Jazz in Gasteiz

Tarantula attack in Bilbo

 After our first visit in 2009, last week, Lisa and me joined the Jazz Festival in Gasteiz (Gasteiz is Basc - in Spanish it's Vitoria) for the second time, but since it's forbidden to take photos or recordings during the concerts, I don't have any visual or audial material to share. I will spread in some photos of Bilbo (Spanish: Bilbao) and Gasteiz instead. 

In order not to stress our economy too much, we had decided to only spent 2 nights in Gasteiz: Wednesday/Thursday and Thursday/Friday, hence we joined the concerts on Wednesday and Thursday only. Sure you wanna read on?

After a 5 hours lasting, very hot car trip, we arrived at our hostal in Gasteiz at 20:00. A fast shower and some modifications regarding our outfit later, at 21:00 we were ready for the first concert to start. I have to admit that by no means I'm a jazz enthusiast, nor did I know the bands and musicians beforehand, but since I like music in general, that's usually no problem and during the years, I've learned to trust Elisabet's taste when it comes to going to concerts. I won't write any critics about the concert but only will reflect my overall impressions.

The first act was a trumpeter called Ibrahim Maalouf and his band. Maalouf plays his instrument Miles Davis like, what apparently means that he prefers soft tones and not the loud ones, although I'm quite sure that there's more to it than just that. According to Elisabet, he makes much use of quarter tones and other non European elements, which gives a unique touch to his music and makes things much harder for the saxophon player, who from time to time tried to accompany him. The concert was okay and the song I liked most was one called "Issues". Ibrahim did a lot of comedy throughout the gig. First it was real fun, but soon it got a little too much, at least in my opinion. After that, a guitar player called Bill Frisell, accompanied by two violins, a Cello and drums played some tunes. My first impression was, that it was aimless dideldoo dideldaa music, but once into it, it turned out to be very interesting. Simple, short melodies repeated over and over, each time a little different and very relaxing but at the same time somehow forward pushing. Very interesting, also because of the different rythms they used throughout the concert. Much emphasis was put into subtle high pitch details, which  served as a hook for me, trying to detect as much as possible of them.

At the Guggenheim

 On Thursday, we left Gasteiz and went to Bilbo, where I'd never been before. We didn't exactly know where to go and so drove directly to the Guggenheim Museum - not an easy task, by the way. After strolling around the building for a while, we went to what we supposed was the city centre. It seems, however, that we were wrong, and where we've been is more something like the commercial centre of Bilbo. (For those who know the city: around the building of the Diputation it was). Anyway, after dinner we reparked the car and finally visited the Guggenheim. The reparking included us witnessing how a North African gentlemen, with the help of a compatriot, entered a motor caravan through one of its sidewindows. I doubt, that they had lost their keys and, shame over me, suppose, that they wanted to steal some belongings of the caravan's owners. One of the fuckers, when he noticed us, approached us and asked whether we had any problems. We hadn't - but I wouldn't care if the two of them, as well as others active in their business, died a slow and painful death soon.

Rusty steel

Well, after that incident, Lisa and me entered the Guggenheim. The first thing that striked me, was that from the inside the building seems bigger than from the outside - especially higher. Its organic forms are also to be found in the interieur, which actually is what I liked most, because I'm not that interested in art and so at least could focus on the interesting architecture. The first exhibition room we entered was one on the ground level, filled with curved, rusty steel panels alligned in a way that made it possible to stroll in front of, behind, around and in between them. Not quite a labyrinth, but something that comes close to it. A good place to play hide and run, to give you an idea. That was funny, hence I liked it. The big hall, empty if it wasn't for the steel panels, also had an very interesting accustic behaviour. A small child, between one and two years old, was the first to notice. From then on it spent an important amount of time experimenting with it - much to the disgust of what I guess were its parents. 

The other galleries were full of more conventional artwork. People, and that includes Elisabet, spent much time watching the stuff, but I for myself couldn't find anything interesting there. After several hours, we left the museum and soon headed back to Gasteiz.

Thursday's first concert was Jacky Terrasson - a group that produced some interesting tunes, but that apparently were totally unconnected one to another. Their music was utterly unstructured and discontinuous. As soon as I liked an element, a rythm for example, it disappeared and was substituted by another. At least they were consequent, for the "unstructuredness" not only affected the songs itself, but also the show as a whole: one song had absolutely nothing to do with the next or the former. Even the musicians appeared and disappeared .... the female singer didn't show up until the fourth song, and then wasn't to be seen again until the penultimate .... strange. Maybe what I write sounds interesting, but believe me, it wasn't.

Gasteiz

Then it was time for Melody Gardot, maybe the concert I liked most. A very good sound and lightshow, some interesting songs and a beautyful woman on stage. But then, it wasn't very jazzy. And that's exactly what Elisabet critisizes about it. According to her, more like a jazz musician, Melody seems to be a super perfectly polished product. Instead of improvisation and jazz, she focusses on perfection and image and during the concert even changed her outfit several times. And several aspects were fake. An original Anadalusian Flamenco guitar player - from the USA, African and Brazilian musical elements played by Americans and so on. Furthermore, Elisabet had read, that the poor girl, as a consequence of an accident years ago, was somehow handicapped, suffering from reduced mobility and hypersensibility, that she only survived due to the music that was played for her while confined to her hospital bed. I don't wanna question what may have happened to her, for I don't know it, but it somehow seems that her story is being told in an extra spectacular way so as to sell the product better. Elisabet at least was very disappointed with the show.

This whole account may sound as if we didn't enjoy our short holydays much, but that's not right. They were a very welcome interruption of our everyday's life, we had fun, saw different things and Gasteiz still is the nice city I remembered from 2009. 

Oh, but there's a huge suburb full of new appartment buildings, like a hundred blocks, and most of them seemingly empty. I doubt that that is a sign for a good construction policy. To me, it rather seems like a very bad management by the city council, but maybe I'm critisizing too much.