26 febbraio 2006


Alcune occasioni per vedere in azione il grande Eugene Chadbourne, in Italia tra marzo e maggio con concerti da solo e con due diverse formazioni:

sabato 4 marzo 2006
AREA SISMICA
via Le Selve 23 (Ravaldino in Monte, Forlì), h 22:30

domenica 5 marzo 2006
ARCI BLOB
via Casati 31, Arcore

lunedì 3 aprile 2006
"Suoni & visioni"
teatro Ciak Le Marmotte (via Sangallo 33), Milano, h 21
Adrian Belew Trio e Eugene Chadbourne Quartet

mercoledì 17 maggio
"Crossroads"
teatro Petrella, Longiano, h 21:15
Aki Takase Quintet Plays Fats Waller (con la pianista sono Eugene Chadbourne, Paul Lovens, Thomas Heberer, Rudi Mahall)

20 febbraio 2006


Sono ora note ed entrambe confermate le date a Roma e Bologna degli imminenti concerti di Mike e Kate Westbrook, con Pete Whyman e Chris Biscoe, per la presentazione di Art Wolf in una edizione in italiano finora inedita.

http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk

In dettaglio:

ART WOLF
Kate Westbrook - voce, corno tenore
Mike Westbrook - pianoforte, tuba
Chris Biscoe - sassofoni

Pete Whyman - sassofoni

16 marzo 2006
LA PALMA CLUB, Via G. MIRRI 35,
I-00159 ROMA (PORTONACCIO)
www.lapalmaclub.it

17 marzo 2006
Cassero Jazz Festival
Castel San Pietro Terme (BO), Albergo delle Terme, ore 21:15
http://www.crossroads-it.org/eventi.htm


Sin dagli anni Sessanta, Mike Westbrook è una delle personalità di maggior spicco del British Jazz, autorevole compositore, arrangiatore, bandleader e pianista. A lui si devono alcune delle pagine orchestrali più belle e intense del jazz europeo (da Metropolis a Citadel/Room 315, a The Cortége), ma nell’arco della sua carriera Westbrook si è anche espresso compiutamente alla testa di organici di dimensioni più ridotte, tra cui una Brass Band artefice di una sorta di jazz-cabaret. Assieme alla moglie Kate, cantante, autrice e pittrice, ha esplorato a fondo i legami fra musica, poesia e letteratura, facendo proprie liriche di Rimbaud, Lorca, Hesse, William Blake e altri autori. Il progetto Art Wolf è ispirato all’opera dell’artista svizzero Caspar Wolf (1735-1783), i cui paesaggi alpini sono riprodotti nel libretto allegato all’album omonimo, edito dall’etichetta elvetica Altrisuoni. Art Wolf è, al pari di numerosi altri lavori portati a felice compimento da Mike Westbrook, un eccellente esempio di incontro fra classicità e modernità, fra tradizione e sperimentazione.

With ART WOLF the Westbrooks unleash a radical new quartet, and a new album on the Swiss label altrisuoni.
The latest in a series of collaborations between composer Mike Westbrook and librettist Kate Westbrook, ART WOLF is inspired by the life and work of the Swiss Alpine painter Caspar Wolf (1735 - 1783) whose very signature was the image of the wolf. Through improvisation, text and formal composition, this powerful new work revolves around the role of the Artist, the "Art Wolf", and the nature of creativity.
ART WOLF was commissioned for the re-opening in October 2003, of the Aargauer Kunsthaus Aarau Switzerland, which houses a unique collection of Caspar Wolf's work.
With titles such as 'Oil Paint on Canvas', Kate's lyrics deal directly with the relationship of the artist to his craft. In 'Art Wolf' itself the artist is portrayed as a scavenger after Beauty and Truth. The music ranges from the formality of 'Sturdy Linen Canvas' to the total improvisation of 'In meinem Puppenhaus'; from the lyricism of 'Sketching Party' to the blues-charged expressionism of 'Whose Wolf Art Thou?'.
In ricordo di Elton Dean è annunciato un importante evento musicale a Parigi, e la data dovrebbe essere quella del 27 maggio prossimo. Tra i partecipanti ci saranno John Greaves, Pip Pyle, Phil Miller, Hugh Hopper, Patrice Meyer, Richard Sinclair, Didier Malherbe, Sophia Domancich, Simon Goubert e dozzine di altri.

13 febbraio 2006


Dublino - anticipando analoghe iniziative che si terranno nel corso dell'anno a Londra, New York e Los Angeles - celebra questa settimana il settantesimo compleanno del compositore newyorchese Steve Reich dedicandogli un'edizione del festival RTÉ Living Music a dir poco stratosferica. Programma e informazioni si trovano a http://www.rte.ie/livingmusic.
Alcune riprese in diretta radiofonica si potranno sentire le sere del 17 e 19 febbraio, anche attraverso internet: http://www.rte.ie/lyricfm

Steve Reich is an icon of American music, whose music spans all genres from new classical to electronica. Reich's instantly recognisable musical language combines rigorous structures with propulsive rhythms and supple instrumental colour. Many choreographers have used his scores, including Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Jiri Kylian and Jerome Robbins. The recording of his work Different Trains earned him one Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition and Music for 18 Musicians earned him his second. His video operas The Cave and Three Tales, (in collaboration with video artist Beryl Korot), have expanded the boundaries of the operatic medium. Steve Reich's 70th birthday falls on October 3rd, 2006 and celebratory musical events are currently planned in Dublin, New York, Los Angeles and London.

12 febbraio 2006


Si sono svolti stamattina i funerali di Elton Dean. Tanti amici e colleghi - tra di loro P. Dunmall, E. Parker, H. Hopper, M. Ratledge, M. Sanders, L. Coxhill, J. Dvorak, P. Pyle, J. Greaves, S. Domancich, P. Rogers - sono intervenuti a fianco dei famigliari. Una commemorazione del compianto musicista verrà presto organizzata al 100 Club londinese, luogo di tante fondamentali tappe musicali nella storia del jazz britannico (e non solo).

In suo ricordo:

08 febbraio 2006


Brutte notizie ancora, ancora. Elton Dean è morto ieri sera a Londra, in ospedale, dopo un difficile periodo di cure e convalescenze per problemi di cuore e di fegato.

Un suo breve ritratto si legge in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_Dean mentre una sua discografia abbastanza aggiornata, almeno fino a inizio 2004, si trova invece a: http://www.hulloder.nl/ed-main.html

04 febbraio 2006


A proposito del concerto della Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band all'Astoria Theatre di Londra qualche giorno fa, ecco la scaletta completa di quanto proposto nei due set:

Set1
Cool Britannia (extract) Hunting Tigers Out In 'INDIAH' A minute's cacophony for absent friends My Brother Makes The Noises For The Talkies On her doorstep last night Little Sir Echo (Bob Kerr) Ali Baba's Camel Falling in love again (in German) Vernon I'm Going To Bring A Watermelon To My Girl Tonight Look Out, There's A Monster Coming Whispering (Roger on leg) By a waterfall The Sheik of Araby (Rodney, Sam Spoons solo) Hello Mabel Jollity Farm The Equestrian Statue

Set 2
Cool Britannia (extract) We are normal The Strain (Ade Edmondson vocal, and Phil Jupitus, gtr) The Sound of Music (Stephen Fry) Exodus ?? (Roger) Trouser Press (Stephen Fry in at the end) My Pink Half of the Drain Pipe (Roger and Ade Edmondson) I'm Bored (Ade Edmondson) Sport (Stephen Fry) Mr Apollo (Phil Jupitus - 8 separate gorillas) Humanoid Boogie Tent (Ade Edmondson) Can Blue Men Sing the Whites (Phil Jupitus) Look at Me I'm Wonderful (Legs) I Left My Heart In San Francisco (Legs) Rhinocratic Oaths (Stephen Fry) Narcissus Mr Slater's Parrot (Ade Edmondson as parrot) Monster Mash (with Paul Merton) I'm The Urban Spaceman Canyons Of Your Mind (with Phil Jupitus) The Intro And The Outro (on tape) Slush (on tape)

Ed ecco cosa era scritto su un foglietto di sala distribuito agli spettatori:

THE BONZO DOG DOO-DAH BAND
A 40th Anniversary Celebration

Hello and welcome to tonight's festivities. We are delighted you could join us and we hope you will enjoy an evening remembering the fun we all had some forty years ago. Rediscovering the material certainly proved a refreshing and exhilarating experience and we hope that by ten o'clock tonight you will feel the same! In rehearsal it soon became apparent that there was a wealth of Bonzo material all trying to muscle its way into the set (which is now running close to two hours) and faced with a 10pm curfew, we have been forced to save the Rutles material for another night. Those who would otherwise have been Rutles are still here thought, and have been adopted into the extended Bonzo family for the night.

FILMING Tonight's show will be filmed for DVD and television broadcast, so if you don't want to be risk being seen on telly please enquire at the box office for a refund and help put a smile on the faces of the poor benighted ticket-less souls out there.

PHOTOGRAPHY Unfortunately we cannot allow any photography or recording on to mobile phones. The normal policy on these occasions is to collect these items and return them after the show. However, we have agreed with the venue that as our audience is slightly more... er mature there is no need to go to such lengths. So please help us and don't try to sneak any pictures and please, please switch off all mobile phones for the duration of the show.

TIMINGS Tonight's show will start at 7:30 prompt with a return to the roots of the Bonzos in the Tiger's Head days. There will be a 15 minute interval at around 8:15 before we career into the electric era. NB The show ends at 10pm prompt.

SPECIAL GUESTS We are thrilled that a number of friends from the world of comedy have bravely agreed to join us so please give them your wholehearted support as they make the leap into the world of music. They will really appreciate your support.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION We will of course be inviting your participation and warmly invite your "baas", "ruffs" and "yoo-hoos" at the appropriate moments so please don't be shy ... with so much to remember though, unscripted interjections are less welcome.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT... Neil Innes, Roger Ruskin Spear, Rodney Slater, Sam Spoons, Bob Kerr, Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell and 'Legs' Larry Smith.


In attesa del DVD - o dello speciale TV per la BBC, che dubito molto si possa vedere da noi - si può consultare online una documentazione dell'evento e dei suoi preparativi, con molte foto fuori scena.