Joe against the Flow

The Counterflows festival might announce its emphasis on the alternative strands of music in its very title, but its emphasis on the connections between music and art make it part of a grand Glasgow tradition. Having a residency (Peter Dowling and Rob Kennedy), a family workshop (at the Glad Cafe) and a series of talks to accompany the gigs. Memories of Arika events past (like the one where they had a whole weekend of lectures from University level academics), or the Glasgow International (where music and visual art often meet) feed into a stream of creative festivals that fiddle with the boundaries between different genres, and give the whole thing a philosophical justification.

There is a big idea at the heart of Counterflows for 2014: the featured artist. Rather than slapping on a bunch of (admittedly intriguing) gigs, the weekend is structured around the featured artist, Joe McPhee. Counterflows are getting their money's worth out of McPhee - a little unfair on a gentleman who is knocking on for his fifth decade of honking his horn in virgin territories - with a late night set at the CCA, a chat on the Saturday, another late nighter at the GSA and three more at the Glad on Sunday.

But McPhee knows about the jazz, and the improvisation: he had a band called Survival Unit III, which is a cool name, and dabbled in free funk and can throw about the theory. He fits in well with the Glasgow vibe - disrespecting rules and regulations but knowing exactly why this is okay.

I could try to bang on about his sound, but I think this video clip might be better.