after telex

you don't even want to know what Milou (Snowy) did to the Castafiore

The KMG's (myspace) are going to the Eurovision. I still haven't seen them (but Jazzques has), so now I feel behind the curve. I have seen its keyboardist Piotr Paluch a couple of times, though, most recently last December with his quartet. Normally I'd say something like "It'll be weird seeing him on TV," but I generally end up not being at home to watch the contest, anyway. Best of luck to them, as they'll have to battle through the semi-finals.

Piotr Paluch Quartet - 20/12/2006@Jazz Station, Brussels

Piotr Paluch - kb, p
Alexandre Cavalière - vln
Ben Ramos - b
Jonathan Callens - d

I last saw Piotr perform nearly three years ago. Since then, he's been finding some success with the funk-jazz of The KMGs (MySpace | website | jazzques concert review). This quartet is also 70s-slanted, but towards Fusion - in which the amplified violin sound is its own sub-genre. Alexandre Cavalière started out as a child prodigy Gypsy jazz violinist. He's been branching out for the last few years, but hasn't disavowed his roots: he wore a "Gypsy Jazz Festival 2004" t-shirt. Throughout the first set, Cavalière grinned goofily at his bandmates, at the audience and, it seemed, at the world in general. He also let out his inner rhythm guitarist during others' solos and leapt from his chair during his own.

Of course, there's Fusion and Fusion. I love Mwandishi and 70s Miles and Nils Petter Molvaer's Solid Ether and Chris Speed's Yeah/No and Ellery Eskelin's trio-turned-quartet (maybe I'm casting too wide a net, here), but have more trouble with the more funky-melodic style this group played, which I see as stemming from Return To Forever, some aspects of Mahavishnu, 60s/70s prog-rock and the repurposing of bebop harmony and melody to new rhythms.

Jonathan Callens was pretty good at holding down the fast samba-fusion beats, but it's only on Chuck Loeb's set-ending "Kali-Au" (which was apparently part of Stan Getz's repertoire at one point) that I got somewhat into it, as the drummer prodded Piotr into a mightily rhythmic, funky-bluesy Fender Rhodes workout. Prior to that, an interesting arrangement of an Arthur Honegger string quartet had yielded a particularly inspired ECM ballad-ish piano-bass interlude, which led back to a stormy full band section.

The three originals that opened the set, though, were pretty unengaging, occasionally veering towards the cheesy or superficial. I think I preferred the Loeb tune because it was vintage, whereas the originals felt retro. I left after the first set, something I rarely do, to go see Bota Fogo...

Mariana & Piotr - 17/03/2004, Brussels

Mariana (voc)
Piotr Paluch (p)

Seeing a couple of friends/acquaintances perform for the first time. Talented pair of kids and funny stories about the ups and downs of having a famous musician as piano teacher. Mainly, though, the evening reminded me to continue bashing the "attentive Europe" myth.

It pops up in so many interviews of non-European musicians who, understandably, enjoy their lucrative European tours. "They have so much respect for the arts," blah, blah blah. They never ask Steve Lacy about things like that. Or Archie Shepp. I'll come back to him.

So what do you do when the PP Café patrons couldn't give a toss about what you're doing over there in the corner? You just dig into your own groove, listen to your partner and tough out the shitty gig, as generations of jazz musicians have done before you and countless more will long after you're gone.

"My Foolish Heart," "My Favorite Things," a nice rhythmic vamp and middle-east tinged vocals to lope down "Caravan"'s camel trail: weapons to block out that uncaring portion of the world currently referred to as patrons, and even some portions not referred to as such, like loud motorcycles. Amazing: Win them over with a soul/gospel flagwaver and get an encore as a birthday table engages in whipped cream warfare. What would Archie Shepp do?

Archie Shepp is coming next week, in duo with pianist Amina Claudine Myers. Remember him? He recorded albums with titles such as "Fire Music" and performed in prisons. He doesn't need the rowdy patron crap, but we were assured things would be different. Don't miss it if you're in town (24/03, rue Jules Van Praet).

Mariana complained that they'd added an extra "n" to her name in the concert listings leaflet, so I pointed out that on the outside it stated "February/March 2004," but then went on to list March and April concerts on the inside.