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Brownswood Loves Jazz (Posted by Jose James)

Brownswood Loves Jazz Tour!finally getting a chance to ease back + reflect on the deepness of what we did - Gilles + Brownswood put together a renaissance show of jazz in a way - live jazz - solo piano - roaring live bands!!!the only difference is it’s 2007 + we hail from all over - serious East meets West with my crew + Elan coming out of New York + Soil & “Pimp” Sessions representing Japan! we truly found the international language + made some memorable nights. AMSTERDAM - this was Soil & “Pimp” Sessions first time in the main stage @ Paradiso - big up! + Elan + myself were making lovely sounds upstairs on the 2nd stage. Wicked Jazz Crew in the house spinning made for a relaxed anticipating crowd. Soil & “Pimp” Sessions dropped lovely!! they just keep getting tighter + doing Red Clay/Park Bench People was + is pure pleasure - they smashed it + believe me they give it 100% every night! meanwhile upstairs Elan was crafting a slow burn for the highly attentive crowd. there was a real upright piano complete with candle holders?? sounded nice. Alexi David (bass) + Steve Lyman (drums) joined + played some of Elan’s trio stuff like “Cup of Coffee + a Gun” which was dope. big shout out to my homegirl Siofra. Elan set the tone beautifully + then we settled into our first night of collaboration doing stuff off the album but also - Moanin’! Art Blakey man. we had a lot of fun - check the podcast action. downstairs Gilles was doing major damage on the dancefloor + Amsterdam was loving it!!! needless to say we had a great night but were somehow miraculously well rested the next day for our K-Swiss jam session (in-store) - me + Elan kicked it off with a set of tunes punctuated by Moto + Tabu on horns… then Soil & “Pimp” Sessions took the stage + jammed out… they invited Elan up… he started a Rhodes vibe… I came up halfway + turned that into “Summertime”… good shit started happening! having two bassists, two drummers, two pianists (+ two agitators??? we’re only born 2 days apart!) was dope + we just changed it completely! how dope was it to see Steve + Alexi playing with Soil & “Pimp” Sessions??? that plus the general ambiance of Amsterdam put us all into very good moods + we all took something away from that long session. the proof was the next night in -  PARIS!! - yeah, this was one of those magical nights that you are gifted with every now + then… la fleche d'or… magic music…. everything everyone does is golden… DJ Thristian aka the BPM dropped lots of Coltrane + Fela - while sipping nice French wine I might add (just to give it all the proper flavor) - Elan came on strong + the audience was serious + ready. he can quiet the house + make it look within itself… then he built it from there with piano trio strength… the added depth of history (Bud Powell, Duke Ellington - think Money Jungle vibe) - beautiful. I have to say Paris was one of the best musical nights of my life - I loved every second of it!! the golden moment was when Tabu sat in on “The Dreamer” to close the set - monster!! his circular breathing is SCARY + beautiful… he brought the house down (+ continued to do so all night with his set).  Soil & “Pimp” Sessions took the stage + destroyed it - but the Paris set was deeper + more nuanced than I’ve ever heard them before. That Bill Lee song??? damn. Really really special night - thanks Gilles.  BERLIN. Bohannon. nice vibe. in a way this was a surprise night. the atmosphere was of deep listening. they got into Elan’s solo work + were right there through his trio set - well played my crew! - I felt comfortable enough to play longer + slower like “Winterwind” “Equinox” + “The Dreamer” - last one feat. Moto on alto broke the place up! shout out to the guy who kept running around the club screaming “JAZZ! JAZZ!” whew. on to Soil & “Pimp” Sessions who - I need a new word here - destroyed it. but that’s just what they do - elegantly, passionately, ferociously. big shout out to the city of low rent + big dreams - they serious about music. killer sets from Gilles yeah yeah + real surprise of the night was DJ Thristian dropping it down laters absolutely all night long. that South London shit had the crowd on their knives + forks son!! “JAZZ! JAZZ! JAAAAZZZZ!!!” HOME CROWD ADVANTAGE aka LONDON - Bush Hall, what a sweet venue. where was the camera to see the smile on Elan’s face when he saw the grand piano waiting for him? =) oh yeah. after some logistics with it (it’s on the floor. it’s in the corner. it’s on the floor in the corner.) we were determined to make London the best night! personal highlights: Elan’s opening set - taking his time before a rapt audience; hearing “Ptah, the El Daoud” on the system as pre-show music (!); doing “Winterwind” with Elan on that grand (thanks Brownswood); doing “Red Clay/Park Bench People” with Soil & “Pimp” Sessions + that mad alto/voice duet improv later with Moto; Akita Goldman’s bass solo; seeing Alexi smile too; hearing Steve’s terrible English accent; Tabu giving Alexi a Japanese cold remedy; Ben Westbeech showing love in the house from Bristol; Gilles smiling @ the end of the night + my all-time favorite song from Soil & “Pimp” Sessions “Pluto”!! London feels like a second home now - thank you! let’s do it all over again - JJ 

  • Posted by Emily
  • Aug 28, 03:38 AM

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