ICELANDIC STRING SWING

KURAN SWING  (Iceland, 1992)

I'm always curious about music from exotic places, especially if it is jazz-oriented.  I've posted Jazz albums from Fiji Islands, Mauritius, Faroes, New Zealand ... This one is from Iceland.  I found the CD in the discount bin of a second-hand records shop in Brussels in the 90s.  I must confess that I did not know anything about the Icelandic jazz scene.  

I was intrigued by this album. Moreover I ‘m always drawn to albums by musicians with unpronounceable names.  If you want to impress your mates in any conversation about obscure musicians  just drop the names of Bjorn Thoroddsen or Olafur Poroarson between some dithyrambic ravings about Zbyniew Namyloswski or Joel Vandroogenbroeck.(an easy one if you're flemish or brusseleir).

There isn’t anything revolutionary about the music, jazzy folk rather than straight jazz.  I wouldn’t call it Gypsy Jazz (although the influence is obvious). Still it’s fairly original within the genre as it avoids the usual clichés of gypsy swing and the “look how fast I can play” syndrome.

The overall feel is often closer to country jazz than gypsy jazz as the band uses instruments more commonly heard in country / western swing (mandolin, dobro, banjo) than in jazz.

All the songs are original composition by the band members.  It gives the album a “fraicheur” and originality not always found in a style too often plagued by clichés and a repetitive repertoire (If I want to hear Minor Swing, I listen to Django ... who need another version?).

Jazzy, folksy with country and eastern European flavors.  If that's your cup of tea, give it a try.

BUDGET BRIT DJANGO STYLE

COOPER-WRIGHT QUINTET - TRIBUTE TO THE HOT CLUB 

Rediffusion LP – RIM ZS 26 (UK, 1969/70?)

A bit of an obscurity this one! No details on the sleeve and little information on the net.

Denys Justin Wright (6 May 1924 – 8 February 1992), better known as Denny Wright, was a jazz and skiffle guitarist who performed with Stephane Grappelli, Lonnie Donegan, Johnny Duncan (bluegrass musician), Digby Fairweather, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Fapy Lafertin and many other musicians, including young rising stars such as Bireli Lagrene and Nigel Kennedy (Wikipedia).

Denny Wright's free-flowing improvisational style came to the forefront through his work with Lonnie Donegan in the 1950s. Wright was a pioneer in establishing a fresh lead guitar style in the context of the folk and blues roots from which Donegan drew his song repertoire. Drawing upon and transcending the jazz blues elements in his own background, and the vital influence of Django Reinhardt, Wright produced constantly innovative lead breaks and solos for Donegan's live work and recordings on both acoustic archtop and electric guitar.

In the 1960s, in addition to a great deal of session work providing backing for many top artists including Mary Hopkin and Tom Jones, Denny was working with his friend Keith Cooper to keep the jazz flag flying; Tribute To The Hot Club by the Cooper-Wright Quintet [Rediffusion] is a wonderful example of their work together. (id.)

I guess the violinist is Johnny van Derrick.   That makes three names but who are the two remaining ones (a bass player and, I assume, a rhythm guitar?). 

In the comments, Zoot suggests,  Ike Isaacs as third guitar player and Len Skeat on double bass, by association.   I had suggested Diz Disley (gtr) and Coleridge Goode (bass) but it was just an educated guess.  Will we ever know?

The record had not been reviewd in Jazz Journal (Zoot) and is not even listed in Walter Bruyninckx extensive discography (Paul D.). 

I found my copy in a small shop in Schaerbeek (Brussels) some 15 years ago.  Not exactly a mint copy, it was in pretty bad shape.  It costed 50 FB (less than 1 £), I took a chance. Therefore don't expect CD quality.  It's in WAV so perhaps someone among you,with some time to spare and patient enough, may wish to give a try at cleaning it better. 

Denny Wright (source: http://lonniedonegan.webs.com/bandonwithlon.htm )

Tracks

A1.  After You've Gone

A2. Miss Annabelle Lee

A3. Just a Little Love a Little Kiss

A4. Daphne

A5. Nagazaki

A6. HCQ Strut

B1. Sweet Georgia Brown

B2. Shine

B3. Body & Soul

B4. Nuages

B5. Limehouse Blues

B6. Running Wild

Johnny van Derrick (source:web)

Excellent article on UK Jazz Guitar pioneers HERE

RE-POST

Don't miss it this time!
See comments in original post here

I have re-posted Hans Koller 78 rpm (see original post)

The annual Charlie Mariano Re-Post Programme

By popular demand, I have re-posted  three Charlie Mariano LPs.  (last re-post was a year ago).

(see links in comments of original posts)

And a little extra for Mariano's fans :

a.k.a. Blue Flute 
No point in re-posting it,, get it here and say thanks to the man!

And another favorite Mariano, this time with Eero Koivistoinen 's group: 

No point in ripping it, it's already floating in the blogsphere.  Get it here.

And don't forget this one: pure magic!

It's probably still floating around the blogworld, otherwise buy the CD re-issue (still easily available from Amazon or other dealers).

ELECTRIC STRINGS

DIDIER LEVALLET - SWING STRINGS SYSTEM
ORIGINAL SESSION (France, 1978)

Superb French Jazz album recorded in 1978 by an octet under the direction of bassplayer Didier Levallet.


Players:
Didier Lockwood - violons, 

Jean-Yves Rigaud - violons, 

Jean-Charles Capon - violoncelle, 

Denis Van Hecke - violoncelle, 

Christian Escoudé - guitares, 

Siegfried Kessler - claviers, 

Bernard Lubat - batterie, 

Didier Levallet - contrebasse, arrangements, direction.

 Tracks:

- Paysages intimes, suite (Didier Levallet)

- a) Journal (solistes : D. Lockwood, Ch. Escoudé, S. Kessler)

 - b) Siegfried (soliste : S. Kessler)

 - c) Coup d’œil en arrière

- d) A suivre (solistes : Ch. Escoudé, S. Kessler)

 • Sing me softly of the blues (Carla Bley) (solistes : D. Levallet, J.-Ch. Capon, D. Lockwood, Ch. Escoudé)

 • Triade (D. Levallet) (solistes : J.-Y. Rigaud, D. Van Hecke, Ch. Escoudé)

• Flos Florum (D. Levallet) (solistes : Ch. Escoudé, J.-Ch. Capon).

JAZZ & STRINGS – the Belgian Touch

Steve Houben + strings
featuring Guy Cabay / Michel Herr / Dennis Luxion (Belgium, 1982)

 For many years Belgian saxophonist / flautist Steve Houben had a dream: that one day he’d  set up a big band associating a jazz ensemble and a string section.  In 1983, the dream became reality ! It was a première in the fairly rich history of Belgian Jazz.  This first experiment in Belgium met a real popular, if un-expected, success, and was especially well received on stage. 

Obviously, the formula filled the expectation of a large and curious public, demonstrating that there was an audience for sophisticated and adventurous jazz in Belgium.

The success of the record rests obviously on the talent of Steve Houben but benefits greatly from the combined talents of the three composers - Michel Herr, Guy Cabay and Denis Luxion – who crafted 12 original pieces especially for the project.

The original album was released on the LDH label in 1983 and it is the original LP which was used for this rip.  The album was remixed and re-released on CD in 1995 on the Igloo label.

I thought it was OOP but it is still available from Igloo.  Which raises a bit of a conscience dilemma: should I still post it or shouldn’t I?

I do not think that I’m doing a disservice to Steve Houben or Igloo by bringing this music to the attention of a much larger international audience.

So listen to the album and if you like it, buy it here.

Tracks :

1. The lady in red shoes (Dennis Luxion)

2. Thinking of you (M. Herr)

3. Ephémérides (Guy Cabay)

4. Unsung song (Dennis Luxion)

5. Pastel puzzle for Toots : Ouverture, Choral, Little Blues, Désinence (Guy Cabay)

6. Long distance (M. Herr) (theme from the tv film San Francisco)

Musicians :

Steve Houben - alto & soprano saxophone, flute

Michel Herr - piano, composer/arranger of tracks 2 & 6

Guy Cabay - vibraphone, composer/arranger of tracks 3 & 5

Dennis Luxion -piano, composer/arranger of tracks 1 & 4

Michel Hatzigeorgiou - electric bass

Mimi Verderame - drums

+ string section, conducted by the composers

Recorded in 1982 at Gam studio in Waismes, Belgium. LP (LDH 1004).

A CD version, remixed, was released in 1995 (Igloo IGL121).

KIWI JAZZ

NAIROBI TRIO

Live @ at the McDonald Winery (New Zealand, 1997)

I found this CD in the sales rack in Port Vila’s only record shop. It burned shortly after … At first I was intrigued by the name, especially when I realized (i) none of the musicians are from Kenya but they're all Kiwis and (ii) there are four members in the trio …

Then I was fortunate to hear them playing live at the Port Vila’s Four Days Jazz in Paradise Festival in 2005. Various bands from the Pacific region (Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand) were playing in hotels around town.  This event was supposed to be repeated the next year but I understand the organizers lost too much money the first year so it couldn’t be repeated.  Too bad as it was an occasion to see and hear some interesting performers such as Nairobi Trio, Aussie Jazz legend The Galopagos Ducks and New Caledonia’s B-3 Wizard Michel Benebig with his band, performing in beautiful settings.

The Nairobi Trio has been around for over twenty years and is now a bit of a New Zealand music  institution  These guys are everything but your standard "gypsy swing revival-i-play-faster-than-django" type of band.   They do have “hot club” style tunes (I’m coming home Virginia, All of Me) in their repertoire but they do not try to sound like a Django / Grappelli clone. They play these tunes in a typically kiwi, relaxed and easy, way.  There is something like a "west coast" feel in their music (i'm talking West Coast in rock term: remember David Laflamme / It's a Beautiful Day?).  At times they sound like a Kiwi version of Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks (“Swing is the Thing”).  The Grappelli influence is obvious in Richard Adams violin playing (just listen to All my tomorrow) but their overall sound and style are rather fusion oriented with some obvious folk / rock influences (“East of Eden”) verging sometimes toward smooth jazz (“Take Good Care of my Heart”).  An obvious reference is David Grisman country-jazz / dawg jazz.  If you like David Grisman’s albums (think of Quintet '80 or Hot Dawg for instance), you’ll probably enjoy this band.