I play with several of them and I know they are good. This is the Canberra Youth Orchestra and the concert was the second of their Icons series for 2016, this one featuring Dvorak (8th Symphony). But in addition, there were piano soloists Edward and Stephanie Neeman, Edward playing Gershwin Rhapsody in blue without music but with lots of flourish and poignancy, and both playing Mendelssohn Concerto for two pianos. Everyone I spoke to was enraptured afterwards by the Gershwin. It's so bluesy and lyrical and modern and jazzy and well known and easy to like. The Mendelssohn was an early work: he wrote it at age 14. I enjoyed hearing the two pianos, somewhat similar in tone, playing back and forth between them, somewhat int he tradition of call and response but far more busy. Not quite Mozart, suggested some, but still decent and more to come, and presumably younger than pretty much everyone in our youth orchestra. Their ages are up to 27-or-so and this can include high level students and graduates and much younger musicians. I like the extended age range: there's a mix of levels of development and, I assume, some inherent mentoring of younger by older or more experienced. But it's a wonderful sound, musical and committed. These guys have chops and are developing it further. Even conductor Leonard is of their age, if considerably mature in leadership. A pleasure and a frequent revelation.
Rach gave us the words of the hipsters themselves, witty or profound, eminently quotable, and their music, their ultimate expression. The selected hipsters were Monk, Benny Golson, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, Bob Dorough and Miles. Every tune was sung, often with lyrics added later by jazz vocalese singers. Famed tunes like Round midnight, Take 5 and Devil may care; slightly lesser known masterpieces like Nardis and Whisper not; some common blow calls like Well you needn't and Blue Monk; profound numbers like Waltz for Debby and Blue and green; and the inevitably amusing ones like Too close for comfort ("One thing leads to another / too late, to duck for cover / too close, too close for comfort / now" with that ambiguous final word). And this was about the best band in town that I could imagine playing this light and tight, lyrical music with such deceptive ease: Rachael with her classical chops and jazz sensibility; Lachlan so clean and precise (Rachael's "human metronome"); Chris understated and ever aware; James accompanying then soloing with huge, unbasslike lyricism. These tunes can sound old and overworked but this was fresh, vibrant, crystalline. I was refreshed by the pleasure of the standard repertoire but I shouldn't be surprised given the band. Maynard G Krebs would have claimed Monk as the original hipster, and so might some others, but they were all geniuses, at least near enough for jazz.
Not too much of valour in battle; perhaps the piper came closest to that, given a piper's role in those days. There were pieces well known by Australians and others and many lesser known. There were instrumentals amongst several songs. The concert itself lasted 90 minutes and the request for no applause between tunes lent it a pensive air which suited well. The British High Commissioner recited the Ode of remembrance with some emotion. The Ode is longer than the commonly cited Australian version ("They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old / Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn / At the going down of the sun and in the morning / We will remember them"). The HC narrated two of seven verses from the original, excluding some specific references to England. Then a minute of silence, the Last post sung by tenor and a final bugle call. With the piper and the lofty Cathedral-like space and following over an hour of tragic memories, the room's mood was palpably affected. The musicians were impressive, intoning and bowing with lovely precision. Just 3 violins, viola, cello and accordion, sometimes with voice, so the music was clear and open. My favourite was FS Kelly Elegy, but only because I know it well, and his Somme lament. The whole was bathed in pathos which most showed in some songs. Like Suzette, presumably an ode to a lover, but displaying little joy amongst its dense Edwardian romanticism; or Gurney singing that "I'm homesick for my hills again"; or Gurney again by a bierside "It's most grand to die / most grand"; or Ibert's strained attempt at recall of home and hearth in his Noël en Picardie. Then to end, the walking piper coming down the High Court ramp growing louder as he approached, and the Ode and the Last Post. It was touching and quiet and beautifully presented and some superb performances (including some thoroughly impressive piping). And a printed program that was a work of both history and art. Congrats to all.
The host band was Northside City Slickers with John Van Buuren, Tim Spellman and Fred Pilcher and Bridget Croft sitting in for a few songs. Then the jammers list. I was lucky enough to play with a great band led by Chris Harland with Peter Kirkup, Mitch Preston and Chris Tominich on harp. Three 12-bar blues: Medium temp C, some walking; 12/8 in A; driving blues in G. That's the blues for ya. Great fun, fabulous amp (Mesa-Boogie, thanks Bucky), hot and tight. Then a series of other bands and various mates: Steve, Don, Ken, Ross, Dan, even Wayne Kelly made and appearance. A big hall with a decent crowd, some dancers, German beer away from the rain outside. Great! 
I've commented before that Wayne Kelly's Trio leading a Wednesday night jam session at the Old Canberra Inn is our local Smalls. I got there last Wednesday. It was cold, cold outside but snug inside with wood fires behind glass and the unexpected warmth of a slab hut, no doubt sealed against drafts. So the venue was hot, good for boutique beers, and the music was too. The band was Wayne, Ben and Mark. The sitins were three drummers, one bass, one trumpet, one piano, one vocal. The piano and vocal were a pair who play Cuban music locally, so we got some great, infectious latin grooves. This really is something special. Elizabeth and Jonathan play in the local band, Clavemania, most recently at Vivaldi. Matthew was the trumpet, a local boy now student at the James Morrison Academy in Mount Gambier. Very nice playing, not least on Joy Spring. The drummers were Ken, Mitch and Andrew. I got to play bass on three favourites: Caravan, Alone together and All blues, mostly with Wayne and a variety of drummers and Matthew. Good fun and nice to play Ben's German trade bass. 
It was a woefully inadequate response, a doomed action, and Stewart and Gull Force ended as prisoners of the Japanese, enduring harsh treatment for several years, Stuart dying of beri-beri just the day before the end of the Pacific war. Tragic and sad for family. Interestingly, while researching, Lloyd found webs of connections, not least that the father of legendary Melbourne jazz drummer, Brian Brown, had also been prisoner and died on Ambon. It's a small jazz world. We have heard much of military matters recently as the Abbott Government lavished on the centenary of WWI, and I just hope this worthy project got some of that funding. 
The migration seems a broad story of life, a "celebration, conversation, a comment and a wish ... my own life process put to music ... questions instead of answers ... movement of ideas and beliefs ... and growth and sharing of culture and ideas". That's a broad palette for the theme. The music was broad too, as well as virtuosic (although no surprise on the virtuosity given the lineup). Bass was core to the work. It started with a wah bass solo then a driving dirty bass with overlying yearning horn themes. Then a heavy groove with Afrobeat horns; a short pensive section; the theme laid out with voice on Twelve stages of freedom. Requiem for belief was a written four part horn tune (including tuba) with drums accompaniment (think Nino Rota). There was a piece outlining flowing water then a piano-heavy ballad speaking of love; an ecstatic blues/funk song with words of moonshine but themed of the joys of life lived. Finally a klezmer-like ending called Land of Gypsies, instrumental and outgoing and open to the world. Nice to see the migration was ultimately well-received by the composer. It was certainly well-received by the audience. I hugely enjoyed the grooves, head-nodding for long passages (there's a lot of music here to dance to), the horns were great, the rhythm section was wondrous, especially Cameron Undy (local origin, now Sydney), very busy on a uniquely lithe bass (short scale Fender Musicmaster with split pickup?), and Simon's insistent drumming, Tina's voice was intimately bluesy and powerful with heavy vibrato. And Julien's bass clarinet, amusingly sometimes sounding of didj, Matt's much restrained solo lines breaking into flurries, James' playful virtuosity on tuba and everything else he touches, Phil's calmly explosive precision, Carl's occasional guitar (I remember just one larger solo this night, mostly lost in the mix to my ears) that can plumb real musical depths, Declan's insistent rhythms that established more than one tune, and Stu's guidance and oversight from the piano stool and sharp solos and penetrating comping. 80 minutes that entranced and involved and passed with ease. In the wake of the like of Mingus and Carla Bley, Stu Hanter has produced his third large format compostion and it was a wonderful, engaging success.
Elliot Diringer spoke first. Firstly on the foundations for the present, how there was emerging climate bipartisanship but how it failed especially in the context of the Tea Part and conservative backlash. Then about Obama carrying out limited actions under Presidential Executive Powers, made possible as the Supreme Court included greenhouse gases under this act. Thus, standards were introduced for vehicles and power emissions were limited by plan for implementation by the States. The death of Justice Scalia brought Congress to deny a replacement, presumably hoping for a Republican win. Then Obama and international powers used for the Paris agreement and for lead-up announcements with China (oh, how that discomforted our own anti-Climate-action warriors, not least Abbott). But the agreement had to be implementable without Congressional agreement, so it is fragile. The current status is US emissions (thanks also to natural gas and new tech) is reduced 10% and a landmark climate agreement (Paris) is in place but the Clean Power Plan is in legal limbo through State actions and the outcome depends on a new Supreme Court Justice which awaits a new president in 5 months. And this election is "unusually, unpredictable ... humbling for political pundits" and will lead to the "solidification or unravelling of [established] climate change actions" given the "stark difference" between Hillary (Clinton) and Trump. Hillary has engaged with negotiation, launched coalitions, outlined comprehensive plans for a "clean energy superpower". Trumpet has no record in public office, has rhetorically called climate change a "hoax" (memories of Abbott and his "crap" call), (if I have this right - it seems so nutty) suggested it's developed by the Chinese to roll back US dominance by bureaucratic control, and that he'd cancel the Paris Agreement and declare US energy dominance. Wow! So, possible scenarios are these: 1. A Trump president who is true to his word; a return to US climate policy dark ages; EPA remains obligated to control greenhouse gases but is delayed; US withdraws from Paris which undermines the will of other countries. 2. A Clinton presidency with Republican control of Congress, requiring continued Exec powers; resistance from the States; the question of which Supreme Court Justice replaces Scalia; a possible window for legislation to enact a Carbon tax with more general fiscal reform (with public support and private sector impatience with uncertainty). 3. A Clinton presidency with 1 or 2 houses to Democrats or detente with Congress, or Trump wins and forgets his previous lines and makes a deal. ED is not a fan of US Exceptionalism but he does see the US as decisive in climate matters. There's now a decent agreement in place, 2degC is "extremely demanding" but is depends on countries "all doing our fair share".
Goo Goo Dolls (Iris), Oasis (Wonderwall). Again, the updating of the standards repertoire with songs of today: it's an essential refresh. Quentin had spoken earlier in the day of the business of music: playing melodies that people know is one aspect of this. I also liked the political reference. As we fret over Trump, one of Quentin's tunes was One for Bernie (Sanders). Obama campaigned on hope: we could do with some now. But the playing? Variously restrained and exuberant. Quentin's is neat and precise, thoughtful, clean despite some discrete background echo and an intriguing freeze pedal. Sam's is also precise (they all were this!) but more playful, swapping lines back and forth with the hugely exuberant Ari. Ari's a master of the polyrhythms, although always with a purpose in the tune, cognizant of melody. But busy, he is. There's huge embellishment here, dynamics, rhythmic subdivisions, colour that washes over the band. I was amused by the interplay of Sam and Ari and additionally amused to hear Sam checking tuning in a solo and making it part of the music. This is virtuosic playing. Quentin is also listed as a composer and you can hear the complexity in unison lines and neat accompaniments - and see it in 5-page charts that get turned over mid-tune. As ever, NYC visits with chops and intellect and I love every visit. It had me resubscribing to the Smalls feed. At the edge visiting the centre.
And a waltz in five. It's quite stunning and transparent storytelling that I seldom expect in music, but maybe I'm just hearing these pieces differently given the intimacy that comes with learning to play them. The Mendelssohn was more a jaunty, bouncing line but with an equally story-like second movement with a walking bass line that speaks of a pilgrim march. The Dvorak was just lively and playful from the top. Maruki played the works best ever, as one does with the encouragement of and audience and the performance. Not quite the breakneck pace or the delicate precision of the professionals on CDs but unexpectedly well for a local community orchestra. And the sound was big. We had something like 70 players on the day and 3 basses. This was a huge undertaking pulled off with great success.