JAZZ TRIO AAB
Innovative jazz trio
Trio AAB are rightly regarded as one of the most creative and unconventional groups on the UK Ja// scene. Saxophonist Phil Bancroft. guitarist Kevrn MacKen/ie and drummer Tom Bancroft are all exploratory musicians wrth wrde ranging musical interests. and that shows through in the trio's exciting improvrsational approach.
Quite often we don't know until we start what we are going to do on any particular gig_' says Bancroft. summing up their musical philosophy. ‘lt is free improvrsation in that sense. but perhaps the vocabulary
we use is more rhythmic
and melodic than purely absUact
'Ornette Coleman's idea that if you play strong melodies against each other they Will
Joanna MacGregor for the price of two pints of lager and a bag of pork scratchings
42 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE '
work. even if they are in different keys. has been a very big influence on our approach. but we incorporate a whole lot of things. not Just from ia/x but also from other kinds of music. like rock and folk and drum & bass.‘
iKc-nny lvlathiesonl
I Henry's Jazz Cellar; 40/ {)200. 3—8 Aug. é)’.()’0pm. £0.
INDIE-
SNOW PATROL
Resilliant rock trio
Tricky. Prince and Michael Jackson might have moaned about their record deals. but at least they had one. Snow Patrol parted ways wrth Jeepster some months ago. and since then they've been rather less visible than lead singer Gary Lightbody's supei'group side project the Reindeer Section.
A group of their quality doesn't deserve to slide off the radar. The Irish- born, Glasgow-based
5‘. A...) 2 .Ala’
Alison Brown gets banjoed
outfit's 1998 debut Songs for Polar Bears was pure indie genius. while follow up When it's all Over we Still have to Clear Up was a more complex. thoughtful record and worthy of such a lengthy title. Live. the band are an exciting proposition. their punkisn three pronged assault (wrth Lighbody on guitar/vocals. Mark McClelland on bass
keys and Jenny Quinn on drums) distinguished by the odd piece of turntable trickery and thrown into relief by slower numbers. Spring may be the traditional time for rebirth. but if this lot found new iife this summer not too man; folk would be coiriplaining.
iJarnes Macklin)
I L/(ltlld Room, 0870 1690700, 7Aug. 7.30pm. £38.50.
the edge where solid American folk traditions merge and blur into modern music's mongrel fusions.
lhere's still the Virtuoso fix/y fingerpicking. born in bluegrass but now taking the banjo breaks into unexplored territory. and there's a strong Irish streak (she has performed at Glasgow's Celtic Connectionsi that” take a reel and fluently wring it through unexpected changes. She's won Grammy awards. played
iLtJIESGSfiSBROWN Carnegie Hall. and with her an L r‘ass ( uartet QUARTET ‘ J ‘
iJohn Burr on piano. bassist Garry West and drummer Kendrick l-reeman drums) garners critical acclaim from hardened rnusos. But really. her sweet. clever music is accessible to anyone '.'/llll ears.
rNorman Chalmersi
I Queen's Hall. (508 20 IS). Mon :3 Aug. 7.30pm. 5‘70 ($8).
Finger pickin’ good
A blonde l_>a.rrrJ()—playirig bimbo she ain't: Alison Brown's got brains. She's got degrees from UCLA and Harvard. runs her own record company and is possibly the finest ll‘.(:- string barrio player you'll get to hear. Like Bela Fleck. she takes the fretted bodhran out to
CLASSICAL THE ROYAL BANK £5 NIGHTS
Cut-price culture
Everybody loves a bargain but let’s do the maths here: if you buy a ticket for all 25 of the International Festival’s new Royal Bank £5 Nights at the Usher Hall the cost will still be £75 cheaper than a couple of the best seats for Parsifal, the star turn of the opera programme. Also, there are actually plenty of tickets available, so to say concerts with the likes of pianists Alfred Brendel and Joanna MacGregor, or the Belcea Quartet, are a bargain, is just a bit of an understatement.
Festival director Brian MacMaster is hardly alone in observing that classical music audiences are too often older. His new idea is not the first to attempt to change that. What is different is that it is a first for the EIF on such a grand scale. ‘Last year’s music programme played to 90% audiences,’ says MacMaster, ‘and I remember thinking that some people were even older than me, but the late evening programmes saw an awful lot of young people.’ The 25 concerts all take place at 10.30pm, last for about one hour (with the exception of Night Raga, which goes on until dawn) and there is no variation in price according to where you sit. ‘Timing was key in trying to find a new, young audience for classical music and we didn’t put tickets on sale until July,’ he says, ‘which removes another barrier which might prevent people from discovering classical music.’
Aside from MacGregor, the first week features Bach’s sublime solo Cello Suites, Schubert’s song-cycle Winter Journey and Paragon Ensemble with contemporary music by Rebecca Saunders. As MacMaster says: ‘We’ve tried to put on pieces that are major, make a maximum impact, and gone for the best possible artistes.’ (Carol Main)
I Usher Hall. 4/3 2000. 5) ()‘0/lugusf. ltln‘tlbrrr, 535.