About Me
Hi, thanks for checking out my page...I'm a writer, musician and filmmaker/photographer looking to network with people everywhere - London is my home city but I study at the University of Bristol and have spent a lot of time in New York... so naturally I'm always interested to find out about developments on the music scenes of all those places.Jazz is definitely my favourite genre, followed in no particular order by funk, reggae, Latin, ska, dub, world, fusion, blues, electronic/chillout, hip-hop, classical, afrobeat, rock... pretty much everything (and I really mean everything, unlike a lot of people who say that). If you're interested, check out my page at last.fm to see what I've been listening to recently or click the playlist on the left to hear for yourself.If you're a recording artist or a band and would like me to review CDs/gigs, definitely get in touch; I try to be very open-minded so am always up for hearing new stuff. Feel free to add me and thanks for taking the time to read this!
CALLING ALL BANDS IN/AROUND BRISTOL OR PLANNING TO TOUR THE UK Drop me a message if you would be interested in coming to play at the University of Bristol student union - the Jazz/Funk/Soul society have a weekly spot there and we're always looking for people who want to come and gig. Or if you fancy slightly larger venues that could also be possible.
My Blog
Elan Mehler Quartet - Scheme For Thought
Scheme For Thought was released on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings in September 2007, accompanied by a series of gigs around London by pianist Elan Mehler and his quartet. This group has compl...
Posted by Frederick Bernas on Sun, 23 Sep 2007 09:08:00 PST
Empirical CD Review
Empirical burst onto the international music scene at the 2007 North Sea Jazz Festival, beating four other bands to win the inaugural European Jazz Competition. Two days later, with perfect timing, th...
Posted by Frederick Bernas on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:58:00 PST
Londons Funkiest Hour
The Sound StylisticsJazz Café, LondonThursday 30 August, 2007After witnessing Australian deep funk outfit The Bamboos tear up a small Bristol wine bar some months ago, it was hard to imagine how any o...
Posted by Frederick Bernas on Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:44:00 PST
Trio Innovation
Avishai CohenRonnie Scott's, LondonFriday August 24, 2007This was the first time I'd visited London's legendary jazz venue since its recent swanky refurbishment; still dimly lit, but with a classier k...
Posted by Frederick Bernas on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 02:44:00 PST
Firejuggling
A few shots from the Rototom Sunsplash......
Posted by Frederick Bernas on Fri, 24 Aug 2007 04:50:00 PST
Multi-directional Masterclass
Rashied Ali QuintetPizza on the Park, LondonSaturday July 21, 2007"True legend" in jazz circles is a frequently-used cliche. This time it's true. Rashied Ali is the man who pioneered an approach to dr...
Posted by Frederick Bernas on Mon, 30 Jul 2007 04:11:00 PST
Sunsplash Finale
The last couple of days at Sunsplash were pretty mixed. Some acts managed to really catch my imagination, namely Ziggy Marley and Groundation, but there was a also a disappointing return to the artifi...
Posted by Frederick Bernas on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 01:57:00 PST
Two in One
Didn't have time to write yesterday, so I'll go through a few highlights of the past couple of days...The Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra definitely gets my vote for most entertaining act so far at this ...
Posted by Frederick Bernas on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 05:43:00 PST
Roots Rock Reggae?
Five more bands to look forward to this evening, starting in probably just over an hour with the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. This ten-piece ensemble has apparently played at Sunsplash before and wen...
Posted by Frederick Bernas on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 05:06:00 PST
Torrential Downpour
So far I haven't really had the time to write about anything other than the music here at Sunsplash. I'm planning to talk about things like the atmosphere of the festival and other activities which ha...
Posted by Frederick Bernas on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 05:04:00 PST