Manafonistas

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
Lissabon, im August 2009. Dies ist eines der schönsten Toilettengebäude, die ich gesehen habe. Es liegt an einem der zentralen Plätze, dem Praça Marques de Pombal, am Fusse des Parks Jardim Amália Rodrigues (!), der sich den Hügel hinaufzieht. Es ist von zwei Seiten photographiert. Vor dem Eingang, der hier nicht zu sehen ist, thronte eine illustre afrikanische Matrone. Fast des Pittoresken zu viel! Es war eine der Situationen, wo ich mich nicht traute, die Kamera frontal drauf zu halten.

Vinterjazz Copenhagen at ILK, (Slagdehusgade) 5e

Emanuele Maniscalco (piano). Francesco Bigoni (reeds), Mark Solborg (guitar)

 
 
 
… sounds floating on the edge of nightly darkness accompanied by unexpectedly flickering lightnings fading into realms of indeterminacy and beautifully delayed curvatures …

© FoBo – Henning Bolte

 
 
Francesco Bigoni/Mark Solborg – ON DOG – Part I: Sloeblack. ILK
Francesco Bigoni/Mark Solborg – ON DOG – Part II: White Horse Y La Rumba. ILK

Third Reel – Third Reel. ECM (Emanuele Maniscalco acted on this recoding as drummer)

Mark Solborg Trio feat. Herb Robertson & Evan Parker – The Trees. ILK

Carsten Dahl, Reuben Rogers, Gregory Hutcherson
 
 
 

 
 
 
On historical ground: Store Regnegade 19 A, location of the present JAZZHUS MONTMARTRE in Copenhagen with its legendary, eventful and turbulent history.
 
 
 

 
 
 
Three nights hands on keys, fingers on strings, sticks on skins, on metal. Three musicians, Carsten Dahl, Reuben Rogers, Gregory Hutcherson, celebrating the high art of igniting good old tunes, one after another heavily burning and flaring in the light of the very moment, three musicians more and more intimately connecting in the trinity of listen-play-listen.
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
It’s the rhythm section of Joshua Redman connecting to the solid and long Danish tradition of musical cooperation which had its starting point, center and highlights at Montmartre. The trio with Rogers and Hutchinson will tour Europa this summer and fall.n Carsten Dahl is a highly accomplished pianist of the Danish scene and an experienced piano trio-musician. He also has a trio with the two Norwegians Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen.
 
Carsten Dahl – Dreamchild. Storyville

Carsten Dahl/Arild Andersen/Jon Christensen – Space Is The Place. Storyville

Carsten Dahl Experience –Reveréntia. Storyville (Jesper Zeuthen, Nils Davidsen, Stefan Pasborg)
 
 
© FoBo – Henning Bolte

EYE at Y (Amsterdam)

Pianist Keiko Shichijo discussing versions of pieces by Komitas with Levon Eskenian (of Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble from Yerevan)
 
 
 

 
 
 
And here Levon Eskenian is playing the harmonium of the master
 
 
 

 
 
 
Soghomon Soghomonian known as Vardapet Komitas (1869-1935)
 
Georges Gjurdieff (1866?-1949)
 
The Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble – Music Of Georges I. Gurdjieff. ECM 2236
 
The Japanese pianist Keiko Shichijo interprets music of Komitas and Tigran Mansurian in our recent pianolab.Amsterdam-series with music of Paul Motian.
 
Levon Eskenian has reconstructed the folkmusic traditions and the instruments used from Gurdjieff’s music and de Hartmann’s transcriptions and harmonizations for piano. In the west mostly de Hartmann’s versions are known, a.o. in the interpretation of Keith Jarrett. On the basis of his insights in and knowledge of the folk-traditions Eskenian figures out how the music of Komitas which is to a great extent based on those traditions have to be aptly interpreted. Both, Gurdjieff and Komitas had an important role in Eastern and Western musical exchange. Komitas, a great composer was of major importance for the reconstructian and development of Armenian music. There is a growing interest in his music in West. More of his work will be performed and recorded in a profound way in the near future.

1)  Mud – the film (saw it three times, Mark Twain would be smiling)

2) Cosmic Creation – the Arve Henrikson album (the title may not have been the best idea!)

3) Emailing with bass player Arild Andersen about the mixing of his brilliant trio album Mira

4) Listening to the sound design of Gravity on a good 5:1 sound system (i like the movie very much, but American film music composers do not know how to work with understatement in final scenes)

5) Studying Thomas Yuschak’s book on „the power of supplements“ for lucid dreaming

6) Being under the spell of  rmillis‘ „relief“, a really surreal vinyl listening experience

7) Reading a brilliant article in the April issue of  The Wire concerning the experimental values of  ancient Rocksteady at Sir Coxsone’s Studio One  (if you have any sympathy for the genre, don’t miss the new Studio One compilation!)

8)  The initially unexpected pleasures of the new album by The Notwist

9)  The totally exotic fantasy Brian Eno might record a new song album

10) One of the most beautiful ways of fading away (the piece „Fade“ on the new album of the Colin Vallon trio, Le Vent)

11) Being carried away by the delights of  „The Red Book“  on long car rides.

12) Having found a rarity from the former court of Haile Selassie, the most exotic (and expensive)  single for Greg’s jukebox (but at first I have to play it in my night show)

13) Looking for some John Cale tracks from Ian’s list

You are the only one I know witnessing one of the live performances of Stian Westerhuis and Pale Horses (the title reminds me a bit of a melancolic western movie with Clint Eastwood, „The Pale Rider“). So, Rune Grammofon will issue a record with the band. Dark stuff with uplifting moments? Brutalist noise? Or even some beautiful melodic lines involved, Northern adagios, so to speak. What can we expect? So long, Michael! 

 
Hai, Michael.
 
A short jump into Stianologics?

Neither nor, I guess …

Pale Horses was invented in the deep woods of Sjøbygda out of Trondheim. Right, I saw their first concert, den ersten Auftritt der Schimmelreiter mit ihren Bleichgäulen, at last year’s Molde-Festival. The concert was handicapped by heavily imbalanced sound but I liked the direction and the energy. Here’s short VIDEO snapshot, Nights And Sleepless Days.

Pale Horses is definitely meant as a rock-modelled band with Stian as a singer-guitarist at the center and open to far outreaching excursions. The Pale Horses show at Molde had this nightride quality ever conjured up by The Doors. It was driven by Erland Dahlen’s mighty bass-drum bombs, the electric storms of Øystein Moen’s keys and Stian Westerhus’ battery of guitar-pedals and his singing. Here’s a critical note by an experienced concert visitor.

Mælstrom, the title of their first album to be released on Rune Grammofon, suggests the sounds of a raving wild bunch with inscripted songs sang by the great master himself. A compact format accessible for bigger audiences?

Pale Horses recently played at Budapest’s Trafo a double bill opposite the Jakob Bro Trio with Thomas Morgan and Jon Christensen. Guitarreros del norte contrarios. Here’s a review:

A nyugalom azonban nem tartott túl sokáig, mivel rövid szünet után színpadra lépett Stian Westerhus és a Pale Horses. Westerhus neve Nils Petter Molvaer szárnysegédjeként nem lehet ismeretlen a norvég jazz rajongóinak, de most bizonyította, hogy szólóban is rendkívül erős. Ha Bro zenéjét a fehér jelzővel akarnánk illetni, akkor Westerhus világa koromfekete: kemény noise-rock, rengeteg kísérletezéssel, és a gitár adta lehetőségek radikális újraértelmezésével, pszichedelikusan hideg színekbe burkolva. A billentyűsök mögött Øystein Moen állt, akinek betonkemény Mellotron akkordjai és vészjósló szinti-hangszínei remekül passzoltak Erland Dahlen profán dobolásához. Mivel Westerhus sokat énekelt, a hangulatilag szerteágazó, ám mindvégig borongós zenei betétek néhol dalokká transzformálódtak. A trióban felgyülemlő nagyfeszültséget elsősorban a gitár vezette le: ebben nagy szerepet játszott az effektarzenál is. Sodró lendületű, útkereső zenekar a Pale Horses, a norvég kortárs hullám talán legnagyobb reménysége.

And here’s a VIDEO of Pale Horses performing inside the impressive Dome of Trondheim last august together with Susanna Wallumrød. It has a long, very long startup.
 
salut, Henning

Hai, Henning,

very interesting, and even better that i grew up in Budapest, so it’s an easy read!

I only have small doubts concerning the vocal qualities of Stian. But errors are my daily food :)