Big Satan at Sunset, Paris - May 12

[jaka]

I was pretty sure I was to spend a good evening, but this one was far beyond any expectation I could have had.
You know I admire Tim Berne and Marc Ducret, separately or together, but I must tell I haven't been waiting for such an occasion in vain. Among the best shows I've seen, ever.

No warm-up. Our three guys just got right into it, opening the first set with a burning "Deadpan", followed by a Ducret piece "L'ombra di Verdi", available on disc by the Ducret trio. Direct in the fast lane and don't even mind the seatbelts.
Then that's when things started to really get hot. The next piece was new music by Ducret and we finally got to know where he's been heading for months with his highly-saturated/understated tone and things.
No understatement here though; the Sunset (audience, walls, overall atmosphere...) was like hypnotized, floating around, with only one thing to grab, and this was MISTER Tom Rainey, man of the night, saw him before but wasn't prepared for such high levels of inspiration, high musicality and (I'll allow myself) pure genius. This has been true for the entire three sets, without a single flaw.
There was hardly a pause before the next number, BG... uh...OH, from the Hard Cell repertoire (discwise) that ended the first set in a bang.

There were 2 more sets to go and the repertoire choice had a great deal to do with the night's quality after that.
Quite a lot of new music and in between, the Big Satan's take on so far other projects' tunes (mostly from recent HardCell CDs, but basically, let's call it the Berne or Berne/Ducret songbook), sometimes even mixing patterns from one with riffs from another, like in the second set, when right in the middle, a long Rainey-lead improved part ended up with familiar patterns, only at (at least) doubled tempo, bringing the musicians to near-collapsing, but it held up, leaving them exhausted, we could tell from where we stood. The end of second set was slower paced as you would imagine, but they managed to keep the tension intact, while "catching their breath".

The long (and deserved) pause that followed had Rainey (opening this set solo), Berne and Ducret back for the third and not at all less firish set we had feared after the fireworks of the second one. With two new pieces from Ducret and one from Berne, including an hilarious interlude of twisted bluesy-hardbop chabada-driven improv that evolved into a groovy funk piece 'à la Science Friction', it brought us to a final (without appeal) "I thought you had it".
At that point, it took me several minutes to recover from these 2 and a half hours of music and get back to reality.

I think the memory of this evening of music will stay for long. I've been listening to Tim Berne and Marc Ducret's projects for 20 years now, and I'll sure continue for the next 40.
But one thing is sure, I'll now also pick EVERY recording with Tom Rainey on them (I've got quite a lot of them already ).






Did I mention that Tim Berne (I knew that but it never cease to amaze me) has one of the most fabulous tones around?
Enough already.
Maybe I should fly to London for tomorrow's date.

[Alastair]

If you do you'll find Nim Chimpsky and me in the audience.

[jaka]

I'll pass, I'm not much of a traveller.

But I wish you two an equally enjoyeable night.

[Big Apple]

I think the memory of this evening of music will stay for long

Yes Jaka, we had a great night, yesterday at Sunset
Maybe, a historical one ! These artists have gone into a trance, sometimes.
This band has everything that makes a great band: original, new, very personal and immediately recognizable, a raw energy, but a complex writing, it's the result of about twenty years of work and friendship between Tim and Mark. Big Satan is nine, and I hope he'll have a long life ...

[jaka]

Any word from Alastair and Nim's night in London?

Come on guys, let us know.

[Alastair]

It was great, but only 2 sets

When the second set was announced, someone in the audience "whoo"ed. Tim snapped back "Save your whoos - you're gonna need them". He wasn't wrong.

Nim, help me out here.

[gonzo]

sounds fabulous. only wish i had been there.

[Nim Chimpsky]

It was great, but only 2 sets

When the second set was announced, someone in the audience "whoo"ed. Tim snapped back "Save your whoos - you're gonna need them". He wasn't wrong.

Nim, help me out here.

I'm rubbish at these things because I can never remember the names of the pieces. Anyway, the set sounds similar to the Paris one. They played L'Ombra di Verdi and Deadpan; they also played Ce Sont Les Noms Des Mots (which Tim couldn't pronounce, tant pis!) and what was possibly a new piece called Is That My Mini Bar?. If they played anything off Feign I wouldn't have recognised it as I need to spend more time with that disc.

Like you Jaka, Tom Rainey never ceases to impress, especially live, as he's such a responsive player. I've been getting into Marc Ducret's own records recently and it was great to hear him play with so much space. Al and I saw him before when Science Friction + Torn toured the UK but that gig was a disappointment as nobody really seemed to know where they were supposed to fit in.

The new Vortex is a rubbish space compared to the old one but it's great to see that Tim has established a good working relationship with the people there, to keep him coming back to London when he's over in Europe. I'm already looking forward to Tim coming back to the Vortex with Herb Robertson in October.

Ce sont les mots de Nim!

P.S. Jaka, did you know that Marc Johnson's Bass Desires were playing in Paris next February? If they don't come to London, I might have to make the trip.

[jaka]

Thanks Nim for the update.

The "Mini Bar" piece they also played in Paris.
I can't recall but don't think we were granted with "Ce sont les noms des mots", which I envy you about, this being one of my favorite Ducret pieces.
As for the Science Friction former disappointment, I was fortunate enough to see the quartet without Torn, and I can tell you that they knew where they were supposed to fit in that night!! You should come to France more often.

What Ducret records did/do you listen to?

PS: I saw the Bass Desires announcement and couldn't believe my eyes. I'll be there and if you make the trip, I'll be glad to meet you. Let me know if you need me to secure tickets, or anything like it.

I'm rubbish at these things because I can never remember the names of the pieces. Anyway, the set sounds similar to the Paris one. They played L'Ombra di Verdi and Deadpan; they also played Ce Sont Les Noms Des Mots (which Tim couldn't pronounce, tant pis!) and what was possibly a new piece called Is That My Mini Bar?. If they played anything off Feign I wouldn't have recognised it as I need to spend more time with that disc.

Like you Jaka, Tom Rainey never ceases to impress, especially live, as he's such a responsive player. I've been getting into Marc Ducret's own records recently and it was great to hear him play with so much space. Al and I saw him before when Science Friction + Torn toured the UK but that gig was a disappointment as nobody really seemed to know where they were supposed to fit in.

The new Vortex is a rubbish space compared to the old one but it's great to see that Tim has established a good working relationship with the people there, to keep him coming back to London when he's over in Europe. I'm already looking forward to Tim coming back to the Vortex with Herb Robertson in October.

Ce sont les mots de Nim!

P.S. Jaka, did you know that Marc Johnson's Bass Desires were playing in Paris next February? If they don't come to London, I might have to make the trip.

[Nim Chimpsky]

As for the Science Friction former disappointment, I was fortunate enough to see the quartet without Torn, and I can tell you that they knew where they were supposed to fit in that night!! You should come to France more often.

It was unfortunate as Science Friction is probably my favourite Tim Berne album. I think the lack of spark on that night had more to do with the acoustics of the hall and the way the stage was laid out than any particular musician being at fault.

The new Torn album on ECM with Berne/Rainey/Taborn definitely goes into my 'albums I'm looking forward to' thread.

What Ducret records did/do you listen to?

Qui Parle?, News From The Front and the Acoustic Quartet album on ECM

PS: I saw the Bass Desires announcement and couldn't believe my eyes. I'll be there and if you make the trip, I'll be glad to meet you. Let me know if you need me to secure tickets, or anything like it.

Thanks, that very good of you. I won't know until nearer the time if I'll be able to make the trip. Do you know wny more details about the reunion?

[jaka]

I think the lack of spark on that night had more to do with the acoustics of the hall and the way the stage was laid out than any particular musician being at fault.

The new Torn album on ECM with Berne/Rainey/Taborn definitely goes into my 'albums I'm looking forward to' thread.

Same here!
I was not at all suggesting it was Torn's fault. The fact is the night I attended in Paris then was a killer show.

Thanks, that very good of you. I won't know until nearer the time if I'll be able to make the trip. Do you know wny more details about the reunion?

Nope.

[jaka]

Qui Parle?, News From The Front and the Acoustic Quartet album on ECM

Way to go... But these are good ones.
NFTF has always been one of my favorites.

[mattieb]

I was at the second Big Satan gig at the Vortex on May 15th... Just thought I'd point out that it was recorded for Jazz on 3 (BBC Radio 3) and they'll be putting it out this Friday, June 2nd...

The program webpage is http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/, and you should be able to listen to it live / over the following week via their stream from http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio3.shtml (either 'Listen Live', or via the 'Jazz on 3' link)...

[jaka]

I was at the second Big Satan gig at the Vortex on May 15th... Just thought I'd point out that it was recorded for Jazz on 3 (BBC Radio 3) and they'll be putting it out this Friday, June 2nd...

The program webpage is http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/, and you should be able to listen to it live / over the following week via their stream from http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio3.shtml (either 'Listen Live', or via the 'Jazz on 3' link)...

Now that's what I call good news.

Thanks, Mattieb, and welcome on board!!

[Vince Kargatis]

Science Friction + Torn toured the UK but that gig was a disappointment as nobody really seemed to know where they were supposed to fit in.

Hm, I saw this group in Victoriaville and would suggest they simply hadn't worked out how to fit Torn and Ducret into the group (the others seemed ok). Ducret sat out a shocking amount, and Torn's atmospheric stuff didn't meld as well as one could imagine. I love both guitarists tho, and can't wait for Torn's record.

[mattieb]

Thanks, Mattieb, and welcome on board!!

I thought I'd come out of lurking for that ...

[Nim Chimpsky]

Hm, I saw this group in Victoriaville and would suggest they simply hadn't worked out how to fit Torn and Ducret into the group (the others seemed ok). Ducret sat out a shocking amount, and Torn's atmospheric stuff didn't meld as well as one could imagine.

At the London gig Ducret was doing a lot of tapping and slapping, maybe trying to be a percussive foil to Torn's washes of sound. I think the venue was designed for Classical concerts and often electric groups sound a bit boomy and muddy, which can't help Torn very much as I believe he's now deaf in one ear.

I love both guitarists tho, and can't wait for Torn's record.

Me too, I just wish we didn't have to wait so long.