A busy room

The Evans Room took me back to energetic, adventurous piano trio of well back.  They played Bud Powell and that was one indication, but also Ida Lupino and Mike Manieri and Blues in the closet was their feature tune to end with a few more meditative originals in between.  This was not one for too much rumination, although the playing was great and deserved the musician's ear for the chromatics and more, but the energy just drove it.  Nicely stuctured lines, frequently moving chromatically in single note runs or often in chords, plenty of chordal solos, or doubling the excitement level of single note lines to 16th notes, long runs of each, drums highlighting features while the band plays stops and starts.  Lovely stuff'; tons of energy and busy intent.  A few drum solos, spelling patterns and time and melody and frequent bass solos, on most tunes, more reticent at first, but extended into the thumb positions and then quicker with sequenced phrasings, neat, expressive, nicely done.  It's no surprise that Jack has been accepted to pursue Honours bass, was it at Melbourne's VCA or Con.  This is very much the driving piano trio style with chops and plenty of swing.  A good fun outing.

Evans Room comprised Adam Davidson (piano), Jack Smythe (bass) and Hugh Magri-Bull (drums) and played at Smiths Alternative.

The history lesson that is jazz

Jazz changes and develops through generations of players listening and learning and standing on Newtonian shoulders. I could only think that seeing another generation tonight. Evans Room is a piano trio with Adam Davidson, Hugh Magri-Bull and Evan Marshalsey. They are not even the newest generation, being variously out os school or at ANU studying, but they take their places in the history. Apparently Adam is off to Monash to study jazz. He's wonderfully capable player already and just out of school, not yet into tertiary studies. Skills like that show up early. Hugh and Evan are no slouches, at various parts of their ANU studies. I hear Hugh is an encyclopaedia on jazz performers in history, so he listens and thus learns. Another worthy - and the traditional - approach. Both were lively and informed and interesting in their accompaniment and solos. So, the traditions continue, even as this trio goes its own way. They played standards and again developed and interpreted in their own styles, again as in history. I hear their mates are slogging through the jazz studies but performing metal and funk and the rest. So jazz school is a place of integration or tolerance these days. Maybe that's different? Dunno. But whatever, they played well.

Evans Room comprised Adam Davidson (piano), Evan Marshalsey (bass) and Hugh Magri-Bull (drums) and played at Molly's.