JAZZ
TIM BERNE’S PARAPHRASE
The Lot, Edinburgh, Thu 29 Mar
Tim Berne is a leading light on New York's so-called Downtown jazz scene. This very rare opportunity to catch him live in Scotland sees him in the familiar setting of Paraphrase. a trio with two of his most compatible collaborators. bassist Drew Gress and drummer Tom Rainey (who played this venue last Autumn with Julian Argtielles).
‘When we started Paraphrase. I think I just wanted to have a group with those two guys. We used to get together and just play. it was always improvised and always really a lot of fun, and different from anything else we did. Somehow we would hit these areas that we didn’t hit playing in any other situation.‘
The saxophonist admits that his decision to form the trio as a performing unit also arose partly out of a desire to confront two scenarios in which he felt less than comfortable — playing in an all-improvised situation, and working with just bass and drums. a situation he says he has a hard time writing for.
My response was that we should just do gigs and play. and it wasn't the disaster we thought it might be — it turned out it was really fun. so we just decided to keep it that way.‘
The three musicians have adhered strictly to the freely improvised ethic that distinguishes Paraphrase from some of Berne's other projects.
‘We don't plan anything. We don‘t talk about it. The only time we talk is after a gig — usually not the three of us. but in pairs. It‘s almost like it’s voodoo to talk about it with the three of us. And when you're on a long tour. there are nights where you just let the audience be your barometer. Sometimes it's just nice to say. well. they liked it. I guess it must have been cool.‘ (Kenny Mathieson)
60 THE LIST 1599 Mar 7007
ROOTS FESTIVAL CEILIDH CULTURE Various venues, Edinburgh, Sat 24 Mar—Sun 15 Apr
Edinburgh’s Ceilidh Culture. the council—led celebration that runs for three weeks around Easter. brings together the city's traditional arts under one umbrella. Eclectic sounds range from the percussion-driven dance grooves of the Peat Bog Faeries. to the ethereal vocals of Clannad's Moya Brennan to a contemporary take on Finnish ballads accompanied by a super-sized kantele. There are films. exhibitions. dances. ceilidhs. storytelling sessions. workshops. lectures. and conferences — even a whisky tasting. But the jewel of the oral tradition is. yes. singing: and after years of increasing volume from armies of young fiddlers. pipers and accordionists. it's grand to see song winning back its central position again.
Steve Byrne. Arts Officer for Edinburgh Council's Culture and Sport Unit. who coordinate the event, is better known as vocalist and bouzouki player in Scots band lvlalinky. 'l deliberately use the four-strap line (Song:Music:DancezStorytelling) on the programme.’ he says, 'because it covers everything — so. while I've perhaps been slow to notice the resurgent interest in singing. it can be nothing but a good thing.‘ He adds: ‘It reflects Edinburgh’s importance in the folk revival from the early 50s.‘ The Filmhouse screening devoted to seminal Scots song collector Alan Lomax. and the
AVANT PUNK !!!
ABC, Glasgow, Mon 19 Mar
!!! don’t like to make things easy for themselves. Choosing a name that’s not just unpronounceable (‘Chk Chk Chk’ is the most popular method) but also un- Googleable (try it), was always likely to cause complications for one thing. Then there’s the small matter of all eight members scattering themselves roughly 2500 miles apart on both coasts of their native America, something that may make communication (let alone songwriting) a tricky process.
It’s in many ways because, rather than in spite of their flagrant disregard for common sense though that !!! produce some of the most outlandish sounds in modern music. Formed in 1996 when three bands — The Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Popesmashers - became one, from the off anything went, as Philly
concert celebration of Hamish Henderson's fundamental role in that era are scheduled later in March. but the festival kicks off with Auld Reekie's Roses at the Queen's Hall. opening with two magnificent singers. Kenna Campbell in Gaelic. and Gordeanna lvlcCulloch in Scots. (Norman Chalmers)
soul, punk funk, house beats, wild guitars and wacky lyrics were all slung together to form a sprawling, idiosyncratic, 16-legged beast. The band’s eponymous debut appeared to critical fanfare in 2001. A second acclaimed Iongplayer Louden Up Now followed, although it was their 2005 EP, featuring a trippy eight-minute version of The Magnetic Field’s ‘Take Ecstasy With Me’, that was to catch most peoples attention, and is fast becoming a minor acid house classic.
!!!’s storming new album — a bunch of loose, groovy snatches from hours worth of jamming at a rented house in Nashville - drops this month, entitled Myth Takes. They’re currently promoting it worldwide, with 38,000 miles of touring, between 42 cities, across 17 countries, on four continents, all in the space of just two months. Any other way would, we assume, be too simple. (Malcolm Jack)