Reviews / Jazz mastery from Mama Terra and Norman Willmore at Mareel
REVIEWER Pete Bevington was left in awe by a special jazz treat at Mareel on Friday night, thanks to The Bop Shop and Shetland Arts.
Less than a month after the jazz sophistication of The Neil Cowley Trio, the two-thirds-full auditorium were witness to the mastery of Mama Terra and the rich sounds of their Scottish spiritual jazz.
Led by Glasgow pianist Marco Cafolla at the keys – under the wooly hat he kept on all night – the six piece took us on a mellifluous sonic journey across oceans, through rain forests and off into outer…or inner space. Early in the evening I felt I’d boarded the Starship Enterprise “going where no man has gone before”, by the end I couldn’t sit still in my seat as they stormed through their very generous set.
The soaring, swooping voice of Rachel Lightbody led us into Kamasi Washington territory, with sax virtuoso Konrad Wiszniewski leading the charge and stretching himself and his instrument’s boundaries with one solo after another. He looked somewhat familiar, reminding me of a night at Lerwick Town Hall back in the heyday of the Shetland Jazz Club. A little research showed me he did indeed play with Brass Jaw, brought north by Sandwick jazz impresario Jeff Merrifield many years ago.
I remember commenting at the time on his “vein busting” performance. Now older, he’s lost none of his power and passion, but gained more control… of his veins at least!
And what a band, trombonist Mikey Owers keeping it cool and groovy, drummer Dave Hough kicking out great rhythms and big and bearded Ross Saunders pumping out booming bass and even a bit of Bootsy in the obligatory solo each performer was allowed to display their enormous talent. By the end of the night the audience were ecstatically demanding an encore, which they duly received.
One of the things I love about jazz is how much each performer clearly loves their chosen instrument and that sheer joy was evident in spades last night. This was music played from the heart, carrying a message of love for this precious world we share, and expressed by a humble Cafolla encouraging us to take care of our land and each other, and asking why anyone would want to go to Mars when we live on such a beautiful planet with so much to explore, before launching into a gorgeous piece celebrating our whales, to be featured on their upcoming album Inner Space.
This was a top class performance from a top class outfit, but the big surprise for me last night was Shetland’s own Norman Willmore. What a treasure he is. I have not seen him play since he took part in the first show Jeff Merrifield organised in Shetland when he brought up renegade Israeli saxophone maestro Gilad Atzmon. Norman, who must have been around 12 at the time, had been taken under Atzmon’s wing during a weekend workshop and displayed real talent when he got his chance to perform.
Last night we saw how that talent has matured over the years thanks to the dedication this young man has for his instrument. Appearing on stage as the night’s support act, sitting unassumingly on a stool in his black socks, black slacks and black vest and looking like he’d just emerged from sitting round a campfire in the woods, he introduced his first tune Summoning Trolls, saying it was the Smoke on the Water of Norway’s hardanger fiddle crowd. Maybe not so hard on the hardanger, but a challenge on the sax, he said.
Norman’s playing is simply stunning…and highly original. He conjured up images of long vistas, open skies, flocks of birds flying through the hall, mythical creatures crawling out from behind him, and at one point sounded like he could lead an army of rebels out of the hills with his horn ringing out like a warrior’s bagpipes as he stamped his socked feet in marching rhythm.
He cleverly mixed in touches of Scandinavia, Scotland and his Shetland roots, underscoring his sound with a haunting organ he played with his socked feet. We even had Auld Lang Syne re-envisioned with a disco beat that was as extraordinary as it was unlikely.
This young man’s passion, imagination and intelligence was quite something to behold, and something for Shetland to be extremely proud of. What great musicians these islands produce!
Towards the end of the evening Norman joined Mama Terra on stage and demonstrated he could rock out with the best of them as he traded solos with the brass frontline fae sooth.
Like I said…what a treat. And tonight there’s more with Marco leading the Federation of the Disco Pimp at the Legion for a night of get down and boogie. Be there…or don’t be there. Big shout out to Lyall and The Bop Shop for making this happen. Live music rools!
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