JU Mingus

Mingus was stage number 1, with the best PA, the homebase for ArtSound, the venue for Wanderlust and the biggest room. There was no particular hierarchy of bands, but I guess everyone wanted to play here. It was a big space, so could lack intimacy. But it worked wonders for Wanderlust, when everyone was there together, and the room didn’t seem so big any more. Wanderlust was the one band I sat down and just enjoyed, and they were the best I’ve heard them. A magical outing.

More in Manuka

Minque is now featuring live jazz, usually in duo format, on Saturday afternoons. I dropped in to hear Austin Benjamin and Andy Campbell, but I ended up chatting and listened too little. I caught some familiar melodies, Solar was one, and the others were similarly recognisable. Austin’s a wonderful player, but I hadn’t caught him in a standards setting. This was both subdued and perhaps more simply swinging. Andy was at home, with a serious look on his visage, and some nice, clear, and lengthy solos. Blame mates for a poor report, but it was warm and the beers went down well, and sometimes jazz is just like that. Like that for some others too, I thought, as a young patron made some obviously uninterested motions, suggesting she preferred something simpler and with a bigger beat, and perhaps double drum pedals (anyone for Dirty Pop?). Whatever, Minque has a huge window and it was opened to Manuka and the swinging tones were echoing up and down the local bars. For a warm day, it was a cool and very beer-friendly atmosphere.

Austin Benjamin (piano) and Andy Campbell (guitar) played a standards set at Minque Bar in Manuka.

Memorable French session

Text and pics by Brenton Holmes

Watch out world. Here comes the Austin Benjamin Trio.

Jazz nights at the Alliance Francaise are invariably enjoyable - good bands and an audience that is there for the music. But the latest outing was especially memorable. Austin Benjamin (piano) Chris Pound (bass) and Evan Dorrian (drums) were joined by Matt Lustri (guitar) and Max Williams (tenor sax) and delivered the most thrilling and interesting music I've heard for a long time.

The chops go without saying. Each player's technical facility is first rate. But it's their sheer individual musicality and the strength of their rapport that makes their ensemble playing outstanding.

The trio largely worked their way through material on their Amalgama album (recorded at ArtSound) along with a couple of standards that went way beyond standard. I wouldn't have thought it possible that All Blue could sound anything but familiar and cosy. These guys breathed new life into it - not by being remotely excessive, but by being exquisitely inventive. Benjamin delivered the tonal colours for the band to work off, and Lustri's solo was a mischievous treat. Pound and Dorrian seasoned it perfectly. Another standard, In a Sentimental Mood, was a joy.

But it was Benjamin's own compositions that really gave the night its highs. Typically he establishes a motif and rhythm into which he invites Dorrian and Pound, and the weave really starts to happen. Its edgy and fascinating stuff. From the first few notes of Benjamin's Overture the hairs were standing up on my neck. And as each tune unrolled - Cicada, Solal the Cat, The Magnus Effect and the rest - I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

Evan Dorrian is to drumming like Fred Astaire is to dancing or Roger Federer to tennis. Poetry, sheer artistry. He skitters across the skins. Cymbals glow or flash. He's dazzlingly fast and dreamily slow, perfect in timing and touch. His dynamics are flawless. A drummer's drummer. A musician's drummer. Lucky trio.

Chris Pound, too, has a great touch. Even when he walks he wanders just right. His solos are beautifully structured and his interaction with both drums and keyboard is superb.

Austin Benjamin is a gifted composer and player. He can taunt a melody, Rubix-cube a chord, stretch a rhythm and it all sounds like it could be no other way. He knows exactly what he's trying to achieve musically and consistently pulls it off. And it seems to come out of a genuine, humble devotion to his muse. No smart arse. Just good art.

The Austin Benjamin Trio is a blessing from the jazz gods for which we should all be truly grateful.

Big enough (Moruya 4)

Eric Ajaye brought his trio Vertical. Eric made reference to his last trio, Straight up, by saying that his direction remains the same, but this is a different sounding outfit. I’ve hugely enjoyed them both. Vertical has Paul DalBroi (piano) and Chris Thwaite (drums) playing with Eric (bass). It’s a more cerebral, considered, controlled outfit, with some sweet and thoughtful playing on both originals and covers. Paul provides arrangements of some unexpected popular songs, from West Side Story or Cyndi Lauper, and even that 60s pop hit, Raindrops keep falling on my head. It’s an unlikely choice, but a jazz sensibility can convert the most obvious to the most profound. This just proves it. Eric played his visceral, glissando style on 5-string acoustic; Paul was quiet and considered, with well chosen melodies, occasional flourishes and exemplary control of dissonance. I was sitting near Chris and hugely enjoyed his receptive, dynamic, even symbiotic performance. This is a band to savour: for their inventiveness and skill, but mostly for their emotional honesty and connectiveness. A lovely set.

Eric stayed around for a very different set in the Mike Price trio. This band is honed after 10 years of weekly performances at the Kurrajong pub, which have sadly ended in recent weeks. It’s the end of an era, but hopefully they’ll find another venue. This is mainstream, swing, ballads and standards with exemplary skills. Mike (guitar) plays a woody, unaffected sound with the most competent swing-sensibility . Think Wes Montgomery and the like. In fact he played Roadsong by Wes, along with Kenny Wheeler and standards like I should care, Please send someone to love and Crazy she calls me. Eric Ajaye (bass) melds with his stylish, swinging grooves and rapid, gliss-full and sure solos, and Col Hoorweg (drums) provides rhythm from the most basic of kits (his “Kurrajong kit”) comprising snare, a few cymbals and various sticks, mallets and other percussive tools. This is sound experimentation applied to standards … and a very easy drum lug at a gig. Their set ended with a complex samba, and left an audience joyfully swinging. Very nice, very capable; entertainment with intelligence.

Another wing of the ANUSM faculty when John Mackey appeared with Miroslav Bukovsky as a Saxession. I missed the first Saxession, but the Saturday night one featured John and Miro with star students, Austin Benjamin (piano), Chris Pound (bass) and Evan Dorrian (drums). John introduced a set of stock standard tunes from the era of Coltrane and Miles and Shorter. Stock standard, surprisingly restrained, and superbly expressive. It was unusually laid back in style and tempo, but John can’t remain laid back in emotion. His sinuous and virtuosic tenor is a thing of wonder. You could hear him listening, as his long pauses made space for Austin’s comping. Every student has played these four tunes (Impressions, All the things you are, Footprints and Oleo) but this was the result of years of hours of study and it showed in fluency and melodic integrity. Miro brought the hard and ravaged edge of brass and the melliflousness of occasional harmonies on the heads. Austin, Chris and Evan are a capable trio in their own right, with an excellent recent album of original style. But they performed the post-bop and cool swing with integrity and oneness. I particularly liked Footprints played in its original, quiet style. Atypically temperate, informed and wonderfully expressive.

Teen spirit

It was a quiet night at Folkus and not too well attended, but the music was mostly original and the playing capable and interesting all round. James Annesley was visiting Canberra on tour from Melbourne and he was supported by a local student band led by Andy Campbell.

Firstly Andy. I hadn’t heard his band before, but I knew they’d been performing recently. The music turned out to be all original material penned by Andy himself. Sometimes meditative, often restrained; mostly straight eight feels although there was a rapid walk in there which was more boisterous; deliberate and dynamic rhythm playing by Hugh on drums and Chris on bass, constantly responsive to long melodic and solo lines. Again, we hear current students playing interesting, complex, original tunes: it bodes well. Andy Campbell (guitar) played with Austin Benjamin (piano), Chris Pound (bass) and Hugh Deacon (drums).

The James Annesley Quartet was the feature band on tour from Melbourne. From the top, they were louder than Andy’s band, and more confident with a brasher style of music and some terrific playing. Again, the tunes were mainly original, other than the Marcus Miller/Miles Davis Tutu, and the last tune of the set, the one they didn’t introduce, Nirvana’s Smells like teen spirit. Teen spirit has a strongly insinuating melody line that just clicks in the jazz idiom, and they did it justice. James played tenor and soprano saxes, but was more commonly on soprano. His playing was clear and incisive and fluent throughout. Hugh Stuckey was also a blast. He reached the finals of the National Jazz Awards for guitar at the last Wangaratta Festival, so it was not unexpected. He was fluent, subtle, elusive. It was fast playing with a lush background echo, so modern sounding. Rapid lines often merged with chords; generously spaced; open and searching for a response to the surroundings; resting between passages with a flourish of his left hand. Tom Lee played a strong and regular line on bass. He moved with his bass lines: more than anyone else I remember seeing. It’s interesting to see how musos respond to what they hear: variously cool and unmoving or mobile and expressive. Hugh Harvey combined with Tom for the steady, go-ahead bedrock rhythm, and played some nice solos of his own. I doubt my description does them justice. I thoroughly enjoyed the confident, capable performance in a modern post-bop style. There’s still a chance to catch them at the Gods next Tuesday. Well worth the outing. James Annesley (tenor, soprano sax) played with Hugh Stuckey (guitar), Tom Lee (bass) and Hugh Harvey (drums).

And remember to support music like this! Folkus is increasingly providing the venue for comfortable, intelligent, listening jazz. Use it or lose it.

Saxessions (Too much on, 3)

John Mackey was the common element in his Saxessions evening at Street Theatre. What a mammoth event. An evening of John playing with three different groups was enough to make for a special event. But a live broadcast to ArtSound and a possible triple live CD just adds to the uniqueness of the night. I dread missing it, but I did manage to hear some snippets on ArtSound FM during the night. There were three sets, with the Austin Benjamin Trio, with Eric Ajaye and Mark Sutton, and with the Greg Stott Band (GSB). These all displayed obviously different characteristics. There were originals peppered through the night. The middle set had a freely improvised medley of four standards (Blue bossa, Footprints, Solar and Invitation). They had no idea how this was to happen, but as John said, with guys like Eric and Mark you can feel confident. The GSB set was a fusion style, with fast guitar and bluesier sax. Hearing it on radio made for a more dispassionate listen and I enjoyed everything I caught. It must have been an entrancing event for those in the theatre. There were listeners who were interviewed at the end, who talked of coming in, unplanned, on the strength of the broadcast. It was a marathon for John, but also for ArtSound who put together the recording and broadcast. Both John and Chris Deacon sounded wrung out at the end, but also buoyed by the achievement. I’m looking forward to hearing the totality when released.

John Mackey (tenor sax) played the full session. He played set 1 with Austin Benjamin (piano), Chris Pound (bass) and Evan Dorrian (drums). Set 2 featured John with Eric Ajaye (bass) and Mark Sutton (drums). John played set 3 as the fourth member of the GSB comprising Greg Stott (guitar), Jason Varlet (bass) and Mark Sutton (drums).

Feel free to add your comments below.

Just another day in Canberra

Three CDs were launched the other night in Canberra. Just another day in Canberra? Perhaps, and it shows of the strength of the local arts community. Sadly, I missed every launch, so no reports, but I’ll put up pics if I get any. In the meantime some cover art, some links for online listening and my earlier reports will have to suffice. These are three very different bands, but all capable and interesting in their own ways.

The CDs were "A touch of anarchy" by BlackSchu Band, "Amalgama" by Austin Benjamin Trio and "Point A" by James LeFevre Quintet

Austin Benjamin on CJ

Austin Benjamin on MySpace (listen)

BlackSchu Band on CJ

James LeFevre on CJ

James LeFevre Quintet on MySpace (listen)

Out of electronica

The Austin Benjamin Trio performed from the ArtSound studio last Friday as part of ArtSound’s Friday Night Live series. I had to drop in, so I got a few pics. Otherwise, I listened from home, and the sound was crisp and clear. Well done, ArtSound. They had some teething problems in the opening concerts, but now all is well, and the sound is strong and clear.

The Trio was equally impressive. They talked in the break of listening to electronica and teenage years of heavy metal. Metal? Well, jazz school students often have broad interests. There’s at least one rap outfit with ANU jazz students and students fill in around town for all manner of styles. In this case, I could hear influences of drum’n’bass grooves in the music, with a lovely grand piano strewn over the top giving linear movement. There were a few walking stretches with more bop-like, but harmonically malleable, piano lines and swing, but it was mostly straight 8s and grooves, as is more common in modern outings. That’s not to say it doesn’t have a jazz sensibility, but it’s much more implied than blatant. There were screeches, finger damping on the piano, open drum parts, some free playing, several riff-based tunes, hints of Bad Plus and Debussy. Very nicely played and apparently a group effort. The basic tunes are penned by Austin, but they are massaged and developed by Chris and Evan before finalisation, and even then they seem pretty malleable.

ABT will be launching their CD at the Band Room on 31 July, along with James LeFevre Quintet and their own CD launch. These are two interesting but very different bands, so the night is recommended.

The Austin Benjamin Trio are Austin Benjamin (piano), Chris Pound (bass) and Evan Dorrian (drums).

Live to air, weekly, #1

Friday Night Live started its season from ArtSound last night with a quartet of talented and capable students from the Jazz School appearing as the Reluctant Deacons. Reluctant Deacons? The band didn’t have a name before the broadcast started, but we heard it with mirth when the introductions came in the first set. Amusing, given that Chris Deacon was in the engineer’s seat, and Hugh Deacon was in the drum seat. But more seriously, it was a most impressive start for this series of Friday Night live concerts from the Manuka studio of ArtSound.

In keeping with the last minute band name, the tunes were a last minute mix of common standards, but the playing was wonderfully capable. It was consistently changing, but always unified and flowing. The melodies were syncopated and anticipated and delayed and otherwise loose but convincing; the solos were passed obviously enough, but were flexible and supple and subtly interactive between the performers. The playing was fast at times, but mostly exploratory, searching. This is the result of years of study and capable tuition: a sense of awareness, purpose and lightness and mobility. It’s a pleasure. Certainly it was a pleasure for listeners who phoned during the broadcast to express their pleasure and surprise that these were students playing live. Friday Night Live offers a new opportunity for capable local jazz and potential listeners to form new relationships.

But back to the Reluctants. The band was James LeFevre on tenor sax, Austin Benjamin on piano, Chris Pound on bass and Hugh Deacon on drums. The tunes were obvious, but retained their freshness with such valid interpretations: Solar, Invitation, Blue Bossa, Have you met Miss Jones, Caravan, Footprints, Sandu, Blue in green and All the things you are. Nothing new there, except perhaps Austin’s arrangement of Caravan with several bars of 5/4 in the middle somewhere. The band had a good time. The broadcast was played by experienced ear, and went off exactly to the second despite some nervousness around the studio. Austin and James were interviewed live to air by Lauren, and Chris (Pound) even managed a lightning fast run to Manuka for a hamburger in the break. By the end of the second set, the scene was more relaxed and the last five seconds leading up to 10pm were followed by smiles of success.

A live broadcast does not allow for carelessness, but this was professional all round. The players did their parts well, Chris and Lauren Black performed their radio roles capably, and now we can look forward to a string of live Friday evening broadcasts.

Friday Night Live will feature live concerts from a number of sources: live to air concerts from the ArtSound studio; live concerts recorded by ArtSound at Canberra venues over the last 20 years; and featured concerts from major European jazz festivals. ArtSound is partnered with the European Broadcast Network, and this gives us their concerts to broadcast, but also give us outlets in Europe from our musicians.

Listen to Friday Night Live on ArtSound at 8-10pm each Friday. Look for a link to the program page soon on CJ.