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

Immersion more than extraction

The Pompeii exhibition at the National Museum was busy so we had to book tickets for the next day.  Not unexpected at this time, even if the road around Canberra suggest there's no-one in town.  Mostly visitors, I guess.  I like this time in Canberra.  The ticket seller suggested we'd only need under an hour because Pompeii is more AV-heavy than the recent Egypt exhibition and having fewer objects with labels to read.  Then on entry we were advised Vesuvius had just erupted but it would repeat in ~12 minutes.  Amusing.  We entered to watch an intro video and see a statue of Venus and then the eruption and that was a killer, all threat then smoke then pumice imaged on the walls around us.  Quite informative, really.  I'd been on the slopes of Etna a few months after an eruption and seen the demolished cafe and walked the parched earth, but the suddenness of this, even in video, was instructive.  Then some more statues and bowls and casts of dead bodies and mosaics and wall paintings, a  few real, and some little paint bowls which I'd never seen before and a stunning set of dice laid out just like ours and some statues of gods and satyrs and more videos.  The NMA website suggests it's actually a repeat of derivative of an original "Pompeii immersive" exhibition.  Not the greatest exhibition ever but the topic is fascinating and the videos are informative and the items on display were great to see up close.  I enjoyed it.

The Pompeii  exhibition is at the National Museum of Australia.

An end of an era

It's sad to see a venue disappear for jazz but it's not the first.  Venues change musics for business reasons or they are supplanted in a style or activity by another venue and they may or may not return to jazz sometime in the future and jazz just survives through it all.  Jazz goes through changes, not always comfortable but it's not extinguished.  The ANU ructions of a few years back is the big example.  The venue changes is just another smaller one.  Sadly, we saw the last of the jam sessions at Old Canberra Inn last night and it was entertaining and fun and cold (being outside on a suddenly chilly December evening).  But then I remember jazz there decades back, so maybe there's a return sometime in the future and it was pleasant.  A few beers and a too-big hamburger.  A very nice bass with good sound and nicely easy to play (thanks to Ben).  A chance to check out Evah Pirazzi.  Thanks to Ben, Peter, Simon, me and Jeremy for the bottom end and a string of players and singers of all manner otherwise and some chats to pass the time.  This is a sad loss but there are alternatives and jazz survives.  After all, it's not even the only jam session in Canberra on a Wednesday night.  And to OCI, thanks for the memories.

Thanks to Ben O'Loghlin for the long history of this jam series and this specific monster jam at our lovely, historical Old Canberra Inn.  Thanks to Sophia for the final pic.

Mr Jones' offsider

Eric Ajaye hosted a Q&A with bassist Gene Perla at the end of his concert for the Jazz Haus at Tuggeranong Arts Centre and my ear particularly picked up at the mention of Mingus.  Amongst some questions about his technique, GP mentioned Mingus' influence after attending his gig.  As I understood it, it was to play more freely over the neck, more freely over positions.  I had noticed frequent playing of the E-string right up the neck, the use of longer intervals and 11th hand shapes in walking, an ease in all positions; John B mentioned the spaces left in walks.  GP advised to avoid open strings, presumably to promote this neck freedom up the neck and regardless of keys.  I'm not so sure of that one.  And one interesting quote caught my attention: "If I hear you, you're messing up [=not in the pocket].  I need to pay attention to me".  But this is bass chatter.  The music was a revisit to the classic Live at the Lighthouse album from the Elvin Jones band (Elvin Jones, Gene Perla, Steve Grossman, Dave Liebman), so hard bop, driving tunes, passed solos, some delicious harmonies on originals by all and more.  It was too loud at first but Gene insisted on a quieter bass in set 2 and the concert came alive to my ears.  Suddenly the piano was always there, the bass was more acoustic-toned although via the amp and easier to follow, the drums were more subdued and the two tenors clearer and more intimate in interactions.  Quite an amazing change.  But it was always going to be a hard-blown outing.  They played a range of hard bop tunes and two standards.  I drooled over some glorious harmonised written parts between the two tenors and great solos, Roger all range and light, flighty tone and beautiful lines and Andy just unrelenting hard eighth-note blowing , driving and expansive drumming from Mark, big sounding, full handed accompaniment and solos from Brett and of course that wonderful presence and drive from Gene, all over the fingerboard, always intriguing and personal and often referring the Elvin Jones band that I knew.  There were chats I would have liked to have with Gene but no luck, but to hear him remains educative, sometime breathtaking, just as Eric Ajaye was suggesting.  Truth is, we never spot learning.  I did a webinar just yesterday and they spoke of the same thing, that instruments demand this endless improvement, this time noting it can interfere with other paths in music, here,  the perfect pop song.  All paths, all valid I reckon.  But what a huge pleasure to see and hear these formative musicians in the flesh.  Oh, and one absurdist glasswork from an exhibition at TAC.

Gene Perla and band played music from the album Elvin Jones Live at the Lighthouse at the Jazz Haus at Tuggeranong Arts Centre.  Gene Perla (bass) led the band with Roger Manins and Andy Sugg (tenors), Brett Williams (piano) and Mark Sutton (drums).

Our man in NYC 5b

CJ Intern's NYC Adventures Part 5a, as we reach an end (for this visit)

By Jeremy Tsuei

Tuesday again - Neal Caine and friends at Bemelman's Bar

And here's a little epilogue - my own "Scouring of the Shire," if you will. And just as necessary for the real fans out there. I'd been missing Neal's gigs in towns due to various reasons - including a double booking at the venue, clashes with other gigs, and then a clash with my flight out of town. But Neal told me about this one after our last lesson, noting the caveats of its venue, Bemelman's Bar, being on the other side of town and not being a real "jazz club" per se. But, still buzzed after the McBride gig, and for my last night in New York City, I thought "what the heck," and made the trip over.

A software engineer, an old friend from out town, a finance worker, and aspiring jazz musician from Australia walk into a bar... sounds like the beginning of a potentially overcomplicated joke. Nonetheless, this was the start of this portion of the night, when three drinking buddies floated the idea to me that waiting in line for table for four would be easier than waiting for a table for three. Now, I would generally advise being cautious of strangers, but with these fellows the vibe ended up being very wholesome. They only interacted with me in public spaces, didn't deliver my drinks (they did buy them though!), and all left the venue well before I did. So a party of three drinking buddies became a party of four drinking buddies, and I learnt a bit about the venue (located in the historic Carlyle Hotel, which came straight out of half a century ago or more), learnt some drinking tips and even received some snippets of general life advice. What a way to go for a triumphant hurrah!

The music, featuring Neal on bass alongside a pianist/vocalist and guitarist, was intended to be background music, and the venue was crowded and noisy. But the feel was swinging and the arrangements were solid. Having learned from Neal over the course of a few lessons, I've been able to pick up on key aspects of his approach and philosophy: Be self-aware. Outline the sound of the chord. Play good notes and don't settle for being a good imitation of someone else. These aspects, despite the din of the bar, were well on display. Good music insists on itself, even when surrounding noise otherwise conspires to drown it out. 

NYC - Some closing reflections 

Things I'd like less of:

• Taking the wrong train when getting to lessons (sorry once again for being late, Matt!)
• Sharing the same hostel with an assassin making national and international headlines (yes, I was staying at the HI Hostel on 103rd and Amsterdam Ave, the same place that Luigi Mangione was allegedly staying at during his time in NYC)
• Playing tunes I don't know (learn your lesson, Tsuei!)

Things I'd like more of:

• Seeing my heroes (I missed Ron Carter, Brad Mehldau, Jack DeJohnette...)
• Trading Instagram handles (this platform's currency over here!)
• Ear and piano app skills (so I can consistently practice without my bass) 

Things I'm satisfied with:

• Making music 
• Making friends
• Being part of this city for three weeks

And, for now, Jeremy the CJ Intern - signing out. 

Jeremy, thanks for the reports and pics.  Well done.  A fabulous and enviable jazz trip.  Brings back memories for me and many of us.  Eric

Our man in NYC 5a

CJ Intern's NYC Adventures Part 5a: Objects in Rear View Mirror are Closer Than They Appear, or the Third Christian

By Jeremy Tsuei

Well - here we go. The last one. Back home to Australia, but not before a brief family visit in Vancouver. Back to the shed, back to family, back to a bit of normalcy. With a lot of notches under the belt. Not only did I get to jam in New York (many, many times) - I also got asked if I was available to play a gig. The answer was no (I didn't have my own bass in any case), but that was certainly something I didn't expect which I now get to come away with. 

Tuesday - Christian McBride and Inside Straight

Christian McBride's second live album with Inside Straight (Peter Martin (piano), Carl Allen (drums), Warren Wolfe (vibes), Steve Wilson (sax)), recorded in the Village Vanguard in 2014 and released during/after the pandemic in late 2021, is one of my favourite releases ever. The feel is so good throughout, and every note feels right, but there are still those small live inflections that give it that atmosphere and spontaneous vibe - like McBride's little 'what?'s as he's backing Wolfe's solo in "The Shade of the Cedar Tree". Speaking of "The Shade of the Cedar Tree", attentive readers will remember that that tune is one of my favourites, and the version from that album is probably my favourite recording of that tune. A veritable stacking of favourites!

Ten years later, and the band is back for their December residency. The atmosphere and vibes (pardon the pun) were spot on - ten years of gradual evolution, but this was the same band, playing many of the same tunes. Being at this gig was like stepping into something intensely familiar, but also like experiencing it again for the first time. This was the band I've heard many many times over, playing in many cases the same songs, but finding new ways to do it. 

There was no "The Shade of the Cedar Tree", nor was there a bass solo in every song (although there were some neat traded fours with Carl Allen towards the end of the gig). Nor, I'll mention, did I get to meet McBride - a lovely man by all accounts, but I understand why he had a bodyguard in front of the green room. But there's something to be said for getting the reality of something, rather than having it fit the demanding moulds of wish fulfillment. What I got was something just as satisfying and so much more true to life than anything I might have imagined from what I'd experienced before. This was a lovely close to my trip. Hearing one of my favourite recorded bands, not deviating from their established sound, but finding new pathways and avenues within. Getting something new, and being given the opportunity to evolve as a listener as the band has evolved as a band. 

Describing Chris Botti's band from the previous night, I'd used the loaded moniker of 'smooth jazz' to address some of the less fulfilling aspects of that (still very worthwhile) gig. I suppose when we're talking about 'smooth jazz', we're talking about stuff that is content with not pushing the bounds, or content which seemingly has no interest in breaking free into new territory. It's the sound of jazz as the lay listener expects jazz to sound, if you will. That spectre of the familiar is at play in my reflections with this band, and its ties to a decade-old set of recordings. But what I hear - and what I heard from this gig - is a band that is content with pushing their own boundaries, and not necessarily any boundaries set by others. A group that has played together for this long, filled with members who know each other so well, striving to play at nobody's best but their own. Fearsome stuff. 

To be continued very soon ...

Our man in NYC 4b2

CJ Intern's NYC Penultimate Piece ends (part 4b2)

By Jeremy Tsuei

Monday: Jochen Rueckert and Chris Botti 

Another Matt Penman gig, this time with Jochen Rueckert (drums and bandleader), Troy Roberts (sax), and Alexandra Ridout (trumpet). Alexandra was a last-minute call, but she absolutely smoked the gig. Sitting in the corner next to the drums, my friend Tony and I really got the whole experience - big beats and strong sounds. A real mix of musical personalities and nationalities which went towards a really strong and cohesive whole - partway through the gig, Rueckert joked that Alexandra's country of origin, England, had oppressed every other band member's country of origin (Roberts is an Aussie and Penman is a Kiwi) except for his (Germany), acknowledging that his country of origin has had its own set of historical issues... Rueckert also claimed that he would differentiate himself from other acts by not making a joke about selling CD players despite many people no longer owning CD players, but was that not in itself a joke? A meta-joke perhaps - fitting for a drummer and bandleader to have a solid perspective of what's really going on behind it all...

 

Chris Botti has been playing a December Blue Note residency for two decades now, and he launched this season with a bang. Botti has played across jazz and pop realms, and I found his mic'ed up tone a bit too reverb-y, and some of the songs waded into dreaded 'smooth jazz' territory. Still - whenever it started to get too smooth, Botti would punctuate it with a strong, daring tone, something just enough left field to remind us of his 'serious musician' credentials. The band was also stellar, and navigated different feels, styles, and transitions with verve. A tune which Botti described as a "real jazz" song started with a thoughtful bass solo from Daniel Chmielinski, before launching into a full band effort, and then finally morphing into a synthesised dub party while the band traded 4s with drummer Lee Pearso.

Botti's selection of guests was fantastic. Tonight, Botti was joined by Anastasiia Mazurok (violin), John Splithoff (vocals and guitar), and finally Veronica Swift (vocals). I found it a marker of confidence and assurance that the band leader wasn't always playing in his own gig, and left it to others to take a leading role for their feature tunes. And Veronica Swift! I'd actually purchased tickets to this gig because it was my only opportunity to see her live, and she smashed it. A generous collection of classic standards - "There Will Never Be Another You", "Love for Sale", "Under My Skin", "Moanin"... - delivered with sheer power. Swift's scatting was incredible, and during a traded solos with Chmielinski she even started to emulate the sounds and inflections of an acoustic bass - real creative stuff! Swift also commandeered Botti's trumpet at the end for a humorous - and very impressive - bit. And of course some Christmas material at the end, as it is the season - but at the end of the set and with a band this good, there was nothing left to prove.

Other things

As well as all this stuff, I've also been volunteering with the First Presbyterian Church's Tartan Christmas Fair, seen the sights and read up on history at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, had a taste of home country with a Yirrkala Bark Painting exhibition at the Asia Society Museum entitled "Madayin", and had lessons with Joseph Lepore and John Benitez.

There's no shortage of things to do here! It won't be long before I'm back in Australia, but man am I looking forward to my next visit here...

Our man in NYC 4b1

This is getting complex... 

By Jeremy Tsuei

Saturday: Astghik Martirosyan

This one came to me after a lesson with Matt Penman, who told me that that the venue, Bar Bayeux, was the "Village Vanguard of Brooklyn". Well, they certainly had the curtains in common - as well as a good sound and a good vibe. This was a killer group - including Julian Shore (piano), Rogérico Boccato (percussion), Vinicius Gomes (guitar), and the aforementioned Matt Penman (bass) - playing some really twisty arrangements and tunes. Martirosyan's voice was powerful, and she blended modern sounds, generational jazz influences, and Armenian folk sensibilities with aplomb. Particular highlights included the original tune "Lavender" (I hope the love story which inspired this goes well), as well as the Fred Hersch tune, "Song of Life". Martirosyan's debut album, "Distance", came out last year - she's definitely one to watch.

Sunday: Basik jam and Aaron Johnson Boplicity

Another Basik jam, this time led by Matt La Von. Maybe I'm biased as a bassist, but I've got to give it up for house bassist Paul Torres - this guy was just shredding it on his instrument, and knew every tune that was called inside and out. Some really amazing bebop lines and real fluency and creativity for every solo - just an example of a player who really knows their stuff, and how to use it. I also had the chance to play a few tunes - fun was had all around.

Following this up, I went to Smalls for the late night jam hosted by Aaron Johnson's group. These guys dressed and played like they stepped straight out of the '60s (in a good way, of course) - it was a bit of a double-take moment seeing them pulling out iPhones here and there! The band was tight - real straight-ahead stuff, that knows exactly what it is and what it wants to be. For the late night jam I once again played a tune I wasn't familiar with. Learn your lesson, Tsuei!!

To be continued today...

Our man in NYC 4a

CJ Intern's NYC Adventures Part 4: Promptly Penning a Plentiful Penultimate Piece (part 4a)

By Jeremy Tsuei

As promised, we're winding up but by no means taking our foot off the gas (that's a little American-ism for you). Big gigs and big lessons this week, as well as some touristy things and even some volunteering - all the New York things!

Wednesday: Cory Henry solo set

Cory Henry's definitely made a name for himself, first gaining prominence with Snarky Puppy and now touring with Stevie Wonder and working with popular acts such as Imagine Dragons. But enough about his collaborations - tonight was between the man himself and his audience, as Henry shared his roots, influences, and new directions. In both the first and second sets, Henry began simply with the "Amazing Grace" melody, before building complexity and adding new textures - a kick drum, synth, vocals. It got busy (for a one-man show, anyway), but never strayed from that simple feeling of joy and gratitude from hitting those opening notes and hearing them resonate and lead into each other, until a story begins to form. This was the first song he learnt as a kid, at only 2-3 years of age. The man's been playing music longer than his brain has had a functional memory system (psychologists say memory starts working from four years of age), and it shows. I loved how gospel- and soul-oriented Henry's sets were - really digging into his community and spiritual roots a la his album released earlier this year, "Church". All in all, these were songs for lovers, songs for those with broken hearts, songs for humans.

Thursday: Christian McBride Quartet and Jihee Heo Trio 

McBride again, and Mike Stern again - this time in a very different setting. Last week Stern remarked to me how he was nervous about this gig, as McBride had just called him and so far there was no setlist and no rehearsal. So calling standards it was - and on the night, McBride described it as a jazz party where we all got to have a share of the groove. Tivon Pennicott (sax) and Marcus Gilmore (drums) rounded out the quartet, and everyone had space to shine. Stern in particular brought in a groovy "Body and Soul" with a solo guitar intro, which really demonstrated his voice and fluidity on the instrument. Such a different gig compared to the last McBride concert I went to, but the feel, the groove, and the consolidated star-power were all alike. 

Jihee Heo was, by her own admission, quite starstruck with her rhythm section - David Williams on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums; guys she'd listened to on Cedar Walton records and the like. During one of the little talking interludes where she was discussing this, Williams jokingly interjected to tell her she was doing just fine. And he was absolutely right - this was real swinging stuff, straight out of the Oscar Peterson playbook. I believe this was also the first female-led gig I've attended while in New York, excluding the jam session hosted by Theresa Sanchez. A really diverse band, and a real connection and respect for the tradition. Good good stuff.

Friday: NY Philharmonic

I did get scammed by a ticket reseller for this one, but on the upside, I did end up with pretty good orchestra-level seats. I'm not too well-versed in this area, but the NY Philharmonic has to be one of the best in the world. Before moving onto the big piece, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10, the orchestra played Shostakovich's "Festive Overture" and Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, led by soloist Frank Huang. Earlier this year, I played the latter piece with Canberra's National Capital Orchestra alongside CJ Blog mastermind Eric [ https://canberrajazz.blogspot.com/2024/03/awe.html ] and it was great to hear the work being performed professionally, especially as I knew there were some particularly difficult bass soli coming up. The section moved through it like butter - bravo!

The big item was Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10, accompanied by a stop motion film, "Oh to Believe in Another World," by William Kentridge. The audio-visual experience was interesting, although I do wonder what it would have been like to have just heard the music by itself, as one's attention span can only take in so much at a time. Still, during the course of my Honours year I had the pleasure of interviewing Vince Jones, and he remarked that the future will be an audio-visual one. This was art accompanying art - art on top of more art. Too much art? Surely it can't be worse than too little art. My money's worth in any case (even if a decent chunk of what I paid went to the wrong place...).

To be continued tomorrow...

Planets and other pleasures

I haven't played too much jazz recently, but when I have it's been satisfying and hugely pleasurable.  Maybe some time away makes you hark for the steady swing.  Dunno, but my walks have been more interesting with nice voice leading and the like, so great.  This was our long-standing gig at Red Hill Primary School.  It's a visit to the past for me, having had two boys at the school, now capable professionals, and not just a year or so out.  It's history for James, too, as this was the 10th anniversary of our first gig together, here, at RHPS.  We played with sit-in drummer Somesh Putcha and he plays with another bass mate, Jeremy.  This is so Canberra jazz, actually, being a small world.  Jeremy is our man in NYC right now, and Somesh is off sometime soon after several previous visits.  World jazz is also quite a small world.  But we enjoyed some intriguing takes on standards and some very rhythmically sharp drum solos and a few of James' originals and sausage sandwiches and beers and active kids and chattering parents.  Such a good night, especially without threatening rain (we've had some very wet nights here in the past) and with some clear skies for one or two planets (Venus and Jupiter are bright in the West and East and Saturn's there too at the moment).  So all was well and much enjoyed at this always-pleasant community event. Obviously we forgot the selfie.

Tilt Trio performed at the Red Hill Primary School end-of-year gathering.  Tilt were James Woodman (piano), Eric Pozza (bass) and Somesh Putcha (drums).