Jazz North East Sunday night @ The Globe: ELBA + Pope & Garner – Dec. 11

(© Ken Drew)

ELBA w Faye MacCalman: Andrew Woodhead (keyboards, samples, electronics); Aaron Diaz (trumpet, samples, electronics) + Faye MacCalman (sax, clarinet, voice, loops)

Based in Birmingham, ELBA is the collaborative musical practice between keyboardist Andrew Woodhead and trumpeter Aaron Diaz. Their music mixes acoustic sounds with live electronics and soundscapes, exploring the boundaries, if not breaking them down, between the worlds of jazz, improv, electronica and folk.

This was the first date of ELDA’s Collaborations tour, taking in 5 locations each with a different guest performer.  The tour is in support of their new box set release 'Collaborations 2020-2022' (a 7 disc set) which features remote and live recordings made over lockdown with a variety of special guests including  Faye MacCalman who was featured tonight.

The ‘Collaborations’ aspect is interesting in itself, and the performance was an uninterrupted but varying soundscape with live instrumentation played on top. Woodhead was armed with a range of small keyboards, effects and laptop with samples. MacCalman was armed with sax and clarinet, choosing nicely  between the two, and on occasion adding voice too. Diaz was also equipped with laptop and samples, although I was particularly wanting to hear him add his trumpet to the mix. This he did, working well alongside or interleaved with MacCalman, although often playing it single-handedly with the other working his laptop or effects.  Overall, quite a mesmeric piece, with much ebb and flow and interplay between each of the performers.  To close, they all slowly ‘faded out’ together to good dramatic effect.  It would be nice to replay the livestream to take it all in again !    

 

Garner & Pope: John Pope (double bass); John Garner (violin).

(© Ken Drew)

The improvising duo of John Pope and John Garner are often found playing pieces by some of their favourite composers, many of which are overlooked in the classic jazz repertoire, but they are also inspired to  play their chosen pieces with open-minds and with the spontaneous surrender (and challenges) of  free improvisation.  

With only two weeks before Christmas Day, several of their pieces were infused with vestiges of many familiar Christmas Tunes. All recognisable, but all played in the duo’s unique style. But this is not to diminish their incredibly intense performance, it rather enhanced it through their often fast-paced tightly knit repertoire.  Excellent stuff, greatly appreciated by the audience.

(© Ken Drew)

Coincidentally, the day had started (albeit at 00:05 am) with a track Neswatch from Pope and Garner’s latest CD Water Music* played at the start of Corey Mwamba’s Freeness programme on Radio 3. This was the second part of his reporting from the Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music Festival from October (catch-up of both programmes on i-Player is still available – but only just !)

Note: This was the final event of Jazz North East’s 2022 rather busy year, and a good way to wrap things up - until January 15 – diary date for the New Year! Ken Drew

*The picture directly above shows Wes Stephenson, the Director of Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music Festival,  promoting the CD to the audience.