Face to face

There's always music before the chat although this chat was different.  First the music.  Host Jeremy led his band with Steve Barry, Noel Mason and Alex Hirlian in a quite professionally prerecorded setting.  These are very good players and this was a very satisfying modern jazz outing.  A wonderful drums entry from Alex, into a plaintive tenor melody, then a response, all in an 8-feel, then stops and starts on  a bridge and an end head and into a tenor sax solo.  Nice, punctuated, syncopated bass, swapping 8-bar piano and sax solo passages, then into piano with long 8th note lines, sax triplet drops, driving, busy, then some concurrent soloing, busy drums and a fade to end.  Really nice, but not the topic of the chat.  Instead that was Jeremy and Zoe Haupmann, artistic director of SIMA, talking of various things: the effect of COVID on musos and clubs, the use of streamed concerts, the intimacy and centrality of playing live with others and to an audience, engagements with live streaming, prerecords and struggles with tech.  The fact that you don't have to leave home.  But as Zoe said, she'd done enough gardening and surfing.  They talked of coming albums, coming shows, coming bookings as musos and as venue.  Talking hopefully of audiences also dying to get out to hear music live and happy to give support to venues and players.  Noting that Melbourne and Wangaratta jazz festivals were cancelled this year while Europe and the US is picking up for shows and tours.  Zoe has bookings to record with Ian Moss and festival gigs booked for next year with Missy Higgins and Ian Moss.  She spoke of the joy of bookings being received; "good to have hope" despite multiple reschedules.  But also of fears of lost musos and venues.  And of the particular demands for early/mid career musos and their limited opportunities for networking.  That always there is "no substitute for that live experience" and how we've learnt these things through COVID.  I learnt that the old (not original!) Basement is now Mary's Underground.  The performative ritual of musos and the concert experience of sitting still without checking phone as a liberty, some thing special, a sense of community, as something spiritual.  These are special moments and aren't forgotten: a feeling, unique and rare, precious.  Reminiscing on old time gigs with hubby Evan.  "Can't wait [for gigs to return]"  said Zoe.  And this chat also launched of the Jeremy's Face to Face video series, but it was not much discussed.

Jeremy Rose (tenor) performed with Steve Barry (piano), Noel Mason (bass) and Alex Hirlian (drums) then chatted with Zoe Hauptmann (artistic director of SIMA, bass) for the Earshift Festival.

Big Day Out 3

It takes a flit from ACO/Branford Marsalis to Smiths to realise the jazz in your soul. This was my last outing with Dan Tepfer. He was playing a jazz gig for CIMF at Smiths with top flight Australians Sam Anning and Alex Hirlian. The place was sold out and I was recording so I had to get there early. I heard them warming up and was already excited. They had played a few gigs together before this (Brisbane and Wollongong?) and they were hot. The music was mostly original from Dan's trio's latest album. The room was full and the CIMF had trucked in a Yamaha grand in good nick and capable soundman Bevan was on duty. Then the gig. From the top, this was intensely complex rhythmic outings with fabulously effective solos all round. I tried to count a few with no luck but saw some charts later and it wasn't impossible, although rich in sixteenth-note syncopations through changing time signatures, 7s or 11s interspersed with more common 4s and 3s, perhaps changing each bar. Not impossible but a difficult read. Very heavy on time and groove. And chords that implied rather than defined. Something like E-4b7 (not even sure how to write it!) mixing with other colours of E-7. Odd extension that, 4 not 11? The grooves were steady and hard often fast, strongly defined by both Sam and Alex but free for accents and embellishments as they desired. Despite the writing there was considerable freedom. Also a friendly and respectful eye from Dan. He obviously enjoyed this group. He mentioned he'd studied with Sam at the Manhattan School of Music. There's no way this would have been out of place in the Village. Dan has studied (astro-)physics and it shows in his variety of musical interests (Bach, Disklavier and contemporary jazz). I've since read he has more music and science in his family background. The room was full with an older cohort, this being a CIMF concert, but the band was absolutely well received. They ended on a softer note, some non-originals and tamer times and a ballad. Set 2 ended with the driving original, Roadrunner, and an encore of Everytime we say goodbye. I went away stunned and hugely pleased and aware of the jazz in my soul. Something of this quality would thump the heart of any listener. A stunner and a great pleasure; being Manhattan, I can say world class.

Dan Tepfer (piano) led a trio with Sam Anning (bass) and Alex Hirlian (drums) at Smiths for CIMF.

Sweetly analog

I have friends who don't feel at all this way but funk and synths are bliss bombs for me. I love those analog-like tones bent with pitch and modulation like a digital mouthpiece, varied in tone yet electronic and new worldly. Not that it's so new worldy these days, of course. Analog synths date from the '70s in common band usage even if they still don't enter the worlds of the some connoisseurs. But they are wild fun and intellectually delicious in the hands of a capable player who understands harmony and degrees of tonality or other like Sean Wayland. And doubly so with a funky bassist playing e-bass, this time Brendan Clarke after several weeks playing for The Book of Mormon where he's been switching through e-bass, fretless, double and bowing and where he found a refreshed enjoyment with the electric version, here a JB as in Marcus Miller. And a great young drummer who hits firmly and decisively with driving time and quizzical double time fills, Alex Hirlian, recent winner of the National Jazz Awards, this one obviously for drums, at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival. So it's not just me who's impressed. This was funky and exciting and musically satisfying.
The tunes were mostly originals from Sean, but two from Sydney's renowned and oft-remembered altoist, Bernie McGann, obviously by players who knew him. And one tune from Nick McBride, played by Nick McBride who was in town and sat in for two tunes. The other amused me in the guidance given by Sean on stage, to Nick, before playing: "Anything, just play". Hardly clear guidance but it worked a treat. It was obviously a little prepared gig, as only jazzers can carry out with panache and convincingly like this. Perhaps that's not fully true because jazzers prepare for just this eventuality, with knowledge of harmony and theory and the rest that others seldom learn. To end, I laughed at Sean's aside: "Right, we did it, we did a giggle". Relief and sly humour. And how easy to travel these days with keys! Here it was a keyboard controller, perhaps 5 octaves, with a second tiny controller (~1.5 octaves) to add accompaniment, a laptop and a small Yamaha PA for amplification, but the sounds were huge and fat and the complexities of accompaniment and solos were delicious. Interesting also to see and hear the difference in drummers: Alex more firm and unyielding and spacious; Nick more gentle and full and liquid. Both to die for. And Brendan, funky to a tee and deep and busy but always purposeful. A fabulous outing for lovers from the '70s to now.

Sean Wayland (keys) over from NYC to play with Brendan Clarke (bass) and Alex Hirlian (drums). Nick McBride (drums) replaced Alex for two tunes.

Nailing it

Jason Bruer's band is called Hammerhead and it's a driving hard bop outfit with three horns up front (tenor, alto, trumpet) and rhythm section. Mostly straightahead hard bop. At least one was more pensive, sustained, even relaxed, with circular breathing and another was a classical crossover in fugal form, the various instruments mirroring melody but displaced by time. But mostly it was honest, convincing, hard swinging, outgoing jazz. The horns up front were lovely, tuneful, together, energetic and interesting when they took their solos. The rhythm section was a blast, driving through at all times and happy to take their solos, too. Drummer Alex was the recent Wangaratta award winner for drums and got some regard for that. Very much jazz of the period and well deserved. Bassist Max is an old boy of the ANU and is playing a storm. Alone he could have anchored this band, so firmly swinging and fat sounding was he. His solos tended to slower and more thoughtful but they could let go, too. Gavin on piano was a pleasure, comping or headlining with power and energy. But energy was a feature all round. The horns were formidable together and intriguing apart. They changed just a little: alto to flute; tenor to soprano; trumpet to flugelhorn. All to be expected, but just a little surprising when it happened given it was none too common. But I particularly enjoyed Jason's soprano and Simon's flugel and the tone of flute fitted its more pensive context. But this was mostly a night of outright energy and exuberance and this band gave it. Two sets of five tunes then off for the drive back to Sydney. They nailed it.

Jason Bruer (tenor, soprano) led Hammerhead with Simon Ferenci (trumpet, flugelhorn), Andrew Robertson (alto, flute), Gavin Ahearn (piano), Max Alduca (bass) and Alex Hirlian (drums).