GARGANTUAN steps
Monday, November 24, 2008
the five peace band
The horrendous London weather was not sufficient to quell the highlight of my weekend, watching Chick Corea perform with John McLaughlin and the Five Peace Band at the Royal Festival Hall near Waterloo. This was the final day of the London Jazz Festival (which I always happen to find out too late) and I had already missed catching Herbie Hancock in concert the week before and also decided not to watch Take 6 too. Thankfully, I manage to get seats for this performance and though I didn't manage to get the seats in front of the stage, I was able to get fantastic seats behind the stage, in the choir stalls. I was right in the middle and right in the front row, and it was spectacular.
My "backstage" seat
The show began with a duet between long-time buddies, John McLaughlin (guitarist) and Chick Corea (keyboardist). Both have played under Miles Davis before and this concert was apparently their celebration of forty years of friendship! They have been touring Europe for the past month or so and this concert was their twenty-second and final performance. I suppose it was good for the audience, since they would give it their all and end with a bang. The next piece brought in the rest of the band - Kenny Garrett (saxaphonist), Christian McBride (bassist) and Vinnie Colaiuta (percussionist) and it was really a spectacular showcase. The percussionist was the most eye-catching of the lot throughout the performance, but at times he just seemed to unleash everything he had on the drums and being so close to the stage, my ear-drums were almost going to burst with the intense pressure. The guitarist was my favourite of the lot, with nicely shaped melodic lines stringing out a story. The saxaphonist, who also played under Miles before, was really intense in the second half and one of his solos reminded me of John Coltrane and how he just when overboard with improvisation. The bassist was technically perfect and he would be the next best performer of the lot. Chick Corea perfectly filled-in the space, though he didn't seem to generate much intensity in his improvisation.
The Five Peace Band
Vinnie Colaiuta, Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride, Chick Corea, John McLauglin
I shall end off my blog with a piece of the music that I captured, though I just missed out the last note, much to my annoyance. I really enjoyed this concert and I look forward to the next one, whatever it may be. Meanwhile, its back to studying for my essay test tomorrow on Infection.
One night in London
Labels: Chick Corea, Concert, Jazz, London, Music
Thursday, November 20, 2008
trumpet praise
Fontane recently turned 23 (last Friday in fact) and we celebrated her birthday with some of her friends at C&R Cafe in chinatown. This is a Malaysian cafe that serves local (Singapore/Malaysian) food, since it was the request for the night. Dinner wasn't that spectacular though. I once ate at the C&R Restaurant in Bayswater and the food was much better, and I recall having fish head curry back then (which happened on my birthday two years back with my medic friends)! We proceeded to a pub nearby and amazingly, managed to find a table to gather nine of us around. Fon had two shots of vodka and an additional cup of rum and I shall let the pictures tell the rest of the story for the night.
Meanwhile, I can't believe that the weeks have just been flying by. School is going to break for christmas in less than four weeks time, and it is time to work hard for the upcoming examinations which are before the holidays (finally one before holidays instead of after). More or less planned out my itinerary to Prague and Vienna, just left choosing a concert to go to in Vienna. Still no news back home about my the tour to Jordan and Israel, but hopefully that will materialise. Already dreaming of where to go to in Easter (perhaps Malta or Portugal?) and in Summer (Germany and possibly India?). Been reading up quite a bit on China (which I've been before back at the end of JC2), but I would like to go again, this time with the interest.
I'll be going for a jazz concert this sunday and the performance is by Chick Corea. Quite excited to see him live, but I've got the choir seats (which are behind the stage and the acoustics apparently aren't that great) but hopefully the view will be spectacular. Talking about jazz, just thought back to the times when I played my trumpet more regularly, and I quite miss practising it. Tried playing it back in Singapore, but I totally lost touch. Will probably need to go back to square one again. Perhaps, when I'm back in Singapore more permanently.
Yaocong (Fon's junior), the birthday girl herself and Wei Wei
Fon with her landlord's girlfriend, Carol, and her landlord, Lawrence
(the two of them then left early and Fon went home to find a 20kg bag of rice in her room, delivered by her landlord as a birthday present)
(the two of them then left early and Fon went home to find a 20kg bag of rice in her room, delivered by her landlord as a birthday present)
fRED, Fon, Lap and Mandy
Lap is one of Fon's old friends, from way back in Dunman High. Fred is his current house mate and barely halfway through his rum and he looked like an early christmas tree decoration. Mandy is one of Fon's new housemate, currently studying at Royal Academy (if I'm not mistaken).
I'll be going for a jazz concert this sunday and the performance is by Chick Corea. Quite excited to see him live, but I've got the choir seats (which are behind the stage and the acoustics apparently aren't that great) but hopefully the view will be spectacular. Talking about jazz, just thought back to the times when I played my trumpet more regularly, and I quite miss practising it. Tried playing it back in Singapore, but I totally lost touch. Will probably need to go back to square one again. Perhaps, when I'm back in Singapore more permanently.
My trumpet and its case
(the autograph to the left is by Arturo Sandoval and the autograph to the right is by Wynton Marsalis)
(the autograph to the left is by Arturo Sandoval and the autograph to the right is by Wynton Marsalis)
Wynton and me
I still remember attending all three performances by Wynton way back in JC2. On the Saturday afternoon session, I remember paying peanuts to get the ground floor seats and I sneakily brought in my empty trumpet case and a camera. Back then, the Esplanade didn't do stringent security checks at all (perhaps they did after I did this to them). I think Amanda (my sis) came along, and I can't remember who else, but it might have been Kenneth. Wynton was doing a talk about Charles Mingus and when he walked by the aisle where I was seated, I asked him if he could autograph my trumpet case, and he told me to stay back after the performance for that. After the performance, he went backstage and disappeared for a good fifteen minutes and I was afraid that he wouldn't come out. The security guards were trying to get rid of me too but I told them that I was waiting for Wynton. He came out in the end, and happily autographed my trumpet case. I also asked to take a photo with him, and he duly obliged, and though the security guard tried to stop me, Wynton just told him to stay away and my sis helped me to take the photograph. Just awesome! He then told me to keep blowing that horn!
My main aim is to go to New York one day and watch him perform, hopefully at the Village Vanguard, and perhaps autograph this photograph of mine!
Labels: Birthday, Trumpet, Wynton Marsalis
Friday, November 07, 2008
the aluminati
Clinical attachments ended rather uneventfully last week, with the highlight of the week for me was being able to draw blood from an old lady with almost no palpable veins and was extremely sensitive to the point where she said 'ouch' when my needle was not any where near her skin. The next most eventful thing was managing to place two cannulas in a patient but because I was unable to draw blood from them, I removed them, which should not have been the case, since I could have just left it there and then take blood from another vein. I guess I am at a time when I can still afford to make mistakes, thankfully.
Fon's parents also came down last week for her graduation and I had tonnes of good food last week! Andrew also came down for the weekend and we had a mini alumini gathering on Saturday with Mike Lui joining in the fun and the rain. Andrew came over from sunny Spain to feel the full blast of the autumn chill in London. He stayed over at my place on Friday night and then we adjourned for dim sum at Bayswater and then to Portobello market.
The Alumini returns
Andrew, Mike and me
Andrew, Mike and me
Meanwhile, I've just begun my BSc foundation course and it has been quite boring sitting down in lectures again and staring at the screen from 9-5pm and copying down notes and listening to a lecture regurgitate information. I guess I miss the action that goes about in the hospital, though I might be entirely wrong about that once I start working!
Time to get my studying engines geared up again! I'm going to have exams really soon.
Labels: Friends, Imperial College, London
