All that jazz.

I'm not usually particularly into jazz, but a couple of the LMU guys are. About 3 weeks ago (one of the first weeks we were here), the guys couldn't stop talking about jazz and I was down to watch live music especially in London, so we decided to try to find some live jazz. We checked out timeout.com, which has great listings and recommendations, and have been hooked ever since.

We've only been to 3 venues so far, but we're hoping to make this a weekly thing as we've gone once every week since that first time. We've got some prospects for tomorrow night but we usually go on weekdays since it's cheaper (oh and since we've been gone during the weekends).

The stuff we've seen and heard so far:

Zed-U feat. Jason Yarde: Cafe Concrete @ the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre. Really cool spot - small, eclectic. The concrete walls, affixed with painted plates, created an asymmetrical space. The jazz was unlike anything we'd ever heard. Pretty funky. Percussionist, bassist, clarinettist, saxophonist. Also, the saxophonist was controlling an electronic/distortion/synthesizer device with his foot. It was producing some unique, reverberating sounds. We were stoked from this first night which is why we continued to search out places.

The Cedars & Jackie Levin: The Sheep Walk, Leytonstone. The venue was above a pub filled with older men watching a football match. So we were a little confused at first. But when we went upstairs everything made more sense. The space was a mix between a darkly lit bingo hall/2nd grade classroom. It was a lot cooler than I am making it sound. Like that crazy older aunt who chain smokes and wears polyester pantsuits but has travelled all over the world. We played I Spy for a good 10 minutes and these are some of the decorations we spied: a wooden owl, a hanging parrot, a sombrero, roses and roses, Christmas lights, lots of records and memorabilia. The Cedars were a folk band - the stout and tattooed female singer had a nice dense voice. Jackie Levin was a Scottish folk blues guitarist/singer who told stories in between his songs. One of his stories was about Laurence Olivier and Richard (?) Olivier, Laurence's son. Another story was about Shannon Doyle, the Canadian Irish something assassin something transvestite. Awesome performance. Guinness wasn't as good as it was in Dublin though. Good, but not Dublin good.

Robert Mitchell: Charlie Wright's International Bar, Old Street. Nice, candlelit bar. There was a bassist, drummer, and pianist (Robert Mitchell). Great musicians and performers. Robert Mitchell's fingers were flying. And in the last song they played, the bassist's part was beautiful. This jazz was more mellow than that first day, but exactly what I think when I think jazz. One of the guys bought their vinyl recording. It was a really chill time, perfect for relaxing and reveling.

Alright, that's all I've got for now. The list will definitely continue as the weeks pass. These jazz/blues nights are a big part of the reason that I feel I have been taking advantage of living in London. When I get back to LA I am going to try to do likewise.