Such a great gift coming from the XL Recordings crew, who will release some precious recordings from Gil Scott-Heron for the 2014 disquaire day, on April 19th.
Recorded in 2008 in Ny, it gathers previously unreleased versions of some of his greatest songs. Judging by the first extract, a moving version of Alien (Hold On To Your Dreams), this limited edition pack should be an easy sell.
Another brilliant edits EP from Swedish outfit Basic Fingers. Three Miles Down, a legendary song from Gil Scott-Heron gets the slo-mo house rework by Reverend P, and it gets really, really groovy !
The Ep also carries a great edit of The Jacksons' That's What You Get (For Being Polite).
Well, well, well...what a musical week in northern Paris !
As often at the Jazz à La Villette Festival, the hottest night takes place at the Cabaret Sauvage, a cosy magic mirror circus tent subject to immediate musical ignitions. And ignited I was, even before the night started, at the simple idea of a Gil Scott-Heron tribute night led by his legendary partner Brian Jackson, followed by one of my favorite contemporary jazz/soul singer, Gregory Porter.
Teaming-up with DJ & producer Kentyah Fraser, Brian Jackson recently set up a little dream team of his own (rapper M1 from US rap duo Dead Prez, drummer Mike Clark from The Headhunters, Chuck D, Gregory Porter among others...) to record Evolutionary Minded, a remarkable album revisiting Gil Scott-Heron immense legacy, out on Motema Records.
Brian Jackson, Paris, 091113 - Photo Vincent B.
Inviting french soul/jazz singer Sandra Nkaké to this project's first live show, they delivered a vibrant tribute to Gil's music and words, whose humanist message resonate ever more loudly these days.
M1, Paris, 091113 - Photo Vincent B.
Winter In America, The Bottle, Liberation Song (Red, Black Green) and many more Gil's classics were given a groovy Hip-Hop touch thanks to M1's red-hot flow and Sandra Nkaké's contagious energy and powerful voice. Add to the mix some world-class musicians, such as the incredible flute player Jî Drû and some veteran musicians from Gil's original Midnight Express Band, and we were in for an unforgettable set.
Check it by yourself with this little video I took of their phenomenal Winter In America cover ! More Gil Scott-Heron on Vibes4YourSoul with our little 2011 tribute and our reviews, photos and videos of his last Parisian gigs, back in 2010 and 2011.
Thanks to Vincent B. for his beautiful photos!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Je coche en général avec une attention particulière les soirées du festival Jazz à la Villette se déroulant au Cabaret Sauvage, réflexe pavlovien du à la quantité insensée d'émotions musicales que j'ai eu la chance de vivre dans ce chaleureux petit chapiteau façon magic mirrors. Surdose de bonheur de plus cette année, avec une soirée de rêve combinant un hommage à Gil Scott-Heron sous l'égide de son légendaire partenaire Brian Jackson, puis une seconde partie en compagnie de l'un de mes chanteurs contemporains soul/jazz favori, Gregory Porter. A l'initiative du DJ et producteur américain Kentyah Fraser, Brian Jackson a récemment rassemblé une véritable "dream team" (le rappeur M1 du duo Dead Prez, le batteur Mike Clark des Headhunters, Chuck D, Gregory Porter...) pour enregistrer Evolutionary Minded, un émouvant album revisitant l'oeuvre de Gil Scott-Heron, sorti cet été sur le label Motema Records. Présentant pour la première fois ce projet en live, Brian et Kentiah ont eu la bonne idée d'inviter la chanteuse Sandra Nkaké pour offrir un pendant Groove au flot hip-hop incandescent de M1.A la clé un vibrant hommage à la musique, mais aussi aux mots de Gil, dont la pertinence des messages humanistes résonne toujours aussi fort aujourd'hui. Winter In America, The Bottle, Liberation Song (Red, Black Green) et bien d'autres classiques furent tour-à-tour revisités. Le subtil vernis hip-hop/groove apporté par ce New Midnight Band est du plus bel effet, avec un véritable coup de coeur pour l'incroyable jeune flûtiste Jî Drû, coupable d'avoir fait s'envoler le chapiteau à lui tout seul ! Un set mémorable, dont je vous propose de deviner l'intensité avec cette petite vidéo de la splendide relecture de l'éternel titre de Gil, Winter In America. Plus de clins d'oeil à Gil Scott-Heron sur Vibes4YourSoul avec notre petit hommage de 2011 et nos reviews de ses deux inoubliables derniers concerts à Paris, en 2010 et 2011.
We Almost Lost Detroit is one of my top 3 favorite songs of Gil Scott-Heron. A superb ballad from 1977 evoking the (still very topical) subject of nuclear energy's dangers.
German producer Florian Rietze does an amazing job revisiting it through a deep house angle, blending samples from the original song as well as live vocals from Gil introducing the song.
Thanks to Hannes Fischer for highlighting it through his latest excellent Lazy Afternoon Session#4 mix.
Streaming below,a s well as a splendid solo version from Gil !
Alongside Fela Kuti, Marvin Gaye or John Coltrane, GilScott-Heron is part of this small circle of unforgettable artists whose music and spirit are with me all the time, wherever I go, whatever I do.
And always will be.
If I cannot recommend you more to listen to each and every of his album to fully grasp the extent of his genius, I nevertheless wanted to propose a selection of some of my favorite Gil songs to those of you who are not familiar enough with his work.
So here comes "Peace Go With You, Brother Gil Scott-Heron", our modest tribute to this immense artist who sadly just passed away.
From tracks ferociously denouncing societal, economical and political issues to reflections about the struggle of the human kind in its fight against addictions to beautiful poetic songs full of love and hope, you'll find in this podcast some of the various faces of this fundamental artist.
Peace Go With You, Brother Gil!
Please find below the streaming of our selection (in two parts) as well as podcast and track-by-track format download links here (part1 / part2).
And just for the pleasure, some of my favorite Gil's quotes (actually still very much topical) :
From "Work For Peace" :
"The Military and the Monetary, get together whenever they think its necessary, they turn our brothers and sisters into mercenaries, they are turning the planet into a cemetery. The Military and the Monetary, use the media as intermediaries, they are determined to keep the citizens secondary, they make so many decisions that are arbitrary."
From "B Movie" (written following R Reagan election in 1980, sadly still very much topical isn'it?) :
"As Wall Street goes, so goes the nation. And here's a look at the closing numbers: racism's up, human rights are down, peace is shaky, war items are hot. The House claims all ties. Jobs are down, money is scarce, and common sense is at an all-time low on heavy trading. Movies were looking better than ever, and now no one is looking, because we're starring in a "B" movie."
From "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" :
"The revolution will not go better with Coke. The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath. The revolution will put you in the driver's seat. The revolution will not be televised"
From "I'll Call It Morning" :
"Why should I survive on sadness? And tell myself I got to be alone Why should I subscribe to this world's madness? Knowing that I've got to live on Yeah I think I'll call it morning From now on"
From "Lady Day and John Coltrane" (in reference to Billie Holliday and Coltrane, a tribute on the healing power of Music and Art in general) :
"Ever feel kinda down and out, you don't know just what to do-- Livin' all of your days in darkness let the sun shine through-- Ever feel that somehow, somewhere, you've lost your way-- And if you don't get help quick you won't make it through the day-- Could you call on Lady Day, Could you call on John Coltrane Now ‘cause they'll, they'll wash your troubles, your troubles, your troubles Your troubles away!"
An immense musician & poet, his free soul will be dearly missed. His timeless music as well as his message of peace and brotherhood surely will keep on inspiring generations of human beings.
Peace go with you, brother.
As a modest tribute, please find below a few live extracts of his unforgettable last visits to Paris, last June and September of 2010.
We Almost Lost Detroit/Work For Peace medley, Pt.1 & 2 (live et the New Morning, Jun10) :
Winter In America (live at the Cité de la Musique, Sep10):
The artistic direction ofthe 2010 La Villette Jazz Festival in northern Paris, did a fantastic job not only to gather an exciting line-up of artists but also to present rare live collaborations between musicians from different horizons.
Here are a few impressions on the various concerts I could attend. I hope you'll enjoy it.
La direction artistique du La Villette Jazz Festival 2010 a non seulement réussi à assembler un plateau d'artistes de premier plan mais a aussi (et surtout) brillamment permis des collaborations scéniques quasi-inédites entre des musiciens d'horizons variés. Après cette quinzaine métissée riche en surprises voici mes impressions sur les nombreux concerts auxquels j'ai pu assister.
Abraham Inc (David Krakauer / FredWesley / SoCalled)
Cité De La Musique - 04/09/2010
David Krakauer
A fine southern soulfood cuisine chef getting his grocery supply from Nyc's legendary gourmet kosher store Zabar's may be an easy way to introduce Abraham Inc.
Fred Wesley
Assembling legendary funk trombone player Fred Wesley, famous Klezmer music clarinetist David Krakauer and canadian klezmer-hiphop producer's SoCalled, the collective started working together two or three years back I believe, released an album, but is first and foremost a crazy live project.
So how did they sound like in Paris?
SoCalled
With the help of their brilliant supporting band (special mention to Alex Coke on tenor sax), they gave a set full of joy, humour and improvisation. The combination of classic funky horns with David Krakauer's energetic clarinette and SoCalled's cool flow and dismantled beats clearly is a tasty recipe for fun. Among the highlights of the concert were the funny 10-mn long versions of JB's classics "Breaking Bread" and "House Party" where the trio kept on tchating and joking between groovy solos. These guys are having a funn(k)y time playing together and we surely could feel it! Not to be missed if they play anywhere nearby you.
Courtesy of ArteLiveWeb you can watch for a limited time this whole concert with a video streaming!
Collectif inattendu rassemblant le légendaire tromboniste funk Fred Wesley, le clarinettiste juif new-yorkais de musique Klezmer David Krakauer et le surprenant producteur hip-hop juif-canadien SoCalled, Abraham Inc était une réelle énigme pour moi. Plus du tout après quelques minutes de concert tant le mélange hip-hop/funk/musique yddish proposé par le groupe sonne comme une association évidente fonctionnant à merveille sur scène. L'énergie, la bonne humeur et l'humour dont font preuve le trio sont aussi à souligner comme l'ingrédient ultime d'une reçette explosive. Les versions longues des classiques des JB's "Breaking Bread" et "House Party" furent mémorables. Un show festif d'une rare fraicheur, à voir absolument s'ils se produisent près de chez vous dans les mois à venir.
Ci-dessus lien vers le site d'ArteLiveWeb qui diffuse l'intégrale du concert en streaming sur son site pour quelques semaines
Piers Faccini & Vincent Ségal
Cabaret Sauvage - 05/09/2010 (4pm set)
Piers Faccini
Introducing Alice Russel show, french/italian folk singer Piers Faccini and french cello player Vincent Ségal gave an intimate acoustic 1h-long set focusing on Piers's songs and various obscure covers ranging from country music to old italian songs.
Vincent Ségal
Vincent Ségal amazing cello playing style (does he play bass, guitar or actual cello with his beloved instrument?) is not a surprise for anyone who has seen him with his band Bumcello or as a musician for french pop star M, but in such an intimate set-up the finesse and sensibility of his play were simply stunning.
On his side Pier's sensible & melancolic guitar's play and vocals also conveyed a healthy dose of emotions. It really was a moving moment to see these two friends play together seven years after their close collaboration on Pier's beautiful first album called "Leave No Trace". Below a video of their interpretation of "Ugly Places" :
Jolie idée d'avoir programmé en première partie du show acoustique d'Alice Russel, le duo Piers Faccini-Vincent Ségal qui se connait bien pour avoir étroitement collaboré il y a 7 ans sur le sublime premier album folk de Piers intitulé "Leave No Trace". Se concentrant sur des morceaux de cet album plus quelques reprises improbables de chansons populaires italiennes ou d'inspiration country, les deux amis ont offert une prestation acoustique pleine de finesse et de sensibilité qui cadrait très bien avec un Cabaret Sauvage assagi dans une version places assises particulièrement "cosy".
Alice Russell - Live Acoustic Session
Cabaret Sauvage - 05/09/2010 (4pm set)
Alice Russell
After this smooth intro, Alice Russell and her young band, set-up in an acoustic fashion (cello and violins taking the place of her usual horns section), came on stage for a 1h-and-a-half set where they played several of their classic tunes plus an amazing forthcoming track and a few covers (from Sarah Vaughan or Donny Hathaway).
Compared to the "regular" non-acoustic show I had seen last year at the Bataclan, which I enjoyed but founded a bit too strict and formal, she and her band were much more relaxed and prone to improvisation this time. After several soul ballads they managed to have most of the seated audience forget about the cosy chairs to end up dancing during the last half -hour of enthusiastic acoustic funk.
My favorite moments of the show where the beautiful cover of one of my favorite classic jazz song "The Mystery Of Man" from Sarah Vaughn and her explosive new track due out this week I believe (I can't wait, but don't know the title). The audience loved it so much that everyone kept on singing the chorus between each of the remaining songs of the show! Small video of this song below :
Ayant troqué les habituels cuivres de son jeune groupe contre une contrebasse et deux violons, c'est dans une version acoustique qu'Alice Russell a interprété pendant presque 2h ses classiques soul/funk mais aussi quelques covers, dont une très belle version de "The Mistery Of Man" de Sarah Vaughan qui est une de mes chansons jazz préférées
Chassez le naturel il revient au galop et, acoustique ou pas, le groupe a accéléré le tempo pour une dernière demi-heure très funky ou le Cabaret (trop) sagement assis s'est rapidement levé pour danser. Son prochain morceau à sortir dans les jours à venir et dont le titre m'a échappé fut particulièrement dévastateur (streaming video ci-dessus).
Gil Scott-Heron
Cité de la Musique - 08/09/2010
Following his moving come-back in Paris last May for a splendid evening at the New Morning (extensive review here), Gil was back in Paris for a second time in 2010 (and in the last 10 years actually).
I'll make it quick as the 1h30mn-long show was quite similar to the New Morning one (tracklisting below) but maybe less intimate as the Cité de la Musique is a much larger venue. If I found Gil tired physically (he has been touring a lot for these last few months) he nevertheless offered us another beautiful moment of soulful spirituality.
My favorite parts of the show probably were his humoristic and powerful version of Three Miles Down and Tony Duncanson's 7- or 8-mn long astonishing congas solo on The Bottle. Tracklisting : Blue Collar - Winter In America - We Almost Lost Detroit/Work For Peace Medley - Three Miles Down - I'll take care of you - The Other Side (Parts I, II & III) - The Bottle - Better Days Ahead
As I concluded my latest post on this immense artist : if there were more Gil's, the world would surely be a better place!
Below a small video of "Winter In America" with his legendary folktale intro:
J'ai longuement relaté sur le blog le come-back à la fois splendide et émouvant de Gil à Paris en Mai dernier au New Morning. Le concert de la Cité de la Musique fut similaire en terme de tracklisting (voir ci-dessus) et si ce fut un autre grand moment de groove spirituel, la taille de la salle et la relative fatigue de Gil, qui a beaucoup tourné récemment, ont rendu cette soirée moins magique que celle de Mai. Le solo de congas de 10mn de Tony Duncanson sur "The Bottle" ou la version merveilleuse de "Three Miles Down" resteront néanmoins dans ma mémoire!
Robert Glasper's Experiment / Stefon Harris / Pete Rock
Tribute To Roy Ayers - Cabaret Sauvage - 11/09/10
Robert Glasper (my favorite contemporary jazz/groove pianist) and his brilliant inseparable crew has been teaming up recently with hip-hop producer Pete Rock and acclaimed vibraphonist Stefon Harris to throw a few live sessions focusing on the eternal music from Roy Ayers.
La Villette festival's team had the brilliant idea to invite them in the red-hot Cabaret Sauvage for what happened to be my favorite show of the whole week!
Pete Rock's sampled beats loops, Chris Dave's phenomenal drumming and Derrik Hodge's deep basslines set-up a fantastic rythmic frame, ripe to let Robert Glasper (Piano & Rhodes) and Stefon Harris (vibraphone) add a splendid layer of warm grooves so disctinctive of Ayers' universe.
On top of that Casey Benjamin took charge of vocals with his mesmerizing vocoder, while also droppin a few memorable sax solos.
What made the concert truly unique was its sort of "jam-spirit".
I really had the impression to see a giant impro session with some of the most talented musicians of the current jazz/groove/beats universe having fun readapting for more than 2 hours several Roy's classics (I Live In Philly, Searchin'...).
The concert actually really moved on to a true jam in the end when the crew improvised on several Jay Dilla anthems (Stakes Is High, The Light, Fall In Love...) or Kenny Burke's groove classic "Risin' To The Top".
They were even joined on stage by nu-soul singer Bilal to conclude a stunning 15mn-long version of "Everybody Loves The Sunshine".
An unforgettable live groove/beats moment really!
The good news is ArteLiveWeb also recorded this show, you can see it on the video streaming below , enjoy!
Projet éphémère monté par Robert Glasper (mon pianiste favori de la scène jazz/groove actuelle), ses inséparables comparses Chris Dave, Derrik Hodge et Casey Benjamin ainsi que le producteur hip-hop Chris Rock et le brillant vibraphoniste Stefon Harris, ce "Tribute To Roy Ayers" fut mon concert préféré de la semaine.
Une sorte de jam-session irréelle de presque 3h pendant laquelle ces musiciens de classe mondiale nous ont fait voyager dans l'univers groovy de Roy Ayers en passant par le hip-hop jazzy de Jay Dilla (nombreuses covers dont Stakes Is High, The Light, Fall In Love...).
La prestation à la batterie de Chris Dave fut proprement hallucinante d'intensité et de virtuosité tandis que les vocals interprétés au vocoder par Casey Benjamin ont contribué à créer une atmosphère totalement envoutante. Si on ajoute à ça les basslines profondes de Derrik Hodge puis les nappes de Rhodes distillées par Robert Glasper et les solos de vibraphone aériens de Stefon Harris cela donne une expérience unique. Sans aucun doute un des meilleurs concerts que j'ai vu ces dernières années. Juhez par vous-même gràce à l'enregistrement d'ArteLiveWeb disponible pour une période de temps limitée.
Robert Glasper Trio & Bilal
Cité de la Musique - 12/09/2010
Robert Glasper, Derrick Hodge & Chris Dave
After showing their groove side on saturday night, Robert Glasper, Derrik Hodgeand Chris Dave were back on stage with their jazz side for a sunday-afternoon set at the "Cité de la Musique" with nu-soul singer Bilal as a guest. My english vocabulary is falling short of superlatives to describe this second remarkable performance from the trio, and notably the once-again surrealist drumming performance from Chris Dave, who to me currently is one of the very best jazz/groove drummer around.
Robert Glasper & Bilal
As usual they came on stage with no clear-cut set-list and after a hilarious tchat (after having seen Robert live four times in the last couple of years, I wonder if he may not also have a future in the stand-up comedy world as his sarcastic humour is just too much fun) they started playing and improvise a great deal on one of their track. The only "pre-defined" moments of the show seemed to be the two jazz standards ("Little B Poem" and "Body and Soul") on which a sneezing Bilal tried to sing. Hopefully the crazy helped him out and fired up on all cylinders to give absolutely stunning jam-like versions of these two classics.
Robert Glasper
The rest of the set was more nu-jazz oriented with 15-mn long versions of some of their brilliant songs mixed up with some Jay Dilla themes. Bilal finally came back on stage on a better shape to beautifully conclude the afternoon with jazzy cuts of his current hit "All Matter" and of his famous Jay-Dilla-writen song "Reminisce".
These guys are an absolute must-see for any jazz/groove fan!
Après leur samedi soir mémorable en version "groove", le trio Robert Glasper, Derrik Hodge & Chris Dave a vite enfilé son costume "jazz" pour enchainer le lendemain avec une session en compagnie du chanteur nu-soul Bilal à la Cité de la Musique.
Sans rien perdre en magie et virtuosité.
Après une intro façon stan-up comedy pendant laquelle Robert Glasper a encore une fois fait mouche avec son humour sarcastique, le trio a enchainé avec quelques une de ses superbes compositions jazz en multipliant changements de rythme, solos époustouflants et clins d'oeils à Jay Dilla en glissant par moments des thèmes du mythique producteur hip-hop. Chris Dave a une fois de plus bluffé tout le monde avec une prestation époustouflante à la batterie. Il est sans aucun doute un des tout meilleurs batteurs jazz/groove du moment. Technique, précision, finesse, énergie, les mots me manquent pour décrire son jeu enthousiasmant.
L'arrivée de Bilal sur scène pour interpréter deux standards jazz ("Little B's Poem" et "Body & Soul") ne restera à l'inverse pas dans les annales car le chanteur, bien enrhumé, n'était pas dans une grande forme. Heureusement le trio s'en est donné à coeur joie pour donner une nouvelle jeunesse à ses deux titres légendaires. Bilal assura tout de même deux jolies interprétations de son hit du moment "All Matter" ainsi que de son classique "Reminisce" pour clôturer le concert.
The Roots, The Last Poets, Living Colour & David Murray Tongues On Fire, A Tribute To The Black Panthers Grande Halle de la Villette, 12/09/10
A very special artistic project dedicated to the memory and history of 70's Us black rights revolutionary movement "The Black Panthers" was scheduled for the closing of the festival.
David Murray
The show was set-up by free-jazz saxophonist David Murray, who composed the musical themes, with poems from Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan (members of the legendary politically-conscious hip-hop band The Last Poets), live contribution from members of The Roots (?uestlove, Blackthought & Ray Angry) and Living Colour (Corey Cover & Vernon Reid on guitar) plus visuals from Doctor L using original material from Black Panthers' former minister of culture Emory Douglas.
On rythmic backgrounds ranging from jazz-fusion, reggae, funk and afro vibes, the 2h-long show had us travel in time for a very interesting reflexion on this part of Us history and culture. The thought-provoking artworks from Emory Douglas were in fact my favorite part of the show with some drawings reminding me a bit of some of Fela Kuti's albums covers depicting violence, inequalities and power abuses. Even though I appreciated very much the nice balance between Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan spoken-word flow and The Roots' Blackthought groovy hip-hop vocals, it was hard for me to really get into the music as the sound quality was rather poor in La Grande Halle, which is definitely not a proper concert room. I nevertheless was particularly moved by Umar Bin Hassan beautiful poem, declaimed on a sweet sax solo from David Murray, and reminiscing about one of the Black Panthers leader who particularly influenced him and who died during one of the numerous violent arrests conducted by the authorities at that time. I really wish I could see this ambitious project in London where they played in the great Barbican venue with a great sound quality.
Pour clôturer le festival un projet ambitieux autour de l'histoire et de l'influence du mouvement révolutionnaire noir-américain les "Black Panthers" était programmé dimanche soir à la Grande Halle de la Villette. Le projet a été pensé et mis en place par le saxophoniste free-jazz David Murray qui a composé la musique, sur des textes et poèmes de Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan,deux des leaders du légendaire groupe spoken-word "The Last Poets", et la contribution musicale de membres éminents des The Roots (?uestlove, Blackthought & Roy Angry) et de Living Colour (Corey Cover & Vernon Reid on guitar). En prime des visuels marquants de Doctor L qui a utilisé en grande partie des oeuvres de l'ancien "ministre de la cuklture" du mouvement Black Panthers, Emory Douglas. Sur des sons allant du jazz-fusion, au reggae, funk ou rythmiques afro, le collectif nous a fait voyager dans cette période essentielle de l'histoire contemporaine des Etats-Unis. Si j'ai été fasciné par l'univers artistique des dessins et montages d'Emory Douglas, j'avoue avoir eu du mal à rentrer totalement dans l'univers musical du collectif en raison de l'accoustique de faible qualité de la Grande Halle. Les veinards qui ont vu le projet à Londres ou il a été présenté dans la très belle salle du Barbican ont du beaucoup plus apprecié la qualité des compositons de David Murray. Je garderai néanmoins un souvenir ému du très joli poème déclamé par Umar Bin Hassan en hommage à l'un des leaders disparus des Black Panthers qui l'a beaucoup influencé, le tout sur un subtil et poignant riff de sax de David Murray.
Thanks to Vincent for most pictures illustrating this (long) article.
Merci à Vincent pour la majeure partie des photos illustrant cet article.
It's been almost 10 years.
We had to wait such a long time to have the immense pleasure of seeing Gil Scott-Heron back in France, in his beloved "New Morning" venue in central Paris.
So time has been passing by, the man has been going through his fair share of struggles, but him and his eternal talent have not "disappeared" as he joked during his hilarious intro speaches.
To add to the legendary tone of this very special evening, Gil was supported by long-time companions from "The Midnight Band" and "Amnesia Express" years, Glenn Turner (Keyboards, Harmonica), Brian Settles (Saxophone, Flute) & Tony Duncanson (Congas).
Together they offered two separate concerts in the same evening, each lasting just shy of 2 hours.
I attended both shows, each were identical as far as the tracklisting is concerned, focusing on classics with only "I'll Take Care Of You" from the recent album "I'm New Here".
Gil Scott-Heron (first set)
1 Blue Collar 2 Winter In America 3 We Almost Lost Detroit - Work For Peace Medley 4 Three Miles Down 5 I'll Take Care Of You 6 Did You Hear What They Said 7 The Other Side (Part I, II & III) 8 The Bottle 9 "encore", don't remember which track it was, please help if you were there!
Gil started alone on stage and after only three notes from his unseparable Rhodes Keyboards and the first two lines from "Blue Collar", if anybody in the audience still had any doubt, they were reassured : Gil is really back.
His unique deep & hoarse voice still carries the same amount of emotions than it did 10, 20 or 30 years ago. Even more touching was the genuineness of his interpretation (for each track of the show). He's been singing these classics a million times, but he still truly "feels" his decades-old socially-conscious lyrics and he should as, for most of them, they sadly still are particularly relevant these days.
"Winter In America" was also sung alone at the Rhodes and introduced with a tale he made classic over the years, the "meeting between the seasons". The band came on stage for the medley blending one of my favorite Gil's song, "We Almost Lost Detroit", with "Work For Peace".
Making the audience laugh between each song with his always well-found quips about different subjects (his digression about the icelandic volcano was particularly funny), Gil also had us participate to help singing the easy chorus from the beautiful song "Three Miles Down" depicting the miners terrible work environment(audio below).
Brian Settles
Glenn Turner
His band stood up to his standard : flute and tenor sax solos full of sensibility from Brian Settles, energetic harmonica parts from Glenn Turner or the final crazy 7-or 8-mn long congas impro in the middle of "The Bottle" by Tony Duncanson (reminding me of live explosions from the late Ray Barretto) were all brilliant.
Not much to add after such a fantastic moment, ah yes, something I was wondering yesterday night : if there were more Gil's, the world would surely be a better place!
Below a few treats : videos of the medley "We Almost Lost Detroit-Work For Peace" from the second set and audio streaming of "Three Miles Down". Hope you'll like it!
Part 1 :
Part 2 :
"Three Miles Down", with a little help of the New Morning audience, the superb lyrics (not the easy chorus!) can be found (here) :
A few add-ons :
- If you want to know more about Gil's work, I suggest you watch the great 1-h long documentary done by the Bbc a few years back, youtube streaming here.
- If you're into "socially-conscious" soul/funk, you may also enjoy listening to our recent "Lyrics Do Matter" selection/podcast assembling some of our favorite tracks in that space.
- Finally for the french fans who missed the show yesterday, be aware that Gil will be performing early July at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festival in Sète, and in early september in Paris at La Villette Jazz Festival (tickets should be on sale in June).
Well after more than fifteen years of waiting and a long and difficult struggle to fight personal issues and addictions, Gil Scott-Heron is finally back with an interesting album that blends his incredible spoken word signature with deep and abstract slow-motion electronic beats.
To be clear, for someone who is not familiar with this legendary artist, this album may not be the easiest piece to start digging into his astonishing work. Musically, contrary to his most famous 70's/80's soulful and funky productions with Brian Jackson, this record is much more conceptual.
It features deep and dark drums loops and spacy samples (ironically, being of the artist that has been most sampled by the Hip-hop scene over the years, it is him this time who did the sampling, using a Kanye West track in the opening and closing tracks), setting the stage for an oppressive and almost desolate musical frame that actually fits really well with his now-slower voice flow.
The album is really short, less than half an hour-long. It is composed of four songs, which are covers, and several short interludes & spoken-words/poems humming with a darkness and a melancoly that cannot leave you inemotional.
"I'm New Here" is not his best album, but as for all his productions this is still a must-listen to.
I really hope I'll be able to see him live this year as the last couple of times I had this privilege, more than 10 years ago, still remain some of the greatest musical journeys I've ever experienced. I heard he may be touring in Europe next March, we'll keep an eye on it.
For those who want to discover more about his amazing career and the huge impact he's had on the current musical scene, check this interesting Bbc documentary.
Here is "Me And The Devil" that comes with the fantastic video below :
A few days before the release of the long awaited new album from one of my true musical hero, Gil Scott-heron, I thought you may enjoy this really interesting Bbc documentary about his career and influences that I found the other day while surfing on Youtube.
It is split in 6 parts, the first is here, the other have links below. Thanks to Benanddonner1 for having put this online.
A very special artistic project dedicated to the memory and history of 70's Us black rights revolutionary movement "The Black Panthers" was scheduled for the closing of the festival.
Even though I appreciated very much the nice balance between Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan spoken-word flow and The Roots' Blackthought groovy hip-hop vocals, it was hard for me to really get into the music as the sound quality was rather poor in La Grande Halle, which is definitely not a proper concert room. 
Well after more than fifteen years of waiting and a long and difficult struggle to fight personal issues and addictions, Gil Scott-Heron is finally back with an interesting album that blends his incredible spoken word signature with deep and abstract slow-motion electronic beats.
