Gijon is a perky little city on the northern
coast of
Spain in
the Principality of
Asturias.
It's a city with
a lot of pride, history and a very strong sense of
its own identity. Read my post
20 Years of Xixon Sound for a more detailed
description of the
city and its place in the history of
Spanish rock.
For
jazz fans in
Gijon,
Thursday night is
jazz night in the
Cafe Alambique. It's not famous.
It has no great history and you can probably only fit around 40 or 50 people
into it at any one time (though there is a terrace outside) but it is a great
place to see bands. Especially
jazz bands. You can enjoy a beer standing right
next to the
drummer or position yourself right opposite the
sax player. So it’s very face to face and the
acoustics are brilliant. I particularly love the sound of the acoustic
double bass. It has a really sensual quality that comes over live but never seems to record well. In the
Alambique it sounds really funky. However if you prefer you can just prop up the bar or sit at one of the tables (if there is room) and still only be feet away from the
band.
For me this is the way to listen to
jazz. It really is a live music. It
exists in and for a moment. The musicians create, develop and explore ideas and need
to listen and respond to each other in an instant.
CDs and vinyl
LPs may record the
performances but the way to really experience
jazz is to have it happening live
right in front of you and to see and feel how the music is created from moment
to moment. For me, that’s the thrill. To see it fly when it could quite easily
fall apart and crash.
And the jazz flies at the
Alambique on
Thursday nights. There have been
occasional excursions into
blues, rock and
soul but what has really
surprised me over the last year or so has been the exceptional quality of the
jazz
on offer.
For example, this last
Thursday I saw a stunning set by the
Cesar
Latorre trio which was so extraordinary it pretty much inspired me to write
this post. The week before there was a really impressive set by the
Adrian
Carrio Quintet. Before that we had an excellent night with the
Jacobo de
Miguel trio. A month ago French guitarist
Wilfried Wilde's
trio played... I could go on, the quality of groups and performances is so
consistently high.
So this post is an homage to the
Alambique and some of the fine music I have seen there. If you live in
Gijon, or are just passing through on a
Thursday, go and check out what's on at the
Alambique this week. Entrance is
free and for the price of a beer or two you can see and listen to some pretty fine
music. Their
facebook page is regularly updated with what's on or coming up and is here
http://www.facebook.com/cafealambique
None of the clips below were filmed in the
Alambique. The bands were chosen quite randomly because they have all played there in the last month or so. All the
musicians featured here are from
Asturias. I think you'll agree there's a lot of
good jazz here.
Jazz has found a home in
Asturias.
Cesar Latorre is from
Gijon but is now based in
Amsterdam. He has released one CD called
“Fastforward of a Day". His playing is
inventive, occasionally slightly berserk and full of
imagination. The two sets played last Thursday night showed breathtaking
virtuosity and an entertaining playfulness which was, for me anyway, occasionally reminiscent of Thelonius Monk. Check out the video below and his website here
http://www.cesarlatorre.com
Adrián Carrio is from
Oviedo so is another local lad. He has toured the
UK, Europe, Japan and
the USA in the last six or seven years. I was quite impressed by the horn section at this gig and the band really swung. Lot of soul.
Check the clip below and his page here
http://adriancarrio.es/
The line-up on the clip below is Javier Rubio: alto sax
, Eladio Díaz: tenor
sax,
Adrian Carrio: Piano,
David Casillas: double bass and
Felix Morales:
drums.
Jacobo de Miguel is another
Asturian musician. I've seen him a couple of times at the
Alambique now. Another excellent keyboard player with a strong melodic sense.
The 15 minute clip below, although not recorded at the
Alambique, gives you an idea of the variety, skill and quality of music on offer most
Thursday nights.
More
Asturias > Eight Miles High - Roger McGuinn
20 years of Xixon Sound
"Cool" - BBC Arena documentary
The Horace Silver Quintet - "Song for My Father" on Danish TV 1968
What is Bebop? - The Subject is Jazz
