Jazz breaking news: Wayne Shorter, Hugh Masekela and Phronesis get the EFG London Jazz Fest off to a flying start
Monday, November 18, 2013
The EFG London Jazz Festival’s big 21st edition got off to a flying start with a Friday night full of contrasts and outstanding performances – not least at Jazz Voice with Guy Barker’s sparkling scores effortlessly interpreted by his jazz orchestra.
Stand out vocal performances came from soul jazz star Omar on ‘This Masquerade’ and UK vocal jazz’s best-kept secret, Eska Mtungwazi, who performed her bewitching song ‘Gatekeeper’. By contrast trumpeter Hugh Masekela (pictured above) and pianist Larry Willis created a different kind of dialogue, one steeped in 40-plus years of friendship on glowing African songs and intimate standards and stories.
Over at Kings Place, Scene Norway 2 opened up with icy cool Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer who kicked off his weekend ‘artist in residence’ with a mesmerising solo set in Hall One, accompanied by bioluminescent video projections by visual artist Tord Knudsen, in an immersive one hour set. A wonderful contrast to the evening’s more frenetic offerings – none more so than the goings on at Ronnie Scott’s for the live Jazz on 3 Friday night broadcast. This featured short but memorable sets from jam-band icons Medeski, Martin & Wood, rising UK Afro-jazz-dub stars Sons of Kemet, a startling sax and voice duo from Julian Siegel and Lauren Kinsella, Norwegian bass-don Arild Andersen’s trio with Tommy Smith and the hip-shaking latin jazz sounds of the Pedrito Martinez band. 
Other weekend highlights included the three sell out performances at The Cockpit Theatre from UK-based trio Phronesis who took over the venue for both Saturday and Sunday nights, plus an additional Sunday matinee performance – to record music for their new album Life To Everything, which is set for release in Spring 2014. Performing in-the-round and playing like men possessed, with the band of bassist Jasper Høiby, pianist Ivo Neame and drummer Anton Eger all contributing three compositions each, the music felt like their most complete artistic statement to date – a fine mix of their incendiary grooves, memorable melodic hooks and spellbinding interaction. The finished album promises great things with the storming, riff-laden ‘Herne Hill’ (written by Eger) the standout piece of these live sets. 
And rounding off this memorable weekend’s worth of music was a genuine legend in form of Wayne Shorter (pictured above) – here as part of his yearlong 80th birthday celebrations. Playing two sets to a packed Barbican Hall, the opening sojourn with his phenomenal trio of pianist Danilo Peréz, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade saw the band explore painterly soundscapes and creating a trance-like mood – Shorter leaving pregnant pauses between his sometimes almost reticent whispers on tenor sax, before unleashing some exultant wails on soprano. This opening 40 minutes melted away in what seemed more like 10, and was followed by a wide-screen orchestrally expanded set as the Quartet were joined by the BBC Concert Orchestra. Taking two numbers to settle in to a mutually agreeable groove, it was Patitucci that proved the essential linkman between the lithe four-piece and the equally limber larger ensemble – directing with smiles and dartingly precise bass work. Shorter’s scores proved an enthralling prospect, particularly on ‘Three Marias’, revealing even greater depths to his musical genius, shimmering layers of intricately inverted chords and wild harmonic expanses, evidence of a musical mind that’s still probing out into the unknown with extraordinary results.
– Mike Flynn
– Tim Dickeson (photos)