Things will be back to their (boringly) normal self again on Friday and Saturday evenings as this weekend saw the final JazzTube concerts of 2015.
I caught two of the last band’s on Friday and can only say once again – whoever doesn’t win is also a winner and the biggest winners of all are the commuters of Bonn who get to hear such excellent music to lighten their travels.
Possibly the youngest drummer I’ve yet seen was pounding the snares with a confident ease when I arrived at the Main Station in Bonn on Friday. Joshua Knauber was equally supported in competence and enthusiasm by Andreas Theobald whose Fender Rhodes was possibly older than the drummer – it certainly gave the trio a nostalgic tone completely at odds with it’s young practitioners. Malte Viebahn made up the cool trio on bass and Persian carpet (with an additional tiffany lamp for ‘stage’ lighting). All three made a good advert too for the Bonn Youth Jazz Orchestra where they met.
and on (typewriter?) Joshua Knauber…
I have to own up that work restraints meant not being able to make it round all three acts on Friday and I’m sure Ducktape Ticket at Uni Markt were also very popular. Judging by their band photo showing them sitting gamely with instruments sitting on stools in the middle of a lake they are clearly an imaginative troop. Sorry I couldn’t make it for a listen and a photo.
All smiles – Filippa Gojo
My main interest I must admit was catching the set by Filippa Gojo Quartett at Museumsmeile. I still remember Filippa from JazzTube some years ago catching my ears with her voice and my eyes by wielding a hand held loudspeaker on regular occasions. That of course will tell you that the lady sets great store by the colour of sound as much as by the lyrics she sings. There is a lot of scat singing and moody brushing of cymbals in a Filippa Gojo set but that is really what sets her apart from much of the ‘regular’ jazz scene – a feeling that she is not just interested in pushing boundaries but actually succeeding.
Much of the material was taken from the current ‘Nahaufname’ disc – an excellent listen for anyone seeking an inventive jazz excursion. I suspect that my favourite number ‘Confusao’ with it’s electric guitar style vocalising that almost gives Hendrix a run for his six string money was in an earlier set but I did still get to hear the glorious ‘Train of Thought’ and hear of encouraging things to come in the form of ‘My Water’ which is scheduled to be on the quartets next release due out next year. It should be mentioned also that this level of improvisation needs some excellent backing musicians and Gojo has these to really create a wonderful sound blanket – a comfort blanket even for stressed out travellers on a Friday evening.
With just two more acts to entertain us on the Saturday this is going to once again be a tough one to VOTE for but vote you should – Not least to show support for the JazzTube itself. Curiously there were already votes appearing in surprisingly large numbers even in advance of performances being carried out. Samba Jazz Clube currently has 1104 votes which would put Bonn main station on a par with Waterloo station in the rush-hour for passenger traffic. It really isn’t about deciding on a winner though because we already know the winners – Bonn commuters and residents.
