July 22, 2011

Posting will resume at a later date. Now's not the time. Rather, it's a time for reflection and compassion, and my thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims of these horrible and senseless acts. Peace!

Billy Bang - "Prayer for Peace"

Molde Jazz 2011, Tuesday 19th

Went to see double bassist Michael Duch and saxophonist Kjetil Møster at Molde Jazz's smallest venue, Reknes, yesterday (Tuesday). Both played a solo set each, while joining forces for a closing number.

Duch played one longish (didn't take the time) entirely improvised piece, as well as Howard Skempton's composition For Strings (waves, shingles and seagulls). As you may gather from that, he works as much, if not more, within improvised new music slash contemporary music as he does jazz, though by now these musics can hopefully be seen as extending into each others idioms. Duch uses pretty much every part of his instrument to create sounds; largely playing arco with his right hand, he plucks, slaps and scratches with his left, while occasionally also hitting the body of the instrument. Much of his arco work happens near the bridge, which creates sharp and shrill sound, but he shifts effortlessly into "cleaner" territory. Inventive music, nevertheless.

Møster started his session just breathing through his tenor sax, which built into a hushed, gospel like passage, eventually raising in intensity into a shout of sorts. From there, the piece gathered pace into something reminiscent balkan folk music, and ending in punk-like rapid screams and honks, Møster working the flaps for percussive effect. The result wouldn't have sounded out of place with duo Lightning Bolt.

Duch and Møster joined up for an encore, the bassist now mostly playing pizzicato, creating rumbling, free rolling sounds and patterns. I kept paying so much attention to him that Møster, now having switched to baritone sax, dropped into the background except from when they hooked up down in the lower registers.

Molde Jazz 2011

I leave for Molde and the 2011 Molde Jazz Festival in a few hours time. I may post daily updates, depending on what gigs I'll be attending, but I'll definately be catching up with Misha Mengelberg with Tyshawn Sorey and Mostly Other People Do the Killing, to name but two.

Lost Eric Dolphy Session, via Phil Schaap

Phil Schaap just wrote some info on Facebook on a lost 1963 session with Eric Dolphy, likely a private demo recording. Perhaps not the most likely of collaborators -- Seldon Powell played mostly swing and R&B, and while Major Holley did play with Charlie Parker and later Rashaan Roland Kirk, he's perhaps better know for his work with Coleman Hawkins & Oscar Peterson -- but I really would've liked to hear some of this:

I can confirm the personnel - Eric Dolphy (as); Seldon Powell (bars); Joe Newman (tpt); Melba Liston (tbn); Major Holley (bass); Earl Williams (dr); & Hale Smith (pno/leader) - for a lost session that the recently deceased Hale Smith was the contractor for. It was a private date or demo session for a neighbor of Smith’s who had written at least two tunes that Hale arranged. The session is definitely not from 1964 and most likely occurred in 1963. A photograph – that may still exist – showed the musicians. Earl Williams, either going to another gig or coming from one, is in a tuxedo and the others are far more casually dressed. The material still exists and is presumably with Hale Smith’s widow or, perhaps, his son Marcel.

Finally, this item is distinct from those on tape that Eric Dolphy had deposited with Hale Smith shortly before Dolphy left for Europe.