Blog

Sat 25 Oct – Bobo Stenson TrioThe fabulous Haden Freeman Concert Hall at the RNCM in Manchester, UK was about 3/4 full last night to play host to a vibrant and creative Bobo Stenson Trio. The trio, comprising pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Anders Jormin and drummer/percussionist Jon Fält didn't fail to impress, playing many pieces from their album Cantando.

Stenson showed why he has been the choice of pianist over the years for names such as Jan Garbarek, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Charles Lloyd and Don Cherry ... His impeccable timing, sense of melody and sensitivity was stunning; the hall's acoustics bringing out every nuance of the Steinway grand piano's sound.

Jormin, an incredibly gifted virtuoso double bassist made even the most challenging and complicated parts seem effortless as he played such pieces as Don's Kora Song and Liebesode with it's Chinese flute-like arco intro.

Fält is probably the most animated and creative drummer I have ever seen, not limiting himself to playing in anything even resembling a traditional manner, he constantly experiments with new ways of making sounds on and around his kit and supporting paraphernalia. Most noteable of this was his playing on the piece, A Fixed Goal.

As a trio, they created a beautiful ambience in a hall well-suited to this kind of performance. All in all a very enjoyable evening. Highly recommended!

RS

Until today, I have supplied you with three pretty serious journals about music. Today it's time for something silly and funny. The journal entry will be based on an idea by another last.fm user. The idea is that you shuffle songs in your music player and add to the title of the song the words "in my pants". The result is always very entertaining and often absurd. Normally, I don't post this kind of journals... However, yesterday I spent some time with a mate. We ate some cheese and drank a few glasses of wine. Then I suggested the "in my pants"-game. We just couldn't stop laughing...
A few minutes ago he sent me the complete list with the "in my pants"-songs we shuffled (alphabetical order). Here you go (and a big thank you to Cordyan for many suggestions):

1. Ali Farka Toure - Banga (In My Pants)
2. Angels & Airwaves - Do It For Me Now (In My Pants)
3. Angles & Airwaves - Start The Machine (In My Pants)
4. Aqueduct - Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights (In My Pants)
5. ATB - Movin' Melodies (In My Pants)
6. Better Than Ezra - Beautiful Mistake (In My Pants)
7. Big Star - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (In My Pants)
8. Blink 182 - All The Small Things (In My Pants)
9. Blur - It Could Be You (In My Pants)
10. Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone (In My Pants)
11. Bobo Stenson - Send In The Clowns (In My Pants)
12. Bright Eyes - Make War (In My Pants)
13. Charles Lloyd - Ne Me Quitte Pas If You Go Away (In My Pants)
14. Chick Corea - What Game Shall We Play Today (In My Pants)
15. Chris Isaak - Wicked Game (In My Pants)
16. Cinerama - Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (In My Pants)
17. Coldplay - Spies (In My Pants)
18. Coldplay - The Hardest Part (In My Pants)
19. Counting Crows - Anna Begins (In My Pants)
20. Crowded House - Private Universe (In My Pants)
21. Dashboard Confessional - Hands Down (In My Pants)
22. Dashboard Confessional - Bend And Not Break (In My Pants)
23. Dave Matthews Band - Let You Down (In My Pants)
24. David Gilmour - Let's Get Metaphysical (In My Pants)
25. David Gilmour - A Pocketful Of Stones (In My Pants)
26. Dead Can Dance - Don't Fade Away (In My Pants)
27. Depeche Mode - I Feel You (In My Pants)
28. Desoto Jones - Dead Weight (In My Pants)
29. Dino Saluzzi - Transmutation (In My Pants)
30. Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing (In My Pants)
31. Dire Straits - Ticket To Heaven (In My Pants)
32. Doves - Caught By The River (In My Pants)
33. Duncan Sheik - Out Of Order (In My Pants)
34. Edwin McCain - I Could Not Ask For More (In My Pants)
35. Elliot Smith - A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free (In My Pants)
36. Eric Burdon - Paint It Black (In My Pants)
37. Evermore - This Unavoidable Thing Between Us (In My Pants)
38. Explosions in the Sky - Your Hand In Mine (In My Pants)
39. Extra Ball - Nocne Impresje (In My Pants)
40. Feeder - Suffocate (In My Pants)
41. Flunk - Everything Is Ending Here (In My Pants)
42. Foo Fighters - Gimme Stitches (In My Pants)
43. Foreverinmotion - Fault In The Design (In My Pants)
44. Grant-Lee Phillips - Don't Look Down (In My Pants)
45. Guru - No Time To Play (In My Pants)
46. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - According To Plan (In My Pants)
47. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - Last Ride Together (In My Pants)
48. Incubus - Aqueous Transmission (In My Pants)
49. Interpol - Stella Was A Driver And She Was Always Down (In My Pants)
50. James Morrison - The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore (In My Pants)
51. Jan Garbarek - If You Go Far Enough (In My Pants)
52. Jeff Buckley - Lover, You Should've Come Over (In My Pants)
53. Jeff Buckley - Gunshot Glitter (In My Pants)
54. Jet - Look What You've Done (In My Pants)
55. Jet - Lazy Gun (In My Pants)
56. Jimmy Eat World - Get It Faster (In My Pants)
57. Jimmy Eat World - Just Watch The Fireworks (In My Pants)
58. Joe Beleznay - Lonely But Free (In My Pants)
59. John Abercrombie - Follow The Fellow (In My Pants)
60. John Abercrombie - Samurai Hee-Haw (In My Pants)
61. John Mayer - Bigger Than My Body (In My Pants)
62. John Mayer - Stop This Train (In My Pants)
63. John Mayer - Something's Missing (In My Pants)
64. Josh Rouse - Nothing Gives Me Pleasure (In My Pants)
65. Katie Melua - My Aphrodisiac Is You (In My Pants)
66. Keane - Is It Any Wonder (In My Pants)
67. Kings of Convenience - Stay Out Of Trouble (In My Pants)
68. Krzysztof Komeda - Astigmatic (In My Pants)
69. Lee Ryan - Army Of Lovers (In My Pants)
70. Lifehouse - My Precious (In My Pants)
71. Longview - Electricity (In My Pants)
72. Marillion - Warm Wet circles (In My Pants)
73. Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure (In My Pants)
74. MC5 - Rocket Reducer No. 62 Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa (In My Pants)
75. MC5 - Teenage Lust (In My Pants)
76. Miles Davis - Freddie Freeloader (In My Pants)
77. Miroslav Vitous - Carry On, No. 1 (In My Pants)
78. Modest Mouse - Never Ending Math Equation (In My Pants)
79. Mogwai - Glasgow Mega-Snake (In My Pants)
80. Morrissey - You're The One For Me, Fatty (In My Pants)
81. Morrissey - Jack The Ripper (In My Pants)
82. Muse - Hysteria (In My Pants)
83. Nada Surf - Slow Down (In My Pants)
84. New Radicals - You Get What You Give (In My Pants)
85. Nicolai Dunger - Something New (In My Pants)
86. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (In My Pants)
87. Nirvana - Milk It (In My Pants)
88. Oasis - Champagne Supernova (In My Pants)
89. Oasis - Force Of Nature (In My Pants)
90. Ours - I'm A Monster (In My Pants)
91. Pat Metheny - Humpty Dumpty (In My Pants)
92. Pat Metheny - So May It Secretly Begin (In My Pants)
93. Patrick Swayze - She's Like The Wind (In My Pants)
94. Paul Motian - It Should've Happened A Long Time Ago (In My Pants)
95. Pearl Jam - Green Disease (In My Pants)
96. Pete Yorn - Splendid Isolation (In My Pants)
97. Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer (In My Pants)
98. Phantom Planet - Something Is Wrong (In My Pants)
99. Phil Collins - Wake Up Call (In My Pants)
100. Pink Floyd - When You're In (In My Pants)
101. Pink Floyd - Any Colour You Like (In My Pants)
102. Pink Floyd - High Hopes (In My Pants)
103. Placebo - Something Rotten (In My Pants)
104. Rachel Yamagata - Meet Me By The Water (In My Pants)
105. Radiohead - Prove Yourself (In My Pants)
106. Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place (In My Pants)
107. Red House Painters - Things Mean A Lot (In My Pants)
108. Richard Ashcroft - C'mon People We're Making It Now (In My Pants)
109. Robert Pollard - Fresh Threats, Salad Shooters & Zip Guns (In My Pants)
110. Robert Pollard - Cock Of The Rainbow (In My Pants)
111. Ryan Adams - Argument With David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey (In My Pants)
112. Ryan Adams - Cannonball Days (In My Pants)
113. Sigur Ros - Glosoli (In My Pants)
114. Snow Patrol - One Hundred Things You Should Have Done In Bed (In My Pants)
115. Snow Patrol - Make This Go On Forever (In My Pants)
116. Soulive - Whatever It Is (In My Pants)
117. Starsailor - Silence Is Easy (In My Pants)
118. Take That - Everything Changes (In My Pants)
119. Take That - Relight My Fire (In My Pants)
120. The All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret (In My Pants)
121. The Arcade Fire - Une Annee Sans Lumiere (In My Pants)
122. The Calling - Could It Be Any Harder (In My Pants)
123. The Cooper Temple Clause - Panzer Attack (In My Pants)
124. The Killers - Mr. Brightside (In My Pants)
125. The Kooks - Jackie Big Tits (In My Pants)
126. The Longcut - A Last Act Of Desperate Men (In My Pants)
127. The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Vital Transformation (In My Pants)
128. The Smiths - Barbarism Begins (In My Pants)
129. The Smiths - William, It Was Really Nothing (In My Pants)
130. The Strokes - Juicebox (In My Pants)
131. The Verve - The Drugs Don't Work (In My Pants)
132. Train - She's On Fire (In My Pants)
133. U2 - Is That All (In My Pants)
134. U2 - The Unforgettable Fire (In My Pants)
135. U2 - Even Better Than The Real Thing (In My Pants)

Here's the deal. Right now I'm rushing between the kitchen, the living room and my room just to sustain some Christmas atmosphere. You've got to help preparing the meals, open the door for the relatives who are going to spend the evening with you. Their faces are supposed to be covered by melting snow but there is none. There is no snow this year. So my Christmas wish this year is a brand new shiny ozone layer. Nothing more. Nothing less. Alright, maybe some love and health. Anyway, my little cousin Matthew enters my room (I'm listening to Jeff Buckley) and asks me:

"Lulian [he is not able to pronounce the "J" of my name and turns it into an "L"], are you excited?"

Answer: "Yeah, I'm so excited that I'm bursting with fruit flavour."

Matthew leaves to follow his own mysterious ways. And I'm in to tell you about some of my musical revelations from 2006. This year has been full of music. I was making music and listening to music to a significantly dangerous extent. So, I'm going to tell you about my discoveries or re-discoveries, call them as you like. There are many. Basically, I'm not going to comment on each artist. It's up to you whether you want to dig into them or not. Alright, here we go:

1. Ali Farka Touré
I heard him on March 11. I didn't know at that point that Ali had died on March 6. He is probably the most renowned African songwriter and guitarist. His music is so pathologically optimistic. As if the whole world was a heavenly place with no problems. Go for it. This music is so different from our Western music, you should give it a listen.

2. Angels & Airwaves
This is the new rock band of Tom DeLonge, the guitarist/vocalist of blink-182 and Box CarRacer. When I heard the single "The Adventure" for the first time, I was on the moon. Perhaps because of the guitar sound which goes in the same direction as The Edge's (U2) sound. I wasn't that surprised when a journalist described the project as a mix of U2 and The Cure. The album, however, doesn't impress that much as a whole thing. The tracks are too similar. Anyway, I think this is a really ambitious project and I hope that Tom DeLonge will continue with it.

3. Bobo Stenson
A magnificent jazz pianist from cold Scandinavia. I saw him life in Vienna in a small venue called "Porgy&Bess". Probably one of the most important contemporary European jazz pianists. Don't miss him.

4. Bright Eyes
An American indie rock band. The most important person behind this project is Conor Oberst, a gifted singer-songwriter/guitarist who has a penchant for social commentary and philosophy.

5. Explosions in the Sky
Wow, this was really a huge discovery. This band is truly awesome! Four guys from Texas playing passionate and beautiful instrumental post-rock. I strongly recommend them to you.

6. Foreverinmotion
Foreverinmotion is Brendon Matthew Thomas, an American singer-songwriter/multiinstrumentalist. His music is of pure beauty. He creates soundscapes that are really attractive. And the lyrical imagery is simply amazing.

7. Go Big Casino
A sideproject of Jim Adkins from Jimmy Eat World. It's mainly acoustic. It shows that this guy is a really talented songwriter.

8. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
I know, this name sounds so emo but it's a nice alternative project. If I was to tag this music, I would describe it as new wave with post-rock aestheticism. As the bandname suggests, it's a gloomy and depressing thing. Nevertheless, it's highly recommendable.

9. Jimmy Eat World
I guess I don't have to say much about the band. I've known it for some time but started listening to the stuff in March this year. A true emo-band. Probably the only real one [EDIT: Of course it's not the only real one. There WERE other emo bands that inspired J.E.W. But it's probably the best one nowadays]. Others are just fakes ;)

10. John Mayer
John is not new to me. I've known him since 2001. But it's just amazing how he develops. With his album "Continuum" released in September this year he shows amazing things. This is an album which channels all of John's influences: blues, pop, rock. And please don't compare him to Jack Johnson. It's just so inappropriate ;)

11. Mark Isham / Art Lande
Check out the album "We Begin". Those melodies! This is an album of otherwordly splendor - there's an uncannily "regal" quality to this music, as if Lande and Isham had written anthems for imaginary nations and monarchies. There's no other record quite like it - it's like "magical realist" fiction turned into soundtracks of imaginary movies. There's a relentlessly melancholic and inward quality to this music, which can be a virtue (Nick Drake!). You might not feel happier after listening to it, but you'll feel like you've been taken somewhere.

12. Mark Kozelek / Red House Painters / Sun Kil Moon
Mark Kozelek is the mastermind behind the projects Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon. RHP were founded in 1989 in San Francisco. They are being described as the initiators of the slowcore movement in alternative rock. This music is rather quiet and reflective. You will find a lot of acoustic guitars there. Their beauty is unquestionable, I think. Start with RHP, then check out Mark's solo stuff and go finally to Sun Kil Moon, his present project which also released the album "Tiny Cities" with awesome Modest Mouse covers.

13. Noah Needleman

14. Ours

15. Paolo Nutini

16. Paul Motian
My favourite jazz drummer. His style is very minimalist. A must for you all!

(As you see, my style is also becoming very minimalist. There are more and more eager relatives at the door and Matthew keeps repeating his question about excitement. I have to hurry!)

17. Pete Yorn

18. Radio 4

19. Ryan Adams

20. Terje Rypdal

21. The Arcade Fire

22. The Kooks

23. The Longcut
Wow, this trio from Manchester is so awesome! And the best thing is, I discovered them yesterday. I don't want to tag this music. Let's just say it's ethereal post-rock, with many anthems. Sometimes it's just instrumental, sometimes the drummer sings. Start with the track "A Tried And Tested Method" which sums up their sound. Listen to it or I'll force you to do so :D

24. The Mayan Factor
Nobody knows this band. You can't even order a CD. Anyway, ask Jeeps. He's among my musical friends here on last.fm. He gave me the tip.

25. The Trashcan Sinatras
I know you like the name ;) But I won't say anything. Try it out.

Yeah, that's basically it. Maybe I'm going to list my top albums of 2006 soon. But now I have to go, it's time to celebrate. I did it yesterday too, in some way. There was this beggar, an old man singing Dylan and Cohen songs on the street. I gave him some money and sang "Hallelujah" with him. You're going to ask me why I did it. There is a reason but I won't tell you. Let's just say that what happened is that um, I kinda got this arcane glimpse of the universe and the best thing I can say about that is... I don't know.

Historia zespołu Simple Acoustic Trio sięga początku lat dziewięćdziesiątych. Jeszcze jako uczniowie Liceum Muzycznego w Koszalinie zadebiutowali w 1991 roku zajmując trzecie miejsce na konkursie zespołów jazzowych „Jazz Juniors” w Krakowie. W tym samym roku szesnastoletni pianista Marcin Wasilewski (lider zespołu) uzyskał wyróżnienie na Międzynarodowym Konkursie Pianistów Jazzowych Kalisz ’91.

Dwa lata później Zespół zdobył pierwsze miejsce na Międzynarodowym Festiwalu Zespołów Jazzowych „Chorus ‘93” w Sorgues we Francji. W tym samym roku miał zaszczyt zainaugurować Międzynarodowy Festiwal Jazz Jamboree ’93. Simple Acoustic Trio w zmienionym składzie: Marcin Wasilewski – fortepian, Sławomir Kurkiewicz – kontrabas oraz nowy perkusista Michał Miśkiewicz w 1993 roku zaczyna współpracować z Tomaszem Stańko. W tym zestawieniu Zespół występował na wielu ważnych scenach w Polsce, odbył trasę w Niemczech, Słowenii, brał udział w kilku sesjach nagraniowych m.in.: „Peyotl”, „Balladyna – Theatre Play Composition” (wydane na płycie CD).

W 1994 roku Simple Acoustic Trio wystąpiło na Jazz Jamboree w koncercie dedykowanym Krzysztofowi Komedzie (Krzysztof Komeda).

W lutym 1995 roku nagrana została pierwsza płyta zespołu z muzyką Komedy, która została wysoko oceniona przez krytykę. W 1995 roku powstała druga płyta pt. „When Will The Blues Leave”.

W 1996 roku Trio wystąpiło na Międzynarodowym Festiwalu Jazzowym w Getxo w Hiszpanii zdobywając Grand Prix. Pianista został uznany najlepszym solistą konkursu. Jedną z nagród było nagranie i wydanie płyty, która nosi tytuł „Live in Getxo”. W tym samym roku zespół został laureatem Międzynarodowego Konkursu w Leverkusen w Niemczech, a pianista ponownie zdobył nagrodę solistyczną.

Członkowie Simple Acoustic Trio współpracują ponadto z Tomaszem Szukalskim, Piotrem Wojtasikiem, Michałem Urbaniakiem, Januszem Muniakiem, oraz Henrykiem Miśkiewiczem. Wielokrotnie zapraszani byli do udziału w Jazz Jambore oraz Warsaw Summer Jazz Days występując u boku takich gwiazd światowego jazzu, jak Dino Salucci, palle danielson, Jon Christensen, Bernt Rosengren, Arthur Blythe, Joe Lovano, John Surman, Bobo Stenson, oraz Tomasz Stańko.

W roku 1999 zespół występował na Festiwalu we Francji - JAZZ ALL FIL DE L’OISE, prezentując muzykę Krzysztofa Komedy. Rok później muzycy nagrali płytę dla wytwórni „NOT TWO” pt. „Habanera”, która ukazała się na początku 2000 r. Jesienią 2001 roku ukazuje się „Lyrics”, projekt Henryka Miśkiewicza nagrany wraz z Simple Acoustic Trio, nagrodzony Fryderykiem 2001 w kategorii Jazzowy Album Roku.

W listopadzie 2002 Simple Acoustic Trio wraz z Tomaszem Stańko odbył spektakularną trasę koncertową po USA promującą najnowszą płytę „Soul Of Things”, nagraną dla wytwórni ECM. Trasa obejmowała koncerty m.in. w „Blues Alley” w Waszyngtonie, Merkin Hall w Nowym Jorku, San Francisco Jazz Festiwal oraz Earshot Jazz Festiwal w Seattle. Tournee zostało uwieńczone ogromnym sukcesem, owacjami na stojąco i sensacyjnymi recenzjami, m.in. w Jazz Times i The Washington Post. Rok 2003 i 2004 to nieustające pasmo sukcesów grupy koncertującej z Tomaszem Stańko – koncerty we wszystkich krajach europy, ponowny wyjazd do Stanów Zjednoczonych gdzie zauważono ich, jako doskonałych instrumentalistów porównywalnych z najwyźszej klasy muzykami jazzowymi. Ponadto dwie realizacje płytowe dla ECM Suspended Night z Tomaszem Stańko oraz pierwsza autorska płyta zespołu nagrana dla wytwórni ECM (premiera kwiecień 2005). Płyta „Trio” otrzymuje doskonałe recenzje we wszystkich liczących się pismach muzycznych świata.