Some like it hot

Obviously Con Campbell does.  At least that's how I hear him and it was no different last night.  It's a quiet week but I wandered into Molly and there was Con's band, with Greg and Brendan and Mark.  Playing bebop.  It mostly stayed that way for the night, or if not bop, treated that way.  Not that Brendan would slow it down.  He's a machine gunner with delightful melodicism so raring and ready for the quick stuff and he plays with the application and effort that the big bass needs and sounds great for it.  Greg is more restrained: blindingly quick but clean, not the bluesy dirt that the others were indulging in.  I tapped one time on my metronome: 274.  Quick but not into the stratosphere.  Brendan had worried that he'd maybe settled the time, but I doubt it.  There was reliable drive here and his double timed phrases didn't lag a millisecond.  Con led with the tunes and heads and walked through the fours and the rest.  Lovely, expressive solos and a big earthy tone.  The alto player I was sitting with commented on that.  Mark was bright in the lights and delightfully steady and unintrusive but took the feature when the fours came around and they were inventive and easy.  Such a lovely outing, if "outing" is the right word for the bebop and uptempo swingers and latins that we were hearing.  Maybe stunner is a better word.  I got into chatter with Brendan's family (cheers, Mel) and that was interesting, if necessarily shouty given the volume, so I missed a good bit of the music.  But every peek at the band was another stunning line from someone.  This was still the quiet week after Christmas, not yet New Year's Eve, but this was alive.  Great stuff.

Con Campbell (tenor) led a band at Molly with Greg Stott (guitar), Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass) and Mark Levers (drums).

NYC

NYC or other, these guys play that way and have all travelled to hear those modern styles.  We are lucky to have such a trio as this, here, in Canberra, down the track from studies here and abroad, playing with a hugely satisfying modern complexity.  It was Brendan's trio, so his part first: the bassist leads.  This is fast, fluent, expressive playing through solos and accompaniment.  Playing with time, busy across the fingerboard, machine gun lines at times, but also melodic, sometimes spelling out the melody plainly enough, perhaps with altered notes, or exploring both melody and harmonic substitutions with sequences that move through various keys but talk back to the initiating phrase.  Rich and busy playing and absolutely convincing.  Solid and fat.  And with this, Victor on guitar, again rich with chordal accompaniment, often enough chordal solos, twisting the harmony for new paths and new visions of a tune.  That contemporary tone: a batch of effects at his feet, of course, but not too obvious, perhaps middy, but clear and bell-like, strongly present but strangely unintrusive and always guiding to new directions.  I hear NYC clubs in his playing.  And Rhys on drums, quieter in this context of firmly amplified strings, filling often unobtrusively, perhaps taking solos, cymbals clear and present, toms filling and bouncing amongst it all, kick underlying this all.  This was the most complex and satisfying set -  sometimes standards, sometimes jazz tunes - flamboyant or complex or extravagant (the bass solos were, often enough!).  Always purposeful and telling modern stories in modern idioms.  Their time overseas was actually Indiana, NYC and Canada.  There are echoes here, strong and imbibed.  We are lucky to hear this, here, live, in the flesh.  Get it while you can.  A blast.

Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass) led a trio with Victor Rufus (guitar) and Rhys Lintern (drums) at Molly.

Honouring Aaron

Concert 2 for the day was Victor Rufus' band playing at Smiths. Victor has recently returned from several (5?) months in NYC. Does it show that he (and the others in the band) chose to play the music of Aaron Parks, along with some originals, mostly by Victor. Victor writes some very decent tunes. The band was Tate Sheridan, Brendan Keller-Tuberg and Jamal Salem and it was sharp as. Tight as. Clinically sharp. Jamal may be the primary source for this as he's restrained but tack sharp. Tate sounded more laid back to my ears this evening with influences of pop and blues amongst some jazz harmonies and more complex chords. He has a lyrical presence that shines through. I hadn't heard Brendan for a year-or-so and I was stunned with his current virtuosity, and not just fleeting playing but also interesting concepts, fills, structures, counterpoints. He fairly recently finished his degree and I can feel some extensive woodshedding in his playing these days. As I've seen in one or two other serious players over the years. Stunning. And Victor, professional and affable as a leader and melodically clear as a guitarist and soloist, nicely toned and avoiding the too-common guitar excesses. I like his compositions, too: he excels here. I listened to the channelled Aaron Parks album after and was surprised by the effectiveness of the performance I'd heard. Sharp, clear, with intent and sympathy for the original. Interestingly, they also played a tune by Harry Rasmussen, another drummer of recent years at the ANU. Victor's tunes were perfectly in synch with the evening: Truth be told, Intermittent schmitz, Song of sonnenblumen. All telling his own stories. This was a tack sharp evening of art but also of comfortable professionalism.

Victor Rufus (guitar) led a band comprising Tate Sheridan (piano), Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass) and Jamal Salem (drums) at Smiths playing the music of Aaron Parks, Victor Rufus and others.

Thoughts on bass

The minutes leading up to Hayley Manning's graduation recital had me perplexed. There were a string of bassists and a tabla setup. Ben and Kyle on each side of the stage with a tabla player between. Geoff and Brendan were down the back on bass, something I only realised later. At the starting time, Hayley arrived upfront to play a freeform melody by Francois Rabbath against a low-E drone from the other basses. They left and Hayley introduced the next works as more conventional. Misek Sonata no.1 Amaj and Koussevitsky Concerto F#maj, both played with piano accompaniment. These are not trivial works and F# is not a trivial key. I was in awe of Hayley's thumb positions, harmonics, long scales and the like. Technical challenges abounded and she did them justice. Then the final work, Anderson Capriccio no.2, a contemporary bass work played solo, with a "flurry of rhythms notes that display the full raw power and potential of the double bass as a solo instrument" (from the program notes). How apt: this one worked for me as a bass solo piece. It got me thinking of the role of bass. The Rabbath was effective, where the bass was being itself. The Misek and Koussevitsky were impressive, but I kept feeling the piano just said more and more interestingly with its handfulls of notes as chords and arpeggios and that easy dexterity, so why the solo bass? But the Anderson was my favourite, toying with the low pitch, the upper reaches, the grandiosity with clumsiness that is the string bass. In parallel, it reminds me of my readings in Bass Player mag, where they continually rile against overplaying, perhaps clumsily, by repeating that the bass is there to make others sound good (!). I guess they mean that its role is essentially accompaniment, especially by spelling rhythm or groove. The Anderson took a prime role for the low end and made it interesting, not least by using rhythm, but mostly this observation is right in my book. Play less, play neater, play with awareness of others. It's harder than it sounds and it's not an impediment or limitation. Nothing makes drive like a bass line, in funk or in classics. With instruments, it's horses for courses. So congratulations and thanks to Hayley for her graduation and her thought provoking recital.

Hayley Manning (bass) played Rabbath, Misek, Koussevitsky and Anderson for her graduation recital in the Larry Sitsky room at ANU. Support was from Kylie Loveland (piano accompanist), Kyle Ramsay-Daniel, Brendan Keller-Tuberg, Ben Drury and Geoff Prime (basses) and Yash Vyas (tabla)

Two up

After 200 performers on stage for Beethoven's Ninth, Smiths is a small outing. But even this gig had two bands, totalling 6 performers. The first band up were ANUSOM friends appearing under yet another name. This time it was A Town Called Panic. Panic, be worried. This was Brendan K-T, Ben Forte and Hayden Fritzlaff who play challenging indie music of their time. They did also play My favourite things, only just recognisable in this arrangement using hip-hop beats from J-Dilla. Brendan appears a musical director cum leader here, speaking to audience and introducing tunes from his school days (Bon Iver) and Aphex Twin and two tunes from LA bassist Thundercat. Plenty of power and chops and some stunner bass solos on current popular but interesting charts. I like this thing.

Next up was On Se Perde comprising a pairing of composers, William Flowers and Stephen Wilson, with drummer Malcolm Newland sitting in. This was a much milder outing, lower volume, mostly original funky or laid back syncopation or jazzy or rocky and with a few more obvious takes on standards, Scott La Faro Gloria's step and Jobim Wave. Most tunes had bass and piano solos, piano was variously acoustic and Nord, just one drum solo on the final tune. They appeared to relax towards the end and perhaps their liveliest tune was the final funk encore, but a tune towards the end, inspired by Fyshwick on a hot day, built to a nice driving 2-feel groove.

So, two bands over and still just 9pm. It's an unusual time for a jazz gig, 7-9pm Thursdays at Smiths, but nicely relaxed for an early night. Strange but easy.

A Town Called Panic comprised Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass), Ben Forte (guitar) and Hayden Fritzlaff (drums). On Se Perde comprised William Flowers (bass), Stephen Wilson (piano) and Malcolm Newland (drums).

Thoughts

There were a few thoughts going through my mind as I heard Belle Whyte and her band at Ainslie Arts Centre. About the anthem. Our current national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, is a bore and Deborah Cheetham turned down singing it at the AFL grand final because of the lyrics (specifically, "for we are young and free”: fair enough given Aboriginal Australia is deep time). But Belle suggested My island home as an alternative but it doesn't do it for me. Also, about the Music School and what musics it now develops. But I must say I liked this gig. Belle has a nice strong voice and a jovial presence. The band was serious and sounded good. They played some nice covers that I could reminisce over and some originals that were new to me, so obviously lacking that recognition. The themes were love and friendship so expected, from youth and pop. The chords were pretty simple but grooves were steady and subtle. That's just how this is and should be: engaging and foot tapping. Belle did a great take of Valerie by Amy Winehouse. It's a corker. Also some sweet songs that took me back: Perhaps perhaps perhaps which must always remind me of Coupling for all future time and that infectious Ronette's tune, Be my baby. I missed the harmonies and horns in that one but Belle did a great job of it. Is this the modern School of Music? I think it is. Not jazz, not classics, but entertaining and nicely done. I enjoyed it.

Belle Whyte (vocals) led a quintet with Robbie Mann (piano), Heti Blaazer-Gross (guitar), Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass) and Hayden Fritzlaff (drums) at the Ainslie Arts Centre.

To two greats

Mingus and (Joni) Mitchell. Both greats of their fields and friends who wrote for each other and recorded together. The ANU Jazz Collective presented a concert to give due recognition to these two. They played a series of tunes from each and two originals influenced by them. Rhythm section, four horns, vocals. The Mingus tunes: Haitian fight song, Fable of Faubus, Goodbye pork pie hat; the Joni Mitchell songs: River, Both sides now, and the lyrics she added to Mingus' Goodbye pork pie hat; the two originals, Collective jazz by Brendan Keller-Tuberg and Fields by Andree Thompson. I could easily feel the relationship to Mingus in Brendan's composition given the switches to double time, the bass features and drum hits and collective improv and blues melodies. Brendan did a good take on Mingus throughout in his playing, too. Fields was more open, odd timed, perhaps more Joni-contemplative. I loved the ensemble sound of the four horns throughout: trumpet, trombone, tenor and alto saxes: nicely intoned and some decent solos. Rose Costi took the vocal role and did the Joni songs with considerable panache and involvement. One listener reported tears (Both sides now, I think) and another said she was close to it. I didn't quite feel this, and I was uncomfortable with the slow pace on River, but the singing was very impressive. I could not but love a concert dedicated to these two masters: bluesy, earthy and true. A great pleasure.

The ANU Jazz Collective presented a program called Mingus meets Joni at the Band Room. Performers were Rose Costi (vocals), Anthony Cotter (trumpet), Jack Schwenke (trombone), Hugo Lee (alto), Andre Thompson (tenor), Ben Forte (guitar), Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass), Alec Brinsmead (drums) and Johannes Luebbers (piano).

Strange name

They have a strange, if descriptive, name. And they play strange, if adventurous, takes on Summertime and My favourite things. I was warned for Summertime, but I wasn't for Favourite things and I didn't pick it. Strange, too, that this band won a chamber music competition. But they are young and skilled and searching, so it's appropriate. They are Three Men One Chamber. I'm not sure I particularly get the reference, other than through the competition, but they were good. They play those twisted standards, but also takes on various current pop tunes as well as originals. I think it was the busily virtuosic tune called 13-7 that won them the competition. That was the last tune and it was a standout. Plenty of unison playing in odd times by guitar and bass. I was pleased to find a new and interesting bassist when they covered the tune Daylight, by LA bassist/singer Thundercat. They also took on an Aphex Twin tune, but I show my age by remaining non-plussed by this style. The players are Brendan, Stephen and Hayden. Brendan's bass is upcoming at the School of Music and a player to watch. Stephen and Hayden were less extravagant but I found both very satisfying. Very nice little band. Their success in a chamber competition may be unexpected, but it's obviously valid on the strength of this outing.

Three Men One Chamber are Stephen Read (guitar), Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass) and Hayden Fritzlaff (drums). They played an "Out to lunch" session at the Ainslie Arts Centre.

Swing

Just a quickie, but we caught Hetty Kate playing with Greg Stott and Brendan Keller-Tuberg at the National Press Club. It was a busy night, the swing dancers were there in their '50s R+R finery. Hetty is noted for her swing singing, plays with the best in Melbourne and elsewhere. She passed through Canberra for recording and a few gigs with our best. NPC was a relaxed but lively venue for the night. We caught the happy hour and that was pleasant and unexpected. Heard tunes including Just the way you look tonight, Slow boat to China (what a cutie) and Jobim. Nice way to while away from Friday evening time.

Hetty Kate played with Greg Stott and Brendan Keller-Tuberg at the National Press Club.

At Grad

It's all very exciting as son no. 1 Julian and girlfriend Deb graduate from ANU (Arts/Law Hons) but CJ must find an arty angle for a post. There was music inside. Rachael Thoms (soprano) and Calvin Bowman (organ) did the national anthem (dirge that it is) and Calvin played some other accompaniment. Sorry, no pics. Anthony Smith (piano) and Helena Popovic (violin) played Tchaikovsky Meditation. It was played nicely enough although I felt it was overly long and intrusive in this context. A trio provided post-ceremony jazz to accompany bubblies and beer. Our trio was Andrej Thomson (tenor), Brendan Keller-Tuborg (bass) and Alec Brinsmead (drums). I mostly caught solos from Brendan and they were impressive. He's a nice player. But otherwise, I was thinking of other things. A big day to mark years of work and a source of great pride for parent and visiting nanna. Excuse the indulgence of some family pics.  Congrats to Jules; Richard next.

Performers at the ANU College of Law graduation ceremony were Rachael Thoms (soprano), Calvin Bowman (organ), Anthony Smith (piano), Helena Popovic (vioiln), Andrej Thomson (tenor), Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass) and Alec Brinsmead (drums).

The heights

There are times when you are exposed to something of the highest quality and the expanse of an art or whatever becomes evident. Joe Lovano played at the Street Theatre and this was listening to the heights of the improvisational jazz. Just a stunning outing and only enhanced by the intimate surroundings. This man plays his heart out. Two hours of just 6 tunes then a short take on Body and soul as an encore. They work hard, these types. They played some originals in the modern mould, Coltrane's Fifth house and Ornette' s Lonely woman and a few standards. We all know the standards, the cycles and the middle eight, but to hear the subtlety or the expansiveness and exhilaration of a master floored me. The support was Paul Grabowsky and his trio. All high energy, driving stuff. Paul with his Euro/classical influence, all fast with ideas, if to my ears not flowing with the earthiness of US black blues. Dave Beck driving, unrelenting, furious. Phil Rex, too, fast and furious but not without purpose. I loved his playing: sliding intervals, easy thumb positions, stunningly volley-fast with hammer-ons and open strings. And Lovano, the huge presence, building ideas effectively or spewing forth lines. I noticed how wonderfully he could spell chords and create interest at speed, not with dissonance or substitutions but with intervals and merged notes as colour. Just masterful tenor playing. It's been a wonderful international line-up at CJP (Bad Plus, Eric Harland, Stefano Bollani, Ospina Brothers, Joe Lovano). Thanks to the Street for CJP, even if it has me musing on the dwindling smoke of Canberra.

Joe Lovano (tenor, soprano) performed with Paul Grabowsky (piano), Phil Rex (bass) and Dave Beck (drums) for the Capital Jazz Project. The foyer band was foyer band of ANU students: Caitlin Magee (vocals), Johannes Luebbers (piano), Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass) and Alec Brinsmead (drums).

Mulling

Mark Hannaford spoke highly of our Capital Jazz Project and remembered his time at the local School of Music and Miro's influence on his music. It felt at home in some ways. His insight at hearing Andrew Hill and Geri Allen and CJP as our little week of NYC buzz. This concert, with Ellery Eskelin, Tom Rainey and Scott Tinkler, was certainly an unrelenting stunner and an exposure to something rarely heard locally. Intense, demanding, complicated and somewhat puzzling to my ear. The melodies, you could say heads, were clear enough if long and complicated, but I wondered how the music would otherwise be written. How are the underlying chords, if chords they are, interpreted? The obtuse response of the players was thrilling and wildly satisfying. Partly because I was so satisfied by the clear standard chops these guys had. Ellery's playing could spell harmonies with ease, so this was not just obtuse noise creation, but how were the relationships with others and tune established and played out? It had me thinking of Sonny Rollins alone on his bridge. This was of the highest creation. And Tom was all over, spelling out tunes in time but almost nothing settled. My thought here was Paul Motion, famous for his time, but again around the rhythm and the relationships rather than spelling time. Strangely it was a little more obvious when I moved to another seat on Mark's side of the stage. The accompaniment and some regularity became more obvious although still I wondered at it. How was this music written? There were solos passed fairly obviously and there were heads, all nicely organic, but both obvious enough, but the accompaniment and harmony was the challenge for me. Scott deserves his mention, too, of course, blowing immense lines and dropping delightful intervals to end. Firm and meteoric playing. This grouping has recorded and been recently travelling in Australia and talking of the music and this was their last gig. It showed with easy communication despite fairly blank faces. I'll be mulling over this for some time. It's got its connections with the mainstream but it's far freer and more inquiring. Masterful and too rare in this end of the woods.

Mark Hannaford (piano, compositions) led a quartet with Ellery Eskelin (tenor), Scott Tinkler (trumpet) and Tom Rainey (drums) at Street Two for the Capital Jazz Project. And thanks to the foyer band of ANU students: Andrej Thompson (tenor), Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass) and Alec Brinsmead (drums).

Composition is key

Composition is key to me. I love the standards and they are a great pleasure and terrific vehicles for the individual statement that is the solo but original compositions are special. Calum Builder presented his quintet at Smiths and the music was all freshly composed, virtually all by Calum but one co-composed with pianist Tate. I heard references to floating Coltrane and Jazz Messengers and '60s/'70s so it was grounded in history. This is not music that's unexpected. There are comfortable and satisfying references but it's an individual statement none-the-less. I was impressed. They played 8 charts, including a "suite" (Calum doesn't like to call it that, but he forgot to offer an alternative title) which extended for 23 minutes and ran through a series of conceptual segments. The other tunes were shorter, perhaps 8-10 minutes, often with a core of obligato bass groove and passed solos. The heads were nicely stated by trumpet and alto, or sometimes just by sax or by piano and sax. Tate provided introductions and solos of deep intent and exploration and I'm trying to place the fabulous comping. Tate is noted locally for good reason. I liked Brendan's bass. I've heard it described as melodic by a respected source, and he certainly impressed me with a freedom over bars and through chords. The whole band was a little uncomfortable to start, but settled through the first set and were sitting comfortably into that set. It says nothing to give the titles - Serpent or Narcissus or My Lord or Nebraska. I really enjoyed a beautiful ballad dedicated to Bernie McGann, What if I called again. Apparently Calum spent considerable time on the phone to Bernie. Tate's floating introduction to Narcissus with a backing of bass octaves on 1-3 was lovely. Despite his busy accompaniment, Sean's drum solos surprised me when they stepped out. Eddie provided trumpet parts for heads and laid some effective solos, even hinting at New Orleans in the first blues. This was some capable writing, some superb piano, and when the band settled, some effective ensemble work.

Calum Builder (alto sax) led his quintet with Eddie Bernasconi (trumpet), Tate Sheridan (piano), Brendan Keller-Tuberg (bass) and Sean Connaughton (drums) at Smith's Alternative Bookshop.