Mythic travels

I remember being taken by Allan Browne when he presented The Drunken Boat, a dedication to Rimbaud at Wang in 2007. He did it again and I realise now that he did it with the same band. This time, the piece was on Homer's Odyssey. Allan had given a Penguin copy to each of the band and they proceeded to write tunes to relevant myths and a year or so later they recorded and performed it at Wang. I found it deeply satisfying, profound even. It was mostly done with no chatter, although there was a stop or two. There was also some reading form Homer by Allan towards the end. I was a bit surprised by some chatter on stage, but these guys know it and treat it as an old mate, I guess. Some great playing, too. Allan is the senior, herding his crew of adepts through swamps and adventures with the lightest of drums and guidance. Geoff's guitar is deft and speedy; Eugene and Phil up front were one voice or skilled soloists, serious but merry; bassist Geoff was light in line with Allan's lead. There were a ream of written notes here, lots of counterpoint, lots of dots, space for solos all beautifully integrated into the whole, some deeply settled grooves. There was life, deep thought, musical purpose, construction and response to a formative work of Western thought. I guess the word is profound. Allan said they'd make no money from it, like the previous albums of a similar style, but it's an erudite work. I left feeling enlightened. Impressed!

The Quintet was led by Allan Browne (drums) with Eugene Ball (trumpet), Phil Noy (alto), Geoff Hughes (guitar) and Nick Haywood (bass).

Touching Heaven

It felt like a flight of angels passing by. The closest thing to Heaven. This was the Allan Browne, Tamara Murphy, Andrea Keller Trio playing in the dim light of Bennett’s Lane. It was a Monday night, which seems to be an evening allocated to Allan for his gatherings. He’s a long term name. I mentioned hearing his name in the ‘70s from Adelaide and he corrected me to the ‘60s. Then he was telling a visiting Canadian saxist that he’d played at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and it was big, everyone was there, Miles… I think of Art Blakey and Paul Motion, serious and respected, who gathered such important musicians around them.

This is a trio formed out of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival four years back. There’s a air of caring here and Allan mentioned it. The music is gentle, the volume is low - mostly - and the listening is obvious. Andrea’s tone is a thing of Heaven, the lightest touch that speaks of her attachment and love of playing. It’s obvious as she sits, bent over the keys, smiling. This is intimate; you feel privileged to be allowed into this space. Tamara, too. It’s a heavier instrument and her strings are not light. As bassists interminably do, we discussed strings and setups (Tamara, excuse me). She obviously works to get the sounds from her bass. It’s quite a hard sound, with short sustain, played expressively and very melodically. She grimaces with some notes. She often sings with phrases. It’s a recommendation made to many players, to sing with solos to avoid muscle memory and clichés. Tamara is not faking. This is clearly real. And the old man of the set is the host and raconteur, introducing with wit and affection. His playing is also of the lightest touch, switching through mallets and sticks (not sure if I remember brushes), but can also be explosive, louder, just once I noticed it drowning out the rest, but always responsive as the wise and experienced can be.

Their music was mainly original. Tamara’s Lullaby at the end was a clear favourite of the audience and a feature for the band, but there were a string of others, like Tamara’s Travellers or Andrea’s That day or Allan’s Cyclosporine. They all wrote. They played Monk’s Hackensack and I think it was an another Andrea original that had clear strains of Monk. They played Fats Waller’s most perfect jazz tune, Jitterbug waltz. They had started with Henry Mancini’s Days of wine and roses. From the top, this was softly spoken and richly altered. The tune only became evident after perhaps a chorus of Andrea’s improvisation. Then even when the cycles were obvious, the phrasing remained displaced, sequenced, expansive over a patter of busy drums and the bass working the changes. This is classic piano trio stuff; the stuff of legend. Andrea said later that Bill Evans had a light touch. I checked Youtube. Bill’s touch was somewhat heavier than Andrea’s, but I felt in company like that. Invited to an intimate space by fluent but reflective hosts; entertaining but not entertainment. A gift. My theology is rusty, but I could imagine that’s what Heaven is, or is said to be. Allan Browne (drums), Tamara Murphy (bass) and Andrea Keller (piano) performed at Bennett’s Lane.

Trombones a close second (Wang 3)

Wang 2

It seems trombones are having their place in the sun at the moment. I’ve noted that in several CJ articles recently. Wang also provided its share: Robin Eubanks from Dave Holland’s Quintet; a pleasant surprise in Root 70 with Nils Wogram; and the busy young female trombonist, Shannon Barnett.

Dave Holland was the star international import and much awaited. He played on the Friday evening at the very start of the Festival. It was a high point of the festival, but thankfully didn’t end in an unhappy denouement. Robin Eubanks (trombone) was stunning and along with Chris Potter (tenor, soprano sax) were a formidable front line. Robin was stunning with clear, accurately intoned melody, solo and contrapuntal lines with minimal movement of the slide. His technique interested me. Apparently you can play full scales using high harmonics on a trom without moving the slide. Presumably it’s possible on every brass instrument. Robin was a master, with melody pouring out at speed with only occasional slide movements. The normally clumsy trom became a thing of unusual celerity. Stunning playing; and all so musical. I especially loved his counterpoint with Chris Potter. Chris is another renowned player. I found him intellectually satisfying, but less so emotionally. This was harsh and challenging playing, but so capable. Again, great counterpoint: this return to collective improvisation seems to be a theme in today’s modern jazz. Nate Smith (drums) is the newby in the band, but is a key member, and was much raved about. Steve Nelson (vibes, marimba) provided a wash of harmony with these relatively soft chordal instruments. Dave Holland (bass) played his deceptively simple, syncopated style on that stubby bass, and smiled as the proud father throughout the gig. Mostly Robin and Chris were stony-faced. I was sitting in the front row and just caught Chris ask “Twice?”. Robin replied with a nod and a smile. So these guys also play it just a bit roughly at times – not that you’d notice otherwise. Another thing to note was the fabulous mix on this gig. I hear Dave brought his own mixer. The sound was crisp at adequate volume, and every instrument was clearly defined, so the PA itself just disappeared from consciousness. Truly a lesson in how jazz should be mixed.

An unexpected surprise by most listeners was Nils Wogram’s Root 70. The band is made up of two Germans: Nils Wogram (trombone) and Jochen Rueckert (drums), and two New Zealanders: Hayden Chisholm (alto sax, bass clarinet) and Matt Penman (bass). This was light, airy, perfectly articulated music, harking back to swing and pre-bop styles, with collective and solo improvisation and some humour. It was lovely, sweet stuff which enchanted an unexpecting audience.

The other notable trombonist was Shannon Barnett. She seemed to pop up in several places, and played with considerable confidence and audacity. I heard her in two sets with Barney McAll’s septet. She was reading complex charts and burning through solos. She’s a notable player and apparently young to boot, so she’ll be worth watching over time. She also appeared with Barnett-Saarlaht-Browne, but I missed that set. Mostly Barney McAll’s complex, composed, latin-based was lost amongst poor sound engineering, along with Kurt Rosenwinkel. Barney McAll’s Septet comprised Barney McAll (piano, leader, composer), Jurt Rosenwinkel (guitar), Sam Lipman (tenor), Danny Fischer (drums), Shannon Barnett (trombone), Philip Rex (bass) and Javier Fredes (percussion).

I didn’t miss the Allan Browne Quintet performing his suite modelled on, and dedicated, to the poet Arthur Rimbaud, The Drunken Boat. This was a complex and rich thematic piece made up of short snippets of varied time signatures and tonalities, with final haunting singing by Stella Browne. I found it memorable and satisfying, but a mate thought it was inconsistent. Definitely it was varied. The band was Allan Browne (drums), Eugene Ball (trumpet), Phil Noy (alto), Geoff Hughes (guitar), Nick Haywood (bass).

Wang 4