Past Programs
Brass - 2008
Conrad Herwig (Latin, Shorter )
22/11/2008
After his John Coltrane and Miles Davis Latin side of... projects, trombonist Conrad Herwig offers a brilliant take on the music of another jazz genius. One critic says of Herwig's The Latin Side of Wayne Shorter, 'if you know a person who thinks jazz is difficult to get, lacks melody, or you can't dance to it, this CD will change their mind.' It was recorded 'live' at the Blue Note in New York. Herwig is technically phenomenal, but 'technique' is definitely not his obsession—expression is. Herwig has said, repeatedly, 'all of us need to listen to vocalists' Here, you really need to listen to the incredible playing of his special guests , trumpeter Brian Lynch and pianist Eddie Palmieri.
To discover more about Conrad Herwig, this is a good place to start:
www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=7600
Although 1990s-vintage, the interview here is still very revealing:
www.trombone.org/articles/library/viewarticles.asp?ArtID=6
Bellowhead
18/10/2008
Of possibly-Arabic origin, Matachin refers to a dance with swords, masks and small shields. It is also the new, second full-length album from Bellowhead. The eleven members of English roots music’s most audacious ensemble come from wildly-various backgrounds. Bellowhead is hard to describe but nigh-impossible to resist. The band itself says it is ‘steeped in the English folk traditions of song and dance, but the feel is exciting, intoxicating, slightly sinister and deeply funky.’ Hearing is believing!
Bellowhead-central is here:
www.bellowhead.co.uk
