Good Friday Alt.

It was fairly quiet in town when we went to Molly, it being Good Friday, I thought.  But we are none too religious a society these days and Molly was alive.  Even buzzing more when Tom Fell's quartet opened with a take on Green Dolphin Street, with Chris Pound playing emphatic chords from the first beats of the A section.  Tom on tenor spelling out the melody then a lovely, inventive solo with a goodly share of dissonance over more driving grooves from Nick McBride and Damien Slingsby.  Tom took a solo that I could only love for its firmness but also fleet inserts and Damien solid and chordal, perhaps less than bop flightiness, and occasional solos from Nick through the night, but always driving, powerful grooves and insistent fills.  Do I need say I was very taken by this.  Then on through In a mellow tone, something sounding Shorterish that Tom later identified as One for BM, a track from his new album, Mantra, and Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum which is by Wayne Shorter and the bouncy Cold Duck time to finish the first set.  In the meantime, we had a few beers, watched the locals, admired the band to the hilt, me remembering Tom from years back and marvelling at his expressive fluency and dissonance of today.  We only stayed for the first set but it was a doozy.  Now to have another listen to  Mantra, Tom's first album, bought and signed for my shelf by Tom.  Chase it up.  It's this same band other than Steve Barry on piano.

Tom Fell (soprano, tenor saxes) led a quartet with Damien Slingsby (piano), Chris Pound (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) at Molly on Good Friday night.

Motown and more

This was as close as I'd ever been, or was ever likely to get, to the authentic voice of Motown and its ilk. Vivian Sessoms performed at Smiths with our local band, PJ Junior and The Soul Pimps. I hadn't know of Vivian, but she came with an excellent CV, having collaborated "on stage and in the recording studio alongside immortal artists the likes of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sinead O’ Connor and Ryuichi Sakamoto, to mention just a few". Wow, serious. A woman born and bred of a musical family in Harlem with a history of church singing. And interestingly, an activist to boot. She'd visited Australia before and this time came to Canberra and Smiths. And her band? PJ Jnr... has impeccable membership but I'd only managed to catch the band once before. Together, this was a stunner. Jazz and popular song distilled with fewer chords and deep, funky grooves and that authoritative voice over. Vivian led with dynamics that would turn on a coin, powered then pp. We could feel the cultural differences, too: our tame responses drawn out; the demands from Vivian and her commitment in return; not common Australian territory. Sometimes you feel delirious with the strength of the emotions; not once I felt goosebumps. Totally apt with demanding masterpieces like Billy Strayhorn Lush life and political paens like Nina Simone Feeling good and Billy Holliday's racial lament for all time, Strange fruit. There were serious undertones, with Amy Winehouse Love is a losing game or Leonard Cohen Hallelujah and marks of respect to common heroes, Prince Under the cherry moon and Stevie Wonder Superwoman and also a few Cole Porter evergreens and even some light-hearted responses to the pop charts, Icona Pop and Amerie. What we heard were mostly takes from her new album, soon to be released, although with our local band. Nothing lost here: they were great: James with force of nature grooves and the tightest tones; Aron considered and clear but also echoing and explosive; Damien varied in keyboard tones and rich with arpeggiated colour; Kay firm and solid and understated. And determining and guiding it all, Vivian's voice that would soar or bend or jump or luxuriate in accent or inflection. The voice of '60s R&B and beyond: cultured and resolute, too often knowing and forlorn, and the essence of internationalised American popular music. Wow: here on stage, amongst the few at Smiths, available for a chat after. Worthy of the big stage; available in intimacy. This is what we chase, these precious moments available if you keep your eyes open to passing opportunities. A little bit of Motown and authentic Harlem and the like here at Smiths for the night. Fabulous.

Vivian Sessoms (voice) was backed by PJ Jnr and the Soul Pimps at Smiths. PJ Jnr... are Aron Lyon (guitar), Damien Slingsby (keyboards), James Luke (bass) and Kay Chinnery (drums).

Eric's fingers all over it

What got me about Eric Ajaye's trio called Phingerprintz was just how big and full was the sound. After all, it was just a trio, and I had just come from a set by a jazz orchestra just down the road. It's a piano trio (loosely described) with Eric leading on electric upright bass and electric bass for the funkier tunes, with Damien Slingsby on a Nord with a range of keyboard sounds and Steve Richards on drums. Steve held it with steady and unflinching correctness and occasional fills. The busy-ness was from Eric and Damien, both busy and full-toned. Eric's slides and embellishments are a dream to hear, low strung and slithery and deft as they are. Damien was busy with comping or active soloing with organ or e-piano or whatever tone, subtly manipulating the Nord for edge and depth. Just three players, but lots to listen to and an implausibly big sound. Eric was a pleasure, too, as the genial host, starting with a "welcome to the living room" and continuing with genial and sincere anecdotes, for the room and also for listeners on the live ArtSound radiothon broadcast. I just caught the second set. I'm presuming the tunes are originals, given Eric's introductions. A '70s sounding Realisations, a swinger called Upside to the downside with a theme of optimism, a ballad called Nowhere. Then a change to electric bass for a slow groove called It's done as you believe, Cannonball Adderley's Mercy mercy mercy with a slap-bass twist, and another slap number dedicated to Bill Withers, Lean. Such a good little trio; I just hope they appear some more around town. Funky and big and with plenty of chops but also with a purpose and the most affable presence.

Phingerprintz was led by Eric Ajaye (bass) with Damien Slingsby (keyboard) and Steve Richards (drums).

Old guard

CanberraJazz.net needs at least some jazz. So does Canberra as a town, but with the loss of ANU students and the closure of Smiths, there's precious little of that around. But John Mackey was playing at Hippo. It's noisy and busy so not a listening environment. The recorded music in the break is louder than the band, so I only manage one set these days. John was accompanied by a great swag of locals and Matt Handel was visiting from Sydney. The music was funky and jazz-rocky. Just a few tunes with plenty of solos of generous length. The first set was just 4 tunes. A jazz rock groove, Footprints, You don't know what love is and Sonny Rollins Freedom suite. John and Matt, two great local saxes. Mark Sutton laying some obtuse and edgy grooves. Greg Stott playing rabid sweeps and coloured phrases. Damien Slingsby driving but melodic and Lachlan Coventry playing Bass VI with a pick for fat and satisfying tone and solos of real lyricism. It's the old guard together for a blow. Impressive as always, this time loud with heavy grooves. There's nothing much new in Canberra these days, but this crew is always a pleasure.

John Mackey (tenor) led a sextet at Hippo comprising Matt Handel (alto), Greg Stott (guitar), Damien Slingsby (piano), Lachlan Coventry (bass) and Mark Sutton (drums).

Nick's nonet

I've been musing over why I like nonets or octets. When treated as an ensemble, these are little big bands, so why these rather than the larger formats? I've decided it's because the writing becomes so clear, the lines so crisp and the solo spots so integrated and unjarring. We were hearing each voice anyway, so when some just drop out for a different texture or a solo, there's less change, less loss, more continuity. I was not certain I could attend Nick Combe's Nonet concert at Street 3 but at the last minute, I could, and it was a thing of great pleasure. Nick is soon off to Melbourne (we've lost many recent graduates to Melbourne with smaller numbers to replace them) and he gathered his cohorts together for a recording of his charted works. We've been hearing Nick's charts over the years and this is a culmination album, using his frequent offsiders. It was a strong band and one that has a collective history even if it's somewhat spread to the winds these days. We were in the generous Street 3 space, the musicians all laid out on carpet and studio-miced, some seats and cushions for an intimate audience. The recording was just 7 tracks, but there's lots of work in these, in terms of composition and arrangements and elaborations. And interestingly, Nick has a story for each. These are not just abstract compositions, but they speak of loves and losses, buses and places and health and happiness. These are Nick's encounters or experiences so the tapestry of changes and repeats speak of real emotions. This feels real. Nicely played, too. These were solos for the studio, careful, not overextended, nicely detailed and developed.

The gig started with Love is a job from Hell. It's a work in 3 parts, starting with a slow bluesy feel in 6 with dissonance and some nifty baritone sax fills and a driving guitar solos and the tenor providing embellishments that paralleled the earlier bari lines and finishing with solo piano. Then Moira, a light 2-feel with a piano trio and brushes and swelling with horns and some lovely solos on trumpet and tenor. Then Once is enough, inspired by a TS Elliot fragment and featuring a melody that's fascinatingly spelt out on different instruments, over brushes in a count of 16, then into guitar/piano and a lush horn fill and slowly swung piano trio and what I heard as an islander melody. Then Centrelink Blues referring to queues and free money. Nick has a nice story here. Medium-up blues with spaces for solos and a beautifully unhurried and thoughtful trumpet solo. I was loving both trumpeters despite vastly different approaches. Then Shoosh, everything will be alright that tells of Nick as helpful ear with slow 4 and lovely horn swells. Then Louis' precious woman, dedicated to Louis Nowra, a complex number that speeds eventually to cacophony then instrument drop outs into solos and rim shots. And a final Lemon and honey, a quickish reggae that Nick had on his mind when sick in bed. I was struck with the understated but supremely self-assured trombone here. Then thanks and chatter. It was all more rich than I can recount here. This was a musical pleasure, but also a recording and I can only look forward to the release. Nick's developed some complex and satisfying charts and this is one memory that can be confirmed soon enough on release, probably early 2015. Buy it!

Nicholas Combe (baritone sax, composer, arranger) led his nonet in a live recording at Street 3. The band comprised Nick with Reuben Lewis (trumpet), Alex Raupach (trumpet), Tom Fell (tenor, alto sax), Valdis Thomann (trombone), Matt Lustri (guitar), Damien Slingsby (piano), Simon Milman (bass) and Aidan Lowe (drums).

Funkification

It was a last minute change that had PJ Jnr & the Soul Pimps playing at Hippo Co. A double bass gig (James Luke and Lachlan Coventry on two different takes of 6-string electric basses with Mark Sutton drums) was called off at short notice. That was not the only change. I hadn't been to Hippo for some time, but now it's Hippo Co with its new livery of Alaskan bar with snow shoes, wagon wheels, lots of timber and stained glass lights. It still has ranks of cocktail liqueurs but now looking more warm and homely. Still noisy, but the Soul Pimps could handle that. They started with smooth funky takes on some standard modal jazz and this fit the cocktail groove. But then, as somewhat a surprise, Damien laid down some rap and the second half of the longish set moved to original groove tunes with vocals. This was not standard jazz repertoire, but funky and popular and played with the chops of well trained jazzers. Aron played fluently with a clean tone, but there were echoes and I particularly liked the choppy wah guitar chords that are integral to much funk. Damien played piano or Rhodes or organ tones from his Nord and was both fluent and frequent with his solos. Kay was rock solid, resolute, unrelenting with just occasional structural fills and James was his usual inventive self, stating the changes admirably but with liberal melodic embellishments and varying tone-colours. I liked the first tunes, modal made funky: the way the changes were implied and tempos slowed and feels funkified. It's nothing unusual or particularly new, but a living style that enlivens bar-life and it goes well with the original vocals numbers. The songs were decent, too: repeating structures, sparse chords, often heavily syncopated. I enjoyed the rap, perhaps more than the singing, for its essentially rhythmic nature and its contemporary feel. Not that I heard the words and I still maintain that words have import in songs. The second set was louder as it commenced and I was only staying for the first set anyway, but I enjoyed the skills and the funk and the cocktail bar night-life that's so different from a jazz club. Nice one.

PJ Jnr & the Soul Pimps comprise Damien Slingsby (keys, vocals), Aron Lyon (guitar), James Luke (bass) and Kay Chinnery (drums).

Farewell

Simon Milman has hands in many pots. And it's not just that he's part of them. Someone mentioned to me at Simon's farewell event at Smith's that he will be missed, not just for his playing, but for his leadership. Simon's active; he creates things - music, combinations, events, lots of CDs - and these things range over a broad field. I've mostly caught him doing jazz things, in the jazz scene, but he's active with the Canberra Musicians Club, which is more indie and JJJ, in Afrobeat and Latin and more. I first caught him playing Ornette on acoustic bass guitar in a trio. His playing is well influenced by these sounds, so his standards take on a sophisticated, harmonically indistinct flavour. But he also plays I-V in its place, and there was a bit of apt simplicity in his playing with Nick Combe's Nonet at the farewell event. There was some of the free improv too, in a short appearance as Erebis ("Australia's number one [Japanese] free improvising Elvis"). He introduced Properties of two particles with a bowed first particle lasting 1m8s and a pizz second particle lasting 47s; micro, virtually subatomic. I missed a gig where Erebis performed macro, apparently playing an hour with Miro Bukovsky. FWIW, I preferred the second particle with some harmonic movement, but mainly diatonic with large intervals. Nice. Erebis was followed by obviously close friend Alice Cottee, voice and guitar on some interestingly constructed songs of passion and intriguingly revealing metaphors. She spoke of meetings of creatives and this fitted the part: both fascinating and, I can only guess, searingly honest. It's so often the woman with the guitar who does just this for personal matters. Then some jazz that's close to my heart: Nick Combe's nonet playing five of Nick's charts. Bluesy and Mingus-inspired; five horns out front for plenty of interesting solos and the interplay of solo and accompaniment and the enhanced richness of melodic statements. Quite blissful to my ears. They played a slower break-up song; a lighter 8-to-the-bar song of joy and running in parks; one of rolling arpeggios speaking to a poem by TS Elliot; a quieter one called Shoosh (perhaps Shh...); a final upstart blues stated last time around with charted dissonance. The solos were intelligent and searching throughout which is also a tribute to Nick's charts. Then another SM alter-ego: Coolio Desgracias appearing with Housemouse. Local rap in kimono: driving in Queanbeyan, jazz clap, local themes. Amusing, clever, rhythmically insinuating and neat with triplets, although this seemed a pretty casual performance for friends with a degree of laxity. Rap's somewhat a return to memorised epics, so it has unexpected traditional roots amongst its irony and quips. Much enjoyed. I didn't stay for the later DJ set. Simon will be much missed by wide span of the Canberra musical community but movement is life. Best of luck to Simon but he's a local, so he'll be seen again.

Simon Milman performed Erebis (bass). Alice Cottee performed solo (vocal, guitar). Nick Combe (baritone sax, compositions) led a nonet with Tom Fell (tenor), Josh Hart (trombone), Alex Raupach (trumpet), Eddie Bernasconi (trumpet), Matt Lustri (guitar), Damien Slingsby (piano), Simon Milman (bass) and Aidan Lowe (drums). Simon Milman (Coolio Desgracias) and Matt Lustri (Housemouse) rapped.

Prog folk folk 2

Still at FrogFest, and I was to see Ben Hauptmann’s band, BOB, and Mr Fibby.

BOB was a totally different experience. Highly trained playing that was tight, richly improvised and ornamented and arresting in concept and in performance. It started with a subtle but mobile solo on keys from Damien, precise and understated, then into melodies that spoke of folk song and solos with long crescendos that built steadily and unerringly. Ben’s guitar is always honest and impressive, sharply toned and with a touch of banjo or country-hick influence. Julian entered on tenor for several melodies but I was surprised his solos seemed so few in number. Damien reappeared for solos, but I particularly liked his presence as organ bass and piano/organ accompaniment. I was particularly following Evan. I seldom have much to say about drummers, but I was dazzled by this display: rock solid and stable beats, singular grooves of deadened snare and toms or smashing cymbals. All the time with precision and delicacy and refreshing, committed fills. I heard this as a master class in rock drumming. BOB features Ben Hauptmann (guitar) with Julian Banks (tenor), Damien Slingsby (keys) and Evan Mannell (drums).

Last was Mr Fibby. I’d heard tell of the band, so I was interested to have a listen. How clever was this, and how different? Classically-trained instrumentals accompanying zany story telling with an Eastern European accent. I’m sure I caught some Bach amongst the Gypsy instrumentals. I certainly enjoyed the story-book references to ANU V-C Ian Young for his current threat to the School of Music. (He was not a welcome man at this event!) These were contorted and somewhat improvised stories with dreamy logic and fairy tale characters. And tones of violin, cello and acoustic guitar that were played with real skills and panache, despite the none-too-classically-perfect environment. This was serious theatrical fun with great wit and serious fine-music skills. Highly recommended. Mr Fibby are Zavi (aka Sam King, guitar), Rusalka Seraphina (aka Emma Jasmine Kelly, violin), Borracio (aka Spike Thompson, cello) and No Important (aka Adam Hadley, story teller).

Julian Banks Trio @ The Gods

Julian Banks presented last night’s session at the Jazz at the Gods series at ANU. What an eye-opener! This was highly sophisticated and energetic modern jazz, varied in tonality, interesting in harmony and melody, rich in capable and inventive solos, and virtually all from original tunes. The trio is Julian Banks, tenor sax, Damien Slingsby, piano, Sam Young, drums.

Julian played with a lovely, rich tenor tone, moving freely into and out of solos, and sometimes playing time with repetitive phrases. He has looks reminiscent of Mingus, which was doubly odd given there was no bass on stage. Damien was highly accomplished on a Yamaha electric piano, often playing bass lines against solos, freely changing harmonic relationships and always soloing strongly. He performed with eyes closed and head rocking back and forth (impossible to get a decent pic!). Sam both closely followed and defined the rhythms. He played minimalistic but expressive solos, including pitch changes by pressing drum heads - common enough, but nicely done.

Their repertoire was all original other than 2 tunes (“Miles mode” by Coltrane was one), although they finally played another non-original as an encore (You don’t know what love is). Chris Deacon (from ArtSound FM) recorded the concert, and it will be played on ArtSound in a month or so, probably on the Jazzwaves program one Sunday night at 8pm.

Julian finished the concert by thanking the audience for being appreciative and knowledgeable, but my heart sank when he added that performing for such an audience is rare for a jazz player. As it is for many other serious and demanding (and non-commercial) areas of human endeavour these days. This is both another issue and a tragedy. For now, we just have to rejoice that we have such excellent music in our midst – and support and promote it as best we can.