CMU Reviews @ London Jazz Festival Festival Reviews

Live Review: Alex Riel, Little Red Suitcase & Ibrahim Electric at London Jazz Festival on 14 Nov

By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 15 November 2010

The objective of this free afternoon event at the Clore Ballroom in the Southbank Centre was to recreate part of the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, and three bands from that event were on show. The first was Alex Riel’s quintet, who played straight jazz. Old time saxophonists Peter King and Art Themen played alongside eponymous drummer Riel, the Dane who has been supporting musicians like Dizzy Gillespie and Freddie Hubbard since as far back as the 60s.

Next up were young female duo Little Red Suitcase, who slightly disappointed. Their music is original composition with a slightly quirky twist, though that by itself doesn’t necessarily constitute jazz. They did create a sense of “endless horizon” in their sound, but it seemed more like this was founded in self- indulgence rather than as a method to provoke innovative improvisations.

The last band to play were Ibrahim Electric. With a guitarist, drummer and keyboard player, on first glance this trio could easily be categorised as an indie band. A closer look, however, shows they offer something different, and although they rely on a consistent drum beat and obvious regular chord changes, they don’t stick rigidly to the boundaries of single songs, and give the impression of a fluidity of ideas running through the music. They also prefer to communicate reactively with their instruments, rather than look for that rock-out crescendo, yet still create a raucous energy.

The afternoon didn’t really recreate the atmosphere of the Copenhagen Jazz festival but did give a sneak peek into the alternative Danish music scene.