ukvibe

Rokia Traoré, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 5 May 2010

Malian singer Rokia Traoré has had a far from normal upbringing. Born into a family with a diplomat father, she has been exposed from an early age to other cultures and rapidly became at ease in both West African and European lifestyles. This cosmopolitan experience has clearly shaped her musical perspective and outlook to life in general. Traoré has been keen to explore new sounds that fuse both sides of her life thus far and this is reflected in the musical development of her albums. Whereas earlier projects were essentially devoted to updating traditional Malian sounds, in recent years and especially with the release of ‘Tchamantché’ in 2008, Traoré has focused far more on a genuine merging of genres and is both innovative and visionary in this respect.

Taking centre stage with a French trio comprising the rhythm section plus ngoni player (four stringed West African instrument) and percussionist, and background singer, one cannot fail to notice the coming together of seemingly disparate musical traditions. The band immediately enter into an uptempo number that places firm emphasis on funky guitar riffs with the chorus of ‘Je t’aime’ sung in French. Discernible influences on the singer would include blues, funk, rock and even and disco while late 1970s Talking Heads seems to permeate a good deal of the French musicians playing. Malian influences are harder to identify, particularly in terms of vocalists and this one of Traoré’s aces, namely her ability to sound like none of her contemporaries with the booming voice of say an Oumou Sangare wheareas Rokia has an altogether softer tone. The balance between African and Western music shifts with each song. While on one song there might be a distinctly Malian tuareg (denoting the political border between Mali and Algeria) feel with repetitive riffs strummed by the ngoni player, on another piece there might be greater stress on rock music sounds. Yet even here multiple influences are subtly bubbling underneath with the band in jam session mood and Traoré dancing from side to side. An evening highlight is the tribute paid to the South African songstress Miriam Makeba in the form of the English language, ‘Quit it’, which skilfully blurs the lines between world roots and popular music. Indeed this raises an important question: should not world roots music by its very nature be easily accessible to all and not limited to an elite in the know? Troaré’s approach would surely endorse greater accessibility and mainstream acceptance. Throughout the evening one is constantly reminded that Rokia Traoré is capable of playing within and outside her musical tradition and in so doing has finally created her own unique style. What is interesting is how receptive the audience is to some of the more fusion oriented songs, giving lie to the argument that western world music audiences only want to hear older sounds in contrast to African audiences who openly embrace modern instrumentation and external influences.

Accompanying Rokia Traoré is an impressive band who are oustanding individuals not afraid to stretch out (and given free rein to do so by the singer), yet always conscious of their role as being part of a cohesive whole. Bassist Christophe Minck deserves particular praise and appears to be the musical director in charge. It is noticeable how bassist and ngoni player exchange riffs while the rhythm guitarist is often deployed within a song to denote a brisk change in tempo, so common to music throughout the African continent. Traoré herself is a fascinating individual. Of slim build with cascading hair that recalls the Supremes, she might at first glance appear to be a Malian equivalent of the young Diana Ross. This would be a false perception for once adopting guitar for various numbers, Traoré looks far more like Sister Rosetta Thorpe with all the confidence and distinctiveness of the latter and when adlibing revealing a blues-inflected tone in addition. For a well deserved encore, Traoré’s piercing voice is heard a cappella with the audience joining in on handclaps and with the majority of the lower tier already out of their seats before the band eventually join in and take the song in another direction, becoming a terrific dance number. Rokia Traoré is a musician with real stage presence and her regular if somewhat quiet banter with the audience is well received. She is in microcosm the very future of world roots music, seamlessly blending musical traditions to create something new, yet never losing sight of, or disrespecting her own tradition. Preceding her were British alt.country group Sweet Billy Pilgrim who presented an excellent set of sweet harmonies and folksy Americana sharing lead vocals, and created an instant rapport with the audience adding a few personal anecdotes from the drummer for good measure.

Tim Stenhouse

Sa Dingding, RNCM, Manchester, 20 May 2010

Chinese singer Sa Dingding came to international attention during 2008 with her debut album and quickly established a rapport with British audiences via appearances at both Womad and the BBC Proms. With her second album ‘Harmony’ (Wrasse), Sa has returned to the UK with an all-Chinese band and a sound that typifies her approach to music, a melting pot of influences comprising Chinese traditional and contemporary Western. The traditional element is provided by the use of the pipa, a pear-shaped four-string lute not dissimilar to the mandolin and the guzheng, a zither with sixteen or more strings, the latter producing a sound that oscillates between harp, harpsichord and marimba all rolled into one. Both instruments are most ably played by Zhang Yi. However, by clever use of keyboards, the Chinese element is reinforced by programming traditional instrumentation riffs and strings. In contrast the Western component comes together with the use of conventional
bass guitar, drums and vamping on keyboards.

Communication between East and West is a key theme to Dingding’s philosophy and non-verbal dialogue comes in the form of her visual performance which recalls the young Kate Bush in performance. Sometimes swinging form side to side, sometimes prostrate on the floor for dramatic effect, Sa immediately attracts the eye with her traditional dress in burnt orange and turquoise. Sa’s voice is high-pitched and slightly nasal, but remarkably flexible, even bluesy in places, and this enables her to engage in vocal gymnastics including the practice of her own invented language. This is best exemplified on the song, ‘Yun Yun Nan Nan’. Fusing Chinese and Western musics is no easy task and does not necessarily work for every song. On one uptempo piece the rock influences are simply not melodic enough to mix successfully, but it is surprising overall how well the seemingly disparate elements do combine to good effect. Far more successful are the mid-tempo songs where the bass and drum combination enables a number to build and bubble up in intensity while the subtle effects of the keyboards from Peng Bo and traditional instrumentation provide a fine counterbalance. An English language song, ‘Lucky day’, receives an almost whispered delivery from Dingding with the bass riff sounding as though it has been borrowed from Talking Heads’ ‘Once in a lifetime’. On the slower numbers, it is the haunting sound of the keyboard and the guzheng that compliment Sa’s voice, especially on the wordless vocals of one number where a programmed violin accompanies.

Sa is eager throughout to communicate her thoughts in English with the audience and explain in particular how her interest in music was stimulated by staying with her grandmother in inner Mongolia. This led to the beginning of Sa the songwriter. One song, ‘Pomegranate woman’, is devoted to women in South East China where there are no less than twenty-six ethnic groups. Here the symbolism of the fruit is used to depict the harsh outer appearance of the women, contrasted with the softer and beautiful inner self. Unquestionably, this is one of the evening’s highlights when the new and the traditional work best together over a slow nu-soul inspired beat accompaniment and gorgeous pipa strumming. Keyboards here provide added texture and the band have clearly interiorised many of the western sounds that they now feel at ease with. The best is reserved for almost last with the incredibly catchy and compelling ‘Hua’, a song about everlasting love according to Sa and one that illuminates the use of wordless vocals. Sa encourages the audience to wave their hands in the air, which they respond to in kind with mobile phone lights in the dark creating a quasi-candlelit ambience. For the hi-energy tempo of ‘Blue heart’, Sa reassures the audience that lucky blue heart is for them.

After a final bow and a comment from the keyboardist, ‘It’s all rock and roll’, the concert comes to a logical close. The concert as a whole is an illustration of how from a cultural perspective globalisation has facilitated greater experimentation between musical cultures. Sa Dingding may just be among the first wave of musicians to exploit these cross-cultural exchanges.

Tim Stenhouse

Rakesh Chaurassia, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 22 May 2010

It was in the more intimate surrounding of the smaller venue at the Bridgewater Hall on a roasting hot summer’s afternoon that Rakesh Chaurassia, nephew of the great master Hariprasad, serenely took to the specially constructed stage with luxurious Indian carpet and pastel coloured cushions to create a relaxed ambience, partnered by percussionist Bhavani Shankar. Greatly aiding the audience’s ability to follow proceedings and the musicians playing more closely was the use of a video screen on the wall. One of the great virtues of Indian classical music is the way in which a piece, or raga can convey the mood of a particular time of day and so it was that Rakesh introduced the opening number as an afternoon raga. With the alap, or first introductory part, one is immediately transported into a different world where all sense of time is lost. As is the normally the case in the alap, Chaurassia began with a slow rhythm aided only by a drone beat in order to provide a full exposition of the raga. He is indeed an exponent of the bansuri flute (like his uncle), a long wooden instrument that gives it an altogether meatier sound than a conventional western flute. Here the sheer ability of the musician to improvise on a simple riff and go off onto another tangent is simply breathtaking. It was a full fifteen minutes before Shankar entered proceedings. We then entered into the jorh, or second part, where some elements of rhythm are introduced. Shankar plays on the pakhawaj, a drum where the right hand is used to produce a heavier sound whereas the left places emphasis on the end of the fingers to create a tinnier sound. A drum solo elicits spontaneous applause and is testimony to the virtuosity of the musician. Chaurassia finally begins to accompany and plays a frenzied improvised passage ati-drut (at a very fast tempo), creating in the process a high-pitched sound on the bansuri. The role of the percussionist seems to be to play off the flautist and thereby enrichen the overall sound. As the intensity builds at drut, or medium tempo, the two delight in trading licks, listening to one another intently in the process. This is a musical genre where a split-second reaction is required and they are not dissimilar in this respect to a master jazz musician. During quieter passages the percussionist retunes his drum, encouraging the flautist to comment, ‘You shouldn’t play so loudly!’, much to the amusement of the appreciative audience.

After a brief interval, tabla player Vijay Ghate entered the stage, introduced by Chaurassia. Ghate is, perhaps, best known in the UK for his presence in the Indo-Jazz fusion band Bombay Jazz that included guitarist Larry Coryell and assorted musicians on saxophone, flute and tabla among its alumni and toured this country in the autumn of 2007. Clearly there is a friendly camaraderie between Ghate and Chaurassia, doubtless due in part to the fact that they both hail from the same part of India, and share a similar outlook on music. After a couple of passages of flute, the tabla player begins to improvise with his left hand, keeping time with his right. The two instruments contrast, yet at the same time compliment one another beautifully, the flautist engaging in a lilting melodic solo while Ghate plays off him, and as a result the music takes on a looser feel. They manifestly delight in each other’s presence and after a relatively short piece, it is finally time for the other percussionist to return to stage and they now become a trio. Both percussionists sit at either end of the stage to view one another. Chaurassia starts to play a flute vamp and Ghate responds by soloing, then Shankar in turn plays a riff, all to great applause from an audience really digging the interplay between the three. In general the musicians are adept at shifting roles in the trio while playing sometimes at breakneck speed and this is a true reflection of their craftsmanship. When the piece ends suddenly, the musicians burst into spontaneous laughter. For the final six minute piece, Rakesh Chaurassia opts for a smaller bamboo flute that has a true storytelling quality (almost akin to a nursery rhyme) and Shankar this time uses a smaller hand drum that looks similar to a castanet, but has several small cymbals inside. With the number complete, the audience stand to applaud in unison at the end of what was a unique and intoxicating musical experience.

Tim Stenhouse

Matthew Halsall

Matthew Halsall, St. Clements Church, Chorlton-cum-Hardy Arts Festival, Manchester, 29 May 2010

It was to the stunning backdrop of a multi-coloured stainglass window in St Clements church as part of the annual arts festival that local jazz innovators under the aegis of trumpeter Matthew Halsall and saxophonist Nat Birchall laid down some truly spiritual jazz vibes. This would be the ideal setting in which to hear the sextet. Divided into two parts, the first half of the evening was devoted to a classic reworking and interpretation of some of the seminal pieces of what has now been termed modal jazz as pioneered by Miles Davis and John Coltrane in the late 1950s and early-mid 1960s. Indeed it was the latter’s wife, Alice Coltrane, an accomplished pianist and harpist in her own right, who provided the inspiration for the first number which was the title track to the ‘Journey to Satchidanada’, a seminal album on the Impulse label from 1971. Here Nat Birchall wisely opted for soprano saxophone with Rachel Gladwin providing the melodic component on harp, faithful to the original version. This epic twelve minute number was memorable also for the unexpected entrance of Adam Fairhall on piano with a modal vamp that inevitably conjured up images of the young McCoy Tyner during his tenure with the classic quartet of John Coltrane. Meanwhile while the music unfolded, Halsall remained crouched throughout on the stage, soaking up the spiritual sounds emanating from the rest of the band. This is a formation that has toured extensively throughout the UK, including a prestigious concert at the legendary Ronnie Scott’s, the British mecca for jazz, and equally regular gigs at Matt and Phred’s in their home city of Manchester, a venue that has earned a reputation for capturing some of the key musicians early on in their careers. These experiences have certainly stood Halsall, Birchall et al in good stead and consequently there is a mature, relaxed feel to the playing with ample freedom and space for the musicians individually to explore the sounds on their instruments while at the same time adhering to a collective rigour and discipline. It is this freedom to flourish and performing for the collective whole that made the evening such an enjoyable experience for the audience. If the riff to the first number was familiar, then the second was quite simply a jazz classic with one of the most distinctive riffs of all time, ‘A love supreme’ by John Coltrane. As with the original, drummer Luke Flowers laid down some scintillating polyrhythms on drums, but unlike the classic rendition Matthew Hasall soloed on muted harmon trumpet. The pretext of a piano solo afforded the rhythm section the opportunity to enjoy an extended outing minus the two leaders.

Key to understanding the band’s sound is is the rapport between the two horn players. Whereas in a conventional be-bop setting the reed players might engage in a ‘cutting edge’ contest attempting to outdo one another, here Birchall and Halsall operate at a different level and on a more complimentary playing field, allowing each other the space to go off and explore before eventually returning to the source and repeating the main theme in unison. Among influences the independent labels out of black America in the 1970s such as Strata East, Black Jazz and the legendary Detroit-based Tribe have proven a seminal influence and have helped shape the musical style and trajectory of the band. One of these labels, Strata East, provided the inspiration for an album by Clifford Jordan, ‘Glass Bead Games’, from 1974 that included a devotional tribute to John Coltrane and it was this composition simply entitled, ‘John Coltrane’, that the band really stretched out on from the immaculate bass solo intro from Gavin Barass to the vamps on harp and piano, all carefully managed by Nat Birchall who looked on with serious intent. Another Coltrane composition was a vehicle for harpist Rachel Gladwin. The harp in a jazz setting is quite a rare occurrence and apart from the aforementioned Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby, has largely been ignored. This is a loss to the jazz idiom since it blends in beautifully with the other instruments and enables a seamless transition from drum through to piano. in addition the harp adds layered textures to the overall sound and weaves in between the two horn players. A crescendo of notes enveloped the auditorium as the harp strings were carefully plucked and the harp is that most flexible of instruments where once a theme has been stated, it is then possible to improvise on that same theme. Rachel Gladwin performed this task with aplomb.

After a well deserved interval, the band returned to the compact stage and the repertoire changed to the more recent numbers from the latest Nat Birchall album, the excellent, ‘Guiding Spirit’ (Gondwana) and from Matthew Halsall’s own ‘Coloured Yes’. It was the lengthy opener from the former that re-introduced the band and included a lovely evocation of the theme before Halsall took a restrained solo. At times the tempo and sound descended to a whisper, before gradually building up again in intensity. Always melodic, Halsall’s solos created a plaintive sound emanating from the trumpet with never a note too many. Nat Birchall is an extremely reflective saxophonist, taking in the influences of Joe Henderson and Charles Lloyd as well as more obviously John Coltrane when reverting to the tenor and toying with the audience on some pieces with a false ending that then continues. He has enjoyed a varied career, guesting with the Cinematic Orchestra and played one number inspired by them. Overall this was a deeply contemplative evening of jazz, but one that created accessible riffs and gloriously improvised virtuosity. The audience went away with a far greater appreciation of this somewhat neglected aspect of the jazz world.

Tim Stenhouse

MATTHEW HALSALL VISITING BIRMINGHAM FOR THE FIRST TIME TO PERFORM - 28TH MAY 2010: