Zara McFarlane - If You Knew Her

Zara McFarlane is a rising London-based jazz singer, whose beautifully honeyed and pure voice you will remember. If you are fond of Nina Simone and Jose James, you will want to follow her as well; Zara even participated in  last year’s Nina Simone tribute concerts in the Netherlands with Gregory Porter.

After her 2011 debut Until Tomorrow, Zara‘s second album is finally being released (January 2014). If You Knew Her, on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label, is an emotionally loaded work seeing this talented singer progressively getting assurance as an asserted artist.

Most of the album showcases her voice, with only a plain instrumentation of double-bass or piano in the background – although, having a good voice timbre and technique, she could have used it in a slightly wider range in order for us to really get an overview of her vocal skills.

The album opens on smooth Caribbean drums in the quiet first track ‘Open Heart’, and continues on an old school wave through songs like the poised ‘Move’ and the retake on Nina Simone’s ‘Plain Gold Ring’, both songs being reminiscent of the ‘spiritual jazz’ Black movement of the 70s in America.

Apart from her own compositions, one of the key tracks is of course the fine jazz resurrection of ‘Police and Thieves’, already a fan-favourite and radio-choice. It offers a nice saxophone solo, one of the few throughout the album, and the track increases in intensity until a break at 5’40”, where the quiet feeling of the beginning returns.

The eighth, ‘Angie La La’, featuring Leron Thomas, gives a nice duo with the two singers, and is one of the few tracks offering a larger spectrum of Zara‘s abilities. This is a reworking of a 60s reggae Jamaican song – a kind of experimental jazz moment. The trumpet here gives a good accompaniment to Leron’s gravel voice, though it gets a bit too talkative around the end.

All in all, If You Knew Her is a mirror of Zara McFarlane‘s personality: a contemplative and engaging album combining jazz with Black music, having as its basis thought-provoking writing – a fine and promising work indeed.

This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.

Nov. 14, 1966: Muhammad Ali vs Cleveland Williams

Cat and mouse play at the Astrodome

Muhammad Ali, the 1964 World Heavyweight Champion, retained his title against Cleveland “Big Cat” Williams after a ferocious fight last night at the Astrodomein Houston, Texas.

Controversial Ali, 24, who has a record of 27 wins and no losses, knocked down 33-year-old Williams, a 65-time winner. The referee had to stop the fight to relieve Williams from Ali's hold.

This was a much expected match between Ali, who has been dividing the American opinion over his recent conversion to Islam, and Williams, recovering from gunshots wounds for the past year.

Ali knocked down the Big Cat four times in total. Considering his state, Williams took it all in quite decently.

The first round started with Ali making his little dance, moving clockwise, making Williams throw his fists in the air.

Williams kept on stalking him, and after another 30 minutes, Ali started to react. He was twice pushed into a corner of the ring, but extracted himself quickly.

Ali hit Williams several times in a row but the latter stood his ground. The bell rang after three minutes, ending the round.

When the second round began, Ali instantly launched the offensive. Williams seemed more ready to throw punches than he was at the first round.

Ali got more offensive and at 4'40” launched a series of strikes, angering Williams.

At 5'24”, Ali knocks the Big Cat on the floor from a right. The referee intervened, Williams did not appear hurt and got up again quickly. The fight soon resumed.

Ali attacked right at the start, leaving no time for Williams to reply, and sending him sitting on the ground. He got up immediately again.

At 12 seconds from the end of the round, Williams sent a left, to which Ali replied automatically with a left, a right, two lefts and a final right knocking Williams down for the third time.

The third round began and, determined, Williams launches the offensive with several lefts: he has nothing to lose. Ali fought back, Williams tried but failed to protect himself, and was knocked down again at 6'50”.

Kessler intervened and Williams got up, a bit shaken. The match resumed, and he got almost knocked again.

Williams, badly hurt, is now backing. Kessler stopped the fight, Williams receiving too much punishment. Ali is the winner, holding on to his world Heavyweight Champion title.

This article was written as an assignment for the London School of Journalism.

Interview of: Petros Klampanis

Petros Klampanis is the leader, composer-arranger and bassist of Contextual Trio, a NY jazz formation which played on last Wednesday in Paris at the Cultural Centre of Serbia, organised by the Hellenic Cultural Centre (Read our review here…). Petros’s life is split between NY stages and classrooms where he teaches between the US and Greece. His first album Contextual was released in 2011, and his second album is under way. Marguerite Gallorini chatted to him in Paris ahead of his tour in Greece…

AAAmusic: Hi Petros. Firstly could you tell us about your overall journey, to get a bit of context?

Petros: I grew up in the small Greek island of Zakynthos, then moved to Athens, and then I left for Amsterdam in 2005, where I studied music until the end of 2007. I then did a tour in Portugal, before leaving for the US in 2008, where I live now in New York.

AAAmusic: How long have you been playing music?

Petros: Since I was four years old. But I didn’t start with the bass; I started by playing the piano and singing – where I come from in Zakynthos, we have quite a vocal tradition, with choirs, etc. Actually, the first song of my first album Contextual, called ‘Thalassaki’ (literally “little sea” in Greek), is an old song that derives from the musical tradition of the Greek islands – but on the album it is played by a string quartet and the double bass. Also on my island, there is an interesting combination of Greek but also Italian music, since it had been occupied for a long time by Venice. Therefore the music sounds a bit different from the rest of the country, because it is based on western harmonies, on a more Italian “Bel Canto” opera style, rather than oriental-Turkish melodies.

AAAmusic: That is indeed interesting, since your music has nevertheless this oriental touch throughout…

Petros: I guess it comes from the broader Greek tradition. Even though Zakynthos is a bit particular; I am Greek after all, so it has to transpire in some way since I have been immersed in it while growing up. However I took notice of it – and took a greater interest in it too – when I moved to New York and started studying oriental idioms. That’s where I discovered it on a new light, and only then did I feel less “guilty” of my Greek influence in my music.

AAAmusic: What do you mean?

Petros: Well, you know when I grew up in Greece, I didn’t like all this tradition surrounding me and thought “why not try something else, like jazz” – I didn’t like to have too much Greekness piercing through my playing. But when I learned it again from another perspective, especially by being physically outside of Greece, I learned to love it again and now I use this part of my personality in a prouder manner.

AAAmusic: Where do you get your inspiration to compose, and since when have you been composing?

Petros: I have been writing since 2007, when I was in Amsterdam. As for the inspiration, I think it’s the same for every artist, we get it from everyday life and experiences. I could be specific, or say that Bach or whoever inspired me at some point… But it’s just about the condition we live in, anything can trigger an inspiration as long as it is linked to emotions.

AAAmusic: So there might be a link between the fact that you moved out of Greece to Amsterdam and started composing then?

Petros: I guess so, yes… It was a big change, and somehow I needed to create a frame, a context; I had to find another means of expression.

AAAmusic: Let’s get back to your group for a second. What does the name “Contextual Trio” stand for?

Petros: Well… Of course the idea of context is central to the idea. I came up with the concept in 2007 – I say concept because it is not a fixed trio: in NY we are in fact a bigger formation, with a string quartet, percussions, a guitar… so I guess the “trio” part doesn’t really work here! But the idea of the band is really a merge of different contexts, like an object on which a light is projected from different angles and therefore giving a unique perspective of it every time – but the basis remains the object in itself, and all these lights just help us get a better overall perception and understanding of it. So in Contextual Trio there are different roles for the double bass than for the quartet and the rest – the percussions give a more warlike touch for instance, and so on.

AAAmusic: So what about the two musicians who played with you last Wednesday (in Paris), how did you three meet?

Petros: Well as I said, Contextual Trio is not something really fixed, it is more of a collective – and so it is not always the same people playing too. It was actually the first time that we played the three of us, with saxophonist Sylvain Rifflet, from Paris, and trumpeter Andreas Polyzogopoulos, who is also Greek. So I guess it was an actual trio, for once. I met Sylvain last year in Paris through my manager, then we had a few drinks together and kept in touch… And as for Andreas, I know him from Amsterdam, where we studied together.

AAAmusic: Who are your favourite artists?

Petros: I like very much French impressionists, like Debussi and Ravel. From Jazz, well… I love Miles Davis, I think he was a visionary, he never stuck to the same style. He was always looking for the next thing, but was always relaxed and confident.

AAAmusic: Apart from that, who have you been listening to lately?

Petros: Lots of different things… There is this NY group that I like, Now VS Now, with keyboarder Jason Lindner, bass player Panagiotis Andreou and drummer Mark Guiliana, who had played with Avishai Cohen. Lately I have also very much been into Flamenco music, like Paco de Lucia’s recordings from the 70s/80s, or guitarist Tomatito, and of course Camaron de la Isla. I also like Indian music, like Zakir Hussain, and I am listening to a trio from Turkey, Taksim, and to Tigran Hamasyan. I also have quite a few English artists that I like, especially Gwilym Simcock and Phronesis Trio, a jazz band from London. I’m also very impressed by young Jacob Collier!

AAAmusic: And on a practical level, how do you listen to music? Physical, downloading, streaming…?

Petros: Well actually, both physical and downloading. You know when I go to concerts, I tend to buy the CD of the group if I liked it, because we have to help each other in our industry, that is how it works! But sometimes I do listen to music on iTunes, you know, or use BitTorrent, that’s very practical…

AAAmusic: Otherwise how is your life now in New York?

Petros: Ah, New York is crazy. Less than before, but still… There I teach, but as private lessons. But I also conducted workshops at the Conservatory of Music – Oberlin College for a spring semester, something I also plan on doing this summer on Zakynthos with pianist Kenny Werner and percussionist Jamie Haddad.

AAAmusic: Have you done tours in the US and in Greece?

Petros: Yes of course. We played in Boston, Philadelphia, North Carolina, Washington, California… And we actually did a tour in Greece last summer, with Jean-Michel Pilc, a pianist from Paris.

AAAmusic: Where is the place where you feel most comfortable?

Petros: Well… As everyday life, I love Greece of course, it’s my country. I love the nature there; the sun, the sea, the food… As for concert experiences, I had great impressions from France and Germany. The public are very attentive, but also very enthusiastic, they know how to be warm. In Greece, people are becoming more and more curious and attracted to jazz so that’s good – it has not always been the case, being a very traditional country. But I have never toured in the UK, though I would love to give a concert in London. I ought to be starting to send emails to plan this…

AAAmusic: Finally, what are you planning on doing next?

Petros: For now I am going to tour in Greece with the State Orchestra of Athens, before flying back to the US on December, where I’ll give a concert on the 27th at Cornelia Street Cafe. Otherwise we have a second album being mixed right now and which should be released in 2014…and I think I would like to support this one with videoclips maybe, and a documentary film on the band. I’ll also be touring Europe in 2014, and afterwards the US.

This interview appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.

Contextual Trio Live Review - Centre Culturel de Serbie, Paris

Wednesday 20^th November, Paris

 

In the little crowded room on the first floor of the Cultural Centre of Serbia, the concert of NY-based multicultural Contextual Trio took place. Petros Klampanis is the leader, composer, arranger and bassist of the formation, and released a first album Contextual in 2011; tenor saxophonist Sylvain Rifflet is Django of Gold in the category “new talent” in 2008, and composes for his own albums (Alphabet in 2012); and trumpeter Andreas Polyzogopoulos of the European Orchestra of European youth jazz,  and was involved in more than 40 CDs, has been a member since 2010.

They started with ‘Blue Cave’, written by Petros in Amsterdam in 2007, with the double bass creating a dreamy mood. This slow-paced, poised first track offered a nice trumpet solo and Q/A between the trumpet and the saxophone near the end. It was followed by ‘Q’, written by Sylvain and presenting a well-mastered saxophone solo; the overall track stood on the same airy and experimental tones as previously. Then they played a calm and double bass-based ‘Lilly’s Promenade’, before finally presenting themselves quickly.

They continued with ‘Barbas’, a song written by Andreas, where the double bass started alone in the introduction. The trumpet playing with an echo effect added to the oriental, desert-like mood of the song. The saxophone seemed to have a reed that was too dry though, resulting in a sound that was not always very clear and round. Next, on ‘Thalassaki’, inspired from Greek islands’ traditional songs, the double bass was amazingly played for percussion on the instrument’s box and on the chords with each hand. The fifth track ‘Minor Dispute’ offered another impressive double bass performance, with a solo where Petros played and sang in a perfectly accorded way.

Finally they ended on ‘Mingum’, where the trumpet played a mastered solo, as well as the saxophone, with an enjoyable harmonious accompaniment by the double bass. The attentive audience then burst into happy applause, before getting to know the members of the band who convivially stayed to share a drink with their enthusiastic public.

This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.

Tigran Hamasyan - Shadow Theatre

Tigran Hamasyan is one of those young music geniuses, and rubs our nose in it once more with his last album Shadow Theater. His style is a smart mix of Armenian folk tradition, experimental music and jazz of course, giving us something genuinely original and well worth listening to.

Hamasyan has got many prizes in the world of jazz music, like for instance the first seat at the ”Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz”, under the direction of influential jazz figure Herbie Hancock; he has also been noticed by Avishai Cohen Trio, Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau, to give a few names.

This album is a quality modern jazz work, starting effectively with ‘The Poet’, a track introducing perfectly the versatility of the album. The drums’ irregular accompaniment, its variation, the superposition of voices and the Middle-Eastern influences all contribute to an impression of blurred imaginary landscape, both unsettling and attractive. The second and fifth tracks, ‘Erishta’ and ‘The Year Is Gone’, follow the same vibe.

Other pieces are very serene and sobre, such as ‘The Lament’, number three, ‘Pagan Lullaby’, number eight, or ‘Holy’, number eleven, which give dreamy and ‘Ave Maria’-like atmospheres, the cello being more present on these ones. The tenth – ‘Alternative Universe’ – is notable for the piano part: here Hamasyan is put on the foreground with a long ad-lib and gives us an insight of his great talent.

From this category, one of the key tracks of the album is by far the sixth one: ‘Seafarer’. It has a simple arrangement and melody, with a background of bass lines from the strings alternating with a wavy pattern by the tenor saxophone and piano, making us easily feel like a sailor in the middle of a restless sea thinking of home. This piece sounds very noble and solemn; it just shows how all the great things in life are simple.

But for the most fiery of you, there are also a few devilish tracks with jerky rhythms such as ‘The Drip’, number four, and ‘The Collapse’, number nine; interesting dark pieces, with oriental touches here and there as well.

The album leaves us with another great piece, ‘Road Song’, again with original rhythms and sometimes almost Japanese tones, on a background of restless wavy piano. A very positive energy emerges from this one track; something fresh, like a re-start in one’s life. It then ends quietly, leaving us with a feeling of curiosity for new things…this is what this album does to you.

This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.

Kaz Simmons - For the Love of the Big L

Get to know ‘For the Love of the Big L’, by jazz singer and songwriter Kaz Simmons. It is part of her fourth album Signs, released on Sunday 28th October.

The atmosphere is very much her own, a wavy, dreamy world with a slight ’70s overall feel, and an interesting thread from beginning to end of Brazilian music influence – which she loves – through the percussions’ accompaniment. She also manages to smartly introduce wittiness in the song by high-lighting the well-known outside robot-like attitude of Londoners when she sings “They won’t look at me” or “Move to the right” juxtaposed with “We’re friendly people here, honestly”.

This is about a love story with its ups and downs, but a special one indeed since it is a love story with London. Kaz, with her pure and laser-precise voice, tells how the Big L “seduced” her, but she also sings about how the capital can be too pushy at times, making her want to leave. A “dark” break in the song appears, with just a doublebass and touches of electric piano on the background, and Kaz singing a cappella “Don’t take me for granted; I’m good to you”.

But don’t worry, all’s well that ends well, when she finally admits that she “really love(s) it here”.

And if you want more, you will be able to hear Kaz Simmons on the opening night of the EFG London Jazz Festival on the 15th of November, at the Green Note in Camden Town.

 This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.

Robert Glasper Experiment - Black Radio 2

Robert Glasper Experiment’s new record Black Radio 2 (out October 28th) is highly anticipated, as is to be expected of the sequel of his 2013 Grammy Award-winning (Best R’n’B Album) Black Radio.

The album features collaborations with well-asserted artists such as Snoop Dogg, Common, Lalah Hathaway, Brandy, Emeli Sandé and more… another treat is the presence of Jill Scott (in ‘Calls’) and Lupe Fiasco (in ‘Persevere’ with Snoop Dogg), who together made an absolutely wonderful version of ‘Daydreamin’ in 2006.

So this “experiment” is not to be listened to as a Robert Glasper‘s record, but more as a collective work of talented artists from various music backgrounds. Glasper is indeed a talented and inventive jazz pianist, but here he remains more in the shadows, giving nevertheless a strong background throughout this jazz/pop/R’n’B album.

Technically speaking, all the pieces more or less follow the same range of chords, but always revitalising them in a new way, with new arrangements and singers, and therefore new styles. It follows the spirit of what is explained to us at the end of the introductory track, in a speech addressing the war between mainstream and innovation in music, and which tells the audience that the force and appeal of African music is to use repetitive music, though adding a new element at every turn.

Track two, ‘I Stand Alone’, is a nice punchy song ever-rising in intensity, starting with rapper Common followed in the chorus by Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump. It carries a soul and hip hop vibe; and on the thematic perspective, it gives a good introduction to this album where there is a great sense of vulnerability portrayed throughout, as artists share their life experiences dealing with issues like trust, love and the quest of finding one self.

But Glasper does get a little more freedom in his jazz piano play as the album evolves, like for instance in the last part of the sixth calm track ‘Trust’, or in the ninth track with fast drums‘Let It Ride’, featuring Norah Jones. Also on track number five, ‘No Worries’, featuring soul singer Dwele, at 1’42 minutes the song offers a nice modulation which resonates with jazz grids.

The last song, ‘Jesus Children of America’, featuring Lala Hathaway and Malcolm Jamal-Warner, is a clear tribute to Glasper‘s mother, Kim Yvette Glasper, who used to take her son to church where he first took interest in playing the piano, and where he was inspired to combine Jazz and Gospel harmonies. It closes this album rightly, which is indeed a quality homage to Black music and talent.

 This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.