The French Touch

Lets take a step back 30 or so years to analyse its homonymous during the 60’s / 70’s. The French sound is indisputably characteristic and it distinguishes itself musically in its Cinematic Sound as well as Library or simply on a Pop Jazz level in such that the French have always liked to experiment with electronic equipment along with acoustic instruments for realising very creative and innovative sounds. As we have already discussed in precedent issues the end of the sixties was a very fertile period for that regarding this kind of sound and it is just that on which I will be focusing by once again telling you about all that which I feel to be essential. Let’s start then with a few illustrious names… Vincent Geminiani was a French composer and sculpture who loved percussion, not intended as we intend it, but as a ‘sculpture instrument’, experimental and orchestral like, for example, ‘Le Brontè’, a kind of singular vibraphone created by him and used on many occasions, also requested by other composers. At the beginning of the seventies he created “Musique Pour Un Voyage Extraordinaire” that was nothing less that a musical comment abstract enough for a Shakespeare piece… a bit like Axelrod for William Blake.

In 1972 MPI (Musique Pour L’image), a transalpine label that specialised in post-scoring for the tv and radio, published some of his compositions amongst which a piece called “Orphis Le Serpentaire” that fully represented that which was the French sound of that period where everything was allowed and where culture, sound and style research seeped through. This song was contained on a piece of vinyl that included all of the pop experimentations of Gemiani from that period entitled ‘Modern Pop Percussion De Paris’ in which scat vocals mixed together with true bass ‘trips’, drums and ‘orchestral noises’, blossoming into beautiful pop pieces with very groovy and catchy rhythms. Another big name was Nino Nardini, a French composer of Italian origin who started his musical experience at a very early age because, just like Geminiani, he came from a family of musicians. Many of his best compositions tied to the sound in question are ‘available’ on Chappell (a French label that specialised in post-scoring music) and one of his pieces of work (re-pressed just as few years ago) that I would recommend is “Rotonde Musique” that was realised with the Pop Riviera Orchestra where the sound is very similar to that of the Mohawks but with a softer touch.. a ‘French Touch’ to be more precise.



In a previous Article I mentioned his masterpiece “Jungle Obsession”, an album to have at any cost because it represents and essential piece of musical history, I will talk again about it though for the motive I have just mentioned and also because it introduces another maestro who collaborated often with Nardini. They called themselves Roger Roger (Georges Teperino) and many of their works were helped along by Nardini for the Chappell label (the “Mood Music” volumes are proof of such…). Roger Roger were specialised in electronic amalgamated with knowledge giving, naturally, a French Touch to the orchestral parts as well as the grooves. Another pseudonym was Cecil Leuter with which was signed the masterpiece entitled “Pop Electronique”, a very rare piece of vinyl, already reviewed in ‘The Soul Beat’, that united pure electronic with pure groove! To finish off this focus on the ‘60’s French Touch’ I will cite a composer of Balkan origins who is also one of my favourites… this much sought after musician (musically of course) is Andy Lore (or Daniel White, Janko Nilovic), one of the maestro’s of Parisian library music. “Pop Impressions”, “Psich Impressions”, “Vocal Impressions”, “Pop Revolution”, “Ambience Et Rhymes” and many others are his pieces of work realised during the 60’s on labels such as Telemusic, Montparnasse 2000 and many others.
The sound of Nilovic was very unmistakable and had a certain baroque touch to it where scat vocals and orchestral parts (often abstract) were united to contemporary rhythms (60’s) and a pop jazz sound. For space reasons I have only told you about the most famous exponents of that which I define as the ‘60’s French Touch’ but many other composers and musicians have contributed to it also: names that often signed to soundtracks or post-scoring were Vladimir Cosma, Jack Arel, Dave Sucky, R. Guiot, Guy Pedersen, Francis Lay, Roland Vincent, Romauld and others. I will stop here… now its your turn to try and figure out the true origins of the ‘French Touch’. Aurevoire and.. peace now!

WHAT IS JAZZ ?

A night after one of my Jazzmotel DJ set sessions I was thinking about Jazz .
What is Jazz ?
How Jazz influenced me and my style ....
How the people who come and listen to me are influenced by Jazz .
After that I start to think about all the musicians and the Bands I select during this sessions and I start to think about the way they had to think about Jazz .
What their were thinking during their sessions , their compositions , their recording sessions ?
That night I decide to write a mail to my friends musicians and composers to ask them to resolve my dubt,if I can call it dubt !
So I wrote em : “tell me something about Jazz , straight from your inside” .
Some of them were nearly playing , some just composing and some just chilling...
This is what they kindly wrote me ....
I think this is a great opportunity for me and for you to see what the real players think about it !




Jazz is a clever conversation among people who admire each other , even if
they haven?t met before .
The theme must be good , so they may get excited to change ideas and
improvisations about it .

Marcos Valle


Alessio hi-Simon from the Heavies-crazy Englishman-Here's my
thoughts.......
'Jazz is the teacher, funk is the preacher'.-James Blood Ulmer. That
statement says it all. Jazz is Dead?! But what is Jazz? As I sit here
in my hotel room in New York writing this, Roland Kirk comes on my ipod
randomly-It sounds so alive. In my life as a member of the Brand New
Heavies Jazz has been many things-a dance music, a way of approaching
soloing, a cheesy thing, a place of great individuality and
interaction. It's as indefinable as the origin of the word is
untraceable. Jazz has had genres where it can be named-from 'Dixieland
to Be-Bop and on.The greatest Jazz musician of the last century, Louis
Armstrong, created a starting place for a music that through the
decades has by the very nature of it's essence fused into the
undefined. It's a social music that as it met many other styles over
the decades became absorbed into them and visa versa. I personally love
fusion-Africa meets Europe in America. I'm gonna keep this short and
give some recommended listening n reading if that's o.k.
Books-Beneath The Underdog-Charles Mingus-Has e real good tip on a
great sex technique! Straight Life-Art Pepper. Has a great story of
when his wife woke him up and tells him she's booked a session with the
famous Miles Davis Rhythm section. But he's not played for a while n is
strung out-but he makes the studio and records an album-the great thing
is, you can buy the album he made n hear these guys meeting n talking
thru music right there.That stuff don't happen no more.
Tunes-
West End Blues-Louis Armstrong (1927)
Fly Town Nose Blues-Roland Kirk (Check this out on youtube)
Shit it's 5 a.m and I've got a gig tomorrow! Hi JAZZMOTEL, Seeya, Si.

Simon Bartholomew ( The Brand new Heavies )



Namaste Alessio,
At a time when Jazz is fast disappearing world-wide from our radio stations and Jazz clubs disappearing in the USA.

We celebrate the freedom principle!
We give thanks for the inspiration information passed on by the leading lights, Byrd, Miles, Dizzy, Trane and the rest.
We play and we dance, and we find peace and much love.
For like you...Music is my sanctuary and Jazz my citadel.
Bluey
( Incognito)


Jazz is the ultimate spontaneous expression.

Alan Hawkshaw ( Composer , Organist KPM & Mohawks )


Jazz is rhythm, busy yet smooth
Jazz is also a wonderful groove
Jazz never dies, doesn't tell lies
If you will listen your life can improve
Jazz is a music form that stretces out, far and wide, to underscore vibes, thoughts, feelings, and vision. It is expressive, eclectic and very special to the ears and imagination. You can be taken on a journey, or just groove, or both.

JAZZ BY JOHN MANUEL ( Ramp )


JAZZ IS A RARE ART FORM THAT LET'S A MUSICIAN EXPRESS HIS VIEWS TOWARDS HIS CRAFT.. THERE ARE MANY FORMS OF JAZZ AND EACH ONE COMPLIMENTS THE OTHER. THANK GOD FOR THE PIONEERS OF JAZZ WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP THIS GREAT MUSICAL EXPERIENCE.------------
CHEERS JOE BATAAN


Hey Alessio, good to hear from you, and glad that your gonna be a dad. We
the people of the planet must continue and combine our efforts to make the
future free for our children, anything less than that is a betrayal of our adult responsibilities.
As for Jazz, my poem "Jazzoetry" expresses my impressions and thoughts on the Art Form.
Also "Bird's Word"....
Peace In, and all the best.........
Jalal

Interview to Alan Hawkshaw

It is roughly 15 years that I delight in selecting, collecting and proposing in the clubs this sound that mixes various sounds such as jazz, Bossa Nova, orchestral r’n’b from the end of the 60’s, soul funk, oriental influences in jazz music, rare grooves, soundtracks, themes and many other kinds of music that has been produced in a range of time that goes from the middle of the 60’s to the beginning of the 70’s. As it is a rather vast subject, after many years spent amongst such sounds there has risen in me the need to define it all with just one definition… thus was born ‘The Soul Beat’, a column where I will touch on, from time to time, all of the above mentioned genres! I will start off by telling you about the so called ‘library’ music, re-discovered recently and created by labels that, giving a free hand to better and less known composers, produced themes (with the help of the cream of session men of the time) that were used as background music for radio or television spots. The labels in questions were CONROY, MONTPARNASSE 2000, DE WOLFE, TELEMUSIC, BURTON, the most famous KPM and many others, Italian also, with whom collaborated names of the calibre of Umiliani, Morricone and Alessandroni! The re-discovery came about around 94 when three English DJ’s, with their “The Sound Gallery” compilation, brought back in a big way great grooves and great composers. It was however the DJ’s from Blow Up in London who found the skein in the web by launching “Exclusive Blends” that put into evidence the KPM label, putting up the prices even to this day (and who knows for how much longer)… Think about it a KPM could cost anything up to £150! The sound was very varied and touched on easy listening, pop, jazz, Bossa, beat, jazz funk and soul but it also wasn’t rare to find some ethnic or experimental sounds. There is nothing better now than to give you a run down of some of the more significant KPM’s that I have picked up throughout Europe or the most significant composers starting off with the mythical Alan Hawkshaw, an organist who composed, together with Keith Mansfield and Alan Parker in the KPM ‘green’ or ‘1000’ series, the most costly and sought after pieces, “Move Move Move”, “Soul Organ Impromptu”, “Beat Me Till I’m Blue”, “Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde Park”, “Senior Thump” or “The Storm”, some of which are contained on a very rare and very expensive album from the Mohawks (1968 – PAMA Records) where Hawkshaw played under the The Hawk name, re-discovered in the 80’s becoming celebrated with that organ riff “The Champ” that made hip-hop history (see KRS ONE and others). Many groups today, such as Corduroy, Jtq or Big Boss Men, have clearly been influenced by the ‘KPM Big beat’, also many DJ’s and collectors search for these pieces in places such as on line auctions in an effort to enrich their own collections, to drive the floors wild and, above all, to have new samples of drums, bass and various grooves… For those who are looking for KPM I will list a few titles: The Essential KPM’s 1000 series > Flamboyant Themes Vol. I, II, III, IV, Gentle Sound Vol. I, Flute For Moderns, Accent On Percussion, The Big Beat Vol. I and Vol. II, Music For A Young Generation, The Sound Of Pop, Beat Incidental and Colours In Rhythm. The Essential Composers > Alan Hawkshaw, Alan Parker, Alan Moorhouse, Keith Mansfield, Syd Dale, Johnny Pearson, Ray Cameron, David Lindup, Johnny Hawksworth.


After a lot of researching i get in touch with Alan Hawkshaw , one of my KPM and Organ player heroes .
I decide to ask him some questions about that music , that period and other things
Alan Hawkshaw were rediscovered in the mid 90's by Blow Up's DJ's for the " Exclusive Blends " Compilations .
Hawkshaw were one of the most wanted Organists during the Library music recordings period in the 60's till mid 70's and he’s still riding now days .
He recorded more than 7000 tracks for labels like KPM , Bruton Music , Music House etc . He was the leader of the mithic band called " Mohawks " , his 60's and 70's recordings are sold today up to 300 UKP and his riffs were sampled by loads of Hip Hop bands .His style is unmistakable songs like " Move Move Move " , " The Champ " , " Beat me till i'm Blue ", "Pepsi " , "Hot Pants", " L.S.D " , "Piccadilly night ride " are now masterpieces .
I had a chat with him trying to understand more about this man wich is not so easy to get informations about

INTERVIEW TO ALAN HAWKSHAW

Lets talk about the Mohawks , how did they born and who were the Mohawks ?we have so less informations about them .

The Mohawks was a scratch session of various well known session
musicians of which I was one. There was no actual band called the
Mohawks. My name on the record is Morris Hawk. Its that simple.

Which musicians did influence you at the beginning of your career ?

Musicians that influenced me early in pre-teens would have been Fats
Waller, Benny Payne, who are both pianists. Jazz pianists continued
to influence me right into my teens and beyond including Oscar
Peterson, George Shearing, Bill Evans, E rrol Garner.

How the relationship between you and KPM started?

An introduction to Robin Phillips who was head of KPM in 1962 by Guy
Fletcher . This led to a long association with Robin through various
other library companies including Music House and Bruton Music.

How do you define the end of 60'S KPM/ Mohawks sound , R'n'B , Pop ...

The Funky sound began to change during the early seventies as other
forms of popular music began to take shape. That it has been revived
in the 21st century is a mystery to me but I am flattered that this
gendre of music has sustained itself all these years.


How the relationship with Keith Mansfield started ?


Keith Mansfield met in the mid sixties while I was still in a rock
group called The Original Checkmates. He used me on most if not all
of his recording session from the mid sixties into the late seventies.


What about the Swinging London feeling we get listening to "Move Move Move" or "Soul Organ Showcase" album . Is still London Swinging now days?

I would say that the term Swinging London applies to the sixties
period. That decade was quite different than any other decade in that
it contained the tidle wave of the Beatles and the subsequent
Liverpool sound plus people were more aware of fashion. Hot Pants,
Flower Power were all part of the culture of that time and with the
advent of boutiques in fashion streets such as Carnaby Street the
term Swinging London encompassed all these elements. It may still be
swinging today but not in the same way as the sixties.


At the Big Beat vol 1/2 recording sessions was you thinking about create music for a spot or an advertisement or to make Youngster dance ?

Big Beat had no ulterior motive other than its energetic content. It
was typical of the music of that period.


You worked with loads of musicians , touching many kind of music , also near Rock things like Rumpletiltskin or the Hawkshaw version of Hair .
How these collaborations happened ?

All the musicians I worked with were part of the London session scene
and we all met on our various day to day sessions, of which I
recorded approximately 7000 during a 13 year period.


What you think about todays Organists wich are inspirate by Hawkshaw Style ?


I am flattered that organists are inspired by my style.


Whats your feeling about knowing that KPM records like "Big Beat vol 2" costs about 200 uk pounds or more?

I know collectors are paying large sums for certain vinyl albums of
the sixties. None of this money ever reaches me by the way.


Did you ever think about a Mohawks / KPM all-stars reunion after the Jazz Cafe success , some years ago?

I'd love to do another Jazz Cafe live concert with the KPM writers
and musicians and this will almost certainly happen within the
forseeable future.

Wich label gived you more creative space ? De Wolfe , KPM , Studio2 ?

KPM was without a doubt the first company to give me free license to
pursue my library writing and playing.


Some days ago KPM all stars played again at Jazz Cafe with a lot of energy and a lot of positive response .