LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL 2014
Monday 17th November 2014 - Venue: Ronnie Scott's
Steve Swallow Quintet
Steve Swallow – bass; Carla Bley - Hammond organ; Chris Cheek - tenor sax; Steve Cardenas - guitar; Jorge Rossy - drums
Looking at the history of master, electric bass player Steve Swallow, you realise that you are in the presence of someone very special indeed. He defined the role of the electric bass in jazz. Here is a man who has played with Chick Corea, Paul Bley, Lee Konitz, Jimmy Raney, Paul Motian and Gary Burton. Above all, he was a third of Jimmy Giuffre’s ground breaking and visionary trio that toured Europe in 1961 and 1993.
In the course of the evening Steve spoke movingly about Ronnie Scott. He misses the old proprietor of the club. Swallow reminisced about the early days and felt it was good that an institution like the club should preserve the name so that people remember. The melancholy of those thoughts was quickly offset by the music which in the main was light hearted, fun and idiosyncratic. It has been some time since Steve had played at the club. He remarked: 'finally the stars have aligned'.
The group that he brought into Ronnie Scott’s was the one that recorded ‘Into The Woodwork’ Chris Cheek (tenor sax), Steve Cardenas (guitar) and Jorge Rossy (drums). Carla Bley forsook her usual piano for the Hammond organ. Recently in the US the National Endowment for the Arts announced next year’s NEA Jazz Masters award. Bley will honoured in April.
Steve Swallow is an accomplished compere. He assured the audience that although the audience had never worked together before he knew that in spite of our nerves we would be OK! The unusual title of the first number ‘Bite Your Grandmother’ was what march king John Philip Sousa said about jazz: it makes me want to bite my grandmother. The biting way that Rossy tore into the jagged piece was with skill and an attack that he rarely needed in his Mehldau days.
Monday 17th November 2014 - Venue: Ronnie Scott's
Steve Swallow Quintet
Steve Swallow – bass; Carla Bley - Hammond organ; Chris Cheek - tenor sax; Steve Cardenas - guitar; Jorge Rossy - drums
Looking at the history of master, electric bass player Steve Swallow, you realise that you are in the presence of someone very special indeed. He defined the role of the electric bass in jazz. Here is a man who has played with Chick Corea, Paul Bley, Lee Konitz, Jimmy Raney, Paul Motian and Gary Burton. Above all, he was a third of Jimmy Giuffre’s ground breaking and visionary trio that toured Europe in 1961 and 1993.
In the course of the evening Steve spoke movingly about Ronnie Scott. He misses the old proprietor of the club. Swallow reminisced about the early days and felt it was good that an institution like the club should preserve the name so that people remember. The melancholy of those thoughts was quickly offset by the music which in the main was light hearted, fun and idiosyncratic. It has been some time since Steve had played at the club. He remarked: 'finally the stars have aligned'.
The group that he brought into Ronnie Scott’s was the one that recorded ‘Into The Woodwork’ Chris Cheek (tenor sax), Steve Cardenas (guitar) and Jorge Rossy (drums). Carla Bley forsook her usual piano for the Hammond organ. Recently in the US the National Endowment for the Arts announced next year’s NEA Jazz Masters award. Bley will honoured in April.
Steve Swallow is an accomplished compere. He assured the audience that although the audience had never worked together before he knew that in spite of our nerves we would be OK! The unusual title of the first number ‘Bite Your Grandmother’ was what march king John Philip Sousa said about jazz: it makes me want to bite my grandmother. The biting way that Rossy tore into the jagged piece was with skill and an attack that he rarely needed in his Mehldau days.
‘Ever After’ is a piece that, at one and the same time, is elegiac and churchy. It sounds as though it was written by Ms Bley but it wasn’t. It largely featured Bley playing in the way that she did on the ‘The Lord is Listen' to Ya, Hallelujah!’ It was an ultra-slow tempo and low volume that made the waiters move quietly around the club almost on tiptoes with their trays of food and drink for fear of disturbing the atmosphere. You could almost hear cutlery clink!
Swallow confessed, tongue in cheek, to being a devotee of murder mysteries. He brought the next three pieces together as a medley and a tribute to his literary passion: ‘Grisly Business’, ‘Unnatural Causes’, and ‘Bend Over Backwards’.
‘Grisly Business’ featured Bley sounding as though she was creeping musically around a house. Cardenas and Cheek added to the atmosphere with insistent figures. ‘Unnatural Causes’ opened the music up to Cardenas and Cheek who powered their way through, driven by Rossy who seemed to enjoy the whole evening.
Swallow challenged the audience to identify the theme that ‘Name That Tune’ was based on. I didn’t see many rising to the challenge and Swallow never did reveal the answer.
The last piece of the whole evening was a ‘William and Mary’ which Swallow described as music for an imaginary TV sitcom - 'the worst kind!'. It gave everyone space to wish the audience goodnight. It was also the catchiest tune of the whole set.
The Bley/Swallow humour is not to everyone’s taste but it was fun session witty and played superbly. The Swallow/Bley partnership stretches right back into the past: there is nothing quite like their quirky, utterly distinctive music and playing.
Click here to see the Steve Swallow Quintet on YouTube
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Swallow confessed, tongue in cheek, to being a devotee of murder mysteries. He brought the next three pieces together as a medley and a tribute to his literary passion: ‘Grisly Business’, ‘Unnatural Causes’, and ‘Bend Over Backwards’.
‘Grisly Business’ featured Bley sounding as though she was creeping musically around a house. Cardenas and Cheek added to the atmosphere with insistent figures. ‘Unnatural Causes’ opened the music up to Cardenas and Cheek who powered their way through, driven by Rossy who seemed to enjoy the whole evening.
Swallow challenged the audience to identify the theme that ‘Name That Tune’ was based on. I didn’t see many rising to the challenge and Swallow never did reveal the answer.
The last piece of the whole evening was a ‘William and Mary’ which Swallow described as music for an imaginary TV sitcom - 'the worst kind!'. It gave everyone space to wish the audience goodnight. It was also the catchiest tune of the whole set.
The Bley/Swallow humour is not to everyone’s taste but it was fun session witty and played superbly. The Swallow/Bley partnership stretches right back into the past: there is nothing quite like their quirky, utterly distinctive music and playing.
Click here to see the Steve Swallow Quintet on YouTube
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
