Transferrals

It's a massive weekend of jazz in Canberra but I'm off in Adelaide for family matters, but Quentin Angus and MSFS was on tour and performing at Adelaide Universityjust the day before their Canberra gig.  Great.  In a hall, ~150 in attendance with plenty of seats to move around.  First up, first row to see details; later, seats near the mixer to hear the PA more.  An it was a fascinating outing.  A rhythm section of guitar, 6-string e-bass and drums, with male rapper, female singer and two female backing vocals.  It was this mix that I found so inviting, the whole in two halves.  First half was a series of tunes, one or maybe two from each performer.  So some instrumentals, rap and vocals, piano and vocals, a rhythm section trio and the like.  The second half was their album that they (other then the invited local backing singers, I guess) were releasing on this tour, with vinyls at the entrance.  A fabulous idea, again a mix of tunes from instrumentals to raps to songs, this time with one solo tune from each of guitar, bass and drums, labelled as intros to other songs, most interesting for the electronics, loops and the like, especially on bass.  And this was a mix of place, of origin, of culture, of current residence, so the album was apparently developed in various studios at various times.  It's a wonder what our systems now allow.  And I loved the sound of rap with those three female voices, as I love voices, although I missed most lyrics which are the essence of song but seldom too recognisable in live music.  If I got it right, the locations were Adelaide Hills>NYC for Quentin; LA for Zoe; Nigeria>NZ for Mazbou Q; Japan>NYC for Moto; NYC for drummer Kenneth; Adelaide for background singers Clara and Jasmine.  Another surprise was the extent of musical backgrounds of the players, from classical orchestras to musicals to big bands and the strings of names they had played with although NYC and its jazz training can be like that.  I loved the music, felt drenched with lithe or funky 16-note bass, effective and understated guitar that defined the role of leader, solid, absolutely definitional drumming, rap with its odd times and presumably political expression (although more jovially, with audience involvement in this case; what fun), lovely expressive song from LA and gentle and apt BG vox.  Not just jazz, which I liked, but an expression of intelligent, contemporary music with a huge range of ideas and interpretations and great chops.  It's not for nothing that pics of two guys with me in the front row mimicking drums.

Quentin Angus (guitar, band leader) led his partners MSFS (band player initials) at Adelaide University for their album (Time cycles) release tour.  MSFS are Zoe Sparks (vocals), Mazbou Q (rap vocals), Moto Fukushima (6-string e-bass) and Kenneth Salters (drums).  Joining them in Adelaide were Clara Ferguson (backing vocals, piano) and Jasmine Hall (backing vocals).