What a night

Last night I had the perfect birthday celebration. One of my favourite groups, the Youngblood Brass Band was playing a live gig at Cargo in Shoreditch. I've been there once before, when the YBB performed there last year - and this time was even better.

The show began with a quality warm-up act. A young guy named Joe Driscoll took to the stage on his own and the music he produced was an awesome individual effort. He used his varied musical skills and a looping machine to create some amazing songs. For a start, he could beatbox and used this to make the background. He would then add in guitar riffs, possibly two layers, before rapping or singing over it. It was all produced on the spot, with no pre-recording at all. His best tricks were beatboxing into a didjeridoo and, right at the end, a harmonica...


So that was a great way for the gig to start, but the main feature was even better than expected. They played a cool mix of old favourites like 'Brooklyn' and 'Avalanche' (right at the end) and tunes from the new album such as 'Nuclear Summer' and the title track, 'Is that a Riot?'. The band has definitely improved since last time I saw them at the same venue and another real difference is following they've developed.

When I saw them for the first time they were playing a free gig in the Royal Festival Hall, part of the London Jazz Festival in 2004 I think. They were heralded by a small but appreciative crowd. The second time, last year, when I saw them at Cargo, it was £6 to get in and the venue was pretty full. This time it was £15 (although only £10 in advance, but I was too disorganised for that) and the place was absolutely packed to the roof. That produced a crazy atmosphere and the whole thing was just spectacular. Also, I think it's fantastic for the YBB to have so many fans - they definitely deserve it! Here's a clip from 'Brooklyn', one of their best and most popular tunes:


So that was a truly excellent night of music and I already can't wait for them to come back. The band is in the middle of a tour through Europe at the moment and will then do one in the US, so it probably won't be for a while, but still something to look forward to. Although how they manage to give such consistently dynamic performances night after night I will never know.

To end this post, here's a clip from when they played 'Avalanche' after coming out for the encore:

You can't be 18 forever

Today is my 19th birthday and it's feeling quite strange. Not in a bad way, but it's a bit hard to believe that year is over already...

It was such a busy one, definitely the best of my life so far, so the next has a lot to live up to. 18 was the year when I faced many challenges and that's only set to continue in greater magnitude. I'll be starting university in October but before then I hope to travel again and get through a lot of the long list I made myself for this gap year. It's been amazing so far, especially with all the travelling, but now I've been back for a few months and "normal" life is returning.

I'm happy to be working now for Westminster, but the main part of this job is also yet to begin. Things have been a little slow at the outset. My contract runs at least until the end of April, but after that I'm not really sure what's going to happen. Things need to be planned out, but with so many uncertainties at the moment that's going to be difficult. I don't want to waste these last few months of relative freedom before study comes back.

We'll have to see how things pan out. At the moment it's been strange enough going back to any sort of daily routine - haven't had that since the end of school. I think it will do more good than harm though; I was getting really bored without a proper job before so this came at just the right time. Didn't want to do anything mundane or boring, like going back to shop work again. It had to be challening, rewarding and interesting - and luckily enough I've found something to fit those terms.

More gigs coming up this week, including one of my favourite groups the YoungBlood Brass Band, who are playing at a venue down in Shoreditch on Wednesday night. I've seen them twice before and they're only getting better, so this should be the best yet. Today was also the beginning of an international guitar festival, organised by the Venezuelan Embassy and taking place in a concert hall beneath. Click here to check it out. The festival is basically three weeks of free gigs from some of the finest guitarists around, padded out with performances from music students at the UK's top schools. Unmissable if you ask me!

Born to perform

I've just got back from another musical event. Young solo guitarist Morgan Szymanksi was giving a recital at the Wigmore Hall. It was a remarkable show.

Another guitarist I saw recently, Martin Byatt, had recommended this concert to me saying Szymanski was on his way to a place among the top guitarists in the world. Mad as it might have sounded, I can now say it was no overstatement. Szymanksi dazzled us all with his varied repetoire of classical, Latin and tango pieces - all played with consumate perfection.

When I saw Byatt perform I had been impressed by my first taste of Paraguayan composer Agustin Barrios, who Szymanski describes in his programme notes as "one of the most important figures in the history of concert guitar in Latin America". My interest was further satisfied from hearing four more of his pieces, delivered with emotion and skill from Szymanksi. His techniques were amazingly finely honed; he must have played these tunes hundreds of times. The captivated audience could hear everything, even the minute slidings of his left hand over strings as it glided up and down the fingerboard.

The Wigmore Hall seems to have the perfect acoustic temperature for such an artist. I was sitting quite near the front, but get the feeling everyone behind could hear equally well. After the interval Szymanski moved on to some tango music by Astor Piazzolla, a highly-renowned Argentine composer who took the genre into a new era. These tunes were very different to the classical works of Barrios and needed another level of skill to pull off. I particularly enjoyed 'Primavera Portena', as this is a tune I've heard many times on a CD of pianist Pablo Ziegler.

Szymanksi's tour de force unsurprisingly came right at the end. He played Alberto Ginastera's 'Sonata Op. 47', a long four-movement piece which demanded great concentration from the performer. At times he was required to use the guitar as a percussion instrument and employ many other unconventional methods to draw out unusual sounds. It was definitely the most interesting and varied composition we saw - and is apparently the only one Ginastera composed for solo guitar.

This was a fantastic occasion for me, since I'm still developing my interest in solo guitar music. To see such a young, upcoming star so early in his career is really great and I'll definitely be following his progress. What impressed me most of all was that, throughout the whole concert, I got the impression that Szymanski was playing within himself. Even during the most technically challenging passages of any of his selected repetoire, he never looked like he was straining or playing as fast as he knew he could. It is this seemingly effortless brilliance which will take him far.

More musical experiences

After Thursday's free show featuring The Pax Trio, Friday evening saw yet another quality act visiting the National Theatre. Maverick Italian guitarist Andrea Quintarelli was joined by his quartet: Adrian Zolotuhin on backing guitar, Julian Ferraretto on violin and Buster Birch on percussion. They played a vibrant combination of Quintarelli's original compositions and jazz standards.

The gig started off with a few minor complications: the band started to play and were then abruptly stopped when some kind of NT staff member walked up onto the stage and told them to wait a little longer. It was very annoying.


When they did finally get to begin properly, it was spectacular - as you can see in the clip above. Every musician distinguished themself in an individual way. Buster Birch on percussion provided a wonderful rhythmic background with a huge variety of different instruments, going far beyond the tools most drummers frequently use. He used his talent to explore a great range of musical styles, from swing to bop to Latin, which all combined brilliantly during his solos.

Both guitarists were also of a very high standard. Zolotuhin was effectively taking second fiddle to Quintarelli - I felt sorry for him for never getting a solo - but he went about his task with considerable aplomb. Quintarelli himself was quite unbelievable. Shaking, swaying and shimmying endlessly on his three-legged stool, he played with such expression, flair and imagination that most people couldn't stop concentrating on the long improvised passages he produced when soloing. Born in Rome, he apparently travelled round the world in search of inspiration and to learn about different musical cultures. This was clearly reflected in his compositions, which featured a vivid mixture of different traditional styles from Arabian to Baltic.

Julian Ferroretto was often confined to extended periods of silence for Quintarelli's improvisations, but showed equal verve when he had his own chance. They are clearly attempting to produce something similar to the memorable partnership of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli, both in their selection of some pieces and frequent musical interactions. But in terms of genres covered, they may well have already gone beyond the achievements of this historic double act.

For the last two numbers the band was joined by a female saxophonist, named Jo Fox I believe (her name wasn't in the original listing), who added another dimension to the sound as an extra treat. She didn't go over the top with improvisation, choosing instead to employ measured phrases delivered with charming finesse. A sizeable audience, full of Friday-night theatregoers, had developed during the course of the show and at the end it fittingly went wild with appreciation.


I think this was probably the best free gig so far. I wish I could have recorded the whole thing - the two clips here don't illustrate the complete extent of this group's talent. At the end I couldn't resist buying Quintarelli's CD, which also features Ferraretto, and it's pretty amazing. "Bazaar", the album he made after returning from his musical travels, combines different regional genres to an even greater length than the band did on Friday. The result is a delightful concoction of compositional genius and virtuosic intrementalism. Look out for it!

On Saturday night it was time for music of a completely different kind, when I attended the Xfm "Rock Idols" competition final at the University of London Union in Euston. It was put on in association with MedXstock, a student charity organisation raising money which raises awareness and funds for HIV worldwide. £4 to get in.

Nine bands in total played, including a couple of really unusual groups working within the rock style. My favourite was Titan System, a five-person band which combined rock, dub and ska genres. In the middle of the stage was the crazy lead singer, with a huge afro of curly hair, hammering away on his keyboard and the same time. The skiled duo of bassist and guitarist leapt around like madmen and the drummer was a blur of motion. It was blatantly the most talented band and also the most popular amongst the crowd, but guess what... they didn't win. I think it was blatant a fix that the judges unanimously chose another one of the faceless indie outfits nowhere near Titan in terms of creativity and originality.


But I suppose that happens sometimes. At any rate, everyone had fun at the gig and the band didn't seem to mind too much that they didn't win. Music isn't about competition after all - it should simply serve as the catalyst for producing higher standards and better shows.

Fascinatingly Fusional

Last night I went to another free gig in the National Theatre foyer; it's becoming a bit of a hangout these days. The typically brief blurb read "a fusion of jazz and Indian classical music on tabla, saxophone and piano." Enough to tempt anyone into attendance and this was justified by the turnout. It seemed quite a few people, like me, had come only for the music and not to see a show.

The music was quite unique. Sirish Kumar on percussion was particularly eye-catching; his array of traditional Indian drums (or "tablas") produced intriguing rhythms and these often distracted my ears from the other two players. His blurry fingers had an incredible sensitive subtlety - he could manipulate the instruments to produce a range of different sounds with only slight positional adjustments. As I remember from my GCSE Music days, drumming is the cornerstone of much of India's national genre and here was a fine display of cultural ambassadorism.


As you can see above, the pianist Mark Springer was rather random. His facial expressions were quite evil-looking. At times he seemed to treat the piano like a percussion instrument and I have doubts if he had planned what he was going to play. Apparently he used to be in a punk band, so maybe that explains it. Nobody in the group ever announced anything - not even whether the tunes were compositions or improvisations - but I suspect the latter. The three players interchanged nicely, but I can't recall any elements of a repetitive melody coming in very much.


David Wright was on tenor and soprano saxes. He had the habit of patrolling the stage, weaving his way around in a similar fashion to how the group's three musical voices intertwined. He displayed variety with improvisation as well, swiftly shifting focus between slow, lyrical phrasing and virtuosic chains of rapid arpeggios and scalic patterns.

Update from Belarus: the beginning of the end?

I just read a blog from Belarus about their Presidential elections and it appears the result is all but confirmed with fresh tyrannical developments having taken place.

Alexandr Milinkevich, the primary opposition candidate to dictator incumbent Alexandr Lukashenko, has had his campaign "decapitated" by the authorities. Vincuk Viachorka, head of Milinkevich's campaign office, was arrested and sentenced to 15 days in prison. Coincidentally, this will mean he misses the end of Milinkevich's key final drive for votes - the public will go to the polls in ten days' time.

According to the anonymous blogger in Belarus, this means "game over":

"Lukashenko was getting too scared, and today he stopped playing cat and mouse with the opposition, because the cat was obviously getting very frightened."

So it looks like the Belarussian people are set for another term of despotic rule by a man who should be locked up.

Click here for the original story.

The joys of Wire

As I sat in the office waiting for the Westminster IT people to sort out my system username and email, I took some time to check out the council intranet, "The Wire"...

One of the funniest features was something called "pimp my desk" which featured photos of the desks of nine employees, with a other staff invited to vote on the worst. Here are some of my favourites:


Contestant one - impressively disorganised, I bet small animals are somewhere in that mess


Contestant two - I wonder how long that cup of tea has been there


Contestant three - this guy looks like he hasn't tidied the desk in his entire life, definitely the winner for me




There was also a rather novel advert for the staff awards, the winners of which apparently become instantly disliked by their colleagues.

The IT department definitely won't be getting my nomination.








And last, but not least, was the photo library. All sorts of random images were up there, most being fairly pointless - but it was nevertheless amusing to browse. Here are a few classics...


Mean Machine


"Don't you get the feeling we're being watched?"

They've created a mutant half-policeman, half-innocent-bystander!

In case you didn't know what a sign was

This photo is no way intended to be the visual embodiment of a well-known cliché
Last but not least, some beautiful bench shots from the aptly named "benches" section

"Westminster City Council - providing the best benches in London for you and your loved ones."

Never seen anything like it

I went to see guitarist Martin Byatt last night with a cloud of mystery surrounding the musical possibilities for this free gig. From the National Theatre website's description he had sounded like a good performer - and I knew everyone they invited had to have a certain quality - but I was not prepared for the feats of instrumental genius which would grace the small green stage in the spacey NT foyer.

As I entered the building I heard sounds which might have been attributed to two or three guitarists - but I only saw one sitting there. There was no recording in the background either, like what you commonly see with solo buskers in the underground. Instead it was just one man, with thinning grey hair, sitting cross-legged on a low chair with one amp at the side. Both his hands moved with incredible agility - on occasions he was playing bassline, chord sequence and melody all at the same time, with stunning speed and accuracy. His eyes were closed and his body hardly moving: quite a contrast to the mesmerising fingerwork.

I hardly had enough time to take this all in before that tune finished and the modest crowd was showing its appreciation. He thanked us greatfully in low tones with a distinctive Scottish accent, before quickly moving on. Swapping over guitars from time to time, he told the audience about what inspired him to write some of his music: a talented builder called Jason who could move a ladder from one side of a house to the other without getting off, a random Spanish man who had shouted "Serramba!" at him then ran away while on an evening walk in Barcelona, a camping holiday with his wife at which tensions in the relationship had emerged. Such simple events, small in terms of life but huge in terms of the inspiration they can produce.

As well as playing his own compositions, Byatt delved into an impressive classical repetoire with pieces from the famous composer Agustin Barrios. I've never heard anything of this genre on guitar before but it was truly amazing - must try and check out some CDs now. His right hand produced intricate combinations of chordal strumming and single-string picking while the left flew smoothly up and down the fretboard stretching and straining for notes I would not think possible to reach. His stage presence held an awesome intensity which drew people in. As evening theatregoers entered the lobby they all stopped to look and many paused awhile to listen further. But at the same time Byatt appeared to be permeated with a sense of calm and relaxation, which spread through the atmosphere of the whole place and affected everyone there.

It's safe to say I was soundly dazzled by this virtuosic performance from a masterful guitarist.

Starting a new job

Today I'm starting a new job as temporary Youth Participation Worker for Westminster City Council. One of my main tasks during this two-month period is to organise the UK Youth Parliament elections and I'm really looking forward to it. Recently I helped co-ordinate the same thing for Hounslow, my own borough, and it went really well with many records broken (nine candidates, over 4000 votes). So I'm hoping to continue that success with this new challenge...

But it will be a difficult task. Among the main obstacles to high turnout is the fact that only 40% of young people in Westminster attend its own schools. The rest go to private schools or study out of the borough. Since the youth service is part of the Local Education Authority we are somewhat restricted in working with the private sector.

Therefore a lot of outreach work will need to be done, visiting local youth clubs and projects to recruit candidates and collect votes. My plan to tailor the election process for this dynamic is using a heavy reliance on interactive and video methods.

Westminster has a fantastic Digital Media Unit (DMU), which I hope can give assistance. The plan would be to, first of all, film the old Youth MP and Deputy Youth MP talking about why they got involved, what they've achieved and how they view the experience in general. It would be great if we could get some on-location footage of any places where they've made visible positive changes.

We would then compile a short DVD and take it round schools and youth projects, hopefully encouraging young people to take an interest and think about standing as a candidate this year. Once the deadline for this has passed, they can have a training day to compile their manifestos, learn about the UKYP and plan out ideas for their own 15 minutes of fame in another short film.

This one will feature each candidate (hopefully about five in total) explaining their points for action and illustrating them with snappy one-minute sketches. If we had five young people in the race with three pledges apiece, the film would be about a quarter of an hour long. That's about the most I think it could be if we're showing it to young people - wouldn't want them to get bored or disinterested.

And finally, once all this had happened, I'd like to put on a big event where the results would be announced. It would include "serious" activities during the day and then have musical performances and fun stuff in the evening.

So, that is the grand idea for this task. Later this week I'll have to get in touch with the DMU to ask for assistance; once that's done, I will to speak to the current MYP and DMYP to see if they're happy with the idea. Then we can proceed.

On a lighter note, today I also learnt that temp workers will get blamed for everything that goes wrong around here (!). Apparently that's always the case, but if I'm really good it might be avoidable. And one random event was uncovering a not-very-well-hidden stash of explicit "gangsta rap" music on a staff laptop. Annoyingly though I am not able to access my email server on the Westminster network: will have to get in touch with the computer nerd people to sort that one out quite soon.

Later today, after I finish up here, I'm going to head down to the South Bank again for another free show in the National Theatre foyer. It's a guy called Martin Byatt who, according to the NT's website, plays "acoustic guitar originals, folk and blues" - not a lot to go on. I've never heard of him, but it will be interesting to discover yet another new artist and I'm hoping he will be decent.

Four gigs in two days

On Friday night I went to the South Bank to see a free “commuter jazz” show in the Royal Festival Hall foyer. One of the great things about this series is even if you’ve never heard of the performing artists before, it’s guaranteed to be a high standard – and there’s no admission charge either.

Last time I went, a couple of weeks ago, it was a group called the Osian Roberts/Steve Fishwick Quintet. I had no idea who they were but really enjoyed it. This time around, it was the Andrea Vicari Quartet, equally anonymous to me. It’s a rare sight in jazz to find a female instrumentalist leading the line-up: Andrea Vicari was on piano, accompanied by Mornington Lockett (tenor sax), Dorian Lockett (bass) and Mike Bradley (drums).

They played an entertaining combination of standards and original compositions, with each player showing flair and creativity with improvisation. Vicari rippled the keys up and down with flowing chord sequences, the Locketts displayed amazing dexterity and Bradley held the tempo while showing his own inventive skills on select occasions.

Yes, I do look a bit like I want to go home in this pic

The random event of the day took place a few hours later. We met Brian Haw, the infamous anti-war protester who lives outside the Houses of Parliament, in a bar! It was quite surprising to see him walk in, since I didn’t think he ever left his outpost opposite the Commons, but he must have needed a meal and a break on Friday night. He seemed a bit mad, but not unfriendly – he even agreed to have pictures taken.

After that unusual encounter it was time for some more live music, a two-person salsa performance at a Cuban bar near Waterloo station. I love the Latin genre and have hardly ever seen it performed, so it was really fun. Will definitely be going back sometime soon for more.

The third gig was on Sunday afternoon and different yet again. It was another free one, taking place in the lobby of the National Theatre. Steve Lawson, a well-known innovative bassist, was performing with flute/soprano sax player Theo Travis. Long, vivid improvisations took up most of the show but they added a few of their own tracks as well. Lawson was using live looping techniques to record short musical phrases and play them back, creating the textured illusion that there was an orchestra of bassists. Both of them had an array of pedals and foot controls to get different effects and it was fascinating to watch them manipulate electronic technology so cleverly – and hear the results.

Then later on came the maddest gig of them all: a punk music night in Kingston. I went to see a friend’s band, The Suspended, and three others were playing as well. The atmosphere was awesome and my ears are still ringing! Can’t beat live music.

So, that was four completely different gigs in two days. In London there is such a diverse scene, you can find anything you want without that much fuss. Next week there’s a lot more in at the NT in the afternoons, so I’ll definitely try and catch a bit of that.

Snow in Feltham

I'm sitting in the Hounslow Youth Service offices right now and some crazy weather conditions are afoot.


It's been cold all day as expected, but the sun was still shining brightly. However, that seems to have disappeared and been replaced by snowfall! The weather is seriously unpredictable at the moment so maybe it is not so surprising - the second time I've seen snow this week. It's nothing like what I experienced in, for example, Lithuania, but still quite a novelty for us.


And actually now it's just gone away and the sun has returned. It "snowed" for about five minutes in total. The mad English weather system lives on...