14 November 2013

Apologies

It was a busy time and that’s my reason but not an excuse. I missed writing up the CD launch for RasRufus. RasRufus are graduates of the Jazz School. They’ve been lucky in grants, and this is one outcome: their CD launch. The Ainslie Arts Centre was full with family and friends. This was virtually all original material, other than a visit to Radiohead. It was varied: studiously cool with minimal grooves, latin dotted crotchets, jazz rockers in 9/8, a Lonnie Smith tribute, the unpredictable floating odd times of Radiohead, a ballad and the major work, Tanzverbot. Tanzverbot is the name of the CD and the tune is long and complex. It means “dance is forbidden” in German, and refers to dance being banned before religious and public festivities from the 1930s. It’s written as an undanceable piece, although there’s at least one segment of danceable 4/4 mixed with the freeish or minimal styles and punctuated melodies and 7/4. Careful and prescribed msuic and sometimes excitable, especially with solos from Luke and Tom. My apologies to RasRufus for being so late with this one. RR are Victor Rufus (guitar), Henry Rasmussen (drums), Luke Sweeting (piano), Tom Sly (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Jared Plane (bass). Victor and Henry are the composers.

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