History and today

The first Wesley Wednesday lunchtime concert for the year was a doozy, starting with Hildegard von Bingen and ending with modern Americana by composer Caroline Shaw.  And the performers were apt.  Rachel Mink sang and she told that her parents live near a property sung of, and the youthful and exploratory and very capable Ellery String Quartet provided accompaniment, with a range of noises and techniques, not least picks/plectrums on strings.  Both Rachel and Ellery were stunning and apt in performance, but I was somewhat befuddled by the modern music.  This comprised two works, each of several parts/movements.  First was Plan and Elevation: the grounds of Dumbarton Oaks, picturing the Cutting garden, Herbaceous border, Orangery and the like; second was By & By, comprising several parts putting ~century old lyrics on death and related themes from various authors to music: Will there be any stars in my crown?; Angel Band; O Death; I'll fly away.  But it did get me thinking as I followed the lyrics.  And also it had me intrigued by a range of tones and techniques used: bowings; slow harmonic movements; tapping instruments; most unexpectedly, plectra including a big blue one for cello.  Odd and unexpected and a very different aural space from Bach and the like.  I think of voice as more established and Rachel's was lovely and nicely controlled.  Voice remains the greatest instrument to my ears, but then it is us, not just our invention, so not unexpected.  And it speaks ideas not just impressions.  So, a concert that was challenging in techniques and heavy in themes so probably an apt start to a new year of music at Wesley.

Rachel Mink (soprano) and Ellery String Quartet presented America Voices at Wesley.  ESQ comprised Brad Tham and Anika Chan (violins), Pippa Newman (viola) and Chloe Law (cello).

Returns, day 2

Day 2 of my Blues weekend was a very different experience.  This was the monthly Canberra Blues Society Pro Jam session.  I've attended these numerous times in the past and just recently hankered for a return.  It's fun and friendly and a hive for some old friends and it has its challenges but it's not too difficult outing for a jazzer.   The feels were comfy enough but the keys were somewhat unpracticed: guitar keys (E,A,D) instead of horn keys (F,Bb,Eb,Ab).  Those open strings on the tonics rather than the 3rd took some care, and someone showing me bass tabs in place of written music (for a Lady Ga-Ga tune, no less) flummoxed me:  I understand the system but have never used it.  I played my Mexican Fender Jazz bass and the sound was loud and proud through the gear on stage so I enjoyed that immensely.  The session runs with music from 1pm with a host band, this day with another band, then a few short jam sessions of 3 tunes each, essentially led by a singer or other leader.  In my case, all 12-bars but with different feels and nicely led.  I enjoyed it immensely.  Pics are of the two first-up bands: the host band JD Band led by DJ Gosper and the host band for the next jam session, the Blues Accelerators.  And cheers to the mates I met from Quartic Sol: Thomas, Jacinta and Sam.

The Canberra Blues Society Pro Blues jam is held monthly at the Harmonie German Club.  Host bands were JD Band and Blues Accelerators.

Returns, day 1

It's a blues weekend and the fact that I had to renew my membership to the Germo reveals how long it's been since the last one.  Saturday was a show-cum-cover band playing Hendrix and musics of his era, late-'60s, early-'70s.  Hendrix was first up and the band was a trio as expected with plenty of driving bluesy riffs and blaring strat and it was a doozy.  I loved it.  All Hendrix except but with a few SRV tunes towards the end.  Then a short break and more blues.  I'd expected some Led Zep, Cream and the like, but we got perhaps some more SRV blues, ZZ Top, lots of Stones, then even some ACDC and even Stevie Wright's Evie, and it seemed pretty apt in this company.  So heavy on blues and less on the prog-leaning side, but nicely done with committed, searing guitar, two interesting bass solos, one with unison voice, and solid, heavy percussion from a new drummer on his first or second gig with this trio.  For the Hendrix set there was some stage dress, especially from guitarist/singer Steve Edmonds wearing a historical military jacket and scarf which looked great, but the second set reverted to standard blues black.  Nothing unexpected here, but I'd liked the dress-up.  The Hendrix was more for musical appreciation, but the SRV and ZZ Top and Stones had the audience up for the dance floor.  Sound was good with a house PA and busy soundman.  So all round, a great outing with memories, if just a little disappointing to miss the expected Zep and Cream and Deep Purple which were core influences to my earliest bands, but the field of classic rockers is too big for one set.  What's not to like with a power guitar trio ... other than ringing ears?  (PS. Sound did not exceed 90dB)

Steve Edmonds (guitar, vocals) led his trio in a Hendrix tribute at the Harmonie German Club a dn arranged by the Canberra Blues Society.  The other performers were Graham Burns (bass, vocals) and Ben Elliot (drums).

SoundOut 2025-3

 

Then the internationals again, this time for a sax quartet of Richard, Bertrand, Rhys and Jean-Luc playing steady, slowly shifting tones with perhaps some circular breathing in the mix.  All this to visual projected accompaniment from Nicci Hayes who had appeared in the previous year.   And to finish off, some younger local performers, Alex, Gabriella, Jamie and Stuart, as a new generation, from Canberra and Sydney, comprising drums, tenor sax, guitar and invented instruments.

The saxophone quartet comprised Jean-Luc Guionnet (alto, France), Richard Johnson (tenor), Bertrand Denzier (tenor, France) and Rhys Butler (alto) with Nicci Hayes (visual projections).  The final session was performed by Alex Tucker (drums), Gabriella Hill (tenor), Jamie Lambert (guitar) and Stuart Orchard (guitar, invented instruments).

SoundOut 2025-2

Then Zosha Warpena from USA playing hardanger d'amore.  This caused quite a thrill, both for the performance, sometimes drone-like or rhythmic developing from a 3-feel, all with overlaid vocals, and the instrument.  We weren't alone in being perplexed by the instrument.  Hardanger is a Norwegian viola with 9 strings (read Wikipedia), four played and 5 resonant strung underneath or through the neck, a flat fingerboard lending itself to double stops, gut strings and baroque-like convex bow.  Quite lovely and something quite new to the room.  Zosha told me she's studied classical violin but did her masters on the hardanger and the vocals were something of her invention.  Quite lovely.  Then a session with piano, soprano sax, drums, trumpet/flugelhorn and cello.    Hubbub pianist Frederic Blondy was enthusiastic and creative and essentially led this performance to my ears.  Italian soprano saxist Gianni Mimmo was fabulously expressive in fluid, harmonically clear and penetrating response in somewhat like bop-styled chordal movements and cellist Peggy Lee of Canada/Melbourne strongly parallelled and supported the piano with obviously well-trained ostinato and other rhythmic patterns.  Miro listened and inserted himself several times with busy and apt jazz-like phrasings and Sydney drummer Hayley Chan was reserved primarily on cymbals. 

Zosha Warpeha (hardanger d'amore, vocals, USA) performed solo.  Federic Blondy (piano, France) performed with Gianni Mimmo (soprano, Italy), Peggy Lee (cello), Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Hayley Chan (drums).

SoundOut 2025-1

There are 4 SoundOut sessions and 3 workshops, but it's a busy weekend so I can just get to one session.  Unfortunate, as it's a big year with a slew of internationals, even a whole band from France, as well as our locals and others.  My session was no.3, Saturday evening.  I walked in to hear a rising clamour from tenor, alto, soprano saxes, guitar and drums while visual artist Locust Jones made black on white painting against a wall, sometimes with his nose.   Several of these musicians were from Hubbub, that French group, along with an Italian soprano saxist and SoundOut director Richard Johnson.  LJ also had a series of large-scaled politically-themed painting in the main gallery and they were fascinating.  Then Great Waitress+ with clarinet, piano and accordion. I felt this was strongly led by Magda Mayes, Berlin pianist, with apt harmonies from Laura Altman on clarinet and a light wash of colour and presence from Monica Brooks on accordion.

Locust Jones (visual artist) performed visual arts with musical accopaniment from Jean-Luc Guionnet (alto, France), Gianni Mimmo (soprano, Italy), Jean-Sebastien Mariage (?, guitar, France), Edward Perraud (drums, France) and Richard John son (tenor).  Great Waitress+ comprised Laura Altman (clarinet), Monica Brooks (accordion) and Magda Mayas (piano, Berlin). 

Bigs and littles

Callum Allardice appeared upstairs at Smiths, in McGregor Hall, in quartet format.  Interestingly, his merch was essentially two albums: one of this very quartet playing this format in this concert and this music  and the other a much bigger outing called his Cinematic Light Orchestra, comprising the band with significant orchestral accompaniment, strings, horns, all written and arranged by Callum.  I was impressed both ways.  Some of the tunes from the large ensemble were played on the night by the quartet and this was significant.  Callum writes his music and it's rich and evocative and can expand to the millions but is served perfectly well by a quartet, at least one that's receptive and aware and with musical maturity to respond.  Callum lays down most melodies with a clear, perhaps distorted or delayed but uncluttered tone, perhaps call and response in the melody, certainly interesting and complex, followed by solos to explore but respond to the essence of the melody.  Luke is rich in response too, but such differently toned on piano, and perhaps more open to expansive interpretations.  This is essentially the rhythm section of the orchestral outing, and they were to die for.  Tom quite simply spelling varied rhythms for immense ensemble stability if with lovely, neck long arpeggiations to fill and engaging if uncomplicated thumb position solos spelling the tune with a lovely respectful response, providing admirable firmness for Hikurangi to let fly often enough on drums.  It's a common theme for firmness and bustle to coexist between bass and drums.  In the end, I took the quartet CD given it's a better representation of the gig on the night but the two display the capability of Callum and his writing, despite his Berlin experience (as him about that!).   A hugely rich and satisfying set of tunes and capable expression by the band.  This was the first of their east coast tour, so catch them if you can.

Callum Allardice (guitar, composition) led a quartet with Luke Sweeting (piano), Tom Botting (bass) and Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa (drums) upstairs at Smiths.

Anglicana

Americana is not something I've ever gone to hear and I've played a few times at the National Folk Festival but didn't manage to stay the day.  But I noticed an English Americana duo performing at Smiths and watched their associated video and I was entranced.  It's essentially a thing of lyrics to my ears and I'd love to understand better how to make and hear lyrics so there was much to learn.  But also these fairly simple chord structures were beautifully finger-picked or strummed on guitar and gloriously accompanied and elaborated with fiddle and the lyrics themselves were strong and well sung and just ecstatic with a female harmony or octave over.  So I went to hear and see this duo at Smiths and it was just as expected but with inviting chatter and introductions along the way, about fellow musicians and performances and family histories and song backgrounds and some interplay with a sadly too small audience.  This was their second visit to Australia, playing in various towns and cities and each time at Smiths.  So this was worthy music of folk-styles and English-conversation out of historical York, UK, that has toured the world and come to Smiths.  I really didn't need confirmation of training, but nonetheless it was pleasing to hear of classical violin training, although that seemed pretty obvious.  And as for interactions, a group sat about after to chat about international relations and more.  There was a Masters in IR thereabouts, too.  So a fascinating and satisfying outing.  I now fully expect to join the annual crew to hear Dan Webster and Emily Lawler in future visits.

Dan Webster (vocals, guitar) and Emily Lawler (fiddle, vocals) performed at McGregor Hall, upstairs at Smiths.

Pomes

My previous appearance to read lyrics at the That Poetry Thing  Big Open Mic night was a great success.  For me, this time was a letdown.  Maybe it was my poetry (...) or maybe the reading which was pretty rushed or the writing which could be obscure.  But then I did particularly like a few lines.  The lyric was Sub dance, about AUKUS and more, so these passages tickled my fancy: "China score / restore war / Ever ready / silly, heady / Steady Eddie / Blind Freddie / Unsteady, spaghetti / sweaty, machete / Follow the leader / eager beaver / Ever eager / half-wit believer" or "History says it / Keating runs it / 'Nam reminds us / Afghan backs it / Mid-East fears it / Israel shows it / US dreams it / Aussie teams it / Lopsided, little prided / Ever guided, poorly sighted" or my fave "Labor once noble / still dreaming of trust / But lost and quiet / weedy, seedy / More sad than bad / But thus we ebb".  There were some very good new poets that impressed me.  Moral decathlon gave modern commentary from the 10 commandments.  Chris had one referencing Nietzsche called Dragon scales.  Quantum soup intrigued.  Lauren, Zoe, Myra, others; I took very poor notes.  I was interested to note the nature of the language, mostly free of rhymes but with structure.  Domestic violence is all the rage as an issue, but still I was stunned by two poets on it and the host concurring with their experiences.  Worrying.  There were the obvious long-termers with more serious awareness of form who impressed others in the know.  And good on them.  The far shores of any art are mostly in the awareness of the informed.  Nonetheless, interesting.

The That Poetry Thing Open Mic night was at Smiths.

Women doing it for themselves

Matriarch advertised a free gig on FB and a club dinner appealed.  In the end, we walked in to an Irish instrumental jam in the foyer then Guinness and a beef and Guinness pie (somewhat a pie, but a nice stew none-the-less) and a string of mates who happened to be there and the women doing grunge-punk with original compositions on feminist political themes and some covers, not least of Nirvana (Heart-shaped box) and Sex Pistols (Anarchy in the UK) and Iggy Pop (The passenger) and even William Blake.  The feminist themes were clear and omnipresent and serious although openly inviting for blokes with some measure of sympathy: Tame the shrew, Father pick your daughter up, Dirty house (... don't wanna clean it), Nightswimming, Sux to be a girl (...sometimes).   It's a slightly different band from my first hearing: two singers later.  It's perhaps more punky now, more outgoing and inviting (than playing outside Parliament one afternoon to thousands of protesters. so maybe not surprising), fairly simply rhythms from drums and bass and some outspoken expansive, rocky wah guitar.  And a solid voice3 with occasional harmonies.  Nice to see from women of a certain age (as I hope it is for similar men!!).  But fun, colourful, knowingly humourous and well lit.  A show for a similar audience, on their feet or not; imbibing Guinness of not.   The Irish Club has free gigs every Friday night and I'm already planning for some dub down the track.

Matriarch performed at the Canberra Irish Club.  The band comprised Cath Cook (vocals), Glenda Harvey (guitar, vocals), Lee Grunwald (bass) and Leanne Thompson (drums).

Bohemia

Bastien and Julien were over from France for just days, playing in the Sydney Festival, at the ACO pier and the Whiteley garden.  Then Smiths in Canberra, staying with some mates Celeste and Bill and then Melbourne, perhaps other gigs.  They are a woodwind duo, mostly soprano sax and bass clarinet but also alto sax and other clarinets.  They may be spoken of as contemporary jazz, and certainly there is rhythm and groove in the bass clarinet and other instruments and genuinely satisfying bop-styled sax solos but this sounded bigger and more adventurous than just jazz.  Nitya spoke of Balkan influences and Celltic and Berber are also claimed.  But there's didg there too, in a droning tonguing, I guess, and a clicky tonguing may be the source of the beatbox references.  So this seemed something other than contemporary jazz to my ears, although somewhat informed by it.  Whatever, it's thrilling and fascinating and new to many/my ears.  There's harmonic/chordal movement, but not lots, mostly rocky I-IVs or similar, and e-bass-like grooves from the bass clarinet, so there's rock too.  I guess what I mean is that this sounds different, unlike many different acts, but with obvious underlying training and skills to a high degree. So that's what I like.  Invention is good, but it needs skills to thrill and this did.  The band is NoSax NoClar and perhaps they are saying just that, that this is not normal if well formulated.  So I may not call it contemporary jazz but I do admire it for chops and inventiveness and a very alternative view of sound meanwhile borrowing from all manner of other musics.  Great stuff and a huge pleasure to hear them close up, at Smiths, upstairs, in the new McGregor Hall.

NoSax NoClar comprise Bastien Weeger (sax, clarinet) and Julien Stella (clarinet, bass clarinet, beatbox).  NSNC performed upstairs at Smiths.

PS.  We finished the night off with a visit to Red Hill to search for Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS).  It's low in the western sky after sunset and rapidly fading.  With a chatty group on the hill, we saw it.  It was visible to young eyes and not much better in mounted 10x50 binoculars but it was photographable by mobiles and my Sony and much more visible that way.  A surprise!  Here's a pic from my Sony RC100 III but the best I saw was from a Canon SLR with a 135mm f2 lens.

Thanks to Carol Wapshere from the great front row photo

Knowing NOLA

Not only are Key Grip great communicators with their audience but they also play so well.  This is around the blues scene but not all 12-bars.  Plenty of nicely complex chordal movements, piano but also organ, that mainstay of a New Orleans-adjacent style, paens of love and loss and such blues themes from all manner of renowned artists (Dr John, Jon Cleary, Bonnie Raitt) and some hugely satisfying and involving and just plain correct bass-drum grooves.  These are all known names on our local scene and obviously have a retinue of followers but also good friends.  I'd seen them years back but not recently, and this return was a huge pleasure.   There's joy here in playing together and obvious skills and experience.  Angela and Leo have been doing it as duos and more for ages, with Mitch all along.  Alec has played the cruise ships and you can feel that readiness and ability to perform (and such a great tone), and Lauren adds that touch of jazz chops but with a dirty blues edge.  Just a fabulous combination.  This gig was called at the last minute when there was an empty spot at Smiths and the players happened to be free.  It was partly to celebrate Mitch's birthday of a day before, so we heard plenty from Mitch as MC and he called the tunes and was a source of much jovial presence.  So much fun and so nicely done. Loved this one!

Key Grip played at Smiths.  They comprise Leo Joseph (piano, organ, vocals), Angela Lount (vocals), Lauren Thurlow (tenor), Alec Coulson (bass), Mitch Preston (drums).

Connection

I'm a zealot of late for at least one thing: connection by the band.  We don't play mega-stages or claim art audiences so the role of the band is to entertain and do it with decent musicality and that all happens through connection.  We played a gig the other night and it was a huge pleasure.  We played well and were applauded and danced and listened to and that's a function of connection.  Not a lot is required, but a smile and introductions serve well as a starter.  It's largely incidental but direct: I don't even use a mic.  Just seeing you communicating goes a long way.  Management noted that people came in off the street and that it was a busy night for this time in Canberra (famed for empty roads and locals at the coast).  I noticed the presence of audience up close and enjoyed that a couple asked how long the break was so they could get back for the next set and they stayed to the end.  It's satisfying when people stay to the end and they often do.  And how nice to get some compliments from the bar staff.  It reminds me of a lesser gig where we got approval but a description of "lounge music".  Mmm.  I prefer something more immediate and more fun.  It's taken me decades to learn this (I'm just a bass player, after all), but some contact is a wonderful thing for a band and it's so often forgotten by jazzers.  And then there's how you dress.  That's another discussion but to ignore it is still another choice.

Thanks to Wikipedia Commons and Simon Byron for the pic of the Bar Clochard coverband (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0)

Names and mates

I'd seen an exhibition of photos of Carol Jerrems a few years back at the National Gallery.  This one at the National Portrait Gallery was bigger.  I noticed works from on loan from the National Gallery, the National Library, presumably the NPG, perhaps more, and there were scenes, collections, images I hadn't seen before.  She's the creator of the iconic Vale Street 1975 with a bare-chested highlighted woman with two males scowling behind, and similarly famous pics of actors and political activists and musos (Anne Summers, Bobbi Sykes, Evonne Goolagong, Skyhooks, Kate Grenville, Kath Walker, Wendy Saddingon, Paul Cox...) and just of a string of people and sub-cultures around her in Melbourne and later Sydney through the 1970s.  I know the period well and enjoy a revisit although it seems another world now: post-'60s and subject to considerable denigration then and now.  I also love to view her photography, for the natural lighting, the contrasted shadows, the central highlighting of a face or body, the awareness of background and shape and geometry.  Also the techniques of B&W film photography of the time, the shades of grey, the very rare true black, the visible grain and occasional movement of slower exposures, the monochrome nature of all her pics.  Wikipedia advises "she always used a 35mm Pentax Spotmatic single-lens reflex camera with a standard f1.4 50mm lens, eschewing wide or telephoto lenses, and used black and white film, usually Kodak Tri-X" (400ASA and stock standard).  Every pic in the collection is monochrome, but one is washed in a warm sandy colour.  It was of CJ naked with camera in a mirror with her lover on the phone in the foreground and described in a related label as post-coital.  The colour was apt and the presence was quite lovely but unique.   She features herself in some pics, but the whole involves her as the medium.  And the final series confirms her commitment, documenting her time in hospital with a liver disease before an early death aged 30.  It's a loss, but she leaves a treasury of the time.  Intriguing and alt-historical if not always hugely enjoyable.

Carol Jerrems : Portraits is on display at the National Portrait Gallery until 2 March.  Just one pic by me given copyright but plenty of pics to view at NPG. 

https://searchthecollection.nga.gov.au/artist/13261/carol-jerrems

The process of discovery

I'm an avid listener to ABC radio, especially talk radio.  I prefer radio to podcasts for the serendipity of it all.  I've just heard a discussion with musician and UMelb philosophy lecturer Jenny Judge on "Music, taste and AI".  It was an interesting discussion about education in music and styles and Spotify selections and more.  Visit ABC Listen for the podcast.  Whilst at it, I listened to JJ's folk/electronica duo called Pet Beast and I'll need to return to catch lyrics and more.  The whole event had me thinking of my discoveries and how they happened including a current fave, Knower, which I discovered after Chris Pound's recommendation of Domi & JD Beck, then hearing a trio with their influence in Weimar, then finding Knower as a "fans also like" discovery on Spotify while waiting in Hong Kong airport during my return.  They both seem pretty well known in student music circles but I hadn't known either despite Grammy nominations and more.  And harking back to the Philosophers Zone, I once emailed ABC about some excellent support ("production") music I'd heard and it turns out that host David Rutledge makes it all himself and I am mightily impressed.  DR sent links to his production music site and personal music project sites.  All interesting and worthy of discussion and listens and references to that discussion on the Philosophers Zone with Jenny Judge.   Links below.

• https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/philosopherszone
• https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/philosopherszone/summer-season-music-taste-and-ai/104462690
• https://open.spotify.com/artist/1m5JJfXpAzcW63KwHv91J1
• https://open.spotify.com/artist/4UpA1KitN1RgIZVyWDbZ0U
• https://open.spotify.com/artist/7fVp0A6oCMfiQJihMnY0SZ
• https://soundcloud.com/user-157098513/sets/production-music-for-radio
• https://berberox.bandcamp.com/music 
  

Thanks to Jenny Judge for permission to use the pic of Pet Beast and credit to Julia Drummond for the original photo