As 2021 draws to a close my long time collaborator on Straight No Chaser, the artist formerly known as Swifty, comes with the second volume of The Graphic Art Of Ian Swift. This second volume completes a comprehensive chronology of Swift’s career as a graphic artist to date. Volume Two follows on from Volume One, which covered his typo-grafix and design practice up to the millennium, bringing us to the present day with a further two decades of prolific output.
Volume Two delves deeply into Swift’s archive covering a diverse selection of work that showcases an array of work which takes us beyond beyond the music industry commissions – Talkin’ Loud, Mo Wax, MELT 2000, Blue Note Japan, Far Out et al – that he has become so well known for. In this volume we see Swift pursuing more personal ventures and working on paintings, collages, assemblages, found objects, constructions, wall art and print editions. Much of this work was displayed in various exhibitions that he did in London and Australia. I loved the corner shop from his childhood that he replicated in a hotel room on Tottenham Court Road. I think that was the Red Dot Art Fair… Classic.
The book also features graphic art and designs – the man loves his Camo! – for the apparel industry including many seasons work for the street wear brand Addict Clothing Co., Ruff and Huddle, Hackney GT, Reebok and Stella McCartney.
The shadow of street and club culture is ever present in Swift’s art works whether it’s jazz, the world of Sound System or skateboarding. For a taste of the book check below!
Chapters also include his logo designs, title sequences, skateboards, sound systems, club graphics, merchandise and numerous commissions and collaborations.
Here’s the Specs…. Pages: 300 Size: 275mm (H) x 230mm x 22mm Spine Cover: 2 colour Pantone Print: Four colour Litho Thread sewn Soft back
Each book will be signed and numbered by Swift THE PRINT RUN IS ONLY 400 – YES ONLY 400. WORD IS OVER HALF HAVE BEEN SOLD ALREADY… SO DON’T SLEEP ON THIS!
PLEASE NOTE: FOR CHRISTMAS DELIVERY GET YOUR ORDER IN WELL IN ADVANCE OF CHRISTMAS POSTAL DEADLINES – DELIVERY TIMES ARE LONGER NOW ESPECIALLY POST BREXIT!
Last week I tuned into the online launch of Pauline Melville’s ‘The Master Of Chaos’ – a brand new book of fables… courtesy of her Scottish publishers, Sandstone. The award winning author is not keen on the term ‘short stories’…. it kinda lacks the magic and, in the case of this fresh and totally absorbing volume, I definitely agree.
Pauline
Though Zoom style events have become the norm in Covid… this potentially illuminating conversation between Pauline and Margaret Busby – her good friend and Britain’s first Black publisher – was fraught with techno blips. Pauline is more at home in the Iwokrama rain forest in Guyana than on the web and it seemed somewhat apt that at each pivotal moment of the reading she would vanish into the digital ether only return to pick up the thread on another continent or in a different city or in a different dimension. Brilliant!
Back in 2019 via #SNC100 I had revisited in the story that Pauline had penned for us after an encounter with Brazilian songstress Flora Purim. However, it was a more recent encounter with Alexei Sayle – who had worked with Pauline on the 80s alt-comedy series The Young Ones – that I was able to renew a friendship that goes back decades. All I had to do was find a red Nissan Micra.
Pauline Melville is a one-off. She has lived life and radiates enthusiasm for the absurd… she was thrilled at the story of Bolsonaro being hospitalised after a ten day bout of hiccups. She has roots in Guyana – both African and Amerindian – and in the Old Kent Road. There’s also a Scottish connection. Pauline is a traveller and a fabulous story teller. Both her first book Shape Shifter along with the prize winning Ventriloquist Tale are stamped into my consciousness.
On our first catch up – in what felt like a decade – she immediately informed me of this latest volume. I couldn’t wait to grab a copy and while awaiting its arrival I couldn’t resist ordering a couple of copies for friends… spread the word baby! Upon the book’s arrival I immediately hunkered down and demolished a few stories. Salman Rushdie is right… this is “a virtuoso performance”. The reader is transported. Fourteen fables for the times which span Georgetown, Glasgow, Yarmouth (& Hamelin), Petersburg, Buenos Aires, Grenada, Czechoslovakia, Syria….
Expect to encounter the unexpected… Pauline is a radics… her friends range far and wide across the cultural and political spectrum… and her visions reflect an openness that shuns dogma replacing it with a huge dose of humanity, often laced with a spritely and fierce humour. In The Dostoyevsky Room a group Russian intellectuals and writers ponder a grant from the EU. It’s a classic. One Guyana tale deals with fate and spans Georgetown and Lewisham while the other fizzes amid nature and introduces us to Uncle Tommy and Uncle Horace , the chief Arawak speaker of the Pakuri Village. There’s the dark shadow of the political prisoners and the discovery of a fascist murderer. The Fable Of A God Forgotten drop us into a visceral, all night, physical and mental fight for one’s life. On a suicide tip you can join a conversation between Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary in a room… waiting. There are tricksters and angels.
Welcome to the world of Pauline Melville. Dive in… and I definitely benefited from googling Hamelin and Ocelan! It’s the perfect read for yet another globally turbulent summer.
On the 9th June 2021 my good friend Jean Bernard Sohiez left this world. During the late 70s and early Eighties Jean Bernard and I roamed through the subterranean world of UK sound system and dedicated our words and photography to the promotion of the culture. This is a reflection of that window in time and a celebration of the journey and some of the incredible photographic work that he did.
Back in the late Seventies I was doing part time youth work and writing about reggae for a Dougie Thompson’s fanzine Ital Rockers, Arif Ali’s monthly magazine West Indian Digest and the Morning Star. One of my regular West End stop offs was the office of the hugely influential Keith Altham PR company in Old Compton Street. Altham was a music journo with a serious track record and a music biz don. My contact there was the effervescent French PR Claudine Martinet and it was Claudine who declared one Friday, “I want you to meet this photographer who has just arrived in London from Paris… “
After experiencing Bob Marley live in Paris Jean Bernard Sohiez had made his way to London – the best place for reggae apart from Kingston JA – and Claudine clearly thought I would make a good guide into the scene. Born in Morocco to French parents, JB as he initially became known, was an archetypal Parisian. The leather jacket, the ever present cigarette… he was well read, massively into the art of photography and had decent English with a strong French accent. He was living in a shared house in West London that was not ideal and when a space came up in our communal household in Stoke Newington I organised for JB to move in… thanks to his mother, Simone, he was an excellent cook!
Obviously, he had to make a living and was doing the rounds of the music press. I was a regular at Ron and Nanda’s reggae nights at the 100 Club and during a session with Clint Eastwood Jean Bernard introduced me to the editor of the NME, Neil Spencer. On the spot he commissioned a review of the gig and that sparked a working relationship between JB and myself which in 1979 resulted in shorts and features for the NME on Trinity, Prince Hammer, Errol Dunkley, Michael Campbell (Dread At The Controls), Sugar Minott, Prince Lincoln & Pablove Black…. and Laurel Aitken.
Laurel Aitken – London 1980 by Jean Bernard Sohiez
The Laurel Aitken meet up was classic. I was working in Maroons Tunes in Greek Street with Leroy ‘Lepke’ Anderson (DBC) and Rae Cheddie and this older guy comes in the shop. Turned out to be Laurel Aitken. Rae vanished to his flat upstairs only to re-appear with a stack of the 7’s credited to this original rude boy. The man was living in the midlands, was fired up by the new generation (Specials, Selecter, Madness et al) and had cut a new tune of his own. Sensing a good story, I arranged a meet and a photo shook in Stokie. On the day Laurel arrived suitcase in hand, well prepared, fresh double breasted whistle, pork pie hat, darkers and two toy Lugers! JB’s portaits are classic and paved the way for him to sign to Arista and join The Beat on stage at the Lyceum.
JB and I became a team. I did the scribbling, JB did the shots and the driving. As a journo it has never been wise to depend on the PR’s and record companies. I shopped for music all the time and M&D in Dalston was where I bought most of my pre releases. The shop was always packed on a Friday evening with a host of hungry, just been paid buyers, eager to acquire the latest missives and music from Yard. That weekly gathering introduced JB to a unique form of etiquette. It’s the same etiquette that was required if you were to venture into the world of sound system… especially if you are intent on taking photos.
I was keen to introduce Jean Bernard into the world of sound as it was totally underground and in many respects undocumented. I’d first heard Sir Coxsone sound system in ’73 at the Jamaican Club in Gloucester – a mind blowing experience – and in ’75, given the opportunity to write about the music my first choice for an interview had been Lloydie Coxsone. He remains a charismatic spokesman for sound system culture… the man has history and gravitas. I regarded myself a Coxsone follower and once JB was active on the sound system circuit he simply became known via the Coxsone posse as “Frenchie”.
Watching JB at work with people, he was affable, polite, open to conversation and his being French gave him an exotic edge… he was an outsider in an outsider world. Plus he was discreet. He carried a small bag and his weapon of choice was a small but excellent Leica. He never used flash in the dance. In fact, I recall being in Brixton Town Hall and witnessed another French photographer with a big ass camera firing off a bunch of shots on flash… boof boof booof… and having the camera snatched from his hand and dashed into pieces on the floor.
We did the 4 Aces, Colombos, Bali Hai… regular sound clashes and the big cup clashes. JB and I savoured the tension of those big sessions… at the Acton Town Hall one Friday night the session was in full flight… Lloydie was running late… he was coming from JA and straight to the session from the airport. Preshah!! There was a tangible sense of relief when he finally materialised and handed Festus and Blacker a pile of dub plates… the top one was marked ‘Cup Winnner’. That tune was ‘Five Man Army’.
Quite often on a Sunday afternoon JB would borrow, Ann Hodges’ Morris Minor and head off to check Lloydie and the crew playing cricket on Clapham Common. A major feature in Rock & Folk – the premier French music mag – carried a brilliant double page shot by JB of Lloydie tossing a cricket ball. Sometimes a summer sound clash might be preceded by a cricket match. Such was the case at one clash in Northampton… Sheep Street… Quaker City, Jah Shaka and Coxsone. A heavyweight clash. We took JB’s brother, Philippe, to that session. It was pretty intense and I’m not sure that Philipe had the most positive experience. Still, it was in at the deep end and he did survive.
There are plenty of stories. The night that Bob Marley died we were almost refused entrance to Coxsone’s tribute. The gateman suspected we were police… jokes!… and as we waited for Naphtali to sanction our entrance JB was like… “Merde! What is this tune they’re playing… what is this version… ???”. The tune was ‘Rainbow Country’ – a long time Coxsone sound dubplate. Another time, on our way to Huddersfield with Blacker and Naphtali we ended up in the cells at Hinckley police station. I might write a short story about that little scenario one day.
With fellow scribe and reggae aficionado Penny Reel in tow, JB and I followed Coxsone sound to Amsterdam. As far as I know that was the first time a big UK sound system had crossed the channel into Europe. While the posse were clearly impressed with the herbal situation it was enlightening and depressing to see how the largely Surinamese party goers lived in fear of the local Dutch police.
Of course, JB dreamt of going to JA and in 1980 he finally made it. Just last weekend I was at a friend’s house in Bristol and on one wall was a lovely framed image of Bob Marley at Hope Road ready to play football. It was a JB Sohiez original print. Somewhat predictably, JB’s photo shoot at the Black Ark was fraught with problems. JB was desperate to shoot Lee Perry. All seemed to go swimmingly well but then again, Scratch was as tricky and volatile as ever. At end of the shoot he said, “Let me hold that film for safety.” JB wisely held one of two films back. Scratch deftly dropped the other into the fish tank. Gone.
Like all of us, JB could be a touch obsessive. At Augustus Pablo’s yard JB came across a vinyl… a pared back, raw, alternative version of ‘Catch A Fire’ LP. He needed to find this album. Despite all the evidence pointing to there being no such thing, and suggestions that it might just have been the ganja… JB held firm. It was the eventual release of the ‘Catch A Fire Deluxe edition CD, that would prove our wandering lensman right . Disc 1 delivered “the unreleased Jamaican recordings”. It would nice to revisit and reflect on some of the images from that trip… I loved the shots of Glen Brown in his yard. . . Pablo at Channel One.
Looking back 1981 was a very heavy year. The year commenced with the New Cross Fire. The blaze at a house party in south London killed 13 young black people. On the street the consensus was that a racist fire bomb had started the fire. The Black People’s Day of Action followed in March and was a genuine reflection of the anger and frustration. Placards read “Thirteen Dead, Nothing Said”, “No Police Cover-Up” and “Blood Ago Run If Justice Na Come”… and when the march reached Fleet Street – home to the UK press – the protestors were met with chanted monkey noises from the windows above them. Tensions continued to escalate into the summer and between April to July there were riots across the nation… Toxteth, Chapeltown, Handsworth, Moss Side, Brixton.
In February, between the New Cross Fire and the Black People’s Day Of Action, Neil Spencer boldy commisioned for the NME a major feature on UK sound system culture. That was a big deal. Believe! It featured a journalistic clash between myself (Coxsone Outernational), Penny Reel (Fat Man Hi Fi) and Vivien Goldman (Jah Shaka)… all photography by Jean Bernard Sohiez! It was totally ground breaking, especially as the NME had a weekly circulation of around 200,000+ readers. I think Neil got a bollocking from the publishers for that cover story. I loved JB’s cover shot of the box boys stringing up the sounds in Brixton Town Hall… radical runnings!
The NME feature… a classsic… February 1981. All photos by Jean Bernard Sohiez
It was in ’81 that I met and introduced Molly Dineen – an up n coming documentary film-maker – to the Coxsone posse. She struck up a friendship with Blacker Dread who was living in Armoury way in Wandsworth, as were members of the aspiring Young Lion sound system. Molly’s ‘Sound Business’ film was her degree submission and remains today an evocative and classic document of that time.
The militant soundtrack to that summer of ’81 was Black Uhuru and their performance at the Rainbow in Finsbury Park that July was electrifying, strangely attuned to the menacing vibe in the venue. JB and I both agreed this was not the place to take photos. The venue was mobbed. The crowd rushed the doors, there were fights, the bar was looted and one person died. A couple of days later I answered my doorbell only to find a couple of plain clothes police. I ushered them into JB’s studio and was immediately hit by the smell of ganja. JB had photographed Culture the day before! The look on my face must have been priceless. However, the detective just said, ‘We’re not interested in that, we’re murder squad, and interested in locating people who had been at the Rainbow that night… we’re trying to locate anyone who’d been filming or taking photos.”
One wikkid set of images in JB’s archive documents the Peace Dance that took place in the wake of the ’81 Brixton Riots. It was the day of the Royal Wedding (Charlie & Di) and was held in the adventure playground on Railton Road. When I was asked about this event some years later by a BBC researcher I couldn’t remember being there. Jean Bernard thought that was funny and sent me a bunch shots. It was a hot day and there I was, in a white tee, in the midst of a jam packed crowd of black Londoners. Seeing the shots it all came flooding back. Castro Brown was the Master Of Ceremonies. Coxsone Outernational played and the stage hosted a kids dance competition alongside the likes of Sugar Minott, Eastwood & Saint, Jah Thomas… all sporting the same Clarks shoes!
JB and I definitely felt like we were on a mission. I was designing logos and flyers for the Coxsone Outernational record label and working on a couple of paintings – based on images taken by Jean Bernard – that eventually graced the sleeve of the LP – ‘King Of The Dub Rock Pt. 2’. Sound system was the roots… the foundation… and we wanted to give it the respect it deserved.
Vivien Goldman – ‘Launderette’ 12″ photography by Jean Bernard Sohiez
As the Eighties evolved so the musical landscape changed. JB did a lovely set of shots for Vivien Goldman’s ‘Launderette” 12″ featuring Viv and actor Archie Poole. A return to his native Paris beckoned and upon his return in ’82 Jean Bernard struck a relationship with Fanny Feeny – a school friend of Molly Dineen (small world!). Fanny was the co-owner of Blue Moon records – Paris’ premier reggae shop and record label. She was a regular ball of energy and at the epicentre of Paris’ deejay and dancehall scene. We can give thanks that JB made the odd foray in Jamaica on behalf of Blue Moon to shoot the new dons of the dancehall world.
When we started Straight No Chaser magazine back in ’88 Jean Bernard was my go to man in Paris. Together we went in search of the underground Congolese Sapeur scene – that was difficult! The photo shoot I commissioned with MC Solaar – who was massive in France and unknown in the UK – quite righfully made the cover of SNC and produced a classic spread inside. His photos of ‘Cachaito’ from the Buena Vista, who was playing in Paris with master congalero, Anga Diaz, were equally classic.
However, life is complicated. Maintaining one’s identity, especially as free lancer is never easy. The news that JB had split from his family and was living alone was sad and worrying. Adding to the pressure, he was being harassed and threatened by a man claiming to represent Festus Coxsone. He maintained that JB was exploiting Festus via the classic photo that has made Festus famous worldwide. Ironically, that image has to be one of the most bootlegged in reggae music. JB was principled, a purist, an artist, who would never have sold the rights for that image to be printed on a t-shirt or a tote bag. He was seriously stressed and deeply wounded by the whole scenario. It undoubtedly led him to close himself off from the world he once thrived in.
In these times of Covid and self isolation we are all aware of how fragile our own mental health is and as the years have gone by JB’s health and well being was under serious assault from drinking. He was an alcoholic. I always hoped he would quit.. stop completely… pick up the pieces and enjoy his kids – Laurie, Dylan and Coco – and his grandchildren. Personally, I never witnessed him in meltdown but, all too often, his family did. So, I knew it was bad. But no matter how bad you think it is you are never prepared for the worst. And that’s what arrived via a phone call yesterday.
The last time I saw JB was in October 2017. Along with his sister Christine and his brother Philippe they had a stall in a flea market in Paris. We were on our way back from visiting another friend and artist, Frederic Voisin in Reims and it was so great to see alll three of them. It was a beautiful day. We had a Moroccan lunch and chatted about the usual stuff… friends, politics, music, art and photography. It was all good… positive… and looking at a picture we took that day, they were all happy. And that’s how I shall remember him. Jean Bernard was my spar at a pivotal moment in our lives.. my bredren… a great photographer and I, like many others, will miss him.
Christine, Philippe & Jean Bernard Sohiez – Paris October 2017
On the warmest day of the year so far and one year on from Black Out Tuesday – #theshowmustbepaused – I suddenly felt inclined to pen a few words about Lock down FM – a book that I’ve spent the last 6 months editing. It was art directed and designed by the very excellent Hugh Miller. The process… the journey… was ‘long’! That said, we had a blast stitching it all together while consistently being dipped in a sea of music that – even I with a LARGE record collection – was old, new and consistently enlightening. The book arrived fresh from the printers in Sheffield around a week ago and having seen little press aside from tweaked versions of my own press release I felt the need to shed a little more light on the generous tome that is aptly subtitled L FM.
So, what’s the word on this surprisingly easy to handle 604 page hardback of biblical proportions?
The concept for Lockdown FM belongs to my good friend Gilles Peterson – broadcaster, club DJ and genre defying music aficionado. Working with GP is always a pleasure, even if he’s somewhat hectic – the man has got ’nuff energy – and is sometimes prone to the odd flash of stress! It was in the wake of that first Covid 19 lockdown that we got together at his studio – the Brownswood basement – in Stokie to chat about documenting what had been a unique moment, not just in our history, here in London, but globally. The pandemic had brought the world to a disorientating stand still. We’d been confined to our “bubbles”… allowed out only to exercise and take in a world where traffic had all but ceased and the bird song was incredible. The weather was amazing and the skies were free of planes endlessly circling. Everything moved online: food deliveries… our social lives… work! Zoom zoom zoom!
During Lockdown I’d shelved the notion of producing Vol.2 of Straight No Chaser / #SNC100. The live energy and face to face interaction needed to do the mag had evaporated and I was stuck in my flat with my partner and our son, both of whom worked all the way through that first lockdown. To tell the truth it was hard to focus. However, I could turn on my computer every morning and tune into GP broadcasting on Worldwide FM from around the corner. His life as a globetrotting DJ had ceased and he’d retreated into his studio to explore his ever expanding record collection.
“‘I wanted to document the most turbulent period in my life and how so many of us got through it, with music.” Gilles Peterson
The deaths of musicians … some of whom we knew, had interviewed, had admired… came thick and fast as Lockdown became a new reality. The news that Manu Dibango had been taken by Covid 19 in Paris was a shocker and others followed. To balance off against the deaths there were birthdays to celebrate… Stevie Wonder, Marshall Allen… musical careers to revisit… genres to illuminate… jazz waltz, trip hop, bruk beat, jazz funk… The 20s… plus there was non stop flow of new music… SAULT… Gilles’ sessions offered up passion, optimism… give thanks… the man was following the mantra… “Music is the healing force of the universe”.
In the summer of2020 Lockdown crumbled under the weight of the Black Lives Matter movement and in our own community there was a wave of deep, penetrating conversations, soul searching and reflection that demanded a response to the deep rooted racism that is all too often left unexplored and unchallenged. Writing this today, a week after the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and a couple of days after the anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre of 1921 we are still in that moment. The struggle goes on.
OK… back to L FM. The initial concept was to document the the journey through lockdown via the daily playlists – somewhere in GP’s mind were those anorak-ish books that you get in Japan documenting the releases of obscure record labels or artists. Gilles was broadcasting on Worldwide FM five days a week and had “key-worker” status that allowed him to drive into a desolate West End on Saturdays to broadcast from a deserted BBC6 Music. The shows were long – 2 to 4 hours. To back up the playlists we had GP’s instagram posts, the vibe of which could give the book a “social media” feel. To take us out of the Brownswood bunker and onto the streets we had a plan to incorporate the photography of local don, Dobie. Throughout lockdown he’d roamed far and wide on epic cycle rides around the city.
The 20s
Through EYE magazine’s, John Walters, I was introduced to award winning graphic designer Hugh Miller. He arrived at Brownswood armed with a few examples of print to consider and, predictably, both Gilles and myself were drawn to a classy, minimalist, little hardback from Scandinavia documenting record releases from the jazz avante-garde. We had our template.
It was kinda crazy that we would embark on such a venture when we had no idea of how many pages the book would need! Improvisation was the name of the game… it’s just jazz baby! We just thought, let’s start collecting all this stuff together and see how it goes. We enlisted Pedro Montenegro… who was in our Brownswood bubble and a long way from his home in Rio De Janeiro… to type up and complete the playlists from each show. This was a mammoth task as Gilles was dealing mostly with first editions – not re-issues – and he was adamant that we needed each list to feature artist, track, name of LP, record label and date. It was the proper way to go… give thanks for discogs.
After toying with several flat plans Hugh and I settled on a basic structure. Pre-lockdown would begin on New Year’s eve at Oval Space and TRC and the follow Gilles on his crazy DJ/curator schedule to NYC, Chicago, the Worldwide FM Awards in London, Australia and New Zealand. The second section would be Lockdown… kicking off when our bumbling, bluffer of a PM, Boris Johnson, addressed the nation on the 23rd March… just 10 days after the Cheltenham Races (check out Matt Hancock’s connection that little super spreader) and the Liverpool v Athletico Madrid match which played host to 3000 fans from a Covid-19 ravaged Italy. The Lockdown part of the journey would be follow the daily time line and be built around the playlists which we farmed out to our man Gareth in Glasgow. He rose to unenviable, mathematical challenge of creating an airy grid system that would host Pedro’s diligent efforts.
On top of that we envisaged GP’s own Lockdown Listening and props for whoever contributed. However, the next monster task to emerge was the quest of photographing all the albums that GP chose to accompany each playlist. Enter Andrew G Hobb’s, a mate of Hugh’s who not only photographed all the LP sleeves, front, back and inside gatefolds but also meticulously cut out each one so as to retain the battered nature of each sleeve. Without this process many of the images would have been framed within an annoying white square. That design disaster that would not have sat well with Hugh’s fastidious approach to the design. The bonus for Hugh was that his studio flat was now home to a small mountain of rare vinyl gems that would provide an ongoing soundtrack to his daily endeavours. Believe me… on reflection, we re-lived that first lockdown, day by day.
On a regular basis I’d mask up, pocket the hand gel and make the bus journey across Hackney to Hugh’s studio in Bow. Some days it definitely felt like you were taking your life in your own hands. The months began to slip by. Deadlines evaporated. Pedro was on the cusp of burn out. While it was clear that this was Gilles’ book he was uneasy about his own visual presence and eventually we opted only for shots that showed him working. It also became clear that we need to source better shots of the artists who’d died and that raised the whole game. Fortunately I have my own Straight No Chaser posse of photographers like Peter Williams and Liz Johnson Artur who I knew had killing shots of artists like McCoy Tyner and Manu Dibango. Gilles put us in touch with Egon who came through with great images of Bubbha Thomas and the epic flyer, ‘Why do racists fear jazz?’ Momentum started to gather. We tracked down great photos of Henry Grimes. DC poet and primal force with Heroes Are Gang Leaders, Thomas Sayers Ellis, delivered a terrific shot of Marshall Allen and the late Danny Ray Thompson. It turned out that the super funky shot of Tony Allen in the studio with Fela on keys was shot by the mother of Remi Kabaka Jnr.
As the flow of scintillating spreads emerged so it became clear that we had a different beast on our hands. We were constantly adding to the mix. Gilles brought Kassa Overall on board to illuminate the lockdown of a back-pack producer. Louie Vega had been broadcasting nightly on WWFM so it felt right to commission some words from Louis and from Francois K as to how they’d negotiated lockdown in New York – a city that had generated nightmarish stories from their ICU and A&E frontlines. The flow of music released during lockdown was incredible. It was constant. It only seemed right that we hit up musicians like Zara McFarlane (her LP came out in the midst of lockdown) and Bluey Maunick (who finished the Strata LP with GP during lockdown.) It was a process. Weeks would go by and a new story would emerge that had to be included. Think: Jazz Is Dead or Indaba Is.
Songs Of Resistance
The music world is a very male orientated and Gilles’ focus on and homages to great women artists like Dee Bridgewater, Shirley Scott and Mary Lou Williams were essential to the book, as were images of Zara in the studio or Greentea Peng live in the basement during the Worldwide Awards (respek to Dan Moss for that BOOM shot!).
Obviously, we were, and still are, dealing with serious and deadly virus. Some things hit us harder than others. Ty’s passing hit us hard. He had come out of the induced coma and come off life support. People had rallied to aid his recovery. Sadly, that recovery was not be. Shock waves travelled via social media… which was where we discovered Paul Martin’s tribute and Bunny Bread and Jason Cabello’s mural. Similarly, the on-line video of George Floyd crying out, “I Can’t breathe!’ was devastating. The ongoing divisive agenda of Trump combined with ongoing police violence… the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.. and the killing of George Floyd sparked protests and support for Black Lives Matter worldwide. Nowhere is the depth feeling and bitter reflection captured than in the words of Erica McCoy who took to the airwaves on the 10th June 2020.
Those we lost!
“We have created something unique in this book; a personal story with a collaborative spirit. An eclectic journal and cultural documentation of an unprecedented time told through music, essays, poetry, photography and design.” Hugh Miller
As I said earlier, deadlines came and deadlines went (sorry Simon!). We planned to have it done and dusted for Xmas. We weren’t ready. We were worried for Hugh. He’d been working non stop. The virus meant he couldn’t return to his native Birmingham to see his mum who is in her eighties. Luckily, a visit to deliver a present to his aunt in Thornton Heath resulted his being subjected to traditional Jamaican hospitality and rescued from Xmas alone on the east side. As we entered 2021 the end was in sight. I had culled 200 pages from the book to reduce down to a modest 600 pages. It was now down to Hugh who had finally corralled thousands of words and images into place. He needed the time to do his thing, to finesse the design, stamp his mark on those spreads that today are guaranteed to have peeps nod and smile in approval.
L FM is unique, It’s cultural. It’s political. It’s about community and power of music. It’s a goldmine for both the diggers and beginners! It’s a visual feast that documents a period of creative resistance not just to a deadly virus but resistance in the face of ongoing government incompetence and down right craziness when it came to leaders like Trump and Bolsonaro. L FM is a book that no regular publisher could have done. We bruk too many rules and at a certain point we just needed to get it right! And I think we’ve done that.
Lindigo: “I was born Maloya, I breathe Maloya, I sweat Maloya, I will die Maloya”
It’s a balmy September Thursday night and outside the Brixton Jamm on Brixton Road and a modest crowd consisting mostly of members from Brixton’s Afro Brasilian ensemble Baque de Axé – renowned for their Maracatu de Baque Virado – are gathered in the hope of witmessing a rare performance from Lindigo, an ensemble who hail from the island of Réunion in the southwest of the Indian Ocean. Founded in 1999 by vocalist Olivier Araste, Lindigo is named after a local plant with healing properties. They play Maloya and have notched up hundreds of live gigs and released half a dozen albums.
As the band take the stage there is a genuine sense of anticipation. This one-off UK gig, is part of their European tour and as Brixton Jamm is home to Cal Jader’s Movimientos the regulars in the house are well versed in the roots music of Latin America and beyond. The first song kicks in it sets the dancefloor alight. The sharp percussive shuffle of the kayamb – a flat rattle made from sugar cane tubes and seeds – goes straight to feet and as the thunder of the ‘rouler’ – a large hand drum – drops it lifts the vibe in the room to another dimension. The spirit of the ancestors arrived in the room.
Araste deftly initiated a call and response rapport between the 8 piece ensemble and its audience and at one point even had the whole room, hands in the air, stepping side to side, in a Réunion style line-dance. The musicians consistently swapped places onstage to introduce an array of instruments including marimba, djembe, a small accordion and a unique home made ‘kora’. It was down to Lauriane Marceline, who doubles on keys, to drop both soprano and alto sax into the mix.
I can recall being introduced to the riddims of maloya at WOMAD through the political and social protest of Creole poet Daniel Waro. It’s a music of both the spirits and protest and its origins lie in the music of African and Malagas slaves combined with the Indian indentured workers on the island. For decades the powers that be considered maloya a cultural irritant that needed to be stamped out and some maloya bands were actively banned by the authorities until the 1980’s due to their connections with the Communist Party Of Réunion. However, as this show progressed it was clear that while Lindigo’s music stubbornly looks the past there’s no hint of nostalgia. What we experienced was a reviving dose of sonically fresh, contemporary maloya and a taste of what they plan to deliver during their forthcoming tour of Brasil.
As we bowled out into the night under a bright but waning Harvest moon high on maloya the consensus was that we’d definitely notched up a good one! And for that I have to big up Jody G for turning me onto the session and the man called Pedro Chiodi (B•Mundo) for having the having the vision and determination to host it!
PB
PS: On an offbeat synchronicity note, I rode the tube back to North London with a trumpet player who’d I recognised from the Lindigo session and then, having parted company with him, boarded a bus home only to discover the woman on the seat adjacent to mine was a friend of the Brixton/Brazilian legend that is “Maria” and had also been at the gig. Deepness!
THE CASIMIR CONNECTION: Tapping Into The Mysterious Force
At the tail end of 2017 a friend invited me to experience a brace of new compositions written by saxophonist Diane McLoughlin at the Old Church in Stoke Newington in North London – an intimate venue where only a few weeks earlier I’d enjoyed an mesmerising and uplifting set from Mali’s Trio Da Kali.
The Casimir Connection – Old Church
As it was a little bit off my normal beat I wasn’t sure what to expect. The session was promoted by Blow The Fuse – a long standing feminist/artist led collective, founded by guitarist Deirdre Cartwright and bassist Alison Rayner, that came in existence back in 1977 (think punk rock and Rock Against Racism!). I found the venue packed and already buzzing from the first set by Josefina Cupido’s Trio Cucara and was intrigued by The Casimir Connection’s drum-free line up of two violinists – Benet McLean and Pawel Grudzian (who also played keys), the elegant bass of Tim Fairhall and Dianne McLoughlin herself on saxes.
In the past, when asked to explain their name, McLoughlin, who has numerous ensembles, references the Casimir Effect, “a mysterious force in quantum physics that draws elements together” and she clearly sees that definition as an interesting metaphor for her own musical ensemble.
As the set unfolded the ambience of the Old Church provided the perfect setting for the music she has composed. As a listener you immediately sense that she’s lived with these works and that there exists a deep personal connection to each of them. Diane’s between composition introductions referenced her feelings and moods, along with events and stories from her childhood. Song titles like ‘Eisenstein’s Theory’, A Day In A Polish Village 1933′, ‘The Nurture Of Nature’ and ‘The Storm Inside’ conjure up images of what she intends to explore with her fellow musicians and her audience. There was intimacy and intensity, and especially the latter in a composition which was crafted to reflect her love of the Yorkshire moors… a journey that was surprisingly dark and quite menacing.
Above: ‘The Nurture Of Nature’ @ Lauderdale House 2017
There were mesmerising moments from all the musicians involved. Each was fully engaged. While classically trained Pawel Grudzien’s violin solo blew us all away, the sound of Benet McLean’s instrument consistently swept through the chapel and soared up to the ancient rafters above us alongside McLoughlin’s soprano or alto sax. Like those world renowned classical chamber music ensembles the quartet enjoyed exploring the space that exists between sound and silence. Alternatively quiet and brooding, serene and uplifting, The Casimir Connection showered us with echoes of influences from vintage Keith Jarrett to Poulenc, Bartok and Balkan folk music.
Those gathered were more than appreciative of what they’d experienced. Personally, along with performance I was quietly happy to know that Blow The Fuse continue to consistently work their corner. They continue to organise spaces where wonderful musicians, who often remain anonymous through pursuing a pragmatic livelihood of live and studio session work and remain largely unknown to a new generation of listeners (and players).
After sold out performances at Lauderdale House and last year’s London Jazz Festival, The Casimir Connection are today poised to perform in the depths of Hackney (E9) at Sutton House this coming Friday – July 6th. On the night, Kit Massey, a violinist with a history in the Santiago Philharmonic, a deep knowledge of the Karnatic violin traditions of Mysore and a founding member of the Heritage Orchestra replaces the excellent Benet McLean. Like the Old Church this beautiful Grade II listed Tudor manor house… yes, a Tudor Manor House in Lower Clapton / Homerton High Street!… with its excellent acoustics and its Steinway concert grand is an ideal setting for the group’s evocative and at times filmic musical journeys.
If you fancy it…. Doors open 7pm Performance 7.30pm.
This interview with curator Jonzi D and MD/saxophonist Jason Yarde was done by Straight No Chaser scribe Tom Tidnam for #SNC99 but production dates slipped by and the mag was not gonna drop before the May Bank Holiday… so, here it is!!
Reflecting on 15 years of Breakin’ Convention, the hip-hop dance festival held annually at London’s Sadler’s Wells, its Artistic Director – and pioneer of hip-hop theatre – Jonzi D acknowledges that such an event was, at the time of its conception, pretty unprecedented. Despite this, he notes that “15 years down the line, we’ve seen how hip-hop dance theatre is affecting contemporary dance generally…now, artists who come from hip-hop as a practice are doing work that’s hard to define as hip-hop…it’s very theatrical, exploring different styles, like classical music.” He stresses, however, that despite the festival’s broadened appeal, he is “keen to maintain the audience, because it’s changed so much over the years…the traditional Sadler’s Wells audience feel comfortable absorbing hip-hop now, and middle-class, white folk go in their droves… you often get what seems to be a lot of non-hip-hoppers peering into the culture – this year, we definitely want to address that.” Potential ambivalence about this aside, to Jonzi, the benefits are clear, with “hip-hop (now being) taken seriously as an artistic medium and an artistic discipline, allowing us to stretch our understanding of what hip-hop can be”.
Expanding this understanding of the art form has always been on Jonzi’s agenda. 15 years ago, he says “hip-hop was suffering from a lot of stereotypes about gangsterism, which wasn’t truthful to my experience of hip-hop culture – Breakin’ Convention challenges those ideas.” This approach and ethos, centred around questioning assumptions about genre and audience, is shared by Jazz Re:freshed, also celebrating their 15-year anniversary and bringing their specially commissioned Jazz Re:freshed Sonic Orchestra together for the first time to perform at the festival.
Jonzi and musical director Jason Yarde credit Jazz Re:freshed with rewriting the rules of contemporary jazz and expanding the scope and influence of the UK jazz scene. Jason, who has been involved with Jazz Re:freshed since its conception, praises them for “flying the flag for UK jazz in a way that’s not been done before” and agrees that the pairing makes sense: “hip-hop and jazz is not a new marriage”. For Jason, the opportunity to get a roster of fresh jazz talent working alongside a varied selection of dance troupes – including Boy Blue, The Locksmiths and The Ruggeds – was a uniquely exciting one. “Jonzi’s always trying to take this hip-hop talent from around the world and give it a platform” says Jason, “and we’re lucky at the moment, in terms of jazz, that there’s a lot of young musicians who are really into it, finding their voice and making their way, with more young people appreciating it”. The connection with young musicians is key to this, according to Jason, as Jazz Re:freshed has “fostered different players and different audiences…if you don’t keep on the people doing new things and trying to push things forwards, then things can stagnate”.
Nurturing young talent remains a key motivation for Jonzi – “we were all young once, and we all felt that we needed doors opened for us…it’s important that we’re constantly aware of what young people are doing and how we can provide platforms for them.” As for Jonzi himself, the drive to create remains strong, and he is devising a new work to be performed at this year’s Breakin’ Convention, a poem whose subject matter he is keen to keep under wraps. He does, however, offer this hint: “all my work is political, and if the arts aren’t political, then we’re gonna have to rely on politicians and we can’t do that now, can we?” The ambition inherent in this statement is evidence that there remains in Breakin’ Convention a desire to push the boundaries of what hip-hop, contemporary dance and live music can address, how it can be expressed and who it can speak to.
Check the Jazz re:freshed Sonic Orchestra… Bangin’ line up!!
International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre
Sadler’s Wells EC1R
Saturday 5 – Monday 7 May
Performances: Saturday – Monday at 6pm, doors open at 4pm (Mon: 4.30pm)
Tickets: Standing: £15, Seats: £24 (£17 concessions)
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or http://www.sadlerswells.com
‘Being Blacker’ is a unique, uncompromising and radical 90 minute documentary and both Molly Dineen and Steve’Blacker Dread’ Martin take to the road to launch the film in a cinema near you prior to it airing on BBC2 on March 12th.
Filled with anticipation I checked into BAFTA on Picadilly for a BBC press screening of Being Blacker – the latest documentary from the award-winning Molly Dineen. It delivers an intimate profile of the life and times of Brixtonian sound man, long-time record shop owner and producer, Blacker Dread. While I was hyped about the film but I’d also picked up on the odd rumour that Being Blacker had sparked alarm bells within the walls of the BEEB. Maybe the moral panics were down to the film central character, Steve ‘Blacker Dread’ Martin, being jailed for fraud during the making of the film and that his closest friend, Napthali – also a pivotal character within the film – is a convicted bank robber. Thankfully, the winds of political correctness gave way to the power of reality and the result is truly compelling and rewarding insight into the world of Blacker Dread.
The Funeral of Blacker’s mother…
Molly is one of the UK’s most unique film makers. There’s no crew. It’s just Molly Dineen and her camera. She was awarded The Grierson Memorial Trust 2003 Trustees’ Award for “Outstanding contribution to the art of documentary” and won a BAFTA and Grierson Award for her penultimate film The Lie Of The Land – a raw portrait of the British countryside and the demise of farming. You might have seen her TV series The Ark – where she spent 6 months at London Zoo or The Heart of The Angel which led her to film over 24 hours in the Angel tube station in London. All her films are available via the British Film Institute (BFI) and Being Blacker arrives after a 10 year hiatus. The only film of Molly’s which isn’t on sale via the BFI, is Sound Business – the film she submitted for her degree at the London College Of Printing. It’s within Sound Business that the roots of her long standing relationship with Blacker Dread lies.
If my memory serves me well I met Molly via Maroons Tunes, a short lived reggae emporium in Greek Street, Soho, where I did the odd day behind the counter alongside DBC’s Leroy ‘Lepke’ Anderson, Rae Cheddie (Bullwackies) and the erudite Steve Barrow (Blood & Fire). She wanted do a film on sound system and I became her link to Sir Coxsone Outernational Sound System. That was 1981 and her 45 minute film – narrated by the late Michael ‘Dread At The Controls’ Campbell – takes us into the dancehall, visits the dub-cutter and amp builder and offers interviews with the Coxsone team – Lloydie, Blacker, Festus, Bikey Dread and Levi Roots (yes…reggae reggae sauce and tings!). At that time Blacker lived in Armoury Way in Wandsworth and the same block of flats was also home to up ‘n’ coming youth sound Young Lion. Alongside Coxsone they also became the focus of Molly’s film – which, in a somewhat visually depleted form, you can peruse at your leisure on You Tube.
Molly and Blacker stayed in contact over the years and when his mother passed he asked the film-maker to document the funeral for him and his family. It’s a portion of this footage that opens the film and the viewer is immediately struck by the access that she’s been given. She is right there at the beating heart of a grieving family and we are there with her. It’s during the funeral that we encounter Naphtali. He’s driving and Molly’s riding shotgun. It’s his job to clear a path that enables the horse-drawn hearse to reach the cemetery without delay. It’s in this sequence that Molly declares, “Naphtali, you drive like a getaway driver… “. To which he replies, “I am…I am a getaway driver!” The plot opens up and another intriguing narrative emerges.
I know both Blacker and Naphtali from Coxsone sound. Having spent an evening in their company, while banged up in Hinkley jail, I am well aware of their humour and resilience when confronted with the long arm of the law. That was back in the early 80’s. We were on our way to a dance in Huddersfield. The sight of two dreads batting along in a transit van on a Saturday evening was simply too much for two bored motorway police officers. A stop and search ensued. Once in the station both Blacker and Naphtali made a clear impact on the officers on duty. From my cell I could hear them calling the name “Blacker… Blacker..” They seemed drawn to sound of the name. It was weird. Meanwhile, Naphtali appeared to have the run of the police station. Upon our eventual release we were given a police escort – lights flashing – to the motorway.
Sir Coxsone Outernational Sound System – l to r: Blacker Dread, Poppa Festus, Bikey Dread
Photography by Jean Bernard Sohiez aka Frenchie
However, Being Blacker is not about sound system or the reggae business. This is a film about being black and growing into manhood in Britain. It’s about making decisions – good or bad. As Blacker packs up his shop in Coldharbour Lane under the shadow prison the dread has to deal with the trial and tribulations of his own children. The traumatic death of one son in a drive by shooting continues to haunt him. Ever conscious and active within the black community he is drawn to others – parents, brothers, sisters, friends – who have lost their own children to the gun or the knife.
For Blacker, passing the 11+ produced not a step up the social ladder but a nightmare of racist bullying. So, when confronted with his own youngest son being considered “difficult” at school both he and his partner stepped in. They were met with a form of institutionalised racism within the education system that I thought no longer existed – especially in the inner city. Watching the film I was thrown back to the time when I did teaching practice and read Ben Coard’s hugely important ‘How the West Indian child is made educationally subnormal in the British school system: The scandal of the black child in schools in Britain’. The decision they make as parents is radical and profound and leads Blacker back to the place he grew up in Jamaica.
Paralleling Blacker’s trials are those of Naphtali. Anyone who reads or watches the news is aware of the scandalous state of our prison system and the potential for up to 70% of prisoners from some prisons to re-offend within a year. After a spell at Her Majesty’s pleasure Naphtali is trying hard to stay on the straight and narrow. As Naphtali works to stay afloat financially the camera of Molly Dineen captures the sheer desperation and humiliation of her subject. For me, it’s painful to watch. I can only hope that someone from a serious casting agency watches this film and seeks out Naphtali to offer him a career in acting. He could be as sensational as The Wire’s Omar.
Blacker & Napthali
Both Blacker Dread and Naphtali maintain the Brixton they knew growing up is a gentrified shadow of it’s former self. As a local business-man Blacker responded to that shift and was a prime mover of the annual Brixton Splash – an Afro Caribbean street festival that celebrates the diversity of the community and continues to attract thousands of revellers. It’s an event that’s a far cry from the ’81 riots. In my mind Blacker and his sound system bredren – from London and beyond – have undoubtedly shaped the cultural landscape of this nation. It’s a story that’s yet to be articulated in the way it deserves. Brixton’s poet laureate Linton Kwesi Johnson and voice of youth during the Seventies declared, “It Dread Inna Inglan” and Blacker, along with others from that first generation of Rastafari growing up in our inner cities, had to hustle to survive.
Just as Molly’s previous documentaries made me question my own stereotypical prejudices one hopes this film will provide a similar experience for those future BBC2 viewers. Hopefully they will be drawn into Blacker’s world and the film’s constantly evolving narrative which takes shape over 90 minutes. We not dealing with angels here, we are dealing with real people shaped by their experiences of growing up in London from Sixties, through the turbulent Seventies and beyond. Being Blacker provides a unique glimpse into a real life drama within Britain’s long standing Afro Caribbean community. Rather than judge I hope people will intuitively find common ground and feel empathy with a father troubled by loss and bad decisions. This is a man with more than a crown of dreadlocks. He is witty, laid back but sharp as a razor. On the streets of Brixton he is respected by those around him and thanks to the tenacity of “Miss Molly” and her camera we – the people – are given a moving and thought provoking insight into an alternative, yet distinctly familiar, face of contemporary multi-racial Britain.
WORDS: Paul Bradshaw / Straight No Chaser
In line with the radical nature of the film itself, Being Blacker is being shown in cinemas around the UK prior to it being aired on BBC2 on MARCH 12th. The template of showing the doc on a big screen followed by a Q&A with Molly and Blacker is real treat!
BBC Screenings
As part of the theatrical tour of BEING BLACKER, there are a few invite-only screenings in Q&A with Molly & Blacker. To request an invite email bbcbeingblacker@gmail.com.
March 3 – TBC, St Paul’s Bristol
March 6 – Home, Manchester
March 7 Everyman Mailbox, Birmingham
March 8 – Ritzy, Brixton
Tickets are on sale for screening + Q&A @….
March 3 – Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford (3pm)
March 4 – Rio Dalston, London
March 4 – Peckhamplex, London
March 5 – BFI Southbank,London
March 7 – Bertha Dochouse,London
March 9 – Somerset House,London
Book now… check https://www.facebook.com/events/411828805933127/</spa
Mali’s Trio Da Kali live in Stoke Newington Old Church
Following a hectic array of interviews and live broadcasts including one from the Brownswood basement for https://worldwidefm.net/ Mali’s Trio Da Kali arrived in the Old Church on Stoke Newington Church Street as guests of the Nest Collective who dedicate their events to Folk & World music. The tiny church was packed with a cross generational audience, both sitting and standing. In the house was World Circuit don Nick Gold along with esteemed music journos like Neil Spencer, Robin Denselow and Val Wilmer. The recently released Trio Da Kali collaboration with the Kronos Quartet – ‘Ladilikan’ – has been a constant on this scribe’s turntable in recent times and it was down to the album’s co-producer, Lucy Duran, to introduce each member to the stage. Apparently, Da Kali means “to give a pledge” and in the case of this classical Trio that pledge is to a musical heritage which dates back to the court of the Mali Empire and Sunjata Keita in the 12th century.
In their native Mali, both the threat of Islamic fundamentalism on the one hand and the forward march of modern music on the other has virtually eradicated this classic trio format along with its repertoire. In 2017 Trio Da Kali is basically an endangered species. Trio Da Kali’s musical director and balafon player Fodé Lassana Diabaté is a long-time member of Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra. He has recorded with Salif Keita and Taj Mahal amongst others and on this night he proved himself a master musician who is capable of both dazzling and incredibly nuanced solos. He dropped the odd jazz lick – just to tease – and I wished my long time friend and vibes-man, Orphy Robinson, had been in the house to check him out. Bass ngoni player Mamadou Kouyaté is the eldest son of the instrument’s greatest exponent Bassekou Kouyaté, and he holds down the riddim in his father’s band Ngoni ba. If there was any diversion from the tradition it was this natty “bass-man”. While, on the one hand, his playing transported me across the Sahara to connect with the rhythms of the Gnawa, Mamadou also had a range of plucked and slapped licks that could have been inspired by Bootsy Collins. It came as no surprise to discover that he’s involved in the Bamako hip-hop scene. Centre stage was singer Hawa ‘Kassé Mady’ Diabate. She is the daughter of Mali’s greatest traditional singer, Kassé Mady Diabate, and the power, range and phrasing of her voice led Kronos’ David Harrington to compare her to the late queen of American gospel Mahalia Jackson. Armed with a small shekere to add or maintain a specific rhythmic pulse,to each song Hawa’s emotional and soulful voice washed over us and ancient griot songs like ‘Lila Bambo’ along with a re-working of ‘God Shall Wipe All Tears Away’, complete with Bambara lyrics, resulted is an elegant and most memorable evening of totally uplifting music.
CHICAGOXLONDON – International Anthem Meets London’s Nu-skool @ Total Refreshment Centre in Stoke Newington, London.
Above: Ben LeMar Gay pic: Petra Eujane
This collision between Chicago’s International Anthem crew and a host of London’s nu-generation-nu-jazz innovators was guaranteed to throw up some magical moments. At the helm of this project was EZH’s Tina Edwards (formerly Jazz Standard) and Scottie McNiece of International Anthem and from what I could glean it was made financially more feasible through some of the visiting musicians also doing sets at other venues in the area. In fact, I first caught wind of this wider exchange when I read, via Richard Williams’ Blue Moment blog, that Tomeka Reid and Mazz Swift of the stellar string trio Hear In Now were also featuring in Roscoe Mitchell’s Art Ensemble of Chicago residency at Cafe Oto.
Above: Ben LaMar Gay image: Petra Eujane
While the ambitious CHICAGOXLONDON programme incorporated structured ensemble sets there also appeared to be a strong element of pure improvisation. That terrain seemed mostly to be occupied by innovative modernist and drummer Makaya MaCraven whose set would provide the final offering on each of the two nights. As with most TRC based events the crowd were tuned-in and supa- receptive. The first night gradually kicked off around a shape shifting set from urban griot Ben LaMar Gay of the excellent Bottle Tree who “DJ’d” adding cornet and single string “diddley bow” to the mix. We were then treated to a free flowing opening set from feisty Chicago based trumpeter Jaimie Branch who offered a taste of the skill level that our American counterparts are capable of – especially if they’ve been schooled the shadow of the AACM. Taking material from her appropriately titled ‘Fly Or Die’ LP she took us on an explorative journey where she was more than ably assisted by an excellent drummer of Puerto Rican origin and the sweet rapport between her bassist and the mesmerising cello excursions of a dreadlocked Tomeka Reid. One mighty moment occurred when both Branch and Lamar Gay suddenly appeared the midst of the crowd trading spirited horn licks while one Angel Dawid, elsewhere in the crowd, delivered sweeping and soaring runs on the clarinet. The bar had been set high.
Above: Jaimie Branch Pic: Petra Eujane
The next set arrived in the form of the mighty Theon Cross on Tuba, Nubya Garcia on tenor and Moses Boyd on drums. It was a stellar line-up with tantalising potential. Clearly intent on rocking the TRC Theon blew the house down. However, while this scribe felt that the trio didn’t quite gell the Comet Is Coming energy levels emanating from the stage had the crowd fully vibed. The final set of the night which featured Kamaal Williams on keys, Soweto Kinch on alto and voice and Makaya MacCravon drums also elicited a wave of high expectations. While the set didn’t reach the improvisational heights I’d envisioned the trio’s groove went straight to the dancing feet of a fellow scribe who was stood next to me – she simply informed me later, “That’s how the new generation bring it…”.
Stepping out in the night I was fired up and ready to return for another session the following night. I was not to be disappointed. First up came Hear In Now and that was a compositional and improvisational treat. These three bold women hunkered down onstage in close proximity to each other. They clearly “enjoy each others company” – as violinist Mazz Swift confirmed – and their music along with their explorative individual solos produced an unspoken, intuitive sense of communication and conversation. Who in the house could not love a ‘Prayer For Wadud’ – dedicated to the legendary cellist – or the reflective piece on their sad departure from Livorno in Tuscany – the home of bassist Silvia Bolignesi? All credit goes to the TRC audience who wasted little time in producing a hushed silence throughout the room. There was a lot of listening going down – both nights! I definitely needed to hear more from this trio and immediately snapped up a copy of their CD.
Above: Mazz Swift pic: Joe Lindsay
Pianist Ashley Henry and his RE:Ensemble posse followed and took us onto more familiar London terrain. This set progressed way beyond his ‘5ive’ debut EP/LP on Jazz Re:freshed and was joyously diverse. The excellent rhythm section of Dan Casimir on bass and drummer Eddie Hicks held it all down allowing Henry free range on keys while simultaneously providing a launch pad for some blistering solos from tenor-man Binker Golding. Add the vocals of Chemise Adams-Burnett and the spoken word of Anthony Joseph to the mix and you get the picture.
Above: Ashley Henry – pic: Joe Lindsay
The final set of the CHICAGOXLONDON sessions saw Makaya MacCraven united with Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia and Joe Armon-Jones and what a set that turned out to be. From the get-go Makaya was diggin’ deep ‘n’ funky pushing his collaborators to step into the affray. While Nubya smiled to herself, stepping to the rhythms, listening and reflecting, it was keys player Joe Armon-Jones who tugged his hair back and locked his vision – his focus – on the drummer opposite him. A mesmerising conversation unfolded and Theon Cross wasted no time in getting involved. The subtleties of his playing contrasted nicely with his set the previous night. He added both rhythm and textures that gave Nubya the opportunity to conjure up some of the most inspiring and engaging tenor solos of the whole event. Makaya is a powerful and inventive drummer whose lexicon draws on host of contemporary styles including ‘broken’ and drum’n’bass and both player and audience were taken on sweat inducing journey that maintained a thrilling but intense momentum. It was Makaya’s birthday, he was having fun and the result was epic.
Above: Nubya & Theon Pic: Petra Eujane
All the show’s were recorded and in the days after the session were chopped up and re-mixed to be presented a TRC DJ session on the Saturday night. I missed that but I suspect those tapes will surface in one form or another in the very near future. Can’t wait.
Above:TRC – The audience… The calm before the storm! Pic: Petra Eujane
Plum Publications
Excellent resource for run by Ted & Debbie in California, both long time martial arts practitioners…. lots of books, dvds etc with informed reviews based on experience.
SUPA DUPA rare 'n' old skool Nigerian Ju Ju, Fuji & hi life…
Just haul up the the groovemonzter, log on & stream the majestic sounds of Sir Shina Adewale, Dr Orlando Owoh, King Sunny Ade, Cardinal Rex Lawson, Queen Oludunni Decency, Tunde Nightingale, Alhaji Sikuru Ayinde Barrister…. wonderful!
the blue moment
Richard William’s exellent reflections on the world of music and….
Plum Publications
Excellent resource for run by Ted & Debbie in California, both long time martial arts practitioners…. lots of books, dvds etc with informed reviews based on experience.
Chapters also include his logo designs, title sequences, skateboards, sound systems, club graphics, merchandise and numerous commissions and collaborations.
x 22mm Spine
In their native Mali, both the threat of Islamic fundamentalism on the one hand and the forward march of modern music on the other has virtually eradicated this classic trio format along with its repertoire. In 2017 Trio Da Kali is basically an endangered species. Trio Da Kali’s musical director and balafon player Fodé Lassana Diabaté is a long-time member of Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra. He has recorded with Salif Keita and Taj Mahal amongst others and on this night he proved himself a master musician who is capable of both dazzling and incredibly nuanced solos. He dropped the odd jazz lick – just to tease – and I wished my long time friend and vibes-man, Orphy Robinson, had been in the house to check him out. Bass ngoni player Mamadou Kouyaté is the eldest son of the instrument’s greatest exponent Bassekou Kouyaté, and he holds down the riddim in his father’s band Ngoni ba. If there was any diversion from the tradition it was this natty “bass-man”. While, on the one hand, his playing transported me across the Sahara to connect with the rhythms of the Gnawa, Mamadou also had a range of plucked and slapped licks that could have been inspired by Bootsy Collins. It came as no surprise to discover that he’s involved in the Bamako hip-hop scene. Centre stage was singer Hawa ‘Kassé Mady’ Diabate. She is the daughter of Mali’s greatest traditional singer, Kassé Mady Diabate, and the power, range and phrasing of her voice led Kronos’ David Harrington to compare her to the late queen of American gospel Mahalia Jackson. Armed with a small shekere to add or maintain a specific rhythmic pulse,to each song Hawa’s emotional and soulful voice washed over us and ancient griot songs like ‘Lila Bambo’ along with a re-working of ‘God Shall Wipe All Tears Away’, complete with Bambara lyrics, resulted is an elegant and most memorable evening of totally uplifting music.
ancienttofuture.com 