Spaghetti Shoot-Out

Sometimes as a photographer you get the "... and don't forget your camera!" type invites to things friends are doing, and Saturday was no exception. I normally manage to join a hairdressing friend for coffee at the weekend, and we put the world to rights. This Saturday he had challenged a colleague to a spaghetti cooking contest to prove that he was a better cook than she was, and I had to be there with the camera! Needless to say he lost the bet, but he did get to cuddle the pretty girl from VK Hair Designs in Southampton (which is more than I did!)

Five Rivers flow in Salisbury

The five rivers of Wiltshire met the five rivers of the Punjab at Salisbury Festival yesterday and the confluence produced a flood of great music. Andy Sheppard (tenor and soprano sax) and Kuljit Bhamra (tabla and percussion) bathed the audience in a wonderfully exciting blend of Western jazz and Indian rhythms which brought back, for me at least, memories of the Joe Harriott/John Mayer Indo-Jazz Fusion albums of the 1960's. Using a blend of cyclic breathing and computer playback, Andy gave his work a new depth which was echoed in the superb playing of Kuljit. Certainly not a combination to miss if they come your way. My photos are my Salisbury Festival gallery.

Django meets Gumbo

Last night Salisbury International Arts Festival played host to that great New Orleans (or 'Nawlins' as he called it) clarinet player Evan Christopher and his Quartet, and treated us to the wonderful melange of music which features on his latest album 'Django a la Creole'. Combining the music of Django Rheinhardt with the delicious flavours of creole from his hometown, the audience enjoyed Evan playing such favourites as 'Nuages' and 'Djangology', all with tremendous solos by Australian guitarist Dave Blenkhorn whose virtuosity left nothing lacking. Fellow Djangologists Sebastien Girardot (bass) and Dave Kelbie (guitar) rounded the Quartet out to leave the assembled fans wanting for nothing except maybe encores. You can a selection of my images here.

Bath Time

Queen Victoria famously said that every one should have a bath at least once a year whether they needed it or not. Well, Bank Holiday Monday was the day for me to have my bath - and what a glorious soak it was. I am, of course, talking about my annual visit to the wonderful Bath MusicFest to enjoy the tremendous variety of music on offer, and to savour the splendour of the great city that hosts it.

There is always an eclectic mix of music events to enjoy over the 9 days of the Festival, and the day I chose was no exception. I earmarked the wonderful American saxophonist Branford Marsalis as my main course but, by way of an appetiser, I got chance to sit in (and photograph) on the rehearsal of a long-time favourite of mine, the jazz pianist Bobo Stenson from Sweden. You can rely on Bobo for thought provoking gently challenging piano, and this was no exception.

For those with alternative tastes, I also had the great pleasure of meeting and photographing Freddy Kempf (pictured above), the classical pianist renowned for his interpretations of Beethoven and Chopin. This extremely pleasant young man made every effort to co-operate with me as far as my photographic wishes were concerned and I really appreciated that, together with his fine playing.

You can see all three of my musical courses in my photos here, together with tasters of the many others present including British saxophonist Nathaniel Facey. the gallery is still being added to so please come back again in a day or two!

The Visitors to Borders

I travel a long way to photograph musicians, and hang around a lot at sound checks etc. to get the images I want. It therefore comes as somewhat of a surprise when I drop my wife at the local bookstore and find myself in the middle of a gig by a talented local group promoting their latest CD and single outside on the pavement, but that is exactly what happened today! 'The Visitors' (and their were only three of the normal line-up there) were giving a fine performance despite the shoppers making their way past, and their mix of self-penned numbers made a worthwhile distraction to the otherwise stressful occupation of the Saturday hordes which are now a seemingly necessary part of shopping in any major city. Seen here are songwriter Ross Murphy (left) with his fellow songwriter James Dyer on alto sax (he doubles on rhythm guitar) and Ed Hogston who also plays a good rift on pedal steel guitar. You can catch up with them at The Orange Rooms in Southampton on 4 June but if you can't wait that long try their web site. Oh, and that new single is on Angry Badger records!

Mica Paris to release new album

Next month will see the release of the first album from Mica Paris in ten years, and features the music of BRIT award winner James Morrison. I had the tremendous pleasure of making photographs of Mica at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, and I can tell you that lady is HOT! Despite suffering from a cold, she gave a performance which was outstanding and showed that she was at the top of her form. Her first album, released a staggering 21 years ago when she was only 19, went platinum for Ms. Paris and it would be no surprise if the latest offering were to join it. Look out for the new album, called 'Born Again' which will be in the shops on June 1, but the new single 'Baby Come Back to Me' is getting airplay now. In the meantime you can see Mica on my web site here!

Mali Latino rocks Southampton

That great new amalgam of world talent aka Mali Latino had the audience rocking in the aisles and pleading for more at the sometimes sedate Turner Sims Concert Hall on the University campus in Southampton last night. With stunning new compositions like the ballad 'Voyage' and the vibrant 'Congas' (featuring Colombian Emeris Solis) they certainly took their rightful place on the stage of world music. Featuring Malian stars Madou Sidiki Diabaté (kora) and Ahmed Fofana (balafon/flute/guitar), together with vocalist Doussouba Diabate, the atmosphere on stage was electric. Alex Wilson (piano/composer) brought the group together for this tour and a new recording is on its way. Personally I can't wait to get the album! Check my web site for photos from the sound check. Also watch Alex Wilsons' Myspace for videos of the event which are to be posted shortly.

I have finally finished the editing of my Cheltenham Jazz festival photographs and posted a 'Best of ..." gallery on my web site here. It was, as always, a great festival and I always look forward to returning there! Highlights for me have to be Hugh Masakela (see above), Imelda May and Mica Paris. The Alex Wilson Salsa Band were great fun to work with, and I am looking forward to meeting them again very soon!

Nigel Kennedy

Nigel Kennedy and his Polish quintet appeared at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and I was there to photograph the event. He performed to a packed house, and the concert was well received, but I am always a little unsure about the validity of 'cross-genre' musicians who try, usually unsuccessfully, to have a foot in two camps. The two things I would say is that firstly the audience enjoyed it (including a charming young lady of maybe 10 in the front row), and secondly the Polish performers who backed Mr. Kennedy gave a great performance. I felt this image captured the atmosphere of the concert - but can Nigel play jazz? As far as I am concerned the jury is still out on that one!

Madeleine Peyroux

After a very fraught day yesterday in which 3 concerts were cancelled at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival I finally managed to photograph Madeleine Peyroux in concert last night. The plan was that the assembled photographic 'pack' would work through the sound check, but this was not to be and we ended up working the first two numbers of the concert. Ms. Peyroux likes very blue lighting which (in my opinion) does not suit her performance and can be very difficult to photograph in, but the name of the game is I have to work with what I can, and I had to shoot at 3200iso which is pretty damned dark! The results can be seen on the gallery on my main web site, but here is a taster.