Where's this now?

I missed a busy Euro day in Canberra with two jazz duets the previous weekend so I was happy to see at least one of the duos were featured with a full 2-set performance at COMA in Adelaide.  Suffice to say this was a stunner.  The duo was Reinier Baas and Ben van Gelder, guitar and alto, out of The Netherlands.  One quoted comment was that they sounded like a whole orchestra.  Not quite but I could see the intent.  Mainly it was a function of a certain guitar style that I'd not seen before, using pick and fingerstyles and strums and thumbs and fingered extensions to play bass lines, chords, fills, melody, snippets and intrusions and inclusions, all confirming grooves and setting an housing the song, seemingly all at once.  The alto was more conventional but thrillingly expressive, fleet, intriguing with intervals and sequences and fittingly with guitar, somewhat loose with time, so I could be unsure of the count, where was a beat or a temporarily changed tempo.  It sound problematic but it was anything but, being loose and expressive and together.  I noticed once a face from Reinier to Ben that suggested a slip but mostly this was ripples then waves and rough weather, all telling a story.  There were many originals, perhaps introduced by one or other performer, with fast melodies from alto while you're unsure of a common tune, then a massively quick line appears from guitar, perhaps unison, that confirms the composition.  These originals could seem indistinct in melody if lovely to hear, and perhaps strange or vague in structure but perhaps not, I'd have to listen more.  These were constructs of much complexity.  Then most unexpectedly a series of standards: All the things you are, Body and soul, Monk, more, that had the same sense of ambiguity and an exhilarating build of improv.  This delightful sense of melodic improv with a beguiling sense of time and multi-roles of accompaniment was a stunner.  I remain a bit perplexed but very, very impressed.

Reinier Baas (guitar) and Ben van Gelder (alto) performed for COMA at The Wheatie in Adelaide.

Descend to COMA

COMA seems to always have two sets with two ensembles, mostly jazzy but sometimes exploratory classical.  Presumably with frequent connection to the Elder Con.  But it can feature others, including various Euro musicians coming to Smiths Alt in coming weeks.  Nice. And these nights are recorded, audio and video, and published to YouTube.  An impressive feat and warmly welcoming in a very musical pub with its own range of house-brewed bears.  Set 2 this night was the Bailey Hall quartet, reportedly contemporary jazz compositions exploring fun grooves, tasteful melodies and entertaining improvisation.  This was intense, not so easily visited but wonderfully capably played, precise lines, unison and otherwise, twisted, of various counts, often suddenly changing then returning.  Either they read superbly well or they had done some considerable work.  Some swing, some grooves, 6s and 4s, did I count 9? I wasn't too sure, expansive and rapid tenor solos, dense with screeds of notes and mobile harmonies, against a fascinating chordal guitar accompaniment and solos, dirty, edgy distortion on something like a Gibson 335 into a Twin Reverb or similar Fender with a distinct bluesy edge but far more inventive.  The yellow bass amp was Mark Bass and that belonged to the venue; perhaps the Fender did too.  A twisted 4/4 hint at blues and 6/8 with precise bass lines and unexpected fills, and another with floating dirty dissonances, desperate moving guitar and floating tensions.  Great PA tones, too.  Some truly capable playing from four graduates out of the Elder Con in the last 5/6 years.

Bailey Hill (drums) led a quartet with Lachlan McGargill (tenor, soprano saxes), Jack willsmore (guitar) and Tasha Stevens (bass) for COMA (Creative Original Music Adelaide) at The Wheatsheaf Hotel (The Wheatie).

Wake from COMA

In Adelaide again for family matters and all very urgent but I managed one COMA outing.  It's a satisfying night, musically exploratory, jazz or classical, in a very boho hotel with its own brewery.  What's not to like? Two bands as usual; one set each.  First up was Mudholia led by Mark Lurker, apparently a jazz odyssey about colonial Port Adelaide. A sextet led by bassist Thomas Byrne on PBass with drums, keys, tenor/sop, trumpet/flugel and fascinatingly a full time analog synth (Korg Minilogue) making a prog reference further confirmed with effected flugel, perhaps flange or delay or whatever.  Keys were piano and I heard organ, mostly more accompaniment, but everyone soloed at some stage, but that Korg was everpresent with varied inviting analog tones and countermelodies and the like.  The horns could lay down a lovely melody for the head and some impressive sax solos and that intriguing effected flugel suggested '70s Miles to my ears.  And underneath it all, densely grooving funk from the PB and insistent, unrelenting drums, sometimes stern and stated, otherwise intriguing polymetric twists.  Nice and warming welcomingly; proggy and funky and entertaining.  But still wondering who Mark Lurker, the name associated with Mudholia, is.  Perhaps the composer?  He wasn't playing on the night.

Thomas Byrne (e-bass, synth bass) led a sextet with Triniti Canini (trumpet, flugelhorn), Zac Trelor (tenor, alto saxes), Ben Anderson (synth), Shea Gallagher (keys) and Regi Ashman (drums) playing Mark Lurker Mudholia for COMA (Creative Original Music Adelaide) at The Wheatsheaf Hotel (The Wheatie). 

COMA not at all

I've mentioned COMA (Creative Original Music Adelaide) on CJ before.  This time I managed to attend a gig.  Basically it's pretty much a fortnightly event on Mondays at the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Thebarton (the Wheaty).  Two sets for two groups playing original music in various forms.  This night it was the Elder Music Lab out of the local con, the Elder Conservatorium, at Univ of Adelaide and a 4-peice band called the Harmful health.  The Elder Music Lab played four original pieces, 2 each from composers Rafael Raschella and Belle Smibert in various combinations of string quartet with additions of clarinet/bass clarinet and flute. Conductors were listed as Luke Dollman and Lloyd Van t’Hoff although I only noticed one conductor.  Works of Rafael were floaty, sometimes bleak, his string quartet no.1 and another called Grief (or Grieve?) with addition of that clarinet and flute pairing.  Works of Belle were interleaved as 2,4 on the program with titles When the weather turns cold, influenced by a book and played by a trio of violin, guitar, cello and Saoirse=Freedom in Irish Gaelic.  The first was mostly triplet feels, 6/8 or 12/8, and these works seemed more structured and melodic.  I didn't gets names of performers.  Then the band Harmful health.  The description mentioned influences of Latin and World music.  My feel was more prog rock with its solid rock grooves, truncated bar counts, polymeters, plenty of solos and nicely stated guitar melodies, some incessant sturdy and essential bass and some luscious malleable drums that so enhanced the grooves.  And loud.  They played ~4 tunes going perhaps over time.  The structures of feature lines or interim parts between melody and solos were all features.  Bassist Luke spoke for the band and maybe formed it.  His bass certainly defined grooves, often steady and unchanging, but sometimes letting loose with some delicious fills.  Again, I loved the elaborations of drums and nice guitar and key solos, although my rock ears yearned form more drive and distortion on the guitar at times.  Sam was similarly capable but perhaps more modern than that!  So, loud but well practised and nicely played.  Perhaps I was being indulgent in my interest in Luke's bass.  It looked an old PB.  We chatted later, and yes, it was a 1970 PB.  I'd had similar in my time in Adelaide (PB '72, sunburst, rosewood). I was interested in fret sizes and more, but frets had been changed out and the body had some changes over time, but the neck was gloriously aged and the body looked so too.  But I enjoyed the band.  As for COMA, what a wonderful event in a very cool boho pub with its own brews and a pizza cart outside and with an audience of all ages, families and younger tats, plenty of aged blokes to chat to and a range of styles to hear and a general inviting feel.  I can only recommend it highly.  COMA live recordings are on Bandcamp and YouTube.  And cheers to Grant and Tom who I shared a table and plenty of interests with.

The Elder Music Lab performed new works by Raffael Raschella and Belle Smibert (composers) with Luke Dollman and Lloyd Van t’Hoff (conductors).  The  Harmful Heath performed in a rockier style with Logan Watt (keys), Sam Cagney (guitar), Luke Lendrum (bass) and Gilli Atkinson (drums).  Both sets were at COMA (Creative Original Music Adelaide) at the Wheatsheaf Hotel (the Wheaty).

COMA alert

I’m in Adelaide again to visit family. I always check out the jazz around and this particularly interested me: COMA Creative Original Music Adelaide. But then I had visited the venue, the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Thebarton (the Wheaty) so maybe I’d happened on this group. I couldn’t attend this night but all gigs are streamed then released on Bandcamp as audio and YouTube as video so I could catch snippets on the night then follow up with a huge catalogue later. COMA convenes 1st and 3rd monday each month, requires 80% original content and presents 2x40min sets each night. The bands this night were Yung Horns and Similacrum 5. YH was somewhat jazz-influenced indie-pop, a duo of trom/vocals and keys/tpt, nicely melodic and infectious and a decent voice out front. S5 was a quintet and, even with a visiting trumpet, was wonderfully adventurous. The configuration (tpt, tnr, pno, bs, dr) was stock-standard but very unexpectedly they introduced a single 30-min number with a string of themes and melodies and solos all round. Some wonderfully inventive piano, a lovely bass solo, some great interplay in the horns, complex heads and varied feels. I’ve just skipped through the full work but was mightily impressed. This non-profit venue-cum-club has been running these gigs since 2005 and covers fields of jazz, improv, new classical and electronica. COMA even presents a radio show on 5MBS. Fascinating and from what I’ve seen well skilled and quite intriguing.

COMA (Creative Original Music Adelaide) presents gigs at the Wheatsheaf Hotel, Thebarton, on 1st and 3rd Monday of each month. COMA streams and released all performances on YouTube and Bandcamp. The most recent gig was Yung Horns and Similacrum 5. Find more info and links from the COMA website.

http://coma.net.au