Internationale

Vazesh were a different experience again.  This is jazz as world music as international (if not really internationale).  This is meditative, pensive, slow and built on the alternative sound of the tar.  Tar is a Persian instrument, guitar-like but more resonant, more trebley, plucked but with a different pick, thicker, more rounded, more pointy.  It all started with bass clarinet for an extended period, then a bass entry with bow and harmonics, then the tar, then into a groove at low tempo (~minum=40?).  After perhaps 15 mins a change to tenor sax.  Calm and unexcited. There's a message here and it's not post-bop.  Nice and not quite as different as I suggest.

Vazesh are Hamed Sadeghi (tar), Jeremy Rose (sax, bass clarinet), Lloyd Swanton (bass).

OWJF2022-8

Next up was Andy Nelson playing singer-songwriter rootsy music with a cast of characters, guitar/vocals with violin, viola, e-guitar and bass.  An interesting sound with authenticity. 

Then This world again.  They were in the Holy Trinity Church with touchy sound, so not as enjoyable as the previous outing, but this is quality stuff with some drop dead gorgeous solos all round, especially sax and bass. 

Then a touch of Persian/jazz crossover with Eishan Ensemble.  The core player seems to be Hamed, playing Tar and composing.  Of course, these are different sounds to my ears and that was intriguing.  First up was a solo Tar piece, then into an ensemble piece with very simple chord structure and pretty simple melodies.  BTW, the Tar a lute-like stringed instrument from Iran with three pair of strings tuned unison C,G,C and a single bass string tuned G.  I need to hear more before I understand.  Nice to see Max getting around. 

Andy Nelson, This World and Eishan Ensemble played at the inaugural Orange Winter Jazz Festival.  Andy Nelson (guitar, vocals) was joined by a string of accompanists.  This World comprises Mike Nock (piano), Julien Wilson (sax), Jonathan Zwartz (bass) and Hamish Stuart (drums).  Eishan Ensemble comprised Hamed Sadeghi (tar), Michael Avgenicos (sax), Pedram Layegh (guitar), Adem Yilmaz (drums, percussion) and Maximillian Alduca (bass).