Adam Lane Trio

Zero Degree Music and Music Degree Zero (CIMP Records), both by the Adam Lane Trio, have become two of my favorite albums so far this year. I've stated a fondness for bass/drum/reed-trios before, and Adam Lane's is just the way I like them; fresh, gutsy and fiery.Adam Lane himself is a young bassist and orchestra leader with an astonishing output, having made records with among others John Tchicai ( Dos and Fo(u)r Being(s)) and Julian Priestler (The Music), as well as leading larger ensemble such as Full Throttle Orchestra and Supercharger Jazz Orchestra. Don't know about you, but I get certain connotations from those names leading me to think that they don't play lounge jazz. Anyway, Mr. Lane sites Ellington, Stockhausen, and Melt Banana as influences, but I can hear some Mingus and early 60's Ornette as well. His playing style reminds me of Dave Holland, though. He is very assertive in his playing, and has a knack for both rapid walks and low-end strumming.
Indeed, parts of the two trio records are reminiscent of Dave Holland's great Conference of the Birds. I say this not only because of Lane's playing, but also because when I first heard the record, I thought about Robert Christgau's review of Conference...:

"This is what I believed Ornette Coleman meant by free jazz (...) free as loose (...)".

And this looseness is combined with both tremendous dynamism and awesome punch. Drummer Vijay Anderson is great at changing tempos, while Lane's bass lines bounce around and Vinny Golia's saxophone goes from a hush to a scream and back again. I love that they are not afraid to let it rip, after all speed thrills, but their quieter moments are equally good. It's bop, post-bop, new thing, but most important of all, they rock.

The records were recorded during a two day session in February 24 and 25, 2005. Zero... was released last year, but sadly escaped under most people's radar, and Music... came out earlier this year. Three selections are on both records: " On Avenue X", "Spin With EARth" and "Dance". But there are some differences in the arrangements and playing of the selections.

"On Avenue X" is a key composition, and different versions bookends the two records. On the version on Zero..., the group shoot out of the blocks. Giola plays soprano, and the track has a quick and urgent feel. On Music..., Giola pulls out his tenor, and the track also has a long intro. "Spin With EARth" compares similarly. On the Zero-version, Giola plays an octave above what he plays on Music, and again the Zero-version is more of a romp than on the other record. For now, I prefer Zero Degree Music's urgency too Music...'s more relaxed feel.

"Running Upsidedown" on Music... has a urgency about it similar to "On Avenue X" and "Spin..." on Zero, and has become a favorite. Lane plays a running bass line over Anderson's skittering drumming, while Giola lays out long tones that eventually excels into a scream. Lovely.

If you have trouble finding the records at your local, try Jazz Loft, an excellent on-line store.

Final thoughts on Oya 2006

An enjoyable weekend, which ended on a high despite occasional rain and headaches. Still feeling a bit tired, but here goes.

Highlights:

Like I said, it ended on a high. Love is All played for and charmed the few that had made their way from the festival camp down to John Dee on Saturday. Their live versions of the songs from "Nine Times that Same Song" were even better than on the record. They seemed surprised at the positive reaction from the audience, who danced throughout the set, as did Tim Harrongton from Les Savy Fav.

The Wrens were even better. Such energy. Such passion. As far as I can remember, they played the whole of the excellent "Meadowland", and even got a bunch of kids (including the seemingly omnipresent guy from Les Savy Fav) to provide extra ...erm...percussion. If you didn't get there, you missed out. Best gig of the weekend.

But earlier in the week...

...I saw the Brakes, who rocked despite some technical problems, and the charming but clichèd Shit City on the club gigs on Wednesday.

!!! (pronounce it how you will) played a groovy set, but I wish they'd have more songs of the same calibere as "Me and Giuliani Down By the Schoolyard", which they performed to excellence at Oya.

Mark E. Smith, Mr. Grumpy himself, was highly enjoyable. His umpteenth edition of the Fall provided more than enough umph to complement the songs, mostly from Fall Heads Roll plus a classic in the form of "Mr. Pharmacist". Mr. Smith himself stumbled around turning the amps up, and on one occasion turned off the guitarist's. Plus he kicked out at a camera man.

Les Savy Fav gave an inspired performance, even if Tim Harrington's on-and-off-stage antics initially meant he was too short of breath to sing. But the band had a solid groove and Harrington calmed down enough to augment them with his singing.

Marit Larsen is the best song writer in Norway right now, and her show was terrific. She played a blue-grassish version of the M2M classic "Don't Say You Love Me", and a charming cover of the Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back". Her topic of choice is falling in-and-out of love, and she treats it better than most.

What they lack in originality, the School more than makes up for with energy, humor and a few potential hits.

Morrissey was Morrissey, for better or worse. No banana this time, though.

Beck's puppets.

Disappointments:

The lack of quality urban (for lack of a better collective term) music. Last year they had Saul Williams and Roots Manuva on the bill. This year... Spank Rock doesn't rock me. And for all their admirable wishes to promote local artists, Norwegian rap has never been any good. Too hung up on Hip Hop's clichès, and no Norwegian rapper I've heard has the vocal skills nor writing skills to be of any interest to me.

Amadou & Maraim had to cancel their appearance due to sickness. Hope all is well, but a big disappointment. Could have been a highlight.

I didn't get in to see the Pipettes due to chaos in front of the venue.

Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid's set. Not bad, mostly uninterestingng. Could have been better.

The Knife. Had hopes, but they failed to be met. Ok-ish, nothing more.

Band of Horses. Their Ok songs drowned in the sunshine, and their not so ok songs barely
reached the front row.

The Cramps were a cartoon-version of their cartoon self. "TV Set" one of very few highlights of
their set.

Hot Chip. Not what their cracked up to be. Not on stage, not on record. Ok, nothing more.

Beck's puppets.

The Liars, Midlake, and Black Mountain. Yawn.

Enough already...

Ornette's grammar

Yes, the waiting period is almost over. On September 12 Ornette Coleman will release Sound Grammar on his own label, also called Sound Grammar. The record was recorded live in Germany in 2005 with his current band whom he has been touring and gigging with for quite some time. I saw them at Kongsberg Jazz in 2004 and thought they were excellent. The band was and is Ornette Coleman on saxophone, trumpet & violin, his son Denardo Coleman on drums, and acoustic bassists Tony Falanga and Greg Cohen. Cohen in particular impressed me at Kongsberg. I'd only heard him on Tom Waits recordings prior to that, where his role had been more restrained.

The title, Sound Grammar, suggests to be yet another one of Ornette's theories on music. Remember, this was the guy who released jazz from a more constricted state in the late 50's, thus creating the rather mis-used term "free jazz" (which was an imperative sentence in 1960). Ornette says about Sound Grammar: "Sound grammar is to music what letters are to language. Music is a language of sounds that transforms all human languages." (Quote taken from Big Hassle) Classic Ornette. The record is also rumored to be one of his most melodic and accessible to date, but that makes me think when has an Ornette Coleman record not been melodic? Melody is what the guy is about. Oh, well. September 12 it is.

Meat Loaf and Marion: Like a Raven out of Hell

What an utterly charming trio. Desmond Child on Marion: "We had been looking for a duet partner, and there was something about Marion...she's mystical, she's dark...eh...she's icy but she's warm. She's fun but she's also really deep. It seemed like a natural fit, it just...everything fell into place. She was meant to do it".

If you say so, Desmond. You should see his eyebrows lift when he says "icy" aprox 5.39 into this short documentary. He gets the chills, I tell ya.

Someone said that the new Killers song "When You Were Young" sounds a bit like old Meat Loaf. Not completely off the mark, especially the bridge and the lift-up towards the end. Could this be the old Loaf's year?

(Photo nicked from S-FJ's site. Hope you don't mind)

Arthur Lee: R.I.P.

Arthur Lee has passed away having suffered from illness for quite some time. There's a lot to be said about the man, but I'm not in the mood for that now. Pitchfork has a little piece on him here.