North Sea Jazz Festival

[Pete C]

The full lineup was announced today. As always, I wish I were going.

http://www.northseajazz.nl/index.en.html

[gnhrtg]

You beat me to it Pete. Well, I am going and plan to see four concerts a day. It is a really busy schedule that they have, a number of shows I'm interested in overlap.

I think there will be more talk of this as the event draws nearer but I would want to meet any and all jc'ers who end up coming.

A first look through the program and here are the ones I'm not likely to miss (yeah some do overlap, I'll take up some eastern practice that might help me deal with that):

9/07 - Greg Osby Quartet 18.30-19.45; Joe Lovano Quartet w/Hank Jones 12.15-01.30; Lee Konitz Nonet 22.30-23.45; John Scofield Trio 22.30-23.45; Ernst Reijseger & Franco D'Andrea 19.45-21.00

10/07 - Vijay Iyer & Rudresh M 20.30-21.45; David Ware Quartet 18.30-19.45; Chris Potter Group 18.45-20.00; James Carter 12.15-01.30

11/07 - Kurt Rosenwinkel 20.30-21.45; Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel 18.45-20.00; Charlie Haden Liberation Orchestra 16.45-18.00; 22.30-23.30 Hancock/Shorter/Holland/Blade

We'll see. I have to get through this upcoming exam in one piece to fully enjoy the proceedings. Too bad you're not coming Pete, I would have bought you a dinner (or lunch) if you were coming - I'm sure that is a big enough inducement.

[Pete C]

Gokhan, I'm hoping to make it next year for the final one in The Hague, if I can get a frequent flyer ticket. If you get the bug, maybe I'll see you next year. Also, I just might make it to Paris before the festival next year.

[Pete C]

9/07 - Greg Osby Quartet 18.30-19.45; Joe Lovano Quartet w/Hank Jones 12.15-01.30; Lee Konitz Nonet 22.30-23.45; John Scofield Trio 22.30-23.45; Ernst Reijseger & Franco D'Andrea 19.45-21.00

10/07 - Vijay Iyer & Rudresh M 20.30-21.45; David Ware Quartet 18.30-19.45; Chris Potter Group 18.45-20.00; James Carter 12.15-01.30

11/07 - Kurt Rosenwinkel 20.30-21.45; Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel 18.45-20.00; Charlie Haden Liberation Orchestra 16.45-18.00; 22.30-23.30 Hancock/Shorter/Holland/Blade


Gokhan, as far as venues go, Konitz, Lovano, Rosenwinkel, & LMO are at Jan Steen Hall, which is one of the least comfortable. There is only floor seating, so brink some kind of cushion.

Scofield is at a large outdoor stage with hard ampitheater type seating.

All the other rooms have chairs if you get there before they're all taken.

The Hancock/Shorter requires a supplement, and is reserved seating. Unfortunately the acoustics at PWA hall aren't the greatest. I saw Hancock & Hutcherson there last year.

[gnhrtg]

Thank you Pete. When I finalize, sort of, my concert schedule I'll seek your assistance again. I did read what you (and Hermann) wrote about last year's festival so am aware of the uncomfortable seating issues there. In any case, though, it looks like I won't be able to fulfill my obsession of sitting very near the front in all the shows as some of the spectators in a given hall are likely to stay for the next show as well. I think I will go every year from now on as it's a good opportunity for me to see some of my favorite mainstream musicians en masse.

If you happen to come to Paris or anywhere close, anytime, definitely let me know (well, your choice it is, so if you feel like not interacting with a pathetic, overworked, pessimistic grad. student then do not).

So let's see how many posters will make it to this years NSJ. I have a very low estimate which I will not disclose before the fact.

[MRS]

I saw Hancock & Hutcherson there last year.

Discuss.

[Pete C]

It was a quartet with Hancock, Hutcherson, Scott Colley & Teri Lynne Carrington. It could have been the acoustics, but it just didn't work for me. I didn't think they had really meshed as a group at that point. I found Hancock's playing meandering and desultory. Much of the music was reinventions of his 60's music with lots of harmonic stretching and morphing, but it just didn't succeed the way that Shorter has with the same gambit.

[Pete C]

10/07 - Vijay Iyer & Rudresh M 20.30-21.45; David Ware Quartet 18.30-19.45; Chris Potter Group 18.45-20.00; James Carter 12.15-01.30


You can squeeze in Miroslav Vitous Quintet, 22:15-23:30 or Michel Camilo, 22:30-23:45.

[hermann]

Pete says:
It was a quartet with Hancock, Hutcherson, Scott Colley & Teri Lynne Carrington. It could have been the acoustics, but it just didn't work for me.

A few days later ( after Pete ) I heard them at 'Jazz an der Donau' and I liked their show, because it was a well balanced music between the musicians, especially TLC was a hit, delicate drumming for me.

hmmm! will study now the lineup.

[gnhrtg]

You can squeeze in Miroslav Vitous Quintet, 22:15-23:30 or Michel Camilo, 22:30-23:45.

I was actually thinking of Michel Camilo. I remember really enjoying "One More Once", haven't heard the recent double-disc release but I'm also consistently blown away by Horacio's playing. Have you ever heard him live Pete?

Of course, at the same time with Potter and Ware's quartets, they also have Ahmad Jamal, I'll have to consult the yogis to see whether three-way splitting is an option.

[Pete C]

I was actually thinking of Michel Camilo. I remember really enjoying "One More Once", haven't heard the recent double-disc release but I'm also consistently blown away by Horacio's playing. Have you ever heard him live Pete?


I've seen Camilo Live 4 or 5 times since 1987. He's one of the most dynamic and exciting pianists imaginable in a live setting. I once even saw him do duets with Chucho Valdes (at Perugia).

My own strategies would be different from yours because living in NY I can always see many of the artists you want to catch. I've never seen Vitous.

The good news about the Ware set is that Gerald Cleaver is on drums.

[gnhrtg]

As you said, depends both on one's opportunities at other times during the year to see these musicians (in a club setting which I would much prefer) and also who one has seen. I've seen James Carter Organ Trio this year but he played as if he didn't care at all and as if he were sick of playing. I like most of his playing on records so I'll give him another chance with a different format. As for all the others currently on my list, it will be the first time I will see any of them live.

Ok, so Camilo's trio goes there in between. I'm looking forward to some serious foot tappin' and body movin' on this one.

[gnhrtg]

On the 10th, I think I will go see Michael Brecker Quartet instead of Rudresh M & VIjay Iyer duo. If all else were equal, I would opt for the latter but Brecker's 55 now, I think, and having never seen him live, I would like to see him before health/age related matters get in the way of the intensity of his playing. I will have lots of other chances to see the younger lot at the top of their game, I hope.

And on the 11th, I'll see Rabih-Abou Khalil (quintet) instead of Rosenwinkel's band with Mehldau. Were Mehldau playing with his own trio, this would have been a more difficult choice.

And if it ends up being too fussy to get ticket for Holland/Hancock/Shorter/Blade, or if my aversion for halls full of neatly dressed people gets going, I might see Eddie Palmieri's ensemble instead.

Anyone here know anything about a band called "Ugly Beauty"? (Benjamin Herman (alto sax); Robert Jan Vermeulen (piano); Frans van der Hoeven (double bass); Han Bennink (drums))

[Pete C]

And if it ends up being too fussy to get ticket for Holland/Hancock/Shorter/Blade, or if my aversion for halls full of neatly dressed people gets going,

Those PWA concerts usually sell out in advance. So if you want to see Shorter & Hancock you should order tickets when you order the passes. I always make phone orders, since the website requires bank transfers (I don't understand why they can't take credit cards online).

[hermann]

Hey Pete
Will pay my order today.
Maybe I can meet gnhrt?
Looking forward to meet jc-people!

[gnhrtg]

Hermann - Not maybe, you'll have to come incognito to evade me mister.

I had paid quite early, mid-April, to benefit from the €10 discount. I'll remind them later not to forget to send my pass. My impression so far has been that slick and high-tech, these guys are not, Pete.

I would be most glad to meet jc'ers. Good to hear you'll be coming Hermann. By the way, mke, my offer to you stands if that happens to prove decisive.

[gnhrtg]

Having been made to go through all the pains of electronic bank transfer, I've just been informed that depsite all the fees I've been deducted, my payment still turned out to reach them €3.5 (count 'em) short. Therefore they are not sending my tickets and I will have to collect my ticket from the box offices. Question: How early will I have to get there so that I could get my tickets and still catch the first shows that start at 18.30?

I also see that the program has undergone substantial re-scheduling so that Chris Potter, Ahmad Jamal, Davis Ware, and James Carter, for instance, are all on at the same time.

[Pete C]

Gokhan, there will always be rescheduling, up to the day of the show.

I'll PM some logistical info.

[gnhrtg]

Well, now I know better to not make lists so early (or at least to know that it's likely that they'll have to survive some re-adjustment). A veteran of international festival going, I'm not - yet.

Thank you for the information, Pete.

[gnhrtg]

After the latest re-shuffling, I couldn't resist it and made yet another list, one I hope will be left unperturbed.

So, who else is coming? Hermann? Anyone?

[J.A.W.]

I've never been to the NSJF and I'm not going this year either, I just don't like this kind of large-scale festivals.

Anyway, have fun Gökhan!

[FireFox31]

Does anyone need tickets for Friday and/or Saturday?

I *just* got my tickets but had to buy a 3 day pass when I only need Sunday. I wish I had found out about this sooner so I could have planned, but oh well. If you need Friday and/or Saturday, please let me know because I'd hate for them to go to waste.

(and if it's not allowed to make this kind of offer here, I'm sorry. please don't hit me too hard)

[Pete C]

That's a nice offer, but I think the problem is that you can't split off individual days from the pass--I believe they have to be attached and removed one day at a time. I don't think they'll accept the daily part if it is unattached.

[hermann]

Hello
Started with Greg Osby, then Ernst Reijseger. That filled me nearly totally.
Mc Coy Tyner followed ( strong bassplayer ). So let'`s see what follows.
Have my difficulties, cause I`m not allone. She`s gone into the car and I`m
waiting for the last show of the day. So this is completely different from last year`s.
Greetings from the North Sea.
Hermann

[Pete C]

I'm going to try my best to make it back next year for the final edition in The Hague.

[gnhrtg]

Just got back, will take some time tomorrow to write some impressions/reflections on this as well as the Kongsberg Jazz Festival. For now, here's who I saw: Greg Osby, Reijseger/D'Andrea, Lee Konitz Nonet, Joe Lovano Quartet, Charlie Haden Liberation Orch, Iyer/Mahantappa, Ben Allison and Medicine Wheel, Fred Hersch + 2, Jason Moran and the Bandwagon, Bad Plus, David S. Ware Quartet, and Uri Caine Trio. Also spotted a number of discs I had long been looking for, some at budget price too.

[Pete C]

Gokhan & Hermann, I await reports with unabated breath.

Gokhan, how did the hotel work out?

[gnhrtg]

Gokhan, how did the hotel work out?

Very satsified on all accounts, thanks a lot. Scheveningen is a nice little place to walk around as well, I discovered. One needs to be rather careful while crossing streets though, as there are non-trivial possibilities of being run over by a tram, car, bus, bicycle, motorcycle, and even a horse.

If you will, so will I, too, try my best to make it next year. So let's see, I have to write a review for the Ben Allison giveaway and I want to share my impressions of both the Kongsberg and North Sea Jazz Festivals - I better get typing soon.

[Pete C]

Scheveningen is a nice little place to walk around as well,

Yeah, but can you pronounce it?

[J.A.W.]

Yeah, but can you pronounce it?

No problem here ;)

[gnhrtg]

Yeah, but can you pronounce it?

Can I pronounce what? Oh, and report coming up next week. I'm very glad I went.

[Pete C]

Can I pronounce what?

Scheveningen. And if you can pronounce it, can you do so without spitting on the person next to you?

[gnhrtg]

Scheveningen. And if you can pronounce it, can you do so without spitting on the person next to you?

I do know you meant Scheveningen but mine was an attempt to get you to pronounce it so I could get by by means of imitation. I never had to but when friends asked me to where I've been, I think I pronounced it as I would if it were German. About the spitting, I've subjugated all I call a friend so much that I wouldn't know if I managed it or not.

[hermann]

This year only the first day was filled with music. Next days I gave up, because my female friend hindered me to follow my real intentions.
So the result is clear, if You want to concentrate on music Hermann, never go again with a female to this sort of concert. This circumstance
hindered me too, to meet a JCler, sorry dear friends in jazz.
The first group I heard was Greg Osby's. He had ( for me ) youngsters around him, but they worked very well together and Greg played in a relaxed manner and let them bring in their solos in a well balanced timing. It was a nice opener to the festival not only for me but for the whole public too. Good response happened between musicians and audience. A special thing was the interaction between a painter and the music, during the quartet's playing a painting was created online and everyone could notice the influence of this music onto the painting activities of the artist. Next I visited Ernst Reijseger + Franco D’Andrea. And they gave me strong impressions how this music can express live. Men this guy whom I lately heard at LOFT Cologne in the Simon Nabatov concert gave us a show of his possibilities that no one could relax only a second. His timing with that damned good pianoplayer was so perfect, one happiness followed the other. He played cello, he played bass, he played guitar, he even played violin on his instrument, whow when he ended the public exploded. What a first class concert, and Franco fit absolutly well, his playing was really outstanding for me.
Because I never heard Kenny Wheeler before, his music was my next choice. Not a lot of variations during the whole concert. This man blows only his thing. But how he does this. I could not stop to listen to him. It was wonderfull music directly flowing into my heart. I was filled up and the only thing I wanted at that point was to relax , and so did I. At the end of this first evening I went downstairs and closed with Lovano. Oh I remember that at one moment between ( I forgot when ) I checked Mc Coy Tyner. So it is mixed in my brain as a potpourry of first class jazz, hmm, fine, tastes well. So let me remember this day and not the following two.
The next day I wanted to start with Jamal, but the thing was : Jamad was overfilled.
So I linked to David S .Ware and was happy to catch this concert. I was highly impressed by his ongoing energy and his offensive music. His political approuch was highlighted by projecting pictures and words ( aggressive sentences ) at the backgroundlinnen. The public reacted enthusiastic on his gestures and music the temperature cooked higher and after this I needed again to relax a bit. Next choice I wanted to hear was Vitous. OK this guy is a outstanding bassplayer. The thing was that the technicians were unable to bring his tones without overdubb to my ears. So it was not only joy to listen. ( The only bass I heard perfectly adapted to the amplifiers was that of Ben Allison next day, and yes that was perfect enjoyment, his bass and his whole group medicine wheel ).
As a result of this days I want to note: there is nothing better than going together with Pete, and sorry gnhrtg that we did’nt meet.

[gnhrtg]

My comments are up, more to come. Will go next year unless I run out of money or have an overlapping conference to attend. Very nice to read what you have to say hermann.