Sunday jam

We have three regular jazz jam sessions that I know of in Canberra at the moment but it's the Sunday afternoon one that most suits me. I'm busy Sat arvos and Wed evenings. So this Sunday I got to Smiths. It was inside, preparing for winter, so on stage, later with Bevan and his PA. The band playing when I arrived was Wayne Kelly, Anthony Irving, Mark Levers and Sandy Ekert. Sandy on tenor was new to me. I sat in for a few tunes. Andrew Howard sat in on djembe and later on drums. The tunes were a string from the fake books: Impressions, Caravan, Just friends, Nardis, interestingly Horace Silver Peace which is so beautiful but unexpected here. I'd missed Alone together and no doubt other common tunes. Anthony is playing a storm. Wayne is the stalwart and centre of easy confidence as always. Andrew's djembe were very cool, capably offering some percussive richness. Sandy was new to me but comfortable with the charts. Mark is ever-reliable. Add a beer and a techo chat with Bevan and it was a very pleasant afternoon outing. They could just do with a few more jammers.

Wayne Kelly (piano), Anthony Irving (bass), Mark Levers (drums), Sandy Ekert (tenor), Andrew Howard (drums, percussion) and Eric Pozza (bass) jammed at Smiths

Mulling on jamming

All of a sudden there seem to be jazz jams around. I'm mulling this at the moment. Why, the multiple jam sessions when the performance scene is otherwise so dilapidated. The ructions at the jazz school reduced the numbers of students around town; the regular touring bands have mostly disappeared; the lively jazz experimentation seems lacking or maybe it's underground. But we have these jazz jams. There's still a desire to play with others and to find colleagues. Maybe it's the disruptions that lead to this scene. Whatever, I attended the Smiths Sunday session to find a great host band and a few sitters in. A comfy scene, good music and some obvious appreciation from the non-jazz followers. So worthy, entertaining and enjoyable. Keep it up.

The host band at Smiths Sunday session was Josh Buckler (tenor, convenor), Hugh Barrett (piano), Barney Briggs (bass) and Mark Levers (drums). Sitins were Andrew Howard (drums), Mitch Preston (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).

Apricot?

A new jazz jam session for Canberra. I have known of Sunday Sessions at Smiths for some time, but they've recently been taken over by jazz jammers. It was run short for another event this weekend, but I got there for an hour. These were some very good players. Hugh Barrett, convenor Josh Buckler, Jason Henderson and Mark Levers. Sitting in we Suhasini Sumithra, Andrew Howard and Eric Pozza. Mark likes it hot, so there was some pace here, not least Stella with stellar effort. Otherwise, standards like Black Orpheus, Footprints, There will never be another you, Beatrice, blues. Not surprising the playing was nice: Hugh plays sequences through dissonance with ease; Jason is an army reserve player, big chops and well versed; Josh is quick and clever in his lines and melodicism; Mark was just driving it hard; Sumi sang a lovely Manhã de Carnaval / Day in the life of a fool / Black Orpheus. Nice company and good fun all round. I got to play Beatrice and Stella on speed. Thanks, great fun.

The Sunday Session at Smiths featured host band Josh Buckler (tenor, convenor), Hugh Barrett (piano), Jason Henderson (bass) and Mark Levers (drums). Sitins were Suhasini Sumithra (vocals), Andrew Howard (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).

More Smalls

I've commented before that Wayne Kelly's Trio leading a Wednesday night jam session at the Old Canberra Inn is our local Smalls. I got there last Wednesday. It was cold, cold outside but snug inside with wood fires behind glass and the unexpected warmth of a slab hut, no doubt sealed against drafts. So the venue was hot, good for boutique beers, and the music was too. The band was Wayne, Ben and Mark. The sitins were three drummers, one bass, one trumpet, one piano, one vocal. The piano and vocal were a pair who play Cuban music locally, so we got some great, infectious latin grooves. This really is something special. Elizabeth and Jonathan play in the local band, Clavemania, most recently at Vivaldi. Matthew was the trumpet, a local boy now student at the James Morrison Academy in Mount Gambier. Very nice playing, not least on Joy Spring. The drummers were Ken, Mitch and Andrew. I got to play bass on three favourites: Caravan, Alone together and All blues, mostly with Wayne and a variety of drummers and Matthew. Good fun and nice to play Ben's German trade bass.

But a further Smalls matter has also taken some recently. I thought the Smalls online feed was shut, but no, it's free with registration for live shows and charged for the historical collection. Three sessions each night, 7.30am-4am NYC time, about 10am-6pm AEST. Neat. Two bands then a jam session. Funny thing, over a few days I saw both Ari Hoenig and Joe Farnsworth, two renowned NYC drummers who visited Canberra in just the last few weeks. Small world; Smalls and the world; our small Smalls.

Wayne Kelly (piano), Ben O'Loghlin (bass) and Mark Sutton (drums) lead the weekly jam session at Old Canberra Inn, 7-9pm Wednesdays. Sitins this evening were Matthew Nicholls (trumpet), Andrew Howard, Ken Nosworthy and Mitch Preston (drums), Elizabeth Obando Paz (vocals), Jonathan Cohen (piano) and Eric Pozza (bass).

Smalls NYC live stream

Spectroscopics

Raman are mates and I played with Mike and Nitya sometime back when I got back into jazz. I caught them at Smiths. They play around with groove styles, it seems mostly grooves designed by Mike, along with some Indian influences form Nitya. I first thought of Japanese noodles but they are spelt with an e. This spelling suggests Raman spectroscopy from the physicist who discovered the Raman effect (light scattering thorough transparent materials causing changed wavelengths) but I doubt the group thinks of that during a performance. Mike is strong on guitar with a well-developed use of pedals. His guitar can scream. Nitya adds a range of acoustic colours: concert flute and various bamboo flutes, alto clarinet and tenor and soprano sax. Perhaps my favourite was his Indian influenced wordless vocals in the liveliest tune I heard, variously called Sitar and blind snake and Broken sitar and snake. I guess the contested title is a running joke. Certainly, I couldn't guess the title from the wordless melody, but it felt authentic and wordly and had a nice drive. The groove was stronger and the solos easier on this one, the length more indulgent and the tones varied, with solos from guitar and wooden flute and soprano sax. Otherwise, this is instrumentals, blues tunes, virtually unnamed numbers like Groove no.5 and Mike's other song and Mike's blues. But they range widely, as with Highland swing and a latin called Sail. The latin felt comfy; the Highland swing didn't particularly say Scotland to my ears, but it worked as another attractive groove. Good to see old mates playing the scene; too little catchups otherwise.

Raman are Nitya (saxes, flutes, clarinet), Mike Mamontov (guitar), Alan Lee (bass) and Andrew Howard (drums).