Suomijazz - Jyväskylä Summer Jazz 2004

Summer Jazz 2004 Speaks in Many Tongues

Jazz has become a global musical language, a lingua franca spoken
by musicians from every continent. But just like that other global
language, English, jazz is susceptible to local variations, meaning
that native speakers no longer monopolize its development. The
9th annual Jyväskylä Summer Jazz highlights this development with
a decided global perspective, and illuminates the music's origins,
transformations and future directions, as well as its global spread.

The festival focuses mainly on musics where jazz per se is only
one element of a richer musical vocabulary. The pianist Joao
Assis Brasil's classical, Brazilian and improvisation fusion appears
alongside the Estonian Meelis Vind and Raivo Tafenau's abstract
chamber improvisations; the Dutch piano trio Robinson, Freitag &
Caruso's modernist take on the core jazz tradition fits smoothly
with Armenian-American pianist Armen Donelian's loving solo set
of jazz standards, and the Finish quartet Kvalda's expansive
reworking of the jazz vocal song. The Argentinean pianist and
composer Emilio Solla invigorates his compositions with the tango
and other South American traditional rhythms, while the Raivo
Tafenau Quintet lets Brazilian singer Sergio Bastos guide the
group through a set of Bossa Nova and funk-flavored crowd
pleasers. With thirteen groups spread over four days and ten
venues, the many dialects of jazz become audible.

1. Virtuoso Expression

Sababougnouma

The dance, song and percussion ensemble Sababougnouma, from
Burkina Faso, link all the threads together, honing in on the core
elements of the dialects being spoken: the primacy of rhythm,
multiple interlocking and overlapping parts, ecstatic solos
underpinned by propulsive ostinatos and open-ended structures
that feel as if they could stretch deep into the night. But the
pieces are highly arranged, complete with dance steps and space
for the balafon soloist to take his instrument to the dance floor,
lie on his back and play while holding the instrument with his feet.
Before each tune, the players engage in a verbal give -and-take
that decides the next piece. With each instrument doubled -
except the shekere (a gourd shaker) and ngoni ( a kind of bass
stringed instrument) - the volume is massive, and there is not an
electrical instrument in sight.

Garbed in matching loose-fitting, bold-patterned costumes, the ten
members - nine men and one woman - play two electrifying sets
full of shifting tempos, almost mechanical precision, ear-splitting
djembe solos, and most importantly, sheer joy that passes to the
dancers who gradually swell dance floor, unable to resist the loud,
pulsing mass.

Emilio Solla y Afines

The pianist Emilio Solla was born in Argentina, but now lives in
Barcelona. He has, however, taken the music of his homeland with
him, and used it to invigorate his perspective on jazz. Brought to life
by his marvelous quintet Afines - Carlos Morera on bandoneon, Gorka
Benitez on tenor saxophone, Nono Fernandez on double bass, and
David Gomez on drums - Solla's compositions seethe with history,
musical and personal. One piece evokes a dance that Solla's infant
son once did, and uses the Uruguayan candome for its rhythm.
"Pulma Marka" is based on a simple pentatonic chant of Northern
Argentina. A version of the Argentinean samba makes a loving tribute
for a now-closed Barcelona jazz club.

And of course, the tango. Solla adapts that most famous of his
country's music, playing on this night the first part of his Suite
Piazollina, "Rogas". The jagged, at times menacing pulse of the tango
lets Solla and Afines weave free and scored passages seamlessly.
Another tango piece devolves into the percussive instrument tapping
that gives the tango its earthy resonance, then mutates into a jam
where all the group members play toy bandoneons.

Such light moments abound with Solla, who enthusiastically explains
the music and story of each tune, heaps praise upon his group, the
festival, the sound crew; in other words, his enthusiasm seems to be
for life, and it can't help but sing brightly in his music, where technical
brilliance only serves to intensify the emotional expression.

2. From South America and the Carribean to North Africa and Beyond

Assis Brasil & de Carvalho

During this year's festival, South American rhythmic and song styles
surface in numerous forms. In the towering space of Taulunmäen Church,
the pianist and composer Joao Assis Brasil teams with percussionist Celio
de Carvalho for an intimate set of six compositions that incorporate flashy,
hyper-charged classical forms, like Debussy on speed, intricate djembe
and conga accompaniment, chanting, and inspired moments of improvisation.

Assis Brasil calls their music an interpretation of the "Brazilian soul", taking
from every element that is Brazil. That means Villa-Lobos, Jobim (here the
bossa nova looses its warm throb and becomes a dynamic swell of
spaciousness, held together by de Carvalho's powerful tambourine work),
bird calls (for the jungle), piano passages that move from the lightly lyrical
to a critical mass of trills, glissandos and blistering 32nd notes - all within
the space of a few bars. At times it all sounds a bit too flashy, too much
virtuosity and not enough earthiness, but in the blur of technical brilliance
there is enough intimacy to make it memorable, like a fruity cocktail
savored in an expensive restaurant.

Vind, Tafenau & Padilla

Following this more focused combination comes the eclectic, abstract
sketches of Estonian bass clarinetist Meelis Vind, tenor saxophonist Raivo
Tafenau and Chilean percussionist Ricardo Padilla. The trio's make-up strips
away the usual trappings of jazz ensembles and lets the group roam freely
in their simple, modal compositions. Short melodic phrases become dialogue
points as the two reeds climb and slide around each other, the
communication telepathic at times. Padilla more paints than beats out
percussive textures, using congas, cymbals, frame drums, berimbau, gongs
and shakers.

Unfortunately most of their originals follow the same pattern, and after
four tunes gets repetitive. Interpreting a tune by Finnish saxophonist Eero
Koivistoinen, Vind mimics with his bass clarinet a walking bass line while
Tafenau throws in boppish licks. The group's most powerful moment comes
during their last tune, a tribute to Ray Charles. Before the tune they
encourage the audience to not clap when it is finished, and instead to stay
silent for one minute. Padilla's spoken word tells a tale of a blind, touring
musician, and Vind and Tafenau subtly shape the narrative. An abrupt end.
Silence. The music's decay echoes throughout the rafters of the church.

Tafenau Quintet with Sergio Bastos, Los Cumbancheros

These artful, dramatic fusions show more imagination and excitement than
Raivo Tafenau and Sergio Bastos' rather tepid mish-mash of Latin grooves,
funk, disco and bossa nova in Jazz Bar on Friday and Saturday night.
Playing with Tafenau's usual quintet, Brazilian transplant Bastos sings and
plays acoustic guitar. His stage manner, exuberant and friendly, matches
Tafenau's R & B antics. Unfortunately, in the process of using all these
feel-good rhythms, they smooth out the edges too much, making their
James Brown cover and Jobim's "Girl From Ipanema" just groove-lite, rather
than groovy.

However, Tafenau and Bastos, as well as the pedestrian Cuban dance group
Los Cumbancheros, serve their purpose. As part of the festival's club circuit,
they give the late-night revelers a light, fun atmosphere, where one can
forget about rigid stylistic prejudices and just enjoy some music.

3. Standards, Songs, and Changes

Armen Donelian

Born to Armenian parents in America, the pianist, scholar and educator
Armen Donelian possesses a robust technique, a love of jazz's mainstream
tradition and an affable stage manner. These combined make his solo set in
the Aalto Sali auditorium a comfortable, yet stylish affair, but with few
surprises. Mixing three originals with five warhorse standards, Donelian
moves briskly, stopping between songs to greet the audience and explain
why he chose each piece. On all the pieces he uses a fluid touch and
constant, somewhat angular bass lines to give Brubeck's "Take Five" and
"Summertime" a hint of mystery. Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance" glows
with a sensuous richness, and John Lewis' "Django" gets a respectful
interpretation. His own pieces, like the Monkish "Spree" and his musical
impression of New York City "Metropolitan Madness", move rapidly, their
intricate, ornamented lines grounded by pulsing bass.

He explains, and even sings, the lyrics to "Sunrise, Sunset" from the musical
Fiddler on the Roof, before he plays. It is a telling moment. The songs
expresses a wistful nostalgia for the passing of time, and Donelian's selection
of it shows him to be more interested in the past than the future - but
luckily he is no staunch jazz maven. The audience can tell he loves these
tunes, and he tries to share that love with them.

Kvalda

On Saturday afternoon, the young Finnish quartet Kvalda fills Aalto Sali for
its debut record release party. All four are students in the Finnish
Conservatory in Jyväskylä, and they will represent Finland later this year in
the Young Nordic Jazz Comets competition. The quartet offers a fresh
perspective on the jazz vocal tradition with original compositions that push
at the barriers of conventional song structure by injecting healthy does of
improvisation and group interaction.

The pianist Antti Kujanpää contributes most of the pieces, like the pensive
"Rauha" and the lilting pulse of "Kavala". Aili Ikonen delivers long, plaintive,
often wordless, vocals, and avoids the temptation to scat - a refreshing
change. She helps the group create dramatic narrative arcs in their songs,
pushing them towards ecstatic peaks, then quieting them to contemplative
interludes. Bassist Jori Huhtala and drummer Hanne Pulli set up insistent
support, Huhtala's bold, repetitive figures and bowing mixing with Pulli's tight
snare work and gently expansive cymbals. With Huhtala and Pulli's dynamic
rhythm support, Kujanpää's lush and economic piano phrases and Ikonen's
crystalline vocal stylings, Kvalda has created a space that exists somewhere
between jazz's open-ended structures, the Classical art song, folk music
directness and modern pop sensibility.

Robinson, Freitag & Caruso

The Dutch acoustic trio also make their own musical space, but with an
eye to heightening the intensity of group interaction. Playing at Poppari,
their six sets over two nights mix standards and group originals, and the trio
comes off like a more cerebral version of the Bad Plus. They lean towards
energetic tempos, mixing brash bebop with shades of funk and rock, and
forward-thinking harmonies, making their improvisations a great soundtrack
for drinking revelers as well as close-listening afficianados. The drummer
Philipp Pumplun throws in crisp rim shots over his simmering hi-hat and ride
cymbals, giving the bassist Uli-Wentzlaff-Eggebert a steaming bed on which
to walk furiously or carve out funky, angular lines. The pianist Christoph
MacCarty shows an ability for Monkish restraint and Powell-like prolixity,
often interchanging the two for a brew of dazzle and melodic sensibility.

Matthew Wuethrich 1.7.2004. Photos: Pentti Ronkanen.

Finnish translation.

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