Out is not easy

The two sets by the Callum G’Froerer Quintet at the Loft were very different. I found the first was dreamy and meditative; the second had more groove, even some walking bass and rock and jazz rhythms. That’s not to say this was not still a challenge to the ears. I had a good chat with bassist Sam after the gig and he wised me up on the approach of the band. This is not for the faint-hearted musician.
Firstly, there’s lots of listening and considerable risk: these guys are not satisfied with playing the tonics. The tunes were all by Callum, other than one by saxist Andrew. The tunes may be a melody and an underlying chord structure, but all 12 notes are valid here. We chatted about how you make valid those notes that you’ve chosen. You play them with conviction and you play them in response to the other band members, but that’s only part. Sam talked of practising a simple major triad, in all inversions, paired with the triad a major third below, eg, C with Ab. It’s a common movement in jazz composition. I mentioned pentatonics to guide note choices against different chord types, so against C7 you might play a major pentatonic on C, D, Eb, F, Gb, G#, A or Bb and all have their distinct colours which are really extensions with relationships. It’s the relationships that that are important. All notes are not equal; different groups of notes are equal in defining different tonalities or levels of dissonance. Exciting stuff. My interest was also piqued when Callum introduced Andrew’s tune as “constructed” by him. Sam told me afterward how it was “constructed”: each musician selects a phrase that can be looped, then plays that phrase with whatever delay between repeats. It was like the chart I saw for a composition at SoundOut. So how to describe the result of all this? Harmonic understory from guitar and bass with busy percussion only hinting at a rhythm and a slow, often unison, melody overlaid. Not all tunes were like this, but it was a core structure. One tune had a rock groove (totally unexpected here and late in the night). Another had a jazz drum groove with a fast walking bass; Sam explained he fought against muscle memory and standard phrases on this one. The looped tune was all spacey and indeterminate. Another had a four chord pattern. Silver platter was a call and response melody over a 6 x 6/8 pattern. Rocky Mountain had a jagged melody that was the genuine sound equivalent of rocky mountain tops and craggy valleys. So, there was variation but overall this sense of atonality. And maybe one thing left to mention. The stage presence was very moderate, softly spoken; the bass was acoustic and sounding great even if sometimes lost against drums; the overall volume was very restrained, in a fit with this presence. This is a band of seriousness and inventiveness and considerable harmonic skills. The other day a mate said playing out is easier than playing in. I’m not sure I agree, especially after my discussion with Sam. Finding the formally wrong note which is actually right is no small feat. Confidence alone isn’t enough.

Callum G’Froerer (trumpet) led his Quintet’s at the Loft with Andrew Brooks (alto), Brett Thompson (guitar), Sam Zerna (bass) and Hugh Harvey (drums) to launch their CD City speaks.

Motion underscored

I thought the three piece format - drums, sax, keys; no bass - was intentional, to underscore a different mix of players and a different sound. But _motion usually performs with a bassist; he’s just not been well and had to drop out of the tour. Their music, though, still ranged widely. They mention influences from jazz, contemporary classical, experimental rock and minimalism. The music was clearly from the jazz world, but there was evidence of more, especially the minimalism. The first tune on the ArtSound broadcast sounded common enough – a lively up swing of the 60s era with nicely striding solos from sax and piano then into thoughtful sax against a piano pedal, then out on a melody. Very nice. But then a minimalist balladic piece, and another piece with sax and melodica out front and soloing together. There was some bass backing here, perhaps a left hand on the Nord, but lack of a bassist was evident here. Then a few with piano that said 20th Century classical to me. The first was an original, but then a rendition of You are my sunshine, with a very nice, unadulterated melody on sax. Lovely. The second set returned to open balladism then a lively rocker called “Liberty stole my shoes” (interesting title). I was in the studio for this, and the band and especially drummer Hugh was obviously letting go on and there were some cheers of encouragement within the band at the end of this one. Then another ballad, and some impressionist piano to finish, clearly benefitting from the Yamaha grand in ArtSound’s studio. Pianist Berish commented on the piano, noting that it was nicely in tune. Knowing my battles with an acoustic piano at home, I can appreciate his pleasure.

Andrew Brooks played with watery alto tone that fitted nicely with the ballads and the introspection. Berish Bilander had Nord and the grand piano at the ready. I particularly enjoyed his gentle solos that took advantage of the clarity of the grand. Hugh Harvey was more widely interpretive than I’ve heard him before and also let go with rocky energy on a few tunes. Interestingly, the band has Perth connections. I think I’m right to say they all (other than Hugh) met while studying at WAPA in Perth. They are now resident in Melbourne, and doing a short tour to promote their first CD, Presence. They return for two concerts next week: Tuesday at Front Café with Austin Bucket, and Wednesday at Trinity. These concerts feature Abel Cross of Trio Apoplectic filling in on bass. Catch them if you can. It will be interesting to hear, this time with bass.

For the ArtSound broadcast, _motion were Andrew Brooks (alto, soprano sax), Berish Bilander (keys) and Hugh Harvey (drums). Normally they include Nick Abbey (bass).