NEI JIA TRAINING with Tu Minh Tan. Nice little film of Paris based martial artist Tu Minh Ta. He comes from the Wan Lai Sheng – Ziranmen tradition – and I had the pleasure of training xing yi quan with him during the final days of his stay in London.
Ziranmen master- Wan Lai Sheng
Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars is the latest documentary from Robert Greenwald who also directed Iraq For Sale, Out Foxed and Wal Mart.
The use of drones has intensified under President Obama’s leadership as the number of troops on the ground in Afghanistan and the Pakistani tribal areas has been scaled back. But the drones often kill innocent civilians, including children. That’s the subject of Robert Greenwald’s new documentary, Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars and we need to give thanks that there are film makers like Greeenwald who are willing to go out on a limb and give voice to the stories that relate to the fatal impact of the drone strategy.
One of the most shocking revelations of this film is that following an initial drone strike a second strike is unleashed 5+ minutes later. The intention of this second strike is to kill the people who have gone to the assistance of those who might have survived.
Last week, members of US Congress heard testimony for the first time from victims of drone attacks, including that of 13-year-old Zubair Rehman, from Pakistan, who spoke of a strike last year that killed his grandmother and wounded him and his little sister. “I no longer love blue skies. In fact, I now prefer grey skies. The drones do not fly when the skies are grey. When the sky brightens, drones return and we live in fear.”
Five members of Congress who showed up for the testimony!
PS. As soon as I post the tags on this I suspect that somewhere within the massive banks of computers employed by the surveillance services sifting through the net and elsewhere I will be registering as a possible threat. We all need to be aware that what was sci-fi is now a reality.
PAINTED PRINTED PLAYED! A VITAL SESSION… THIS THURSDAY 7th November… Swifty & I will be representing at the opening of this collective exhibition event, conceived and curated by freedom loving painter Gina Southgate.
David Murray at Ronnie Scotts by Gina Southgate
This Thursday – 7th Nov. 2013
OK people.. there’s a £6.00 guest – All you have to is Quote ‘art house’ at the Rich Mix box office up to 24hours in advance! So, book now baby!
It all kicks off at 8.30. LIVE sets include BLACK TOP with Maggie Nichols + Alan Wilkinson + John Coxon + Mark Sanders…. + Ashley Wales’ films + Treader.
Jez Nelson – Jazz On 3 Don – & myself will be spinnin’ the vinyl! Somethin’ Else meets Ancient to Future!
RICH MIX BOX OFFICE – 35 -37 Bethnal Green Rd. Tel: 0207 613 7498
LIVE THE SPIRIT BIG BAND premiered A Dream Deferred or A Dream Or A Dream Come True + ‘1919’ at The Tabernacle in Ladbroke Grove.
Fresh from concerts in Brest and Paris, Chicago’s Live The Spirit Big Band touched down at the Tabernacle in Ladbroke Grove and blew the house down with a musical tsunami that controversially addressed the legacy of Martin Luther King’s I Had A Dream speech. Through the dynamic arrangements of the ensemble’s conductor Ernest Khabeer Dawkins’ and the fiery spoken word of Kahari B we were immersed in the rich constantly evolving tradition that is Jazz and forced us to question the relevance of a seminal slice of African American oratory that has had, and continues to have, an impact worldwide.
The ten piece Live The Spirit Big Band unites a host of players from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) – a Chicago based, non-profit organization that supports and encourages jazz performers, composers that is devoted “to nurturing, performing, and recording serious, original music” – and this piece by Ernest Khabeer Dawkins, A Dream Deferred or A Dream Or A Dream Come True, more than fans the flames of cultural resistance.
At the Tabernacle, Dawkins and the ensemble presented two original compositions, the second one being ‘1919’, which was constructed in four parts to evoke the context and rage unleashed during the 1919 Chicago race riots. Both ‘A Dream Deferred… ‘ and ‘1919’ delivered powerful and compelling messages and proved to be valuable additions to the incredible canon of work already produced by other celebrated luminaries from the AACM like Philip Cohran and the Art Ensemble Of Chicago.
Though billed as a 45 minute piece, the momentum of the music washed away any time restricting parameters. The music conjured up a continuum from swing era Duke Ellington through the bass driven muscular arrangement of vintage Charles Mingus to the joyous intergalactic spirit of Sun Ra. From trumpeter Corey Wilkes’ mind-blowing initial solo and seasoned explorations of trombonist Steve Berry the whole audience knew we were in for something special. The organic nature of each solo in relation to each movement was truly energizing. At the Tabernacle Ernest Dawkins swapped his horn for the conductor’s baton. So, it was down to a tall slim tenor player with the pace and dexterity of classic be-bop era Dexter Gordon and the superb alto player, Chris McBride, to hold the saxophone section. The latter had echoes of early Black Arthur Bythe and Bird and on the night Dawkins declared McBride’s tone to be, “Sweet like he’s touchin’ his wife!”
Tuff tenor!
The only non-American in the ensemble was trumpeter Byron Wallen. He was in tough company but he more than acquitted himself in his solos by negotiating the subtle twists and turns of the superb rhythm section of Isaiah Spencer on drums and Junius Paul on bass and Willerm Delisfort on piano/keys. It was nods and smiles all round.
Kahari B is president of the AACM and a professor at Purdue University, and this slim, goateed, Seventies flares wearing poet bent to the force of his own words and the weight of his imagery. “The night falls…” and the people step out and “exhibit the super powers they dream of in the day…” At a restaurant with Dr. King joy turns to hate and humiliation … “you don’t belong here nigger” … “I can’t eat around niggers!” and we picture him, head down, the words from ‘We Shall Overcome ‘ going round and around in his head.
“What happens to a dream deferred? Does it stink like rotten meat? Does it explode!”
Those words ignited a cathartic fury that manifested as a cacophony of sound underpinned by a raging solo on baritone sax from Aaron Getsug. It drove the piece relentlessly forward but eventually it fell in with a healing groove of gospel funk that rode on a swell of handclaps which had travelled from ensemble to audience. As it breaks down all we are left with our thoughts … A Deferred Dream Or A Dream Come True?
A family vacates their home – 1919 Chicago Race Riots
A short break allowed the gathering to savour the unique nature of the performance and prepare for the next. ‘1919’ introduced to those African American men and women who, post emancipation, abandoned the South for industrial north only to meet an alternative form of segregation – life on the other side of town. Those who enlisted to fight for America against the Kaiser came home “to the land of the free but not for me…” and were ready to resist, “ to make it red!”. It was a story that’s not that different from what happened in Ladbroke Grove in 1958 but the soundtrack was different. Alongside the ensemble’s ecstatic drummer emerged a loose’n’funky bass line that shifted shape beneath the layers of orchestration only reappear down the line and draw us ever nearer to a wild climax that declared “America is a revolution still waiting to happen”.
Byron Wallen steps up & Cory Wilkes is all smiles!
Ernest Khabeer Dawkins music and Kahari B’s words are rooted in near history. The lessons of the past and the nature of each piece demanded we look to the future. The pride and knowledge imbued in the music that Live The Spirit Big Band created promotes a genuine legacy of resistance against a system built on an obscene disparity in wealth and shouts from the rooftops that a change has got to come.
Dr Martin Luther King Jnr – “I Had A Dream… “
LOU REED was a legend. From Warhol’s NYC to the Punk generation and beyond, Lou Reed’s music never failed to resonate. A musical innovator and Chen taijiquan devotee he recently passed away aged 71 as a result of complications following a liver transplant in May
Lou Reed – My morning practice with Master Ren Guangyi
A fellow Chen taijiquan stylist, Lou Reed practiced martial arts for over 20 years and he studied diligently with Master Ren Guangyi, an innner door student of Master Chen Xiaowang. I was a touch surprised when he incorporated taijiquan into his live performances but watching the video from the Opera house is Sydney where the music was done by Reed and his wife, Laurie Anderson, it conveys both the grace and the power.
According to the man: “I thought this is fantastic, I could show people the power and the elegance of this traditional thing that goes back 300 years, maybe more… I’m not the only one floating around with this idea by the way, I’ve just never seen it done as well as I do it.”
From a journos point of view he was notoriously difficult to deal with and I have to confess that musically I never really got beyond the classic Velvet Underground albums and his first two solo LPs. That said, I bought the first two Velvet Underground LPs as a teenager at the tail end of the Sixties and the impact of each was massive. I might even have to dig out the vinyl after writing this.
Above: Master Ren and Lou Reed taijiquan class, Sydney Opera House. The music is by Lou and his wife Laurie Anderson. Must have been quite offbeat getting your posture corrected by Lou Reed.
Ren Guang-yi & Lou Red push hands
If you want a deeper taste of Lou’s views on Chen taijiquan check out Kung Fu Magazine Interview with Lou Reed: http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=325
FOR LOTS MORE ON MASTER REN GUANGYI: http://www.loureed.com/power/
A Deferred Dream or a Dream Come True? arrives in London this Saturday, 26th October, with Chicago’s Live The Spirit Ensemble.
Ernest Khabeer Dawkins
A Deferred Dream or a Dream Come True? is a 45 minute suite composed by Ernest Khabeer Dawkins – saxophonist and leader of the Chicago’s Live The Spirit Ensemble – which celebrates the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.
The election of America’s first Black President was a significant step in realising Dr King’s dream. Progress has been made but the recent conflict with the right wing Republican Party over “Obamacare” highlights the ideological war that has to be waged consistently in the USA to deal with poverty and racial inequality.
“A Deferred Dream or a Dream Come True?” delivers a score that is rooted in the vibrant, constantly evolving musical traditions of the African American community. It fosters a critical engagement with the centuries-old tradition of Black oration that first shook the walls of slavery and to do this, Dawkin’s has positioned the performance poetry of Khari B, a Professor at Purdue University and a powerful visionary voice, at the core of Live The Spirit Ensemble.
The nine-piece Live The Spirit Ensemble are all culturally conscious, hard working and skilled musicians from the thriving Chicago scene and all have strong links with the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians). Amongst the others in the ensemble I’m particularly keen to check out Corey Wilkes who took on the unenviable task of playing trumpet within the Art Ensemble Of Chicago after the inimitable Lester Bowie passed away.
For a taste of the session you can check this live recording on Bandcamp and on the back of that I’ll be venturing over the the west-side, to The Tabernacle in Powis Square this coming Saturday, 26th October to take in the whole piece.
Live The Spirit Ensemble: Ernest Khabeer Dawkins – saxophones, Corey Wilkes- Trumpet, Steve Berry- Trombone, Kahari B- Spoken Word, Chris McBride- Alto Sax, Aaron Getsug- Baritone Sax, Willerm Delisfort- Piano, Isaiah Spencer- Drums, Junius Paul- Bass
Incredibly, Jazz Alive are giving away 100 FREE TICKETS to the UK premier of “A Deferred Dream or a Dream Come True?” and FREE ticket includes an exclusive Question & Answer session with the composer and Delmark recording artist, Ernest Khabeer Dawkins.
TO GET A TICKET please email to tickets@jazzalive.co.uk with the following details in order reserve your FREE tickets:
1. Full name 2. Email Address 3. Telephone number 4. Organisation (optional)
A Deferred Dream or a Dream Come True? composed by Ernest Khabeer Dawkins will be performed by Live The Spirit Ensemble at THE TABERNACLE, 35 Powis Square, London, W11 2AY on Saturday 26th October. Doors 8pm.
ALSO check: https://ancienttofuture.com/2013/09/03/martin-luther-king-the-march-on-washington/
Autumn at the House Of St Barnabas kicked of in the Chapel with an evening curated by BBC6 Music’s Gilles Peterson and the Brownswood crew. It was three the hard way – acoustic stylee.
Andrew Ashong & Friends
The House Of St Barnabas is a charity that aims to help break the cycle of homelessness. While the charity’s offices are located at the top of the building the downstairs has been renovated and opened as a members club which will help fund their charitable works. The club will also provide training opportunities for people escaping life on the streets.
I first learned of the House back in ’79/80 when I worked in Maroons Tunes, a reggae shack, located next to the Beat Route in Greek Street. The women who were resident in the House were homeless or in transition between prison and life back in the community and several regularly passed through the shop to bum cigarettes and listen to a few tunes. Three decades the issues facing the homeless are the same but the strategies are different and the events at the House are planned to raise money while creating both publicity and awareness.
Ady & ???
On Monday night, the Chapel was packed to capacity and featured an appropriately a nu-skool line up of Ady Sulieman, Hejira and Andrew Ashong. Ady kicked the night of accompanied by his co-p on acoustic guitar and deft harmonies. This young singer songwriter delivers soulful vocals that have a modern clipped streetwise flow and sit comfortably with an intuitive almost subliminal pulse that is rooted in reggae.
Hejira were on a different trajectory. Celebrating the imminent release of their debut LP, ‘Prayer Before Birth’ on Accidental this quartet of Sam Beste, Rahel Debebe-Dessalegne, Alex Reeve and Alexis Nunez clearly aim to create an alternative ambience. Their cyclical riffs built over acoustic guitar, Fender Rhodes and a touch of bass climaxing with unusual and sensual vocal harmonies which paved the way for their lyrical excursions. There was a lot of baffling instrument swapping during the set but I could really imagine this indie four piece live with the guitars plugged in! The ambitious forthcoming launch party for their Matthew Herbert produced LP at the Round Chapel in Clapton on the 21st October could easily be trance inducing.
Hejira
Closing the evening was Andrew Ashong and his opening shot ‘Celestial Blues’ had this listener on the edge of his sea. Two acoustic guitars, bass, percussion and the Rhodes provided a mellow but funky cushion for Ashong’s deftly penned songs of love and life. On the night both he and Ady Sulieman evoked the spirit of vintage Bill Withers and the essence of Ashong’s songs synched effortlessly with the intimate and spiritual ambience of the chapel itself. His song,’Flowers’ was voted single of 2012 by Gilles’ Worldwide listeners and this extended unplugged version clearly lived up to the expectations of the audience.
It was an uplifting start to their the House of St Barnabas’ Autumn Culture Series and everyone left on gentle high. Fresh, nu-skool music that contributes to breaking that cycle of homelessness, yeah, I’m feelin’ that, and as there’s more to come watch this space..
Robert Wyatt
‘Robert Wyatt ’68’ is a fascinating document, a brace of works in progress by the drummer and vocalist with the legendary Soft Machine. The album contains four “lost” tracks – 2 short and 2 long – which were recorded in LA and New York post Soft Machine’s US tour with the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1968. They have been unearthed and released on Cuneiform Records in the States. The album comes complete with an in-depth Robert Wyatt interview by noted Canterbury expert Aymeric Leroy and for Bandcamp I have penned a somewhat personal piece that scans Robert Wyatt’s musical career and locates this extraordinary, politically conscious musician within a contemporary perspective.
The album
You can check it out at:
http://blog.bandcamp.com/2013/10/08/robert-wyatt-inner-visions/
‘SOLO SOPRANO- A PORTRAIT OF LOL COXHILL’ is latest venture by film maker Helen Petts and following its successful launch at the Full of Noises Festival, the film tours to Tusk Festival, Newcastle, London Jazz Festival and Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra Festival.
Versalites feat Rico Rodrigues (l) & Lol Coxhill (r) Photography: Cordelia Weedon
‘Solo Soprano – A Portrait of Lol Coxhill’ explores the nature of creativity, artistic integrity, improvisation and ageing. It is a film that connects intimately with its subject – a much loved and leading light of the international “improv” scene who passed away last year. Lol Coxhill was a renowned wit and a great musician. Though known for his free wheeling solo improvisations Lol also worked with a diverse array of artists including Rufus Thomas, Kevin Ayers, the Damned and film directors Sally Potter and Derek Jarman.
This intimate portrait of the saxophonist features a 30 minute solo from the 2009 Freedom of the City Festival in London intercut with archive footage from a documentary made in 1972 by leading feature film editor Mick Audsley and with Helen Petts’ own recordings made over the last 6 years of his life. She filmed Lol in many public and private performances and shot footage of his personal archive of music, instruments, toys and ephemera. This archive forms the basis of a very personal film.
Helen Petts is a British artist film-maker. One recent commission, Throw Them Up and Let Them Sing, explored sounds and landscapes from the world of Kurt Schwitters and was shown earlier this year at Tate Britain and Trondheim Contemporary Art Centre. However, over the last 5 years Helen has focused on the experimental / free improvised music scene in the UK and Europe. Her work has been screened in art galleries, on TV and international music festivals. Check out Helen’s hugely popular Youtube site (http://www.youtube.com/user/helentonic) which is devoted to showing this work along with live performances.
‘SOLO SOPRANO- A PORTRAIT OF LOL COXHILL’ SCREENINGS, DISCUSSIONS ETC…
13 October. TUSK Festival, Star and Shadow Cinema Newcastle. Single cinema screening.
15,16, 17 November. London Jazz Festival, Cafe Oto Project Space. Installation 12-8pm. Free entry.
5pm Saturday 15 November artist’s talk – Helen Petts, Mick Audsley (tbc) and musician Steve Beresford.
28,29,30 November. Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra Festival, Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow.
Lol Coxhill photo: http://artsconnection.org.uk/th_portfolio/cordelia-weedon/
Defining Me: Musical Adventures in Manchester is at The Lowry from Sat 28 September – Sun 23 February.
SERIOUS LINE-UP: Blues-ticket & Photo © Brian-Smith
Defining Me: Musical Adventures in Manchester looks to me like one essential exhibition. I discovered the show via http://www.northernsoul.me.uk and an excellent piece by Andy Murray. This is the the vibe.
“Manchester has a rich, diverse musical heritage – and every right to be fiercely proud of it. But you wouldn’t envy the man who tries to tell the entire story. This new exhibition tackles that challenge, avoiding the pitfalls in a smart, intuitive, roundabout sort of way.
Defining Me: Musical Adventures in Manchester –
Denise, Joan and Jodie © Kevin Cummins 1977
“It’s the work of Manchester District Music Archive, a group of local music enthusiasts who know their stuff, and who recognize a cheeky acronym when they see one. First established ten years ago to lobby for a permanent museum devoted to Manchester music-making, they elected to change tack and create an online archive instead. Anyone can contribute to it by submitting their own scans of gig posters, photos, ticket stubs and other artefacts. Over the years it’s become a fascinating, sprawling repository of music memorabilia from every era. It’s completely subjective and personal, and all the better for it. After all, who’s to decide which parts of the Manchester music story are more important than others? Who knows which bits really matter, and which bits don’t deserve a look-in?”
“This exhibition attempts to recreate that idiosyncratic online approach within a gallery space, and with great success, too. Individual ‘co-curators’ – regular MDMArchive contributors, or esteemed guests – have each assembled their own scrapbook-style section within the gallery, with their treasured private belongings either framed on the walls or displayed in cabinets. In this way, they can share their memories, passions, influences: whatever it is about music in Manchester that matters most to them.”
To read more from Andy Murray’s informed take on the show check out the Northern Soul site…“Stuff to do. Stuff to think about.” – but all in all this sounds great. In the mix is the the Hallé Orchestra’s first performance in 1858, Bob Dylan and the Free Trade hall, folk club flyers, gig posters and ticket stubs, photos of Blues legends at the Twisted Wheel alongside images of smokey parties in Hulme, stacks of bootleg cassettes of Factory acts, glam rock sessions and cut-outs from Yanks records. All sounds good to me and this celebration of Greater Mad-chester’s wonderfully diverse musical heritage might just tempt me to head back to my roots to check it out.
Roger Eagle & Millie Small – Twisted-Wheel 1964- Photography by Brian-Smith
Defining Me: Musical Adventures in Manchester is at
The Lowry: Promenade Gallery, Pier 8, Salford Quays until February 23, 2013
More info: http://www.thelowry.com/event/defining-me-musical-adventures-in-manchester, http://www.mdmarchive.co.uk
ancienttofuture.com 