One for the band

It was the same band, just without a singer (other than Rachael who sang one song). This was the teachers at the School of Music, the local aristocracy of jazz, and they were playing their compositions and a few favourites and it was great. Mike, Miro, Wayne, Mark and new bassist Alec were playing a storm. Right from the start, the tunes were friends. There were two from the Wanderlust stable: Delicatessence and Bronte Cafe, both immensely attractive and infectious. Miro also offered another, Happy world, a new composition seeking a happier place than the current distressing daily news. [I can understand: it's strange how friends and acquaintances volunteer a feeling of despondency these days, but that's for another blog]. I thought of his Peace please; it's another Miro masterpiece that speaks to our common humanity. Then Mike with several of his originals: Standard time and Young guns (he joked of renaming this to Old diggers, given the nature of the tune and that the young guns are now playing Radiohead and the like, rather than the jazz changes), and a lengthy exploration called Contessa Sabra Dalziel (?). Wayne offered a catchy hard bopper called Optimism. Rachael sat in during the second set with a take on the Billie Holliday's heartbreaking ballad, Crazy he calls me ("Like the wind that shakes the bough / He moves me with a smile / The difficult I'll do right now / The impossible will take a little while"). Mike also offered a favourite standard, I'll remember April, and Kenny Wheeler's Kind folk and a blues he'd transcribed that he called Emily's blues. The playing was first-rate. Wayne excited with his broad concepts; Mike's guitar was sharp and genuine and often thrilling in solos; Mark just held it all together and Alec was certain and obviously enjoying the outing. Nice to see some broad smiles and rhythm section mobility on Wanderlust grooves and more. Miro was purposeful and strong and gloriously melodious. Especially during Rachael's ballad, I noticed some wonderful fills but also how Wayne and Mike and Miro didn't step on toes, presumably from time together, but also from just plain class. One friend hadn't come the night before - he steers clear of vocals - but I thoroughly enjoyed them both. Two excellent nights from the best locals.
Mike Price (guitar), Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet, flugelhorn), Wayne Kelly (piano), Alec Hunter (bass) and Mark Sutton (drums) performed in the Band Room for the ANU School of Music Winter Jazz Week. Rachael Thoms (vocals) sat in for one number.

If you go

Trish Delaney-Brown was a founding member of a great Canberra - and School of Music - product: the Idea of North. They are a wonderful vocal quartet that I've heard many times on radio but seldom live. They visit often; the hip response is "my bad". This gig was Trish playing for the School's Winter Jazz Week. Trish was singing by herself out front, backed by faculty and friends. The tunes were jazz and popular, standards, latins, ballads, a few originals. Nothing unusual but beautifully done, and collected with a sense of entertainment as well as art. This is the mark of a working musician. My favourite things is from Sound of music so ridiculously well known. So is Hey babe ain't I good to you. But they weren't all like that. Out of this world was a swinger and So what if I don't was slowly swung and Better than anything was 3/4 but with a fast melody and swift triplets and dotted quarter notes over the three beats of the bar, bop-styled. Senor blues was a latin blues with life and The Frog was 32-bar AABA with latin feel and Impressions changes (if I got this right). But a few slower numbers mostly took my attention. Blue in green from Kind of Blues was played as a duo with Trish and Mike; Jobim's Dindi was a thing of floating beauty; best was a glorious take on a delicious but tormented ballad, If you go, as arranged for Shirley Horn. So, these were interesting tunes and some were lesser known; straight-ahead, lively music, not too daring, but so wonderfully played and swung with much drive. Miro's soloing on this straighter material was a revelation, on flugelhorn or trumpet, phrasing modally, moving through scalar degrees and anticipating and leaving phrases hanging. Mike's guitar was sharp and unaffected and simply expressive. Wayne ventured into dissonance most freely. Alec took just one solo, this one on double bass, with clear phrasing and beautiful tone. Mark was in good cheer, inviting Trish on stage at the start with a classic intro, settling then driving the rhythm with incredible solidity throughout, taking just a few solos that sat with aplomb. I guess Trish is alto. I was taken aback when she dropped to a low note with such perfect tone and technique, by classy articulation on fast passages and by some mobile scat. Such technical competence must be a requirement for a vocal quartet like Idea of North so I was mightily impressed but not surprised. But beyond technique, there was personality and purpose. This was a wonderful, hard swinging, nicely arranged and sometimes beauteous concert. Great stuff.

Trish Delaney-Brown (vocals) performed at the ANU School of Music Winter Jazz Week with Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet, flugelhorn), Mike Price (guitar), Wayne Kelly (piano), Alec Hunter (bass) and Mark Sutton (drums).

Let's hope it remains this way

There are times when you realise the professionals are playing and you sit back in awe. This was one of those times. It was a group from the Music School Faculty. Mostly old mates: John Mackay with Miro and Greg and Mark and newcomer bassist Alec Hunter. Other than Alec, I've seen them all many times and often enough been similarly taken aback. This night was pretty open. They played a few tunes - Straight no chaser and Footprints (on request) and Body & soul. Greg's guitar in B&S was a stunner (as he was for the rest of the night, blaring with overdrive or clear and rapid for solos or laying down modal colours behind melody or solo). But the major works on this night were not so ordered; maybe sketches of melodies but mostly open and improvised. Miro and John were both in great form. I was taken aback by one melody snippet late in the night that came unison out of nowhere, but otherwise they were conversational when playing together or strongly independent when playing alone. Alec plays all manner of musics. This time, he was sturdy but quiet and understated. His solos took the band in a different direction, less brassy and outspoken, more quiet and meditative, often rhythm-based rather than lyrical, and I think it was his riffs that precipitated many of the changes in the longer tunes. And they were long: one lasted 32 minutes. But unmentioned is Mark. He was a stunner on the night, holding grooves but also enlivening with ever precise fills and polyrhythms. He observed after that his era has drummers holding the groove. Much contemporary jazz passes that responsibility to bass and leaves drums to percussive colour and cymbals. Horses for courses; all good. Mark was great. I've seen these guys many times, but they remain eye-openers, doubly so on a good night. John mentioned form stage that Canberra has plenty of good musicians. Let's hope it remains this way, but for now there's quality around, in jazz, other musics and all manner of other interests. Capital cities and academic centres are like that.

John Mackey (tenor), Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet), Greg Stott (guitar), Alec Hunter (bass) and Mark Sutton (drums) played a stunner at Smiths.

The very fringe of squaredom

In recent days, Father Fintan Monaghan said "I suppose we can't really judge the past from our point of view, from our lens". Given he was explaining away the discarding of 796 babies in a cesspitt, and in the pretty recent past, it's an unfortunate and morally erroneous statement*. So I've been wondering about The Fringe of Squaredom. It's the name of the band that played at Smiths this week. It's also a colourful description in Time magazine of the album performed by that band. The album is Nancy Wilson / Cannonball Adderley from 1961. Certainly Happy talk, that jaunty song from the musical South Pacific could be labelled square. I don't feel that about Never will I marry, though. It's got nicely contorted changes and it's a favourite of mine. Perhaps this mix of pleasurable and pretty deep swing is out-of-place after 50s cool and as 60s free is gathering pace and Coltrane is being spiritual and Miles is venturing further afield. History is fascinating and ever open for interpretation, and what an image that is: the fringe of squaredom.

The band was led by Rachael Thoms and Tom Fell as Nancy and Cannonball. Tom is tenor rather than Cannonball's alto, but close enough. The rest of the band was local notoriety. Rachael is just superbly in control of her voice and such a pleasure. I just melt as she holds a note then releases a swelling vibrato. She's a joyous and infectious presence and the technical facility just makes the cake. It's my first jazz hearing for Alec, recently imported bass teacher at the ANU Music School. To my ear, he loves a heavy beat and hard-blown swing and plays it with a firm pizzicato and strong sound. That may be just for this album; I've seen him playing much more experimental bass and viola da gamba, too. Brendan Magee was new to me. He's apparently brought his trombone out from storage only recently. He did a nicely tight job in section work and took quietly spoken solos. Tom was up front, playing the part of a swinging Cannonball with verve but an evident seriousness. Nice. Wayne was a natural. Every solo speaking with authority and inevitability and playing through a range of styles. The solo on Happy talk was pure McCoy Tyner so hardly square. Same with Mark; enough said that he's a master with his roiling grooves and brilliant snaps. What a great and pleasurable night. If this is square, bring it on.

The Fringe of Squaredom are Rachael Thoms (vocals), Tom Fell (tenor), Brendan Magee (trombone), Wayne Kelly (piano), Alec Hunter (bass) and Mark Sutton (drums).

*As for history, I wonder that anyone can grow more conservative with age. It seems to me that if you stay informed, maintain your ethics and don't go to sleep, you can only grow more radical, and for me that's to the left, not the right as is common and too noisy these days: maturing as a process of removing blinkers. If you haven't heard of the mass grave of 796 babies at a Catholic Irish nuns' mothers and babies home, read this and despair.

Meditation in groove

In many ways, this was unexpected, but in others it was not. Alec Hunter is the new bassist at the Music School with a background in both classical and jazz and a musicology PhD to boot. The band was presented in a formal layout: seven players spread around an inverted U open to the audience. Individually lit with strong overhead lights for a contrasty view. Two drummers and marimba/vibes. The grand Steinway next to mikes for seated trumpet and saxes. And two basses, or rather a double bass and a violone, lying on its back, in front of several laptops. Also, a screen above it all, a dark room, mics and recording gear. This was a seriously prepared event. Then I read the program: "short open works", "improvised (or not)", "set melodic cells to free improvisation", "order ... decided ... during the performance". And more: "simultaneously projected video", "audio and video ... tow independent creative events occupying the same space and time". And even: "the doors ... will remain open ... audience members are encouraged to come and go as they please". Interesting. Some of the recorded voice accompanying the video spoke to similar conventions, of art and dance and music. No-one much moved or applauded or made noise during each set, but we are a arts-respecting crew. So what did we hear? There were passages at top and bottom that grooved like jazz-rock era Miles. There were times of quiet and meditation, with double-bowed violone and more. There was authentic jazz improvisation from Charles on vibes and deeply rhythmic improv from Tate on piano. There were two drummers, sharing leads, finding openings for percussion. There were Miro and John, two masters thrilling with some deeply responsive interplay and swapped segments and some great tones with a digital harmoniser. And Alec, leading with hand gestures and raised fingers, meditatively seated on the ground with violone or holding jazz-infused riffs or spelling melodic themes on double bass. I liked his sharp edged tone that was balanced, often note for note, with softer rejoinders, with what sounded to my ears as the most precise intonation. It's jazz and modern classical but also performance art and video. Not rare these days, and shouldn't really be unexpected, but a change from Bird on the one hand or Bach on the other (although we all love them both). Refreshing and pensive.

Alec Hunter and Friends played in the Band Room at the ANU School of Music. Alec Hunter (bass, violone, electronics) led his friends Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet), John Mackey (saxes), Tate Sheridan (piano), Charles Martin (marimba, vibes), Jamal Salem (drums, percussion) and Jonathan Warren (drums, percussion). Lauren Hunter (video) created the projections.