Playlist
Various - Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection 2025
Locatelli - Concerti Grossi Op 1 Nos 2,4,7,8,9,10
The Bad Plus - Birdland, New York, 20th February 2025
Up at 7 and the now usual routine of writing this...
...and then obtaining breakfast provisions from Carrefour…
Lounging around before heading out around 10:30 with the intention of taking the No 9 to Berchem, via Central Station but its route seemed to have changed - so we jumped on a No 4…
Arrived at Berchem just after 11, had a wee look around...
...bought lunch provisions and had a coffee at the station…
At 12:15 caught the shuttle bus to Park den Brandt for the last day of the Middelheim Jazz Festival, the occasion around which the trip was built…
Lunch in the forest, then, in…
No bag search so we could have taken food and drinks in despite express instructions in the fest blurb not to - oh well…
Into the main auditorium and front row centre for Bram Stadhouders with B.O.X….
An excellent set of complex guitar and soundscape led jazz, crossed with a selection of classical instruments plus horns, ensued and was much enjoyed…
Rookie error then of leaving our seats only to have them pinched by a middle-aged couple (note - we are a young couple!) as we popped outside to the Birdland stage, where Esinam and Sibusile Xava disappointed…
Back to catch The Bad Plus soundcheck, which was a nice surprise, seats now still front row but off centre…
I really love the new configuration of the band eschewing piano for guitar and sax and when they came back for their performance, an hour of, at times delicate, at times blustering, avant jazz was presented to a packed auditorium…
Worth the trip!
This time we left clothing at our seats, now understanding the etiquette, and we ventured out to secure a couple of top Butter Chicken curries from Mission Masala…
Back inside for Kahil el Zabar, who, at first, was annoying in the extreme but, in the company of three excellent other players, eventually won us over…
Back outside briefly but, so far, nothing on the second stage seemed to warrant our attention…
Next was excellent drummer, Stephane Galland, who had managed to get on the bill on all four days...
Today he fronted a ten piece band including five brass and a flute…
Soundcheck...
While the playing was impressive, the music itself just didn’t seem to connect with us and, in the end, we were glad when it was over…
On the upside, the people who “stole” our best placed seats earlier, exited half way through, presumably to get food - but they committed the same error as we had earlier, leaving no territorial stuff and so, hey presto, within seconds, we had reclaimed our places…
Topping the bill in the main auditorium were GoGo Penguin, who played a flawless 75 minute set, their encore getting people dancing down the front…
All in all, a top day…
Out and back for the shuttle bus…
There was a long wait and we had a good chat with a very nice steward about football (Anderlecht vs Hibernian over 30 years ago), Belgium and his upcoming move to Thailand…
At 11:45 we were heading back to Berchem...
...where we caught a No 4, just after midnight, which got us home safely…
Eventually to bed just before 1 - very glad indeed that all had gone without a hitch…
Highlight of the Day : Jazz in a picturesque setting…
Today's New Music:
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