Bratislava Jazz Days 2007 - Day 2 and 3

Ulf Wakenius and the AMC trio - I think this is called also mainstream jazz. It was a nice experience listening to them. There were a lot of improvisations, and Ulf as a ghost briliantly added to the whole impression. It was worth listening to.

Saxofour - as some ppl agreed upon. This was most propably the best band on saturday (except for the fans of hip-hop). Those for people were showing a brilliant adaptation of movie music. I have heard just once such a band, and it was not really fitting into my mood. These guys were incredible. I say it again INKREDIBLE!!! Not even with their profecienty and their improvisations, but also with their stage performance... Seeing 3 grown up people with their instrument hiding behind a reproductor, while the forth one is playing... or in another scene fighting with their instruments (always according to the movie theme). Lovely, funny, won the audience :) Let the Austrians blow!!!

Mark Egan Trio feat. John Abercrombie (USA) - Well I do not have to much written around this performance: calm solos, and the bassguitar was to deep for my taste. Anyway I believe that this concert was also worth the money. But didn't left any big impressions.

Hanka Gregusova Band - A young Slovakian singer. My opinion got corrupted, as I got an autograph from here dedicated to me :) But I have enjoyed the show a lot. It was amazing to hear her voice, I had the feeling that it fills the whole room, which is exactly what I love to hear :) She had also some very good musicians around here. I didn't like the sax player, though he was making a real though job up there. The pianist is also worth to mention for his great solos! It was really touching :P And the bass player had no real chance except of one, time, but that gave me back the confidence in the classical bass.

Us3 - too much hiphop in the first 15 mins, didn't stay till the end. Though we heard some sax and trumpet solos through the window outside, when we were leaving, so it could have been better... but had no mood for that.

Day 3

Bibi Tanga - french guy, was interesting sound. He plays the bass and so I felt like the whole music was based on this. Big surprise was in some cases the violin. The best song of that all was "At war" which had a text something like: "A country at war - fight love and freedom". While there was a beautiful violin solo. Also on thir site is the song Don't Stop.

Bill Evans Soulgrass - well this was amazing! I never thought a benjo, a sax and a violin. I was shoched more then once how these tree instruments fit into each other. Also the bass player was good, but had just one real solo and stayed mostly in the back. It was a bit country like of course because of the instruments, but if this is what country can be, that I may like it very much. I give an A+ for this concert also.

Friend 'n Fellow - It is still hard for me to believe, that this is their actual name: Constanze Friend and Thomas Fellow. Anyway they are a great duo. Just a guitar and one voice (in this case, though I seen some youtube clips, where they both singing). They made a huge atmosphere, the strongest one during the whole weekend. Small suprises like they played Deep Purple - Black Night, ACDC - Highway To Hell (not my favourite), Johny Cash - Rain Of Fire and the last song which I can't remember - but it was a love song and they played it 2 as fast as it is played normally. I laughed at this, cause again, an experince totally new for me.The song Elf with the German intro was one of the most touching songs of the evening. I loved it :)

Henry Tóth - I have almost forgotten him!!! Bad me, bad me. He was playing at the B stage in one of the breaks. Poor me, he didn't have as much time as the usual B stage performers(just one break). But that was more than enough to enjoy the beauty of his play. In felling a bit latino and sometimes very technical. He build up most of his songs on a slow, calm emotional intro going into a wild improvisation and coming out again. Nothing new, to say the truth, but he makes this extremely well. I enjoyed every second of it :)

Gyra Spyro - Hawaii, sunshine, holiday. Fun, but not my style. But I loved Bonny Bonaparte at the drums! Gush what a great drummer + a good voice also. Bad luck that after around just 6-7 minutes of his final solo half of his drums felldown... of course he finished it like a professional and so played a bit with his voice! Groovy :)


Other things - to many ppl, to few places. Quite disturbing, when you don't even have a place to sit. :(
+ they managed the sound almost perfectly. So it was more then fine quality, except of minor problems.
- beer to expensive 45Skk, Kofola is fine 25Skk (of course 0.5l)
networking possibilities :)

So this is my opinion of the first Bratislava Jazz Days I was on.

Bratislava Jazz Days 2007 - Day 1

It all started, when Mitsuora came on the stage. Well I didn't really know what to expect, I knew just, that she was from Hungary. The songs on the internet, which I have found are not worth mentioning, because of the low quality. So:

Mitsuora: I have never heard something like this before (I haven't heard a lot of music in my life though), it was a fusion of modern jazz and gipsy traditional singing. I am amazed, stunned and in awe. I always though about gipsy music in a high note as there was for sure a reason they were the entertainers of the Hungrian high society just a century ago. I have also heard some gipsy music on radio, till it when, though it never catched me that much. Most propably cause they were playing songs in hungarian. And in this case she was singing (most propably) the original gypsy way. And this music has a very strong rythm in it + all those unusual instruments. I love that :)
Will go for another concert as soon as possible!!!
see video (though just around 15-20 seconds of her music): http://kultura.sme.sk/c/3546008/Jazzove-dni-otvaral-i-Marian-Varga.html

Marian Varga - as a friend said, he has his glorious days behind him. He is still a big name in Slovakia, but the music was not really my style. It fitted as a movie soundtrack. Sometimes very gloomy depressive piano solos. In other cases I felt like on a typical movie interpretation of a middle age market scene. Not my taste mostly.

Tomasz Stanko Quartet - This concert was neighter close to my heart. They were playing good, the solo's where enjoyable, but I need a different kind of music. Anyway it was much much better then Varga.

Alvik - 2. stage: during the breakes on the second stage Alvik was playing. As it is stated on they website they are playing something between nu-jazz nu-soul etc. I missed the first break I didn't know what it will be about, but was afterwards there on time for the second break (left the concert of Tomasz Stanko quartet earlier, saw even Mitsuoka but I was to stupid to ask for an autograph :( Well I had my priority in seeing Alvik). It was more then enjoyable, music for dancing and freaking out. I love it. :)

Mike Stern - no comment, people have to hear him life! It was an awesome concert! I had the feeling at the slow parts as if John Shannon was playing (I heard him earlier then Mike Stern), the solos where amazing! I can't not write here the musicians:
Mike Stern - gitara
Bob Franceschini - saxofón
Dennis Chambers - bicie
Anthony Jackson - elektrická basová gitara
As a friend of my loves the bass, I decided to hear it out a bit. I was amazed how good Anthony Jackson was underlining the guitarplay of Mike Stern, it made the whole thing even more groovy :) But I could really not stop to praise these guys. I was stunned. And this was the only concert where I saw that the audience enjoys the music. Though the ppl weren't reacting that passionate when Mike Stern told, that they should buy his new CD, which he sells after the concert :)

There were no real emotions just a small applauce at one or two stages of the whole festival. Finally at the second half of Sterns concert the people started ti live and were finally clapping and screeming once in a while :)

Going insane

Today I had an unusual experience. I though I was hallucinating. I thought I'm going slowly crazy. But I wouldn't mind, if it would happen this way.
I was sitting in the crowded bus no. 39. people were talking around me and the bus was slowly clattering. Noise smog - I thing this is how modern people call this. And then I felt like an angel was next to me and that nobody is experiencing the same feeling. People were chatting before me, on my right side a girl was sitting calmly and on my right a Walkman was all that is worth to mention. And in this familiar though disturbing surrounding I was hearing snatches of an angel singing. Every few seconds I heard it again. Before me people talking, around me no change. I could not figure out where the voices come from, but was astonished.
After a few minutes of listening to the voice and the people before me I figured out, that the lady next to the window was singing. The experience for me was more than pleasant. It trow me out of everyday troubles and let me fly for a few moments.
I was playing an imagined piano in my head to her voice, till she stopped. I was enjoying the moment till it faded away from my memories. I am sad, that I can't remember.
I have experienced my love to a beautiful woman voice again.