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Attica Blues Orchestra; Archie Shepp
Topic Started: Nov 7 2013, 11:06 PM (1,842 Views)
rumbaba
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I got tickets for this Archie Shepp gig 24 November. I will report back :)
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rumbaba
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Archie was interviewed on the Today prog, talking about the Attica prison situation that inspired the original music and the re-recording of it with a new, young band. I am very much looking forward to the concert on Sunday.
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rumbaba
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Great gig but not quite what I expected. They did stuff from the Attica Blues album but they did other stuff as well. Archie looked good, slim, in a three piece suit with matching hat. He sat on a stool most of the time but his playing was great, tenor and soprano sax. The band were young and, from the names, I assume French. All good players but, like a lot of big band stuff, it was slightly messy IMO, possibly under-rehearsed or over-enthusiastic, maybe intentionally 'loose'. It wasn't bad, just not totally 'crisp' but it worked - a really good vibe. I really did not expect Archie to sing though, that was a bit of shock. There were three ladies, all good singers and one also played piano. His singing was more suited to the blues stuff, like the last number 'Attica Blues' , where he was on his feet, giving it large and sounding a bit like B.B. King. It was an opportunity to see a legendary musician who was very much part of the creation of modern jazz, great stuff ! <ok>
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rumbaba
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http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/music/archie-shepp-attica-blues-orchestra-barbican-hall--music-review-8961670.html

Here's the Evening Standard Review
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May-Cee

Yep, Rum, I would have enjoyed that gig.
I love the "Attica Blues" album.
I always think of it in the same breath as another big fave of mine from the same era - Max Roach's "We Insist! The Freedom Now Suite".

(There is/was a very inventive trip-hop group / production crew who named themselves after the "Attica Blues" album; Gilles Peterson used to play them on his old R1 show.)

I enjoyed a great "Jazz on 3" from the Festival a couple of weeks ago.
As expected, Jez Nelson was playing the more avant-garde, impro style of jazz - which was fine by me!

PS:
Apart from Shepp, not many of the "old guard" left.
Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor...
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rumbaba
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Yes, Sonny is amazing. I saw him twice but it was many years ago, I hope I can catch him one last time.
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rumbaba
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I don't get to see much jazz these days May-Cee but I am getting out to see other things. We have got tickets for Gregory Porter in March in Tunbridge Wells. I don't know if you know him. I saw him on Jools and was pretty good, 20 minutes walk from my house, so worth checking him out. I call him ' Scooter helmet man' because he wears strange headgear that he never seems to take off. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Porter

Went to 'Oklahoma!' on Saturday in T. Wells,. I know most of the songs but I wasn't really familiar with the story, which is very dark in places, quite strange in parts.
Edited by rumbaba, Dec 3 2013, 04:20 PM.
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