Jazz breaking news: Henry Threadgill, Gannets, And The New French Avant Garde Make Waves At The LJF
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Covering the A-Z of the Chicago and New York jazz avant garde, Henry Threadgill’s band Zooid began a busy closing weekend at the London Jazz Festival in the QEH, ahead of tonight’s first appearance in the UK since Meltdown of Ornette Coleman.
Rarely heard in a concert hall here in recent years, composer saxophonist and flautist Threadgill (pictured) made last minute adjustments to his stage settings during the interval making sure everything was just right following the opening solo piano set by Doncaster and US-based avant pianist John Escreet, who took time to unleash his devastatingly effective Taborn-esque abstract meditations.
Threadgill’s sextet performance characterised at first by the sound of the hugely swollen fretless bass guitar of Stomu Takeishi, Liberty Ellman’s tasteful guitar stylings, the Gene Calderazzo-like drumming of Elliot Humberto Kavee and a prevailing Muhal-like sense of liquid abstraction, softly clouded like sweet vinegar.
Earlier in the afternoon at Adventures in Sound in the Front Room of the South Bank Centre Gannets made a welcome appearance for a Jazz on 3-curated set to be broadcast later. Featuring off duty Guillemot Fyfe Dangerfield, here in a non-singing role playing piano and synths further deepening his longstanding interest in improv, in the company of Shakedown Club drummer Steve Noble, bass clarinet player virtuoso Chris Cundy, clarinettist Alex Ward and double bassist Dominic Lash now happily back in the UK after a lengthy sojourn in New York. Duck cries, antique piano music sounding lost and forlorn at times as well as surreally apposite formal drumming from Noble and a Ligeti-like atmosphere all made this a fascinating performance despite some longueurs.
At the Vortex in Dalston later the Coax Collectif triple bill was well underway with the excellent Pipeline on stage featuring the talented Fanny Lasfargues launching her anthemic alt.rock guitar lines throwing the drummer and double bassist rhythmic and melodic ideas to move ahead with, even running a bow and a hair brush across her strings. Irène following indicated the promise of this new French collective – that also counts among its number opening act Metalophone – as Coax driving forces Julien Desprez on guitar and Sébastien Brun drums, with some flagwaving saxophone thrown in for good measure, endeavour to boldly go where other improvising trekers can but contemplate. – Stephen Graham
photo: Tim Dickeson