Live
Gilad Atzmon: @ The Fat Badger 22/06/08
There’s no stopping Gilad Atzmon these days,this irrepressible Israeli maestro leaves a trail of totally blown away audiences all over the land and Jazz musicians come and stare in disbelief at this guy’s virtuosity on the alto saxophone.
A monster beyond taming Gilad has been gracing us with his presence for over 10 years and is truly at the height of his powers and inventiveness. So it was a real coup for this achingly hip gastropub and in particular, the organisers, Bon Amico, to have a colossus jazz heavyweight upstairs deconstructing Jazz standards at a rate of knots.
This new Sunday night Jazz venue, perfectly situated In the Portobello road, got off to a royal start. Gilad tore the head off standards such as Coltrane’s 'Soul Eyes' with such verve, you could hear people gasp with unrestrained excitement and his bold interpretation of Bobby Timmins 'Moaning' really nailed the evening. Joining Gilad was his long time cohort, the dynamic Yaron Stavi on double bass and two young turks Ivo Neame on piano and the ever propulsive Lawrence Lowe on drums.
The master felt no compunction but to keep his young band on their toes setting off with a fast, furious and almost impossible tempo to maintain On 'Just in time.' Reeling off volley after volley of darts and runs proving his world class status effortlessly. Gilad has his tender moments too, Ellington's classic ballad 'In a Sentimental Mood' proving a real depth and poignancy to his playing in this exquisite interpretation. I particularly liked his earthy funk flavoured version of 'Cherokee' think Charlie Parker meets a tribe called quest- uncompromising and utterly captivating.
Tonight was a baptism of fire comparisons to mid to late Coltrane and echoes ofhis american counterpart Kenny Garrett have to be made. Gilad demands your attention and he leaves his audience utterly destroyed by burning his imprint on their brains. Nothing but essence escapes his horn, a jazz visionary on a mission, check him out at the Pizza Express with his Oriental House Ensemble at the end of june (26th-28th) a must see excursion!
Words Emrys Baird
