Awe all around

Wayne Shorter was obviously a formative artist for Con Campbell and Alex Raupach and they'd been planning a performance of his album Speak no evil for some time.  When WS died, aged 89, on 2 March 2023, it took on a special relevance.  Con's quintet comprised Con and Alex with Wayne Kelly, Chris Pound and Nick McBride.  It's a star-studded Canberra lineup but apt for this music, playing Wayne, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Elvin Jones.  But the start was also fascinating.  An original for the quintet by Alex, then a trio of trios.  Chris and Nick with Alex then with Con for two tunes by another uber-creative Thelonious Monk (Evidence, Friday the 13th), then a trio with Wayne playing a WK original.  Quite a different tune to end a shortish first set, in expectation of the album replay.  Then the album straight through in order.  Delightful syncopation on bass, extended flourishes on piano not least through chords, just fascinating chordal, often chromatic, movements with extensions spelling the flow, unique structures like 32-bars that were anything but AABA and 9 bar sections and the rest, all manner of colours in the writing.  And those indicative solos over, from Wayne and also more regular from Freddie.  I followed the chords from iRealPro and was fascinated by all this, and somewhat confused.  I'd played chords like this but never quite investigated these changes and the harmonic roles of these alterations.  This is deserving; worthy of investigation even at a kitchen table.  By the end I was quite awed by the source material but also by the local interpretation.  Just stunning all round.  The night ended pretty early and several went off to Molly for the jam session.  I started up the stairs, but the raucous sounds seemed at some conflict with what I'd heard, so I deferred, passing Nick on his way in.  Wow.  I still feel the awe.

Con Campbell (tenor), Alex Raupach (trumpet), Wayne Kelly (piano), Chris Pound (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) performed Wayne Shorter's album Speak no evil at Smiths for Geoff Page's Jazz series.