To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
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Jazz albums with Chris Searle: March 22, 2024
Reviews of Max Eastley/Terry Day/John Butcher, Trevor Tomkins' Sextant, and Caroline Kraabel and Pat Thomas
If you can see past the relentless commodification you will be rewarded by enormously powerful work, suggests JENNY MITCHELL
CHRIS SEARLE revels in the one-off collaboration between an American polymath and a British Muslim, and detects the presence of their revolutionary forebear
GORDON PARSONS revels in an ebullient production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul
GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis
Max Eastley/Terry Day/John Butcher
Angles of Enquiry
(Confront Recordings)
★★★★
MAX EASTLEY is a 79-year-old Devonian who plays the rare electro-acoustic monochord, a 10-foot-long wooden, single-stringed instrument played with fingers, bow or glass rods.
In a trio with percussionist Terry Day and saxophonist John Butcher, all through their album Angles of Enquiry his string whines, bounces, delves, clucks and menaces with low, bowed groans, harmonising with bird calls as his confreres combine with him, creating a soundscape of permanent surprise.
Eastley researches ”Aeolian Phenomena,” and it is a strange god of improvising winds that blows through the heart of this record, with a restless spirit of musical unity testifying in every assertive phrase.
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PETER MASON thrills to the sound of south London-born Yussef Dayes, and the galaxy of musicians drawn into his orbit
CHRIS SEARLE recommends a work of love and deep admiration for a great musician
CHRIS SEARLE recommends a new album featuring Pat Thomas and Ahmed, and marvels at the tempestuous power of a live performance
Re-releases from Bobby Wellins/Kenny Wheeler Quintet, Larry Stabbins/Keith Tippet/Louis Moholo-Moholo, and Charles Mingus Quintet