Tim Garland - Libra

The adventurous two-disc Libra features saxophonist Tim Garland heavily entrenched in trio territory. He is joined by rising star Gwilym Simcock on piano and versatile percussionist Asaf Sirkis, with guest appearances from zany guitarist Paul Bollenback and London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Expansive, well-structured pieces are the record's mainstay, with a tasteful sprinkling of standards. Known for sideman work with names including Chick Corea, Joe Locke, Bill Bruford, and many of the UK's finest, Garland here speaks an advanced compositional language to match his fiery presence on saxes and bass clarinet. As in any group of this nature, the Lighthouse Trio emphasizes personal interaction and mutual exposition, and the intense, flourishing nature of these musical relationships is arguably as important a feature as Garland's writing.

"Frontier," a four-part suite dedicated to Gunther Schuller, incorporates classical influences: the first segment, "SunGod," is a grandiose orchestral introduction sans jazz. Clear lunar connections can be made to Holst's masterpiece, The Planets (1918). Attention shifts in seamless waves between trio and orchestra, with the full ensemble often ebbing and flowing behind solos or suddenly jumping in to punctuate breaks and gaps. The piece runs organically without sounding mechanical, before abruptly ending in the blink of an eye. There's almost not enough time for the mind to process, but here lies the simple beauty of recorded music.

The second CD opens with a live version of "Blue In Green," pleasantly presented without a steady pulse. A couple of steamy Latin numbers evoke the spirit of Corea, particularly "Bajo Del Sol," with its tour de force piano solo climaxing in loud, crashing sheets of rippling chordal deviance. Kenny Wheeler's "Sly Eyes" is playful and adventurous: Simcock's stompy vamp underpins a deft, loping sax melody before another sudden ending via Sirkis' agile brushwork. All three are burning on the penultimate track, "Break In The Weather," as Garland skips and darts and a fierce battle of rhythmic ideas takes place between piano and drums.

Libra is a striking achievement by three leading talents on the contemporary British scene, successfully balancing the intricacies of large ensemble writing with a deep sense of openness and reciprocal understanding.

A Bohemian Dream

It’s not exactly new news, but the story of the audacious squatter collective currently occupying 39 Clarges Mews must be seen to be believed. Five minutes from Green Park station, the Ritz Hotel and all that goes with it, the Mayfair property is worth a reported £22.5 million.

After stooping low to enter a dusty back-garage-type-area with a makeshift information desk, various bikes and a welding station, I soon realise this is not one, but two connected houses. The first is mostly used as sleeping quarters, while the second serves as nerve centre for the Temporary School of Thought – a freewheeling educational project with all kinds of workshops and sessions on offer.

A quick snoop around is anything but that. It spans four or five floors, with most rooms in reasonable condition but showing obvious signs of disuse. Gutted, gaping concrete cavities glare forlornly up from where majestic fireplaces used to recline, and the occasional window shutter hangs limply from its fittings. Floorboards creak. An aged lift stands dead behind criss-cross gates in a spooky stairwell. As evening approaches and darkness closes in, exploring becomes a game of shadowy surprises – who or what lies behind the next door? A dilapidated bathroom? Another cavernous palatial living space with red fleur-de-lis wallpaper? An improvised cinema? This could be the setting of any B-list horror movie, or, with a little imagination, the most typical British costume drama.

‘Starting a post-capitalist enterprise’ – how’s that for an oxymoronically intriguing workshop title? A shy middle-aged fellow named Mike claims to have done exactly this, but, over the course of nearly two hours, doesn’t actually get round to explaining even vaguely how. According to him, people who created the first companies didn’t have profit in mind: it was the corrupting influence of shareholders which catalysed today’s viciously money-driven market angle and, hence, the onset of capitalism. A colourful dramatis personae including fellow wannabeatniks, one silent note-taking bookish type, a couple of voluble old timers and a Lebanese film producer nevertheless yields a spirited discussion, although by the end we are no closer to formulating an alternative ideology to solve all the world’s problems. Disappointing.


As dusk settles, the house is buzzing. An eager crowd is all ears for a lecture on Palestine; a representative of the amusingly-titled A.S.S. (Association of Squatters Something) presents a step-by-step guide to the art of squatting, from scoping out potential “empties” to prolonging residence by fending bailiffs away; upstairs, in a room with gold trim, ornate hand-painted panelling and ceiling-to-floor mirrors, two enthusiasts play Indian classical music and talk about traditions of the genre. No one pays, no one makes money, knowledge is here for all to enjoy – maybe this is the quintessential post-capitalist enterprise our friend Mike was struggling to define.

Dinner is served: downstairs, everyone is welcomed to the communal eating area. Random artwork adorns the walls. Familiar, unknown and overwhelmingly friendly faces gather round one large table, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world to be sharing scavenged food in a stately mansion with 30 people you’ve never met before. For many of them, it is. Others are mere visitors, passers-by or voyeurs of the lifestyle; those (like me) who fully appreciate the remarkable situation’s cheeky impudence, but probably wouldn’t have the guts or bottle to do something like it. Musicians, artists, climate change activists, nomads, travellers, Swedes, Australians and squat veterans all mix freely – the air is thick with conversation. In the cold, hard, business-powered parallel universe that is central London, this is a refreshing oasis of creativity, freedom and open-minded dialogue.

Someone wake me up already?

Published @ SHOOK.fm, 20/1/09 - click here for original.

The Kremlin's hot and cold war

They are Russia's two most powerful men: but while Putin negotiated gas supplies, his boss gave virtual skiing advice.

If today's "outline" gas agreement between Ukraine and Russia holds, there will be no doubt who brokered it: Vladimir Putin, Russia's busy ex-president. A week ago, as the crisis peaked, Russia's constitutional head of state, President Dmitri Medvedev, delivered a virtual address from the alpine resort of Sochi. Standing in front of a picturesque mountain backdrop, he spoke about the importance of Russians learning how to relax.

Why was Medvedev, a former chairman of the board at Gazprom – the Russian state energy company at the heart of this ugly dispute – not on the other end of the phone? This glaring question invites a closer investigation into the nature of the relationship between the two most powerful men in Russia.

When he took office in May 2008, doubts were cast on Medvedev's true level of independence from Putin, his predecessor. As Putin's former chief of staff and then deputy prime minister, he was expected by many critics to act as no more than a figurehead for the previous president's continued domination. His pledge to appoint Putin as the constitutional head of government solidified this perception.

However, early interviews seemed to offer hope of a more liberal regime. Medvedev spoke earnestly of the need to tackle corruption and further an agenda of civil and economic freedoms. His status as the first Russian president with no known links to the old Communist party or Soviet secret service was music to western ears.

Any casual glance at Russian papers or TV news bulletins will tell a different story. One person is in control, and it's not Medvedev. The president can often be seen shaking hands with foreign leaders, exchanging gifts or signing treaties – and now, perhaps, in this new hobby of video-blogging to a nation with a 23% internet access rate. It is Vladimir Putin who answers the questions, makes the speeches and outlines policy proposals. And the strangest thing is that nobody even tries to pretend governance happens in any other way: Putin knows, the media knows, the people know. And surely Medvedev knows.

Putin evidently sees no need for the smoke and mirrors of political theatre. He is happy to project his cultivated image as a stoic figure of authority, the heroic leader who revived Russia's global standing and transformed the ailing state into a major emerging power. His popularity ratings are consistently higher than the man who is supposed to hold the keys to the Kremlin, even while they both pointed financial fingers everywhere else amid thousands of Russian job losses.

The situation was compounded in the last months of last year, as Medvedev introduced a package of constitutional reforms that sped through parliamentary approval and were ultimately passed on December 30. Its main feature is an extension of the presidential term from four to six years, applicable from the next election in 2012. Some Kremlin observers believe this was originally drafted during the Putin presidency, and that it is designed to prepare the former KGB operative for a return to power in the long run. Of course, Putin has gone on record to vehemently deny this; but it must be noted that Medvedev's professed anti-corruption ideals have taken a back seat – the constitutional alterations are his only significant legislative achievement from the first eight months in office.

On the other hand, there have been rumblings and rumours from the presidential residence. The Financial Times reported that Medvedev had been moving to distance himself from the idea of a bilateral decision-making process with his prime minister, openly stating he would "not be able to share this responsibility with anyone". This ran contrary to his former emphasis on consultation. Even more overtly, he then went against the previous line to criticise Putin's government for a slow response to the economic crisis. The Putin circle has been tight-lipped, but recent developments regarding the gas negotiations and Medvedev's apparent demotion to blogger-in-chief suggest that something may have happened backstage.

Over the next few months this subtle tug-of-war will be an intriguing story. The Russian government has attempted to gloss over the severity of the financial crisis, but, as its effects increasingly emerge in the public sphere, someone will have to talk about it. Any statements from Putin in the coming days will be significant, as it seems Medvedev has already initiated a little blame game with his supposed number two. This could be the start of a new self-confidence campaign, as the president attempts to assert himself as the face of power; he's even adopted faint echoes of an Obama-style web consultation by opening his blog to moderated comments.

Indeed, Barack Obama will present the next major challenge for Medvedev and Putin. Constitutionally, Obama's Russian counterpart controls foreign policy, but the PM may have something to say about that.

Published at guardian.co.uk, 19/1/09 - click here for original.