Levity and Everymother

Thanks to Brian Stewart of Cyberhalides for the B&W pic

Jazz is such a diverse community these days. Only two days after Alcohotlicks and their instrumental pub-rock-jazz-chops-crossover, I heard the piano/vocal duo of Luke Sweeting and Rachael Thoms. Now, this is rabidly different music but there’s still plenty in common. Obviously, there’s the improvisation. Improv is normally offered as the defining point of jazz, but there was also plenty of arrangihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifng and written composition in each of these performances. For my ears, jazz is defined by its sense of Afro-sourced groove and time. Both these outfits displayed it in spades. But increasingly there’s crossover between styles and periods, and this duo was no different. Often enough I could hear classical pianistic styles in Luke’s left hand and Rachael is a lyric soprano from the classical/opera tradition who performs both jazz and fine music. Rachael told me she was just a little uncomfortable because she hadn’t performed much jazz recently. That’s how much crossover happens these days.

They started with an informed version of Skylark that struck me with its rich arrangement. The rest of the two sets were mostly originals, variously by Rachael or Luke, and a few covers. I remember hearing this duo several years ago at Moruya for a very early performance and being struck by their proficiency and purity. It remains this way. Just piano and vocals. Luke is always strong. I felt he played here with an earthy edge: unrelenting and never-faltering rhythm, clearly stated harmonies in left and right hands, occasionally some delicious fills but mostly a bluesy, human earthiness. The piano, too, sounded settled with a softly padded rather than sharply defined tone. Luke’s role as accompaniment left him busy and this was somewhat in contrast with Rachael’s more restrained melodies over the top. They could be soprano-high (but not shrill or warbling) and I also noticed some nicely low, throaty notes, but the essence was the melodies that were longer and slower than the busy piano. Mostly longer notes, quarter or half notes, just occasionally with quick fills that a trained singer can pull off. There were some interesting rhythmic effects. I picked up a nice 9/8 piano accompaniment, but I think it was just extended triplet accompaniment over a 3/4 melody. There was a vocal passage of four over three in Mother’s prayer. Rachael sometimes sang wordlessly so the voice became instrumental. I loved how she would hold a note that would dissolve into vibrato and I was often intrigued by striking intervals. But these were mostly songs, with words and stories and emotions. Mother’s prayer was a good example, where Rachael sings of her son who is growing up and will soon leave home. It’s everymother’s lament and it was obviously heartfelt: “Your love is like a beacon / leading me home / little angel, darling, little one”. This is intimate stuff and a few innocent notes of glockenspiel at the end were perfectly fitting. Likewise, Luke presented a song about travelling in China and being lonely but warmed by friendly, but unknown, people. I didn’t always catch the words. I strained for some in Miles’ Blue in green, but I’m pretty sure it was the story of a jilted lover. Was it blues as in sadness and green as in envy? But I easily heard the words of the final pop tune, My American boy. It’s a light throwaway but any mention of NYC interests me these days: “Take me on a trip / I’d like to go someday / Take me to New York / I want to see LA / You are my American boy”.

This was an involving and intimate concert of songs with just a touch of levity by a wonderfully capable duo. Luke Sweeting (piano) accompanied Rachael Thoms (vocals). BTW, it was the first concert at the new venue: Jazz at the Gallery at the Canberra Grammar School. It’s spacious and acoustically damped and boasts a Kawai grand piano and quality wine on tap. Join the group on Facebook for further announcements. Congratulations and thanks to Pauline Griffiths for starting it up.