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PREVIEW BLUES T-MODEL FORD Tolbooth, Stirling, Wed 23 Sep; King Tut’s, Glasgow, Thu 24 Sep
Born James Lewis Carter Ford in Forrest, a small community in Scott County, Mississippi, the blues musician better known as T-Model Ford has led a life surrounded by myth, mystery and awe. His exact age, for instance, is unknown even to him, although he is believed to be in his late-80s, and he was ploughing a field behind a mule on his family’s farm aged 11, later working at a sawmill and then as a truck driver. He’s had his brushes with the law too, including being sentenced to ten years for murder, released after two. ‘I could really stomp some ass back then, stomp it good,’ he once said. ‘I was a sure-enough dangerous man.’
He started his musical career at the age of 58 when his fifth wife bought him his first guitar, pioneering his own brand of grizzled, authentic Mississippi blues. ‘I never seen Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf,’ he explained. ‘I’d just hear the music on the street, and stop to listen at it. I liked that sound.’
Working with Fat Possum Records, T-Model is touring with Seattle-based band GravelRoad, and it’s apparently not uncommon for him to play for eight hours a day, often with the memorable refrain: ‘T- Model Ford is going to remember you sorry fuckers how it’s done.’
The man shows no signs of slowing down, and once
dreamt that he’ll live to 110. But admitted: ‘Only the Lord knows when I’m gonna stop.’ (Emma Newlands)
Music
PREVIEW ROCK INME ABC2, Glasgow, Mon 21 Sep
InMe have had a bit of a rough time in recent years. The alt.rock band went from being the poster boys of a teenage generation – with tracks such as the brooding ‘Firefly’ regularly on music television in the early 00s and helping to win an army of devoted fans – to becoming virtually a forgotten band. But with the release of their fourth
album Herald Moth in mid-September, the melody masters from Essex are thrusting themselves back onto the music scene. It’s something of a renaissance, and according to main- man Dave MacPherson, it’s an evolution in sound too. ‘We wanted to go a bit more progressive and heavier, and to make some sounds that pleased us as musicians and pushed our abilities. It’s important for us to never make the same album twice,’ he says, ‘and it’s interesting for us to keep it fresh and to keep creating something new.’
Herald Moth takes things in a more experimental direction – and also more metal – and MacPherson believes people who follow the band on their tour will see a different InMe. ‘To begin with we had a massive record label push and in hindsight, we weren’t ready. It was like we were 19- year-old pretty boys and we looked good on a poster. Obviously people will judge you on that, and it’s hard to get rid of that perception,’ he says. ‘This time, they’ll see four guys who live for music, love entertaining people and probably give more energy than most bands out there.’ (Chris Cope)
PREVIEW JAZZ SNJO PLAYS WAYNE SHORTER Byre Theatre, St Andrews, Thu 10 Sep; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Fri 11 Sep; RSAMD, Glasgow, Sat 12 Sep; MacRobert, Stirling, Sun 13 Sep
The music of saxophonist Wayne Shorter is the latest to come under the radar of Tommy Smith and the excellent Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, and promises to be one of their most memorable incursions. ‘Wayne is a superlative composer of memorable music that has a harmonic
and melodic edge,’ Smith said, ‘and is now in the standard jazz repertoire.’
Shorter is one of the most individual creative talents in postwar jazz. He came to fame with the great Miles Davis Quintet of the 60s before linking up with Joe Zawinul to found Weather Report. More recently, his own Quartet has been arguably the leading small group in jazz.
The SNJO will play arrangements of classic Shorter compositions by Florian Ross, Michael Abene, Pino Iodice, Geoffrey Keezer, Issie Barratt, Mike Gibbs, Manu Pekar, Fred Sturm, Joe Locke and Christian Jacob.
Tommy Smith gave a lot of thought to a guest soloist, and eventually decided that rather than asking a saxophonist he would turn to a great performer on an altogether different instrument – his old leader, Gary Burton, on vibraphone. ‘As you know I played in Gary’s group in the late 80s, and we’ve stayed good friends. He’s one of the truly great improvisers, and he is also a historical figure in jazz in his own right. And we’ll have five saxophonists in the orchestra!’ (Kenny Mathieson)
10–24 Sep 2009 THE LIST 65