unique attractive inner court of the abbey and venues in the centre of the city. I'll inform you later about these great concerts. You can find all information about the festival at their website: http://www.jazzmiddelburg.nl/
(Hans Koert - keepswinging@live.nl ).
Photo courtesy: Ingrid Borger - Hans Overvliet - Curiositas- Middelburg)
AT RANDOM:
RAY BROWN-MONTY ALEXANDER-RUSSELL MALOBE - YOU CAN'T SEE: Ray Brown bass , Monty Alexander piano, Russell Malone guitar. Recorded in New York City the 5-7 March 2002.

Keep swinging

Hans Koert


keepswinging@live.nl

Nederlands ( To the English translation )

De tweede editie van het Internationaal Jazz Festival van Middelburg ging afgelopen week ( dinsdag 8 april 2008) van start met een schitterend concert van het John Scofield Trio with Horns ( = met blazers). In feite was dit concert een opwarmertje voor het echte festival dat gepland staat voor het pinksterweekend, te weten 9 t/m 12 mei 2008. Ik gaf in een eerdere bijdrage al een impressie van het openingsconcert van John Scofield en zijn trio op 8 april 2008 in het Nederlands. Vandaag dus geen nieuwe Nederlandse bijdrage, maar een link naar twee interessante eerdere bijdragen, zoals het concert van Freek de Jonge, gehouden tijdens het 50 jarige bestaan van Porgy en Bess in Terneuzen een jaar geleden of een kennismaking met een prachtig nummer, getiteld Trees and Grass and Things gespeeld door het Charles Williams Septet, dat ik op het spoor kwam dankzij een Jules Deelder verzamelalbum: Deelder Blijft Draaien.


DE WERF - Brugge:
Op zaterdag 26 april treedt het John Marshall / Ferdinand Povel Quintet op in De Werf in Brugge. Ik schreef over deze groep in een eerdere bijdrage. Op zondag 27 april zal het Matthew Shipp Trio optreden in de club. Dit trio bestaat uit pianist Matthew Shipp met Joe Morris op bas en Whit Dickey op slagwerk. Je krijgt korting als je beide concerten bezoekt. Informatie op hun website: De Werf - Brugge


CELEBRATIONS: Nick LaRocca - cornet ( 1889 - 1961)

Keep swinging

Hans Koert


keepswinging@live.nl

Retrospect
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