Mix and match

West Side Story by Městské divadlo Brno (Czech Republic) / Jef Kratochvil, from Wikicommons

Cognac Lounge had a great little gig the other day at Adore Tea, but it was a different band this time. Singer Monica was taken ill and she was replaced at short notice by Gossipist Richard on Sax. I didn’t think to report this - aftehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifr all, it’s just a standard jazz remix – until I read an article in recent days that discusses matters of creativity in the workplace. The article was arguing that brainstorming doesn’t work but also looked at processes that did work. Amongst these, was research into success of Broadway productions by Brian Uzzi. He found that relationships amongst collaborators were relevant to success and that there was an optimal balance of new and existing relationships in a successful production. “The best Broadway teams, by far, were those with a mix of relationships … These teams had some old friends, but they also had newbies. This mixture meant that the artists could interact efficiently—they had a familiar structure to fall back on—but they also managed to incorporate some new ideas. They were comfortable with each other, but they weren’t too comfortable.” Uzzi’s favorite example is West Side Story which was created by colleagues Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents with Broadway-virgin lyricist Stephen Sondheim. All pretty obvious, really, and something that’s common experience in jazz, but nice to see it confirmed. For our gig, there was considerable continuity but also some edgy discontinuity and unexpectedness. So we just had to improvise, but that’s jazz. CL-i (Cognac Lounge - instrumental) was Peter Kirkup (piano), Richard Manderson (saxes), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums). Groupthink : The brainstorming myth, by Jonah Lehrer / New Yorker, 30 Jan 2012 (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/01/30/120130fa_fact_lehrer, viewed 21 Feb 2012)

Who? What!

Cognac Lounge played a particularly smooth gig on Sunday, and I was enjoying the lounge grooves and even the hipster-cum-nightclubby connotations of this music was amusing revelry. Playing hits of Sneaky Sound System (who?) and Barry Gibb (what!) and Leonard Cohen (revived blast from the past) and big names and mid-sized names that I’d never heard of that were newer than Miles and not as new as Me’shell.

We fitted in a few swingers, too: the commonly jazzed up ones, but also Joyspring (vibrant) and East of the sun west of the moon (delightful) and Lament (exquisite). Lots of bass solos, Peter playing some angular substitutions and finding ways back in, Monica in fine voice which I seemed to hear for the first time given better monitoring and Brenton loose and busy over a performance rich in (musical) vamps. I’m gigging a bit more frequently these days, so time to stop reporting the run-of-the-mill gigs here, but this one was great fun.

Ice ice

This was a nice little gig. Cognac Lounge played again at Adore Tea. It was unseasonally cold and raining, so ice ice is not inappropriate. But that’s not all. CL is currently moving to smooth lounge with Sadé grooves and music in the style of the pop jazz ladies, like Diana Krall and Madeleine Peyroux, and even some minimalist dance tunes like Ice Ice Baby and Tainted love. I like the simple chords (Ice… has two, but these tunes often have just one) and the miasmic repetition and the simple but insistent hook. I’m suggesting we harden up a little with interesting pop numbers from the likes of Prince and Nirvana. But either way it’s an entertaining diversion from the standards: fewer and simpler chords, more hypnotic minimalism, more popular and well received. Entertainment is meeting the punters’ preferences, and I’m happy to do it. Cognac Lounge are Monica Moore (vocals), Peter Kirkup (keys), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Now Cognac Lounge

I always enjoy gigs but I was concerned. I’d been away for over four weeks and hadn’t touched a double bass. Double bass is a demanding instrument, requiring stamina and exactness, thus practice. But in the end all was OK after a few days of considered practice, and doubly so as I resuscitated my glorious Yamaha TRB-6P. So it was a good day. The weather was generous, Adore Tea had a decent crowd that enjoyed Monica’s singing, and the band was in good humour (and covering a few mistakes pretty well). The music was jumping by the end with tight grooves and plenty of solo space (and lots of bass solos). Sounds like a good gig to me. Thanks, guys, nice one.

Cognac Lounge is the new name of this line-up. CL comprises Monica Moore (vocals), Peter Kirkup (keys), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).