- 107Recommend It!
- 4,080views
Live Reviews
Enjoy Jazz: Mannheim, Germany, October 2-November 18, 2011
Adriana Carcu
International Journalist writing for American and Romanian entertainment and culture magazinesThe concert itself lasted one and a half hour, with just six pieces including encores, but Shorter's memorable music will remains in the memory for some time to come.
Troyka
The second installment of the emerging British jazz featured this year, Troyka, brought a mixture of pop, electro and funk that, due to the combination of instruments—guitarist Chris Montague, organist Kit Downes and drummer Joshua Blackmore—gained an acutely contemporary quality of sound, employing electronic gadgets and games. The result was a dense amalgam with rough contours and sharp corners, out of which clear lines and straight tones surfaced at intervals. In "Born in the Eighties," a representative track from Troika (Harder Sound, 2009), the augmenting repetition, alternating with narrative segments, created a cyclical balance that united raw discontinuities with blue passages of tenderness, resulting in a nervous and assertive performance.
Amina Alaoui
Singer Amina Alaoui first reached international audience through the "Imaginary Folklore" project Siwan (ECM, 2009), led by Norwegian pianist Jon Balke. True to the multi-cultural dimension of her music—joining Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and Jewish sources—the Moroccan singer brought a prestigious international group of musicians to her Enjoy Jazz performance, players who enhanced the West Mediterranean atmosphere of the evening by giving it a Brazilian extra touch.
From left: Sofiane Negra, Amina Alaoui
A singer of tender and finely nuanced texture, Alaoui's voice became a presence that filled the room like a summer breeze in the Andalusian hills, like a clear spring flowing past the rocks. The evening was a quiet exploration of a musical space that spreads from Arabic folklore to the Spanish Flamenco and the Portuguese Fado, celebrated in the nostalgic chant of old ballads and lively Moroccan rhythms.
Photo Credit
All Photos: Richard Wayne
