Posted by Adrian Litvinoff on Jun 21, 2013
Dave on tabla at the 606 Interplay’s drummer Dave Balen found his London business trip took a surprising turn when he was asked to sit in with the legendary British bassist Peter Ind and friends at the 606 Club. Himself an old friend of Peter’s, Dave was delighted to be invited to take part in the gig, arranged as part of the 606’s impressive 25th anniversary celebrations. By pure co-incidence Dave was packing a new set of tablas he had just acquired! He was naturally eager to try them out and this provided a memorable opportunity. Club owner Steve Rubie was on flute, his brother Peter on guitar and someones else (unknown – apologies!) on oud. Their rendition of ‘Sonnymoon For Two’ was impromptu, fresh and eclectic – just the way Dave likes it! This year Peter Ind celebrates his 85th birthday. His extraordinary career spans over 60 years, virtually concurrent with the whole evolution of modern and contemporary jazz. Among his musical associates are Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz from the US, and Louis Stewart, Stephane Grappelli and Martin Taylor among the European notables. At times a recording engineer, record producer, club owner, painter and author, Peter’s work constitutes a substantial archive, and he clearly isn’t done yet! For more insight into this amazing musician visit Peter Ind....
See MorePosted by Adrian Litvinoff on May 28, 2013
This has been an exceptional weekend for Interplay and many other musicians in and around Coventry. The band delivered a storming set at Leamington’s venue LAMP, eliciting comments from the audience such as ‘My chin was on the floor’. This was despite a security alert on the M6 resulting in Neil being delayed by over 2 hours (I nearly said ‘detained’) and arriving just 15 mins before the scheduled start time. ‘Weightless’ (featuring Dave on tabla) and ‘Ruby My Dear’ (featuring Richard on trombone) attracted particular attention, as also did ‘Spanish Step’ – only our second time out with that one. There are some nice pictures of the gig at http://tinyurl.com/onl9keh Then it was time for the Coventry Jazz Festival, and a trio set with Alan and Neil at Playwrights, the festival’s spiritual home. This place has the smallest stage imaginable (hence it being a trio set), but the audience was really receptive and out for some good music. With the sun out and the doors open the music flew out along the street and all kinds of people came by to savour the music and the really festive atmosphere. After that I scooted across town to Blue Bistro which was already rammed in anticipation of hearing Joe O’Donnell’s Shkayla – far from standard jazz festival fare, but a band with outstanding soloists and some jazzy grooves amid the traditional and fusion-based sounds. The next day I returned to Playwright’s for a SugarDaddies afternoon set. This was possibly more mellow than either of the previous day’s excursions, and by this stage in the Festival seemed to be just what many in the audience wanted. As with all good festivals, the intervening periods allowed some time to encounter some new music, and I was pleased to catch up with the Tim Bowes Trio and to hear the redoubtable Hayden Mathews Haynes in flying form. There was also a lot I didn’t get to that I would have wished to hear too. It is unsurprising and also gratifying that the Festival managed to present such a range of rewarding music with pretty much all local performers. This is a welcome contrast to the ‘big name’ syndrome that seems to predominate at many festivals, some of which increasingly seem to resemble each other. So, finally, a sincere vote of thanks to all the organisers and participating venues for putting themselves – and us – out there. Incidentally...
See MorePosted by Adrian Litvinoff on May 20, 2013
Leamington Spa’s favourite jazz singer Ellen Callender will join Interplay on Friday night at LAMP to furnish one or two of Adrian Litvinoff’s seldom-heard lyrics. Ellen is well known for her full-on performances with her own band the Swing Cats and for fronting the highly successful monthly Spa Jazz sessions at the Clarendon. The Interplay tunes are in something of a different vein, less great American song book, more abstract impressionism meets confessional whimsey. One of these is so unknown not even the band has heard it! It says a lot about Ellen that she has taken on this commission and we look forward very much to hearing her interpretations, adding to gaiety and the uniqueness of the occasion. For further details and reservations please...
See MorePosted by Adrian Litvinoff on Mar 7, 2013
After a recent Interplay gig a friend of about my age asked “Where does this stuff come from? It sounds like those cool American detective series from the early 1960s”. He was expressing pleasure both at the music and at how it connected him with something else he really liked. It’s lovely that people attribute the same music with such widely varied associations. If the music is mine these are often ideas I have never even thought of! Of course the suggestive power of music and its ability to fire the imagination is one of its greatest qualities. But it still knocks me out – and makes me smile – when I hear comments like this. “Really? If you say so” I thought, then I started to ponder. I certainly remember as a kid thinking the theme music to ‘Hawaii Five-O’ was pretty exciting. There was another series though, with Bill Cosby and someone else (was it Robert Wagner?) as ridiculously cool plainclothes cops, and they had some hip music too. Anyone remember that series, what is was called, or how the music went? If so please let me know. Stuff I liked and still remember comes from a bit later – ‘Taxi’ and ‘St. Elsewhere’ were two series with great music, by Mike Post if I recall. But do I think about any of that when I’m writing for Interplay? Not a bit, although many years ago I did write a big band score titled ‘Bullet-Proof Vest’…. By contrast another example comes from a very different age-group. The band is booked to appear at LAMP, Leamington’s new music venue, which is run out of a social enterprise to engage young people through music and related activity. The PR for the venue (young, naturally) has written up our music as reminding him of the sound track to a well-known computer game. He tells me this is because he really likes that music and ‘his’ public will relate to it. Brilliant! I can describ e our music to our typical audience, but would never have thought in a million years of talking to young people about it in such terms. (And it might suggest a different outlet for our music...
See MorePosted by Adrian Litvinoff on Jun 12, 2012
What a delight! Among my post-holiday junk mail and brown envelopes was a copy of Interplay saxophonist Alan Wakeman’s CD re-issue of his 1978 recording ‘Wilderness of Glass’. Triton, his power trio with Paul Bridge on double bass and Nigel Morris on drums, was a formidable free-wheeling unit that combined energy and excitement with a clarity of purpose and musical direction not always found in the free jazz movement. Having seen the band in the 1970s I was curious about how it would sound today. Would my youthful recollections be re-affirmed, or would my taste in jazz have changed, altering my ability to listen to it again after all this time? I need not have worried! From the dramatic opening sounds the album moves swiftly through a huge range of dynamics and gestures that are both succinct and articulate. Motifs and moods have time to develop without being over-indulged, and impressive instrumental technique remains secondary to musical objectives. A sense of focus pervades the album resting on the rapport and responsiveness of the three players. In fact I am probably better able to appreciate it now than I was back in the day, and to enjoy it all the more for all that. After all it can take time to learn how to listen! Sadly Paul Bridge is no longer with us. He was a familiar and much-admired figure on the scene, so it is particularly good to hear him again here. I remember playing with Nigel Morris in Oxford many years ago – it was like being next to a hurricane! – and along with all his ferocity there was a musical warmth and curiosity that made it fun as well as challenging. So, good to hear him again as well. But listening to this album again now is not about nostalgia. It is about re-connecting with something exciting and strong, that had its origins many years ago but still retains its conviction, its potency and capacity to delight. Check it...
See MorePosted by Adrian Litvinoff on May 3, 2012
Baker Street in Swindon is hosting some fine names in British Jazz these days and it was a treat to find ourselves being well looked-after by the house team as well as the jazz night organisers. After a longish drive and set up it was also good to see all the tables filled well before the start. I was therefore disconcerted – putting it mildly – when my double bass pick-up proceeded to ‘die’ half-way through the second number! Hasty action with the screw-driver produced no results of note (or notes) and so I faced the reality of doing the rest of the gig on electric bass. I had been warned that some of the audience at least preferred jazz standards to the mixture of originals and global rhythms we were about to play. I wondered whether abandoning the upright bass for bass guitar would be a step too far for them. Happily it seemed to go the other way. We got into our stride after the interruption and the crowd came with us! We had selected a global programme in honour of International Jazz Day and managed to ‘visit’ Cuba, Jamaica, India and South Africa as well as playing North American and British Jazz. A very good floor singer called Harry joined us for My Funny Valentine and adapted his delivery to our Lovers’ Rock treatment to acclaim. Even our ‘hairier’ 0riginals got a cheer. With a couple of encores we were done. I was really pleased because I always prefer to give an audience the benefit of the doubt where new music is concerned. Let them hear it and respond, rather than presuming they won’t or don’t like it. As it turned out people in Swindon did like it, and we look forward to being back there as soon as schedules...
See MorePosted by Adrian Litvinoff on Apr 24, 2012
Herbie Hancock is now a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations. I didn’t realise this until I learned just recently that he has managed to persuade UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) to inaugurate International Jazz Day to celebrate jazz as a world-wide medium of creativity and freedom “because so many countries have been affected in crucial ways over the years by the presence of jazz.” April 30th is the day, coming at the end of Jazz Appreciation Month in the US. If this sounds a bit ‘worthy’ it reminds us rightly about a really serious facet of our music. In both Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia Jazz was proscribed – criminalised and forbidden. In many other countries it has been a musical form that helped oppressed groups and individuals to maintain their spirit of independence and hope, including in the US itself. And while currently right wing views seem to be enjoying a resurgence, not least in parts of northern Europe, many of those countries formerly showed a warm welcome to black musicians who found little respect or opportunity in their country of birth. So while there is a chance that International Jazz Day may go the way of Mick Jagger’s once-vaunted National Music Day (remember that?) I for one welcome it. I am also flattered that Baker Street Jazz in Swindon have dedicated Interplay’s gig there on May 1st to International Jazz Day. We’ll be pulling out some of our global grooves in honour of the occasion – please join us if you...
See MorePosted by Adrian Litvinoff on Mar 8, 2012
It’s almost four months since Interplay last played to a real live audience! Sign of the times I guess, with gigs becoming noticeably scarcer all around. So it is with real pleasure as well as a certain amount of relief that we announce our first appearance of 2012, next Wednesday March 14th in Leamington Spa for Leam Jazz. Besides affording us the pleasure of playing for its own sake I take a special pride in this particular gig as indirectly I can claim some responsibility for Leam Jazz getting started. The moving spirits, Stewart Duthie and John Hodgetts, originally met as members of my Jazz Workshop in 2008. Since then they have arranged vacation sessions for workshop participants, organised public jam sessions and, ably assisted by audio wiz Rob Sargent, presented some exciting and enjoyable jazz gigs over the last two years. Interplay was actually the first band Leam Jazz put on, back in May 2010, and it’s a true credit to them and their supporters that they are still at it two years later. So come along to Leamington Rugby Club, Kenilworth Road Leamington CV32 6RG on Wednesday 14th March. Tickets are only £6 and there is excellent beer to be found at club prices. bLA BLA...
See More
