Yikes Too is the name of a new double album by Tim Berne, and the American free improvising altoist explained why he chose that title to his audience at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Eastside Jazz Club.
“It’s because Yikes! Is what I say whenever I see my sales figures.”
The album (Screwgun Records), was created by the trio he is touring with, CAPATOSTA – an Italian expression for “hard headed” – with Gregg Belisle-Chi on guitar and Tom Rainey, drums, combining studio tracks recorded in New Haven with a live performance in Seattle.
Photo copyright John Watson/jazzcamera.co.uk
In my experience Berne always delivers the musical goods, sizzling hot, and at the Birmingham he once again triumphed with an intense set in a concert presented by Tony Dudley Evans’ organisation TDE Promotions.
His association with Tony goes back to 1993, and only the backing of such enthusiasts makes touring possible, Tim added.
The concert, as you would expect, drew mainly on the Yikes Too compositions, with highlights including “Bat Channel”, “Guitar Star”, and the title track,with the passionate torrent of notes from the leader’s alto underpinned by and constantly tangled with Belisle-Chi’s powerful chords and wailing high notes.
Compositions by Berne – which bookend each freely improvised section – are often quite awesomely complex, angular, unpredictable and challenging.
The guitarist, whose playing was new to me, is a really effective foil for Berne’s emotionally charged and dynamic style, engaging in interplay which frequently teetered on the edge of chaos while somehow holding on to the musical core of the works. Rainey’s work is more familiar, and perfectly complements the altoist’s style, strongly but seemingly effortlessly and without unnecessary drama,.
The Eastside Jazz Club always presents a group of students as the support band for touring bands’ concerts, and this time it was the turn drummer Dom Holyoake’s trio, with pianist Josh Bailey and bassist Casper Hamilton. They opened with a very lively original piece by Bailey, which strongly evoked in my mind the style of Herbie Hancock’s Blue Note classic album Empyrean Isles. Other highlights included Miles Davis’s “Solar” and Wayne Shorter’s “Black Nile”, driving pieces well paced by Holyoake’s impressive drumming.
* Tim Berne’s Capatosta is due to give two shows tonight (Friday 24 October) at The Vortex in London.
