We’re in Melbourne
and my online trawl of the jazz clubs showed Niels Rosendahl was
playing at Paris Cat. Niels' a friend of CJ and singing would be
popular so we chose this gig, Belinda Parsons Beetet. In the end,
Niels wasn’t playing but it was a great choice. I could tell from
the first bars, with a groove set and then a wash of trom-tenor and
three glorious female voices in perfect harmony and always that
insistent beat. We’d struck a winner. That was jazz in that broad
sense, of training and skills and precision applied to all manner of
contemporary music. I recalled ‘60s/70s R&B or soul given
those harmonies and grooves and horns, but there was pop and jazz
feels and odd times and unison lines and solos, of course, even if
one was likened by a mate to Pink Floyd. And the original tunes,
virtually all written and arranged by Belinda (only one using her
husband’s harmonies) with touching themes, of lost lovers and
departed friends. I bought the album so lyrics will be an interest.
So there was humanity here. And then I started hearing names for the
Melbourne scene for faces I didn’t easily recognise. First up, Fem
Belling and Nina Ferro. No wonder the harmonies were sweet! Then
that fabulous bass. Philip Rex. Ah, yes, I knew that face after
all. From a fellow bassist, I was floored, but hardly unexpected.
And that drummer. Ryan Menezes was tack sharp, steady but driving,
fluid but also powerful in repetition. A masterclass. An early
solo just confirmed that. Delicious. No keys, but funky chordal
guitar with solos that milked reverb and loops and the like, that
Pink Floyd effect, and very insinuating. And those two horns, Jordan
and Ron, sweet and arranged, filling spaces and echoing emotions and
then telling true solos, although it was their ensemble work that got
to me. Than back to Belinda herself. She was in her element,
pleasing and personal but also profound at times. A firm voice,
sometimes letting go into the clouds as in soul divas, spelling
arranged lines with horns or singing a ballad with a smaller band and
a big heart. This wasn’t the album launch, but almost. The tracks
were pretty much in order but the relaxation was evident and spoken
of. They were celebrating the return from Melbourne lockdowns, too. This was
in the fabric-hung lower room at Paris cat, with jazz images on the
ceiling. The audience was intimate (for this read small) and the
atmosphere was relaxed, and I think of the chops and training on
stage and the immense pleasure of it all and the commitment needed
for the art. Let’s put the numbers down to a preceding
thunderstorm. Numbers were small but in no way was the music. It was
capable and original and purposeful, as music should be. Have a
listen and maybe download a copy. Belinda Parsons Beetet is on Bandcamp
and the other streaming sites. Loved it.
Belinda Parsons
(vocals, compositions / arrangements) led her Beetet at Paris Cat.
They performed tracks from her album Choices we make. Beetet were
Belinda with Nina Ferro and Fem Belling (background vocals), Jordan
Murray (trombone), Rob Romero (tenor), Gillian Gregory (guitar),
Philip Rex (bass) and Ryan Menezes (drums).
