Release : Arild Andersen / Paolo Vinaccia / Tommy Smith - Live At Belleville
Artist : Arild Andersen / Paolo Vinaccia / Tommy Smith
Album : Live At Belleville
Genre : Jazz
Source : CDDA
Label : ECM
URL : http://www.ecmrecords.com/
Date : 00-00-2008
Encoder : LAME 3.97 / -V2 --vbr-new
Quality : 185kbps 44100 kHz Joint Stereo
Tracks : 7
Time : 70:30 min
Size : 93.68 MB
1 Independency Part 1 11:18
2 Independency Part 2 11:23
3 Independency Part 3 11:23
4 Independency Part 4 10:11
5 Prelude to a kiss 7:24
6 Outhouse 10:02
7 Dreamhorse 8:49
The first release from Arild AndersenÆs new trio, featuring saxophonist Tommy
Smith and drummer Paolo Vinaccia in a performance recorded live at OsloÆs
Belleville Club and the Drammen Theatre. One of the most comprehensive and
exciting recordings of AndersenÆs long creative career, it allies compositional
intelligence to top flight improvising with powerful results.
The major work on the disc is AndersenÆs ôIndependencyö, a piece written in 2005
to mark the centenary of NorwayÆs liberation from the union with Sweden,
presented as an epic voyage of continually changing musical emphasis, from
guided free playing to post-bop group interaction, beautiful balladry and
evocative sound-painting.
The stripped-down sax/bass/drums format will make long-time Andersen listeners
recall his historic collaborations with Jan Garbarek/Edward Vesala (ôTriptykonö)
or Sam Rivers/Barry Altschul (ôHuesö, on Impulse); ôLive At Bellevilleö is also
in this tradition. Scottish tenorist Smith makes a magisterial showing.
Reviewing a live performance of ôIndependencyö in the Birmingham Post, Peter
Bacon wrote. ôAs a demonstration of what the saxophone is capable of, this was
something of a master-class. SmithÆs mastery of whole areas above the
instrumentÆs normal range - and then to draw such sweet notes from that
stratosphere - simply takes the breath away.ö SmithÆs versatility is emphasized
also in a yearning and freely expressive version of Duke EllingtonÆs ôPrelude To
A Kissö. Throughout, the interaction between the trio is exemplary. Apart from
driving the trio forward with his muscular basslines and locking in with Paolo
VinacciaÆs detailed drums, Andersen also expands the bandÆs sonic palette with
discreet electronics, building layers of strings with digital loops, and
creating arrangements in the moment.
***
Andersen is of course an ECM musician of the first hour. Born in Oslo in 1945,
he joined Jan GarbarekÆs group in 1967 and in 1970 recorded ôAfric Pepperbirdö
with the group that included Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen û the æbig fourÆ
as they are still called in the Far North. In the same period he worked with
Scandinavian residents Don Cherry and George Russell, and backed a long line of
visiting Americans û from Sonny Rollins to Chick Corea. After a New York sojourn
in the early 1970s that found him working with Sam Rivers, Paul Bley, Steve Kuhn
and Sheila Jordan, he returned to Norway and began leading his own bands. He has
recorded 18 albums as a leader or co-leader for ECM, along the way making
listeners aware of young talents including Jon Balke, Tore Brunborg, Nils Petter
Molvaer and Vassilis Tsabropoulos, all of whom first came to international
attention with Andersen bands.
Over the last 20 years Andersen has also explored the junctions of Norwegian
folk and improvised music û whether using traditional tunes as a basis for jazz
improvising, or directly collaborating with folk musicians, such as singer
Kirsten Braten Berg. His commissioned works include ôHyperboreanö (recorded
1996) with the Cikada String Quartet and Bendik Hofseth, and ôElectraö (recorded
2005) written for SophoclesÆ drama and premiered in Athens in the context of the
Olympic Games. In addition to his own projects, Andersen has been playing
recently in the new Andy Sheppard Sextet; an ECM recording is in preparation.
Saxophonist Tommy Smith, born in Edinburgh in 1967, immediately made his mark on
the Scottish jazz scene with his first album ôGiant Stridesö, recorded when he
was just sixteen, in 1983. That same year he won a scholarship to attend the
Berklee College of Music in Boston. There, he formed the group Forward Motion,
and also joined Gary BurtonÆs band, with which he appeared on the ECM album
ôWhiz Kidsö in 1986. He has since released more than twenty albums under his own
name for Hep Records, GFM, Blue Note Records, Linn Records and his own Spartacus
label. Smith has worked in small groups and big bands, recording and touring
with major jazz musicians including Joe Lovano, David Liebman, Benny Golson, Joe
Locke, Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Tommy Flanagan, John Scofield, John Patitucci,
Miroslav Vitous, Jack DeJohnette, Jon Christensen, Kenny Wheeler, and more. He
has composed for and performed with classical orchestras and ensembles including
the Orchestra of St. John's Square, the Scottish Ensemble, the Edinburgh Youth
Orchestra and the Paragon Ensemble. He has also recorded and performed with
classical pianist Murray McLachlan, and Scottish traditional musicians including
Gaelic singer Karen Matheson and accordionist/keyboards player Donald Shaw from
the band Capercaillie.
Tommy Smith's work with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra includes programmes
of Oliver Nelson, Basie, Ellington, Mingus, Benny Goodman, Gil Evans, Kenton,
Monk and more. The SNJO has also premiered Smith's own compositions including
ôBeauty and the Beastö for David Liebman and ôTorahö for Joe Lovano.
Paolo Vinaccia, born 1954 in Italy, and based in Norway since 1979, is a
drummer, percussionist and composer who has played on more than 100 jazz albums
including recordings with Terje Rypdal, Ketil Bj°rnstad, Bendik Hofseth, Bugge
Wesseltoft, Mike Mainieri and many others. His ECM appearances include Terje
RypdalÆs ôSkywardsö and ôVossabryggö and Arild AndersenÆs ôHyperboreanö and
ôElectraö. Amongst VinacciaÆs composing credits is the score for the movie ôThe
Beautiful Countryö, directed by Hans Peter Moland in 2004.
Release of ôLive At Bellevilleö is supported by a tour of the trio with concerts
in Sweden, Scotland, England and Germany. Dates confirmed are Uppsala Jazz
Festival (November 1), London Purcell Room (November 22), Lichfield Arts Centre
(November 28), Neuwied Marktkirche (November 29), Edinburgh, The Lot (December
3), Aberdeen, Blue Lamp (December 4), Glasgow RSAMD (December 6), Lanark,
Grayfriars Parish Church (December 7), Berlin, Kleist-Haus (December 10).