As you might remember, CMU is at the Edinburgh Festival at the moment, which is the main reason why today's CMU Daily is so bloody late - sorry. Anyways, last week was the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, and because we know there are at least nine jazz fans out there in the CMU readership (and I'm guessing there's a few more hiding) we thought we'd let you know which were the artists our jazz man loved most. All these and stacks more Edinburgh Festival reviews can be found at our sister website - http://www.threeweeks.co.uk
Daniel Karlsson Quintet
Like the Fredrik Nordstrom Quintet, the also-Swedish Karlsson quintet take some getting used to. They surprise and tease listeners to grab their attention and then sharpen their focus. They also experiment to find mood and are always open to new directions. On Tuesday, Nordstrom brought the band together then shattered illusions of understanding in their last track. Thankfully Karlsson missed that last step and after building the mood rounded it off with an electric rendition of 'Oddjob', where every phrase from every instrument seemed to make startling sense. Karlsson admits he usually comes up with ideas when adjusting his piano seat before performing - he is a master of generating a sense of unpredictability, which makes for a magnetic and tantalizing show. [tb]
Daniel Karlsson Quintet played at The Hub on 3 Aug.
Colin Steele Quintet
Steele plays a gentle form of jazz. His compositions are peaceful and salute old Celtic melodies and he plays his trumpet calmly, allowing the listener to drift off into the music. This was clearly shown when he played the title track from his first album, the soulful ballad 'Journey Home'. It was entrancing, with Steele pointing his trumpet to the ceiling and showering us in a refreshing highland spray of notes. Another pick of the set was the title track of his second album 'Through the Waves'. Steele and his band have defined their style and are starting to develop it further- the music is imbued with imagery and intensity but has a light touch like a soft mountain breeze. [tb]
Colin Steele Quintet played at The Hub on 3 Aug.
Mike Hart International All Stars
There genuinely wasn't a weak link in this outstanding line-up. Tom Finlay played on piano, Hamish McGregor on clarinet and Adam Sorensen on drums. Every member had a chance to show their mettle and every member came up trumps. Hart put together a scintillating evening of entertainment with notable performances from trombonist John Service from Switzerland and young Scottish saxophonist Johnny Boston. But it was Australian Bob Bernard who deserves the lion's share of the compliments. His smooth and rich tone went down like a milkshake in summer. He soloed with the Louis Armstrong composition 'Wild Man blues' and Mike Hart was right when he said the song hadn't been played better since the great Sach played it himself. [tb]
Mike Hart International All Stars played at the Spiegeltent on 4 Aug.
Wallace Roney
Imagine Socrates, Marx and Hume were alive simultaneously and all taught one man philosophy. That's like Wallace Roney's tuition from greats like Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis. Some education; he now fronts a band of skilled musicians set to take the genre forward. A shining example is DJ Logic on decks who managed to fit her mixing to the jazz. Almost every ebullient member of the young six-piece had heart and when they got going acquired steam train momentum; notables were Eric Allen on drums and Adam Holtzman on keys. And as the train whistled louder and the steam clouds turned to a storm of chaos, Wallace gently kept it cool with his full and commanding tone. [tb]
Wallace Roney played at the The Hub on 28 July