The Vortex Jazz Club, 11 Gillett Square, London N16 8JH | Bookings 020 7254 4097 | Enquiries 020 7993 3643 | Email Info at Vortex

April 2008
gig reviews

Seb Pipe's Life Experience
Trio VD / Final Terror
The Frank Griffith Nonet
Matthew Shipp Trio
Paolo Angeli, Evan Parker
Barbez
Christine Tobin
The Zig Quartet

Gig reviews archive

 2008 gig reviews
 2007 gig reviews
 2006 gig reviews

 


 

April 2008 gig reviews by Chris Parker

Paolo Angeli, Evan Parker, John Edwards

Wednesday 16 April

Troubadour with Hybrid Guitar

A prose-poem by Stephen Middleton

 

Rosin to the bow, in preparation ­ like chalk to a climber's hands (a Vortex metaphor).* A guitar-carrying troubadour, says Evan, in introduction ­ who himself had used a climbing rope analogy for his performance with Dave Liebman. From Turkish cafe full of lamps to Vortex PA, amps & channels, eventually settled.

At times this extraordinary guitar appears to play itself ­ part pianola, part cello, part drum (with mixer) ... wires/helix protruding in a more sophisticated version of Big Joe Williams, himself mightily travelled, & his patented 9-string guitar, with sundry attachments & damage. Folk noise & foot pedals, mournful cello with a backbeat & drone out of launeddas ­ launeddas that Evan has worked with.**

The guttural chants, mountain & sea shore, farm & fishing fleet produce, that carnevale & festival retain. Tram bell (he sets up to play against) & bomb fall. 'My sweet Malvina/Hear me when I call'. Tram keeps rolling along ­ then a rush ... I am much exercised by pulse rates at present, the very stuff of survival. Gongs & coaxing heartbeat from a plastic bag (Evan's plastic bag, it later transpired) ­ the antithesis of current thinking.

He starts whistling. A CD on the strings, the tram bells in frenzy/the funfair ­ megaphone & traditional Italy. Today Silvio Berlusconi has returned to power with talk of round-ups & camps for migrant workers. Echoes of Germany, of Mississippi. Treated Big Joe thissaway. CD distorting sad chords ­ hum & sad plucking ­ troubadour with what I thought was a flamenco flourish (close), but later discovered this was the standard opening of Sardinian Canto in Re,*** ancient songs.

Horse at gallop/spaghetti western. The horses in the sea off Porto St Elpidio. He lost all track of time while playing, he said. The trio, Evan on soprano, in circular breathing mode & majesty, but tuneful, with embellishments & strange unisons from Paolo. Thunderous bass (John Edwards) ­ a riff agreed on in some psychic zone & a sustain for Evan to play against. Unlike recent trio exposure to Evan ­ tenor & power, with lyricism.**** Having processed the extremes, he can now play anything, it seems. Industrial crashes.

That tram bell. Big Joe was a hobo all his life ­ took his guitar to the 'four corners of the world'.***** Paolo was stopped at the US border. Border stories. Mountain music, ancient & on the edge. Travelling. Connection. Corrosive on borders. Subversive. Mesmerising.

 

* David Mossman in interview. How climbers' & musicians' preparations are quite similar.
** Synergetics (on Leo): Carlo Mariani plays launeddas (loosely Sardinian bagpipes ­ though, technically, they're not exactly bagpipes).
*** Canto in Re (AMC 4 CD set) selected & presented by Paolo Angeli.
**** for example A Glancing Blow (clean feed CD) trio with John Edwards, Chris Corsano, & Evan on tenor).
***** See Blues on Highway 49 (Delmark) Track: 'Four Corners of the World'.

 

 

Join the Vortex
email list

To receive monthly gig details, news and ticket offers.



RSS feeds

For news, gig and CD reviews and information about the club.

Click on the link below to get the subscribe address
Vortex news

For more informaton about RSS see the
RSS help pages