Points of Interest

»Return to Forever« probably is the most famous fusion band this planet has ever seen. I remember the days of my youth when I programmed my Waldorf Microwave synthesizer to get some Corea-like sounds and playing along their recordings.

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Like last year, Lyambiko once again was on stage at the Tollhaus. The musicians were the same as last year, as was the acoustical sound. Frankly, I’d enjoy some electric bass, guitar or keyboard sound every now and then, so it’s not exactly the music I’d listen to at home. But the live experience was just marvellous.

Thanks guys and girl :) .

After Lee Ritenour the next master did me a favour and came close enough to make me spend some money. His works do not exactly fit my taste, so I mainly know his most popular works. He has always been a very progressive musician (remember »Future Shock«?) and he played with some of my favorite artists like Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea. Baden-Baden is just about 40km south, and as the synth addict and fusion enthusiast I am, attending the concert was a must.

The lineup consisted of Herbie Hancock (grand piano, Korg Oasys), Kristina Train (vocals, violin), James Genus (bass), Trevor Lawrence (drums), Lionel Loueke (guitar) and Greg Phillinganes (Korg Oasys, Korg Triton, vocals). His current project is called »The Imagine Project«, but of course he could not resist to play some of the hits (like Cantaloupe Island) that made him popular. The way he puts different influences and styles together is pretty interesting. Plus it is a great joy to see how he treats the piano and his synthesizers. He also used a Roland AX-Synth twice, really excessively during the last tune.

A great concert indeed. There are some further tour dates nearby during the next couple of days, so don’t miss your chance.

Lee Ritenour @ Tollhaus

This was a concert I visited on spec. I never heard a lot of music of Lee. I only knew he’s a well known guitarist. But a price tag of 22€ left no room for any excuse. Visiting the concert really was a good idea.

The lineup consisted of Lee Ritenour (guitar), Patrice Rushen (Bechstein grand piano, Yamaha Motif ES6, Yamaha S90), Melvin Davis (seven (sic!) strring Bass and vocals) and Will Kennedy (drums). Patrice mainly used sampled standard sounds (like Rhodes, Organ, and Clavinet) and there was no synth solo. A prejudice of mine seems to materialize. Men use the upper dynamic range of an instrument, while women are more familiar with the lower range.

The whole combo did an excellent job. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the music, though it was a bit too straightforward for my taste. Great to see real pros at work, where everyone knows his job. I’m tempted to buy a semi acoustic guitar, as I really liked Lee’s sound.

A very nice concert, well worth the bucks. Herbie Hancock, next week in Heidelberg, won’t be that »cheap« :) .

Incognito@Zeltival

In the evening hours of a warm and sunny sunday, a concert of Incognito took place at the Zeltival (which now more or less is a Hallival, as the Tollhaus built a new large hall during the last year). I’m not exactly a fan of funk, but as I’ve never seen Jean-Paul Maunick and his group live, there was no excuse not to attend.

Many Jazz masters forgot that music was invented to entertain people in the first place. Thus Jazz often is music from musicians – written and played for musicians. I guess all those weird chords, scales and rhythms might have less meaning to the average listener.

Incognito’s funk compacts Jazz into a mass compatible form. They use weird chords and scales as well, but they are not changing them every two beats. This essence gets served in a grooving container, enriched by three black singers (two female, one male) and spiced by a section of three brass instruments. A quite interesting mixture indeed.

The sound in the hall was not the best, except near the mixing desk – my preferred location when attending concerts. Some songs have been built from simple chords (hello II – V), but some even used really weird harmonics. Jean-Paul played the guitar (which I seldom could hear) plus some MIDI controller triggering drum and percussion sounds. He left the solos to the other musicians. Mike Cooper was mainly addicted to an electric piano sound (Yamaha Motif) and some occasional organ (Roland Phantom) and clavinet (Korg Triton) sounds. He used his Roland JP 8000 mainly for some synth effects.

The concert was not exactly cheap, but well worth the bucks. Dividing the 28€ by 120 minutes results in about 25¢ per minute. That’s comparable to the price of an audio CD. OTOH you can listen to the CD more than one time :) .

A very nice concert. I enjoyed every minute. Thanks girls and guys.

Klangwelten Klangspirale

I just attended a concert of Klangwelten (“sound worlds”) at the Tollhaus. Klangwelten is a world music combo with some long time musicians and some musicians changing every year.
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Today we’ve been to a concert of Mayra Andrade at this years’s Zeltival. The band consisted of six musicians (Drums, Percussion, Bass, 2 Guitars and Voice), but unfotunately, the Zeltival web presence does not mention the individual musicians.

If you like “world music”, you will like this band. Mayra’s singing is excellent, and the rest of the band features great musicians as well. They played various pieces in several measures, so if you want to learn more about rythmics, this band is an excellent occasion.