Harlem

Now moved up to Harlem, an amazing communtiy with an awsome jazz scene, they are putting on many gigs and keeping the tradition of jazz in Haarlem alive.

I don't want to spend all my time reviewing gigs on this blog, however I must mention Brian Blade.
Last night at the Village Vanguard he produced a truly artistic performance. His first words to the crowd were introducing the band at the end of the set.
The set itself was very nearly through composed with brief breaks for applause, Brian didn't take one solo, nor did he need one as he excelled throughout the whole performance and completely controlled the varying dynamics throughout the set.

In the queue for the gig I met a lady who is one of three people who organises all the events for the jazz gallery, a venue I'm visiting tonight. We had a very interesting discussion on jazz in NYC and Europe and I will go into further detail in my report on return, however I will say that she was very surprised that Europe was not being very receptive towards the new sound in America. This was a fact she found out when organising events for jazz at the Lincoln centre which is her main job.

Tonight I am in the jazz gallery before moving to times square and the Iridium jazz club tommorow, whilst filling the days with events and discussions as always.

I will post again within the next few days so stay tuned.