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Cult figures and their cultural touchstones, all milestones in song, commanded the 2800 seater amphitheatre the Cavea in Rome for the second half of this summer season’s festival Luglio Suona Bene 2011.

From skeleton lyric sketches designed to be elaborated by fluent instrumentalists and pseudo-symbolist poetry revivals where the striking of brazen postures and poses on stage was evident to the patchwork quilt synthesis of styles and contrasting personalities, all in their heyday or at the summit of their careers, culture and counterculture echoed and clashed with resonance. There was something this season to satisfy all, the most conservative of musical tastes as well as the most demanding in the rock intelligentsia.

Lou Reed

From his early avowed commitment to sheer clean rock and roll that maintained its romanticism and music for music’s sake fervour to his changed worldviews as baggage was added on by the cartloads, Lou Reed’s own poetic leanings never really allowed him to abide by his avowed principles. In that age where poetic and literary pretensions were mandatory in song and there was a drawing upon anything and everything from cabaret to mysticism, avantgarde and mixed media art (Reed has three photography books to his credit), bohemian attitudes as well as stylised dramatic stances were dovetailed with a nonchalance.

All these were glimpsed progressively in the synthesis served this evening like a dinner with many courses, where we saw the sixties and cool seventies lead to subsequent decades with a pulsating onward movement. For one who negates the self and distances himself as an observer, his poetic soul reasserts itself constantly for it is as a selfconcerned artist that he is himself. While idolising the past, ambiguities of the present and futuristic preoccupations entered the picture as calculated positions were changed consciously or carelessly and scenarios for the new age, perhaps all time, invented.

Synonymous with the Manhattan Sound, Lou Reed brought with him echoes of Manhattan through the years, primarily Lower Manhattan, the heartland of folk, rock, show and film music as it is nurtured, develops and takes shape even before it soars to the highs. Much to the delight of the rock connoisseur spectator, the entire gamut of the Lou Reed contribution in form and style was evident in what stemmed from the folk scene with rock and roll antecedents, became a foreunner of rock primitivism and rock minimalism, and left its own legacy in the rock mainstream.

The concert opened with the lackadaisically styled "Who Loves The Sun" with "Senselessly Cruel" in a rhythmic vein close on its heels. "All Through The Night" was characterised by the relentless round riff that drove the elongated piece, musings on an all night celebration, a band playing nightlong. Its long guitar solo showcased Toni Diodore’s proficiency. Lou Reed’s moving dedication of the entire concert to Amy Winehouse was announced in the middle of his own ten minute song "Ecstasy" with its haunting violin solo opening (“They call you Ecstasy/ nothing sticks to you...”) and with an insertion from Winehouse’s "Rehab" chanted by him (“Don’t wanna go to rehab, no no no”) as his tribute.

"Small Town" was well received as all the misgivings and love-hate anguishes of attachment and ties were delivered in this outpouring. "Mother", a cover of John Lennon's song (“you had me but I never had you”) was wellpaced with revealing lyrics given the upperhand in stark impassioned vocals (“I couldn’t walk but I tried to run..”), cushioned by dark sombre colours and frenetic guitars hard at work. The harsh grating band sound of the Velvet Underground and Lou Reed’s start as its lead singer was back in its new guise in "Venus In Furs", the drone accompaniment and emphasis on noisy aspects of sound excruciating even in the open air environment as the 8:21 minutes seemed endless. Back to haunting melody, the everpopular "Sunday Morning" was quiet and lyrical, although in comparison with the almost syrupy crooning of the original classic this rendition sounded a cover virtually recited by one who once could sing. Acoustic guitar and strings egged the vocals ably on.

Always inventing and revinventing himself, his early striving for simplicity and statements on rock and roll being only a mindless relaxation exercise was at the heart of this number but the switch to tongue in cheek duplicity was swift in "Femme Fatale" as theatrical perspectives and affectations took hold of the piece. What a rich full orchestral show sound we had! While "Waves Of Fear" lured with its indefatigable guitar solos, it was "Sweet Jane" with its rock and roll touch that had one and all on the feet as it transported us radiantly into its world of agile rhythms in this show brilliantly supported by Toni Diodore and Joseph Aram Bajakian (guitars), Robert Wasserman (bass), Kevin Hearn (keyboards), Tony Thunder Smith (drums) and Ulrich Krieger (sax).

Lou Reed doled out his three encores reward including "Charley’s Girl" for all those who stayed for his extended session. In the stylised "The Bells", title track from his 1979 album, he spun imaginative recreations of worlds of fantasy and spectacle...”the great white Milky way Broadway”. Authentic and away from musical pastiches and artifice was the closing sincere suggestive rendition "Pale Blue Eyes" which stirred sentiments even as it reiterated the art of quietly creating a stir. “Rock and roll should stay simple. It shouldn’t get moody and convoluted,”the artist had once said. And this concluded moodily (“Sometimes I feel so happy.. sometimes I feel so sad... I thought of you as everything I just couldn’t keep”) as the lyrics of one who thrived on his poetic directness lingered on.

John Mayall Jamboree  

Concertgoers in Canada, the US and the U.K. reading this might like a preview of what they’re going to sample or like to compare and contrast snippets from the enthralling John Mayall evening in Rome with what they have seen and heard. We strongly encourage all jazz enthusiasts from Vancouver to Halifax and sea to shining sea in the US to make it to one or more venues in their vicinity for, if John Mayall’s Rome appearance were any indication of his vitality and performance calibre then even after his official retirement and disbanding of his longterm band The Bluesbreakers he is in excellent form and spirit, touring vigorously to maintain his mandate of “keeping the blues alive”.

His concert in the Auditorium’s Cavea in Rome spoke of his years in the jazz arena, expectedly, and spelt out in the clearest of terms his stamp on the rock and roll and rock scene. Indelible indeed when you come to think of it, for among the prodigious alumni of the John Mayall school have been phenomena such as Eric Clapton who outshone the master as he went on to form The Cream, drummer Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green and bass player John McVie who became the pop rock band Fleetwood Mac, and Mick Taylor who joined The Rolling Stones.

Having lived in a tree house in Macclesfield near Manchester and lived life through his music in addresses made famous in song such as "Blues From Laurel Canyon", what we had was a complete performance from one who has lived life as it is. In tow with his refreshing new band line up, unperturbed as they stood in famous shoes, the vastly entertaining John Mayall delighted with his keyboards and vocals as well as on harmonica and organ. Guitarist Rocky Athas from Texas undertook all the adventures and the solid hardhitting blues rhythm section from Chicago, Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on Drums, kept us glued to the beat. Mayall’s new Eagle Records album, his 57th. album called Tough, produced by the indefatigable John Mayall himself, slated for release on September 7th in the UK and 15th in the US is one all at this concert undoubtedly look forward to.

The concert showcased the quintessential John Mayall from 1966 to date, giving evidence of the many pioneering techniques and ideas he was celebrated for and gained his reputation on that have been incorporated into performances since by one and all. Simple chords and riffs whether treated and developed in the jazz idiom, the rock and roll or the jazz blues fusion and even the rock and roll jazz blend gave ample opportunity for the musicians to display their dexterity and John to elegantly lean his vocals on or prop them up wellcushioned or have them submerged by sheer volume and sound.

Instances of his teaming up with the crème de la crème of jazz and rock and roll worlds dotted the show and highlights from old and newer albums saw dimensions added onto them in this live performance which revealed the 2005 OBE recipient  at his stylish best making statements in sound that echoed his vision and thoughts on the world of today, contemporary life and touch and go relationships.

Incisive and gritty yet mellow when he wanted them to be, the years have seen those Chicago school style blues transformed in John’s hands to become the wholesome British blues he pioneered, fostered and shaped. John Mayall tours Canada and the US until August 20th. with appearances at the Calgary International Blues Festival, Edmonton Blues Festival, Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival and Ride Blues Festival. John Mayall’s UK Tour commences on 25th October this year and he tours Canada again 27.11.11 onwards.

Two To Tango 

It takes two to tango and when it comes to two past masters at the art coming together on one platform to dwell on their nostalgia for a distant land, even if it be in the exotic and oldworldly setting of the Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome, past and present dance in the strangest manner together. Giorgio Carnini, the organist and conductor with his Orchestra Camerata Italica, teamed up with celebrity Oscar winner pianist Luis Bacalov, famed for his film scores and championing of the tango through his compositions, for a truly impassioned evening of soaring musical lines and embellishments exquisitely wrought. Carnini’s "Suite Del Ricuerdo" triggered off the evening’s sentimental journey with a delicately poised orchestra intricately weaving the melodic dimensions and churning the emotional state of many a tango variant theme effectively.

The highlight of the evening was the performance of the star exponent of the tango as pianist who delved into the repertoire as well as gave vent to his own fancies in his "Suite Baires I" for pianoforte and strings and solo rendition "Corrientes" y "9 de Julio". Carlos Gardel’s "The Day You Love Me" (also title of a Gardel film), to the text of Alfredo de Pera, has become somewhat of a tango standard and Bacalov restored to it all its original pristeen thrill making it the very  soul of the tango. Classical Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera was featured with the highly melodic "Dance Of The Beautiful Maiden" from his 1937 Argentine Dances, Opus 2. The exquisite dance in 6/8 time was beautifully shaped by Bacalov from the moving first section with its tension and release patterning and the tightly delivered new melodic material in the second that established the pace and mood in an expressive manner up to the final reworking of the opening melodic content with intense richer harmonisations (based on thirds).

The tango composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla, a student of Ginastera and then of Nadia Boulanger who believably composed some 3000 compositions that turned the tango world round to ‘nuevo tango’ in a movement from the dance floor to the contemporary platform, was given a rousing reception when Bacalov performed his "Decarisimo" and "Inverno Porterio" with intensity and warmth handling the angular melodic figurations, lively harmonies and counterpoint with ease. Inspired by some of the tango exponents performed, Bacalov’s own "Suite" played around with the textures, gritty rhythm and the many sections of the tango form, as always delivered with panache and that improvisatory air that is the hallmark of a good tango pianist in perfect dialogue with a most obliging orchestra. The spectators, that adored the prolific Argentinian composer of innumerable film scores including Fellini’s La città delle donne, Tarantino’s film "Kill Bill" and the Oscar winner "The Postman", revelled in the four hand grand finale where the two stalwarts joined hands with the strings to perform Carnini’s Navidad Campera.

Spotlighting Social Club

A headlong plunge into the realm of sprightly rhythms and haunting vocals from Cuba was brought about by the 13 member band Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club (featuring some original members of the legendary Buena Vista Social Club made world famous by the Wim Wenders' film of the same title) who succeeded in evoking that proverbial sound and delivering its cultural package and host of local referents through the usage of Cuban instruments such as the lute-like Laoud, the Cuban guitar the Tres and the doubleheaded hourglass-shaped drums, the bata.

Away from the rhetoric of musical movements and established concert circuits, flourished a club in the Havana of the forties where the sound was rough and genuine and the son and the guajira and their derivatives captured the imagination of the land. Buena Vista Social Club, calling themselves after this institution, won acclaim for their two concert appearances and their modern US produced polished studio albums, all classics today. Their blend of the authentic Cuban sound with Latin and Caribbean rhythms, in streamlined jazzlike renditions that allowed band members to express themselves in solos and in unison, managed to maintain the heady hothouse vivacity, zeal and essence of the original music it had its roots in.

Four original members of the BVSC still with the Orquesta on this tour were joined by the charismatic Omara Portuendo, a charmer in the Wenders film and on stage. The sensuality and vigour of the music that, like the Argentinian tangos I spoke of earlier, dwelt on themes of dream and nostalgia, love and unions, visits and revisits, and all the romantic impulses of the Cuban genres were depicted in uninhibited performances by all the vocalists, so full of life and exuberance that warm inflections and cadences enhanced each wellshaped tune as lines were sculpted with the utmost affection. Guajiro Mirabal on the trumpet, Aguaje Ramos on trombone and Torres on the Cuban laoud amused and excelled in riveting solos embellishing lines vibrantly. Virtuoso pianist Rolando Luna on the Steinway (Ciampi) added to the texture.

Carlo Caluna affected the spectators with his eloquent singing and engaging presence. "El Cuarto De Tula" was rugged and lively, ably supported by three vocalists and "Quizas Quizas" was warm and sensuous featuring Omara in the lead as she involved the public in the choruses. Among the highlights, the tuneful Chan Chan developing the Compay Segundo four chord ‘son’ was exceptionally wellrendered. Overall, the band displayed an integrity of sound and energy while evolving languorous lines above the crisp percussive keyboards, bass and rhythm section, even as each had its own say provocatively. All the vocals had that tantalising quality of the region in spite of the slickness of the arrangements and their accompaniments featured enticing circling rhythms and crossrhythms. The encore "Candela" was specially memorable!  

Delivering forms that originated in Cuba from the rumba and its three variants and slowlyshaped sensually romantic bolero ballads to the contemporary dance floor music salsa, the Orquesta proved themselves excellent ambassadors for their land, improvising rhythmically, melodically and vocally against the main themes and choruses of these songs.