Concert Review - La Villette Jazz Festival 2010

The artistic direction of the 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 Hodge and 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.

V4YS Album Review - Mount Kimbie - Crooks And Lovers (Hotflush Recordings)

Still catching up with the numerous interesting releases from this summer I am late in mentionning, "Crooks & Lovers", the debut album from Uk ambient/dubstep duo Mount Kimbie (Dominic Kamper & Kai Campos), but I had to as this possibly is my favorite album in the electro space so far this year (despite a really heavy competition!).
After two amazingly innovative Eps released in 2009 on Scuba's demanding label Hotflush, the duo presents 11 brand new tracks in a rather short format (35mn). Hopefully the quality of an album has never been a function of its length and this release proves it.
Is it ambient, is it dubstep, is it downtempo? all I know is that this LP has me travel a lot both physically and mentally.
Slow-motion tracks like "Would Know" or "Ruby" and their hypnotizing layer of deep bass put me in an exquisitely lethargic mode. Sweet candy-like (or Bibio-like as these remind me of his work somehow) tunes like "Tunnelvision", "Before I Move Off", "Ode To Bear" or "Adriatic" and their light acoustic guitars samples, have me slowly wake up in a zen but joyful state. My body is now ready to feel and enjoy the quicker pace and club-suggestive beats from "Carbonated", "Blind Night Errand", "Mayor" or "Field".

The trick is that tracks are not sorted this way! so listening to the album has me randomly move from one state to the other, losing control in some respect for a short but intense experience.
I hope I'll be able to experience it live soon (arrgh cannot go to next week Paris show), in the meantime their astonishing recent live BBC's Maida Valle Studio session is a nice introduction (check Gilles Peterson Sep 1st Worldwide BBC1 show for extracts).

Below youtube streaming of "Would Know" and "Carbonate" :





Essayant de combler mon retard sur les nombreuses sorties musicales de qualité de cet été je me devais de mentionner, même tardivement, le premier album sublime du duo anglais "Mount Kimbie" sur l'excellent label Uk Hotflush.
Après deux premiers maxi délicieusement inclassables paru en 2009, ce jeune duo délivre un premier album court (35mn) mais d'une richesse et d'une intensité rare. A "tiers-chemin" entre ambient, dubstep et downtempo, on flotte entre de douces plages léthargiques aux univers sonores remplis de samples langoureux, à de joyeux réveils sensoriels lorsque les beats appuient parfois subtilement sur la pédale d'accélérateur. Probablement mon album electro favori de l'année en cours.
Ci-joint streaming de mes deux morceaux favoris. Enjoy!

V4YS Ep Review - Throwing Snow - Un Vingt Ep (Ho Tep Records)

Another day, another young uk producer takes us through another fascinating dubstep journey on another brand new bold electro label.
This time around it is Throwing Snow's turn to drive and the label is Ho Tep Records, recently set up by one of Eglo Records founder (home of one of my favorite electro artist at the moment, Floating Points).

Un Vingt is the main attraction of this Ep.
Soulful vintage keyboards, melancolic strings, bewitching vocal sample, delightfully groovy dubstep beats for a perfect balance between deepness and excitment. A lush track really.
You can make your own opinion by listening to the streaming below :




Les (beaux) jours passent et se ressemblent dans l'univers luxuriant du deep dubstep Uk. 
Cette fois-ci c'est au tour du jeune producteur anglais Throwing Snow de sortir son premier maxi sous l'ombrelle du tout nouveau label Ho Tep. 
Le titre "Un Vingt" est l'attraction de ce disque, un petit bijou associant claviers soulful, samples vocaux envoutants, cordes mélancoliques et évidemment de délicieux broken beats finement ciselés. Le tout pour un équilibre parfait entre calme et envie irrépressible de laisser son corps obéir à un groove omniprésent. 
Succombez au streaming ci-joint, le dépaysement est à portée d'oreilles.

V4YS Ep Review - Spokes - We Can Make It Out (Counter Records)

Counter Records, the excellent independant rock label from the Ninjatune galaxy will soon release the second album of Spokes, a Mancunian quintet already guilty of a brilliant first LP in 2008 called "People Like People Like You" that is a must-listen to for any fan of soulful post-rock (several extracts here).
Their second album titled "Everyone I Ever Met" should come out next November but the first single "We Can Make It Out" is just out and I have to say it is as good as it gets. Without a doubt my second big indie shock of the year following the fantastic latest Broken Social Scene album (reviewed here).

So put the volume of the below (beautiful) video up and let this refreshing indie gem take the control.



Courtesy of Ninjatune, you can also listen (and/or dwlnd) out the powerful remix from Yppah.
I think I love it even more than the original.


More info on the band's blog.

Counter Records, le sous-label rock de la galaxie Ninjatune va prochainement sortir le second album de "Spokes", jeune groupe post-rock originaire de Manchester, déjà auteur en 2008 d'un sublime opus intitulé "People Like People Like You".
"We Can Make It Out", le premier extrait de ce second album qui s'appellera "Everyone I Ever Met" est disponible depuis quelques jours et c'est une petite merveille. Après le fantastique dernier album de mes chouchous Broken Social Scene, c'est la seconde grosse claque indie que je reçois cette année. Alors en attendant l'album complet, montez le son du lien youtube, fermez les yeux (ou pas vu la qualité du clip) et laisser cet ovni euphorisant prendre le contrôle...
Pour encore plus de sensations checkez le puissant remix de Yppia qui nous est offert par Ninjatune!

V4YS Album Review - Andreya Triana - Lost Where I Belong (Ninjatune)

Here is an album I have been expecting these last few months as I particularly enjoyed Uk singer Andreya Triana first featurings with artists such as Flying Lotus or Bonobo (on his brilliant latest LP called "Black Sands, review here).

This positive impression was also confirmed with the release earlier this year of her first solo single "Lost Where I Belong", a beautiful "folkish" song where her deep voice blends perfectly with a Bonobo-made acoustic melody.

So here it is!
This first Lp, also titled "Lost Where I Belong", produced by Bonobo on Ninjatune is a rather short album with only 9 tracks. Suffice it to say this is more than enough to demonstrate the lady's songwriting and interpretation talent!
On a musical frame oscillating between folk, soul and downtempo, Andreya delivers her river of words in an intimate way. Sweet as she may be, her voice offers a subtle dose of harshness and gravity that give her work a feeling of maturity and genuineness.
True, I had hoped that she would have explored more musical universes than downtempo ballads in this Lp as she brilliantly did in her multiple prior collaborations as a guest (electro, funkier sounds...). Let's say she has ample time to widen her solo scope in future productions!

Having seen her for a great short live shocase with Fink and Bonobo earlier this year during Gilles Peterson's worldwide awards (review here) I hope she'll be soon presenting live this album in small and intimate venues.

Below a streaming of one of my favorite track, "Draw The Stars", where the complicity with Bonobo's magical musical atmosphere is at his best :



And a beautiful acoustic version of the single, "Lost Where I Belong" :

V4YS Album Review - Forbidden Dialect - More Than Your Money's Worth

"Quality self-produced underground Hip-Hop" is how I would defined Georgia-based collective Forbidden Dialect's album called "More Than Your Money's Worth".
The 6-member crew living in the city of Colombus, starts with a great beatmaker, "Redd", who has a true feeling for sampling a wide range of grooves, from underrated funk/soul tracks to afrobeat or west-african sounds.
This soulful musical background enables the 5 talented MC's (Amorphouz, Cycle Logic, Flux, Jason & Joey) to deliver right on time their sometimes poetic, sometimes humoristic, sometimes politically-conscious thorough lyrical flows.
The result is a refreshing hip-hop album that will bring you back to the fundamentals.
Good for you, the crew shares it freely on this site where you can stream it or download a high-quality mp3 version.
So spread the word, this forbidden dialect definitely deserves to be legalized!

Below a streaming of two of my favorite tracks :

"A Decade Later", with a cool sample of the timeless Fela classic "Lady" :


"Azawas", a great groovy track reminding me of a song from the band "Usual Species" a few years back and whom I can't remember the title :

V4YS Mixes#8 - In Love With Nu-Soul

To celebrate this great Nu-Soul year here is a mix presenting nu-soul & jazzy hip-hop tracks I particularly enjoy.
You'll find some classic cuts from D'Angelo, Common, Arrested Development but also recent gems from Erykah Badu, Jose James, Julien Dyne or Electric Wire Hustle.
Heavy beats, nice keyboards/piano melodies, sensual lyric flows, music for love!

Divshare streaming below, click on the player to dwld.






Tracklisting :
Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Show Us A Feeling
Erykah Badu - Gone Baby, Don't Be Long
D'Angelo - I Found My Smile Again
Arrested Development - In The Sunshine
José James - Save Your Love For Me
Julien Dyne - Fallin' Down (Feat. Parks)
Electric Wire Hustle - Perception
Common - Geto Heaven Ft. D'angelo
Dj Vadim - Talk To Me Feat. Sena
Common Sense - Resurrection (Instrumental)
Ayak & First Man - Can We Go Back
Bonobo - The Keeper (Feat. Andreya Triana)
Inohs Sivad Feat Diamondancer - Somewhere Else
Owusu And Hannibal - Delirium

V4YS Concert Review - Prince - Nice at Nikaia & After Show In Cannes - 25/07/10

My musical week in south of France had already been amazing but I did not forecast it would end with a phenomenal experience....named Prince!
Having learned (too late) from a friend (who was there) about the phenomenal 4h-long surprise concert that the star gave in the middle of the night on July 23d in Paris in my favourite concert venue, the New Morning, I realized there were some tickets left for his last european show in Nice on sunday the 25th.
Despite my strong reluctance to go to big venues or stadiums-like concerts I made an exception hoping that this immense artist would still be on the same fantastic mood and secretly hoping of an intimate after-show.

The official show in the Nikaia stadium was a great surprise as Prince and his band were absolutely stunning on stage for a 2-h long set where each musician and chorist offered us a piece of his outstanding talent. They constantly had the audience participate which was all the more successful as they focused mainly on classic songs. More importantly they seemed to have much much fun playing together for this last european tour date and this added to the overall excitement and the feeling I had to attend a really special show.
"Purple Rain", "1999", "Little Red Corvette", "Kiss", "Musicology" etc..(full listing here) were all part of it but my favorite live track was "shhhh", a pure moment of smooth&groovy R&B.

Prince in Cannes

As much as I enjoyed this big show I started to get really really excited when I learned about the after show planned in the Palais-Club in the neighbouring city of Cannes.
I arrived around 1am in this really posh place where young jet-setters seemed to have a good time listening to low-quality house music. When people coming from the Nice show to see Prince started to fill the club we could feel the difference between the usual audience of the place and the Prince fans.
Strange dual-atmosphere indeed, even stranger when one of the jet-setter from the vip place bought several dozens of Champagne bottles to distribute them to the "have-nots" only here for the show and sweating neck-to-neck in front of the scene. I was at the other side of the room and could not get some but who cares as it was only groove&funk I was hoping for!

Technical issues delayed the start of the show, and it's only around 4am that Prince and his band came on the tiny stage set-up in front of the tiny dancefloor.
Standing 4 or 5 meters from the man I had my first shot of "groovyness" before the show even started : while the musicians were tuning their instruments in a scene turned dark, the dj finally decided to play some real music to welcome them, and when Marvin's "Let Get It On" was on, all of a sudden I realized that there was an additional guitar line on top of this eternal song that I know too well.
I tried to distinguish in the dark what Prince was doing and I realized that while turning his back on the audience to seemingly tune his guitar, he was in fact having fun improvising a splendid riff on top of the song. Two or three minutes of pure joy.
(I guarantee the jet-setters part of the audience did not notice anything, they may have asked a "Marvin who?" if asked about the song ;)

The crew played a bit more than one hour (and had planned at least two without the damned technical issues) once again in a really joyful mood, you'll find the listing below but my highlights definitely are the explosive version of "The Jam", where each musician got introduced in the funkiest possible way, a slow motion version of his usual cover from Sly Stone's "Thank You" and the fantastic speeded-up cover from James Brown "Sex Machine" (this easy one was even identified by the young jetsetters part of the audience I believe;). Amazing drum tempo and wicked guitar and organ gimmick on this final gem.

What an unforgettable night! Thank You Prince!

Don't forget...I just need your extra-time and your....kiss!

Below the tracklisting from this after-show (thanks to the Schkopi community for the help) :
Instrumental
The Jam
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
We Want To Be Free
Baby Love
When Will We Be Paid
Girls & Boys
Cream
Ol' Skool Company
Sex Machine

And here is the closing medley starting with "Girls and Boy" and ending with "Sex Machine" which starts around 8mn :

V4YS Concert Review - Jazz A Juan Festival - Brooklyn Funk Essentials & Maceo Parker - 23/07/10

After these great two days in the Nice Jazz Festival, I wanted to visit the other legendary jazz festival located on the french riviera, in the city of Antibes Juan-Les-Pins.
A really funky evening was scheduled on Friday the 23d with Brooklyn Funk Essentials and Maceo Parker in town to participate in the 50th edition of "Jazz A Juan".
The concert being sold out I was really lucky to get an unexpoected invitation from a fan owning a spare ticket (thanks Milan for this!).
"Jazz à Juan" is located in a pine garden with the scene turning its back on the medierranean sea.
In this splendid location all visitors are seated but I assure you  that these rules, respected for jazz gigs, did not resist for long to the funky vibes delivered by both bands!

Brooklyn Funk Essentials :

Hanifah Walidah

Here is a band I had not heard about for a long time. With the release of "Watcha Playin" in 2009 the funky new-yorker collective ended a long period of silence and resumed its good habits of merging funky vibes with ragga/dub and oriental influences.
Still if I've always enjoyed their recordings, I've also always felt that the quality of their productions could be a bit better (for instance if they used less beatboxes and sound effects). In a word this is typically the type of band you would underestimate a tad by only knowing their albums and to me their talent and huge potential expresses itself fully on stage. This night in Juan confirmed this view with an enthusiastic performance.
It was not a surprise to see them share an evening with Maceo as the sax legend made several guest appearances on some of their older prods (like the well-known fantastic track "Blow Your Brains Out").
Focusing on tracks from this latest release they had the not-so-easy task to start the evening quite early when the sun was still up and to face a seated audience not really familiar with their sound.

Desmond Foster

After half an hour of energetic vibes they truly turned the place upside down and the most motivated listeners could finally get up and move next to the stage to dance (do I need to say I was part of them?).
The highlight of their show was clearly their trio of singers, who is full of energy and really complimentary : the stunning Hanifah Walidah taking care of the groove/funk tunes, Papa Dee throwing his cool rap/ragga flow anytime and Everton Sylvester bringing his poetic & humoristic reggae touch to the exsemble. The three of them are supported by the band's great musicians but they are the one really taking the live thing to a higher ground.
My favorite tracks of the show? without a doubt was "Dance-free night", with a much groovier version than on the album, my definition of groove in fact, with an infectious mid-tempo rythm supported by Hanifah's voice and remarkable stage presence. Also the hilarious accapella "spoken-word" version of  "Need" from Everton Sylvester who took the mike to fill a timeout due to the bassist amp having techncal problems. Loved it!

Maceo Parker :

Maceo Parker

How many times have I seen Maceo live?
maybe a dozen or more, he clearly is one of the artists I've seen the most in fact but not for the last 4 or five years as I had been a bit disappointed with the last times where he had started to move a bit away from his amazing pure-funk favorite recipe.
Well, this "Jazz à Juan"'s concert reassured me, the 67-year-old saxophonist was only here to funk us and it was one of the best Maceo's show I had ever attended.
As with Brooklyn Funk Essentials it took 20 to 30 minutes to get rid of the seated atmosphere and after amazing versions of "This Funk Is Off The Hook" and "Make It Funky" the audience was on fire with the empty space in front of the stage suddenly crowded with dancers from all ages (5 to 70-years-old, truly).

Martha High

In such a happy mood Maceo and his amazing musicians (like the brilliant Dennis Rollins on trombon or the funky diva Martha High on chorus) went on to deliver a 2-h long uplifting funk recital.
Most classics were interpreted, with a special moment when Martha  took to the frontstage to make a funky cover of Lyn Collins's "Think About It". What a thrill!


Anyway after such an evening I was even not feeling the strong chilly mistral wind blowing and all I wanted to say was "Give Me Some More"!

Below a video extract from Martha High and Maceo's crew version of "Think About It" :

V4YS Concert Review - Nice Jazz Festival - Stanley Clarke Band & Hiromi / Bojan Z Tetraband / Eric Legnini Trio / José James & Jef Neve - 21&22/07/2010

Imagine an antique roman site surrounded by a beautiful garden full of olive trees on top of a hill overlooking one of the most beautiful city on the French Riviera. You picture it? Not yet?  add the groovy sound of cicadas and you should make it :

So here you are, on the posh district of Cimiez in Nice where the Nice Jazz Festival has been settling each month of july for more than 50 years. The place offers 3 different scenes with a programmation usually focusing on jazz but with a backdoor opened to many more musical styles like groove, funk or electro.
This 2010 edition is a bit special as it is the last time the festival takes place in this exceptional location before moving next year closer to the city center. I could not miss this last Cimiez version all the more as some of my favorite jazz artists were present on the fantastic line-up. So here a few impressions of the two great days I spent there this week!

The Stanley Clarke Band & Hiromi :

Stanley Clarke & Ronald Bruner Jr.

Legendary fusion jazz bassist Stanley Clarke was my first "choice" of the evening. It was the first time I was seeing him live. I was absolutely stunned first by his outstanding bass/double bass play but even more by the amazing performance of Japanese pianist Hiromi who participated in Stanley latest album.

Hiromi

During this 1-hour long fusion set she alternated between smooth and more agressive ways of playing, and also impressed the crowd with a great stage presence (often playing standing in front of her piano when the groove was too unresistible). I really have to dig her own albums and I'm looking forward seeing her when she'll be visiting Paris. A name to watch for sure!
A special mention also to Californian drummer Ronald Bruner Jr. for his brilliant act full of enthusiasm and energy!
Below a short video showing some Hiromi's action!


Bojan Z Tetraband :

Bojan Z

Second stop of this night was franco-serbian pianist Bojan Z who is one of my favorite contemporary jazz artist.

Josh Roseman

Together with Sebastian Rochford on drums, Ruth Goller on bass and Josh Roseman on trombon, he offered a jazz set mainly composed of tracks from their 2009 album titled "Humus".

Contrary to the Stanley Clarke set where the interaction between each musician was strong and the "band" spirit evident, the atmosphere of this concert was totally different as each musician was more introverted and focused on his ow play. Coupled wih a more demanding free-jazz-like sound, it required a bit more attention to get into it.

Ruth Goller

But I did!

Sebastian Rochford

Very much in fact as the outstanding rythmic frame set up by Ruth Goller and Sebastian Rochford (I loved his funny Christ-like way of looking deeply up in the sky while playing), the amazing spiritual trombon sound of Josh Roseman and Bojan Z warm rhodes or piano lines are the kind of treats I cannot resist for long!




Eric Legnini Trio :

Eric Legnini, Thomas Bramerie & Frank Agulhon

Last but not least I ended this jazz evening with Eric Legnini Trio.

Eric's recent album called "Trippin" is a little gem where the groovy style of this outstanding pianist is at its best. Whether he is playing Piano or Rhodes, (like he did during this set) he delivers the kind of jazz that I find it hard to listen to seated!
For this Nice show he was joined by Frank Agulhon on drums and Thomas Bramerie on double bass.
The trio mainly focused on tracks from the "Trippin" album. The perfect rythmic support from Frank Agulhon and Thomas Bramerie opened the way for Eric's talent and ispiration. I particularly enjoyed their live versions of "Casa Bamako" and "Trippin". Being a Rhodes keyboard addict I took an immense pleasure to listen to his laid-back grooves!
Below you can get your heatlhy dose of Rhodes vibes with this small video of "Trippin" :




José James & Jef Neve - Coltrane Project

José James

Us singer José James is probably the most frequently mentionned artist on this blog as I firmly believe he is one of the most outstanding talent of the current jazz/soul scene.
Besides two amazing nu-jazz/beats albums (The Dreamer in 2008 and Blackmagic (our review here) in 2010) he teamed up in late 2009 with Belgian Jazz pianist Jef Neve to revisit Alice & John Coltrane legendary music.
José wrote or covered some lyrics on several Coltrane's tracks like Lush Life, Central Park West, A Love Supreme and the duo, joined by Michael Campagna (sax/clarinette), Neville Malcom (double bass) & Richard Spaven (drums), gave three exceptional live shows in late 2009 (Brussels, Paris & London) that were more than 2-hour long.

Jef Neve

The Parisian concert at the New Morning was one of the best live act I ever attended (all musical styles included). I loved it so much that I included this project in the blog's "2009 favorites records" list even though no recordings came out of it. They currently offer shorter versions of it in several jazz festivals and I was particularly happy to catch them for a second time.

Richard Spaven

The 1-hour long set in Nice on July 22nd was equally brilliant albeit really too short!
Next to these 4 talented musicians sensitive interpretation of Coltrane's music, José deep and powerful voice adds a spiritual touch respectful of Alice & John Coltrane's legacy. Once again it was a moment of reflexion and grace.

Jef Neve, José James, Michael Campagna, Neville Malcom &  Richard Spaven

For those interested in this project the full 2-h long Brussels show from october 2009 is available in video streaming here (courtesy of a belgian network).
Also the duo recorded recently a splendid record on the Verve label, called "For All We Know" (our review here) which is a selection of classic jazz songs they brilliantly adapt to their tastes.

Below a video of "Lush Life" in Nice :

V4YS Concert Review - Quantic And His Combo Barbaro Feat. Alice Russel - Live At Cabaret Sauvage, Paris, 170710

Quantic

Will Holland's (aka Quantic) latest project called "Quantic And His Combo Barbaro" resulted in a phenomenal album last year tittled "Tradition In Translation", blending Colombian latin vibes with Soul&Funk (for more info about it, you can check our "2009 favorite records" selection).

After a first remarkable concert in October 2009 at the Bataclan in Paris, the combo was back in town to visit the "Cabaret Sauvage", current host of the great "Sin Fronteras" world-music festival.
A regular guest singer on several former Quantic productions, nu-funk singer Alice Russel was also part of the show to add to the excitement.

Nidia Gongora & Quantic

 Yesterday the combo was composed of 8 members (drums, congas, piano, contrebass, electric guitarist, percussions, alto sax, trumpet) among which Quantic on guitar, the legendary latin pianist Alfredo Linares or Heliocentrics's drummer and leading member Malcom Catto.

Alice Russel

On vocals the mesmerizing colombian singer Nidia Gongora shared the stage with Alice Russel who appeared as a guest on three songs.

The band offered an explosive performance that lasted almost 2 hours. They alternated between funky latin tracks from the album, classic colombian cumbia songs, a killer boogaloo track from Alfredo Linares old-school days and a few soul/funk tunes when Alice Russel was in charge (among which her classic groovy  song with Quantic Soul Orchestra called "Pushing On").




On top of their musical excellence I particularly appreciated the enthusiasm of each band member. These guys enjoy themselves, you can feel it, and I guarantee the joy easily spreads to the audience! Nidia Gongora fantastic stage presence best illustrates this.

A must-see band if they happen to play anywhere near you!







Below videos from yesterday's live version of  "Mas Pan" :



Un grand merci à Vincent pour ses superbes photos!

V4YS Ep Review - SBTRKT - 2020 Ep (Brainmath Records)

There is so much good stuff coming out of the Uk dubstep/breakbeat/deep house scene at the moment that I find it hard not to miss jewels on the road. For instance, I had not noticed this fantastic "2020" Ep from SBTRKT released 3 months ago on Brainmath Records.

Alongside Joy Orbison, Martyn, Scuba, Pangaea, Ramadanman and several others, SBTRKT has been spreading quality productions around these last few months, but this particular Ep is clearly my favorite.
"2020" blends soulful vibes, explosive broken beats and a wide range of creative sounds to reach some kind of electronic music perfection embarking you in a deep journey for sure!

Below a streaming of the first phenomenal track, also titled "2020" :

V4YS Album Review - Dwele - W.ants W.orld W.omen (E1 Entertainment Records)

The Nu-Soul scene is in full revival mode. Following Maxwell & Erykah Badu and before Bilal, Andreya Triana and possibly D'Angelo, here is Dwele's turn to release a new Lp. 
W.ants W.orld W.omen is the Detroit-born singer's 5th album.
Don't trust the rather poor cover artwork, this record almost matches Dwele best work so far, "Rize" and "Subject", released in 2000/3.

It is split in three parts : the "W.ants" part is rather Hip-hop oriented, the "W.orld" part enters the "socially-conscious" space with lyrics dealing with various political issues on a soulful musical background, finally the "W.omen" part comes back to the classic nu-soul relationships theme on a smoother R&B sound, that many rightfully nickname "baby-making" soul music.
If the album adresses a wide range of subjects and musical atmospheres with various collaborations such as Kanye West, Slum Village or Raheem Devaughn, the amazing deepness and maturity of Dwele's voice is the common factor to all tracks.
I have to acknowledge my preference for the second and third parts as their pure nu-soul sound clearly represent Dwele's ultimate signature. Tracks such as "How I Deal", "My People", "Love You Right" or "Give Me A Chance"... are little gems, blending groove and sensuality.

To me this record is not as powerful as Erykah Badu's recent's "New Amerykah Part Two" but it is nevertheless a remarkable production which makes it a highly recommended Lp for any nu-soul fan.

Below you'll find streaming of "How I Deal" featuring Slum Village and "Give Me A Chance" :