Upcoming Gigs

Another update, and another few great gigs to report on...

It was a real pleasure to see Finn Peters' performance at the Vortex Jazz Club in mid-June. I caught his set at Pizza Express in May for the launch of his new album 'Butterflies', and this was a chance get a more rounded perspective on his playing as he performed older music as well as the new tunes.

The whole band are fantastic - it's not fair to cherry-pick one player out over another, as they work so well together, but David Okumu's guitar provides some beautiful melodic and harmonic textures and Tom Skinner's wonderfully expressive drumming underpinned the entire set perfectly. As a composer, Finn's not afraid to take risks in making his music both enjoyable and fascinating, throwing effects laden sounds and raucous free-jazz into the mix along side his sumptuous and subtley complex compositions, and it's a testament to his skill to witness the group as a whole making the combination work so well. Definitely a live highlight of the year so far.

The extended Air family were doing the rounds at the launch of this year's BBC Jazz Awards, held in June at Ronnie Scott's. Aside from the nominations, there were some short performances from some of the stars from the awards' past, present and hopeful future. Clare Teal sang a couple of joyous numbers with the excellent pianist James Pearson's group, Corey Mwamba took the vibes to intriguing new heights ahead of his nomination for this year's Innovation Award, and the ever-brilliant Neil Cowley Trio dusted off some pounding chords as few others can. Also at Ronnie's of late was Larry Coryell, a wonderful guitarist who I should really know better. Recalling the likes of Wes Montgomery and Grant Green with a touch of early Metheney thrown in as well (?), he played a glorious set at the club in June. The big draw for me was electric bass colossus Jeff Berlin, a staggeringly inventive and gifted player and, I'm happy to say, a real nice guy. I've been practising hard since meeting him, but it's clear I have a way to go yet...

We were lucky enough to come along to Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park to see Jason Mraz, Air Management's latest star, perform to a huge crowd. As upbeat, summery festival pop tunes go, he can't be beat and was clearly enjoying himself immensely. My own personal highlight was *finally* seeing Robert Randolph & The Family Band, an amazingly talented pedal steel player with a great line in rock n' roll, blues, soul and even a little gospel. I was torn between whooping along to the tunes and standing slack jawed at the virtuosity of the band, who provided a huge burst of musical energy that I've been wanting to witness live since hearing their 'Live At The Wetlands' album some 5 years ago. Well worth the wait.

Oh yeah, Eric Clapton was there too. Doing his thing. I don't really think there's any need to pass much comment on his performance, he's Eric Clapton. What can you say? The man's a legend and if anyone says any different then Words Will Be Had...

I've also been back to the Jazz Cafe a couple of times, most recently to catch up with our old Air compatriots, The Bad Plus. One of my favourite groups sheltering under the increasingly broad jazz umbrella, they were just as awesome as they've ever been, playing a mix of their own material and their famed covers - Aphex Twin's 'Flim' providing drummer David King with an opportunity to demonstrate what you can do with two sticks and a kit (and more besides) when you not only think outside the box, but also tear the box up into pieces, chew them up, spit them out and dance around on them shouting your head off and disturbing the neighbours.

And finally, here's my latest review from the Camden New Journal, of Latin-flavoured funk/hip-hop group Ozomatli, who played at the end of June.

OZOMATLI wasted no time on their opening night at Camden’s Jazz Café, seeming determined to get the party started from the off. The multi-award winning Latin/hip-hop crossover group kicked off the night’s proceedings with a carnival-flavoured samba beat and immediately grabbed the crowd, punchy horn lines overlapping a great rhythm section, which included two drummers and two percussionists – Ozomatli are definitely all about the beat – in a fervent display of hype and energy.

Playing a mixture of material from their back catalogue as well as from their latest release, Don’t Mess With The Dragon, the band easily slid between traditional South American-influenced dance beats and lively party hip-hop. Although mostly adept at authentically crossing and mixing genres, including hip-hop, samba, reggae and funk, there were rare moments when Ozomatli seemed to lose their focus a little, with one tune’s bouncing ska beat borrowing more from modern punky forget-me-pop like Blink 182 than from a group like The Skalites.

Solid solo spots from trumpeter Asdru Sierra and Ulises Bella on sax and clarinet, both of whom doubled on vocals, definitely provided some instrumental highlights, but it was when Ozomatli entered their full-on, get-your-hands-in-the-air hip-hop mode that they really seemed to shine and enjoy themselves. Tre Hardson added a genuine West Coast feeling to the latter part of the set, but from an original member of seminal LA-based group The Pharcyde, the audience could hardly expect less.

We were left in no doubt as to the enthusiasm on offer, as the final tune ended with the whole band playing percussion and brass out in the middle of the dancefloor to raucous cheers. A bigger venue wouldn’t have suited this but the Jazz Café is just the right size to accommodate a decent crowd while still managing to feel intimate. A little less showboating from the band might have helped in places, but in general this was a tight set of solid grooves and great rhythms from a group who clearly loved what they were doing.