COVID-19 Level 3: Day 2

There have been many live streamed concerts since the lockdown began, but the first I’ve tuned into was this morning’s duo concert by Frank Gratkowski (alto sax) and Simon Seidl (piano) at The Loft in Cologne. The concert was titled “Mainstream & Beyond: in memoriam Lee Konitz”, and while the tribute concert is not really my thing, I wasn’t going to pass by a chance to hear Frank playing on the Konitz and Tristano lines and standard tunes (a rarity). 

Of course the wifi decided to cut out right as they were about to start! I got back online during “Stella by Starlight” - other tunes included the likes of “Subconscious-Lee”, “Body & Soul”, “Dreams”, Albert Mangelsdorf’s “Hot Hut”, “Ice Cream Konitz”, “Prelude to a Kiss”, “Just Friends” and “Ablution”. I noticed the audience peaked around 95... 85 was about average (based on the comments it was largely a German audience). Really nicely recorded too. The Loft is streaming Frank live again tomorrow – 7am NZ time – solo and duo.

Last week I mentioned that I need to address my lack of James Wylie recordings, so until I do, Benjamin Schaefer’s Quiet Fire will fill the void. As the name suggests it may be a little on the quiet side, but it doesn’t lack spark. It has a certain warmth, even during some of the more abstract moments, that I find very appealing. It’s not an album that’s going to smack you over the head, and I like that. The quintet has a different weight to it - the drums have a (mostly) textural role and the presence of harp brings a lightness. If you’re looking for deep swing, look elsewhere. But I wasn’t, so I didn’t.

COVID-19 Lockdown: Day 30

This morning I tuned into James Wylie’s podcast featuring music from Iran. I know next to nothing about Iranian music and found it a fascinating listen. I’m looking forward to catching any follow-up episodes he puts together.

Then the headphones came off and Lee Konitz came on for a couple of spins. Lee really was on form at this session recorded while he was on tour with Stan Kenton’s band in 1953. It features multiple takes of “I’ll Remember April”, “All The Things You Are” and “These Foolish Things” and a single take of “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To”. Relaxed intensity, swinging, melodic, inventive – it’s a gem of a recording (I think it has released under various names) that might not be as well known as some of his other work, but definitely worth checking out if you haven’t heard it. His phrasing and articulation really stood out today. Expect more Lee next week and Quiet Fire is on the cards too.

COVID-19 Lockdown: Day 29

Bit of a change of pace today. James Wylie posted a link to his podcast on Iranian music, and while my plan was to listen to that, I ended up listening to the other music he had posted. I know some of this was from his time at New England Conservatory, which must be going back about 10 years or so, but I’m sure some of it I hadn’t heard before. Outside of Benjamin Schaefer’s Quiet Fire, my collection lacks music from James. I need to work on this!

Usually I don the headphones for computer listening in the morning and then move over onto the stereo, but I finally moved by computer speakers into my workspace as the headphones had been bugging me for a while. But I forgot, it’s wired for the U.S so that put the brakes on the plan. That means James’ Iranian music podcast will have to wait for another day. Instead I threw on Baliphonics which, incidentally, features someone who used to collaborate with James, bassist Issac Smith. It’s a fascinating recording (that I picked up courtesy of Jeff Henderson – cheers Jeff!) recorded in Sri Lanka. I know nothing about Sri Lankan music but I guess this album fuses elements of jazz with Sri Lankan music. Whatever it is, I’m enjoying it. It has developed a couple of glitches so I need to make sure I have a digital copy.