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. But a further Smalls matter has also taken some recently. I thought the Smalls online feed was shut, but no, it's free with registration for live shows and charged for the historical collection. Three sessions each night, 7.30am-4am NYC time, about 10am-6pm AEST. Neat. Two bands then a jam session. Funny thing, over a few days I saw both Ari Hoenig and Joe Farnsworth, two renowned NYC drummers who visited Canberra in just the last few weeks. Small world; Smalls and the world; our small Smalls.
Wayne Kelly (piano), Ben O'Loghlin (bass) and Mark Sutton (drums) lead the weekly jam session at Old Canberra Inn, 7-9pm Wednesdays. Sitins this evening were Matthew Nicholls (trumpet), Andrew Howard, Ken Nosworthy and Mitch Preston (drums), Elizabeth Obando Paz (vocals), Jonathan Cohen (piano) and Eric Pozza (bass).
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