Touching base

There's too little jazz in my life these days but I got to the Hauptmann Trio last night and it was stunningly good. It was actually the Trio+1, the 1 being John Mackey. The trio are siblings, big sis Zoe and two brothers Ben and James. Zoe couldn't make it but they still kept it in the family: cus Nick Hoorweg sat in on bass. John had been one of their teachers in the past at the ANUSOM and the whole crew are well known to local jazz aficionados, so it was very much a family affair. How these students mature with time in the workforce! Nick told me of leaving Canberra immediately on finishing his degree to start a 6-month gig with a Motown show. Zoe's now in the big time touring scene and I guess James and Ben are there, too. So they should be. Ben really led the show, offering favourite tunes and being the front man. There were common jazz tunes - Chelsea Bridge, Secret love, Caravan, Willow weep for me, Meditation - and a few outliers, not least the very lovely Mancini Moon River and a gentle Bill Frisell and a Stan Turrentine burner. Ben put some interesting edges to all, eg, a synth tone bookending Chelsea Bridge (?) and a 12/8 groove to introduce Meditation. And some fabulously interesting guitar, well controlled and infrequent out-playing, biting and intriguing solos and some choppy country-like feels reminiscent of Frisell. James was just driving, enjoying the floor tom for his solos, and grabbing wayward drums as he attacked the kit. Nick was neat, sometimes just unobtrusively spelling the chords with tonics and the like, otherwise walking, sometimes soloing, again with a nice freedom. And John up front, quick witted and always inquisitive on both melodies and solos. Because it's an unusual choice and also because it's such a pretty tune, I noticed Moon River. John's simple statement of melody was to die for. But I felt that for multiple tunes on the night. These are guys (in the absence of the gal) who are at the top of their craft and supremely interesting. Just a fabulous outing.

The Hauptmann Trio + 1 played at the ANU Reunion Pop-Up Village. They comprised Ben Hauptmann (guitar), Nick Hoorweg (bass), James Hauptmann (drums) and John Mackey (tenor).

My JU2010 / 2

The ANU Recording Ensemble is a favourite of mine and I was excited that they could perform. It’s not always easy to get such a large ensemble together. They had to squeeze on the Lowe/Milman stage (so named because drummer Aidan Lowe and bassist Simon Milman played virtually every set on this stage). I missed most of this set, but what snippets I heard seemed more minimalist and expressionist than I had heard from them before.

Utopia Collective was to feature excellent Sydney bassist, Jonathon Zwartz, but a software glitch at Virgin Blue ticketing detained him. Eric Ajaye sat in and did an excellent job, of course. I was to observe later just how different were the styles of these two wonderful bassists. Possibly because of the changed bass seat, Utopia played a more standards-based set than usual, although with its funky fusion soul always on show. This is steaming, ecstatic, extroverted music played by a supremely competent set of players: long solos, screaming guitars, speed and unapologetic excitement. Great playing and great fun.

Mates and JU committee members featured in Kooky Fandango. Cam Smith and Courtney Stark were on the committee for JU2009, and Cam was on again this year. This is a collection of mates (Sarah Nielsen sitting in for this performance) playing gentle funky tunes with a touch of blues, and interestingly without a chordal instrument other than Peter Barta’s 6-string bass. An unusual and gently funky approach.

It’s inevitable that you can’t catch everything when there are multiple stages. I caught just a few bars of Alex Raupach’s band, enough for a pic, but I remember them from an ArtSound broadcast. The outfit is a vehicle for Alex’s lyrical originals, where brass is wonderfully matched to Rachael Thoms’ lyric soprano voice.

In the meantime, a few school bands appeared on the Blackboard stage. Here are a few pics.

It’s getting later in the day by now, and we are starting to see some of the visitors. Firstly, the Hauptmann Trio. Zoe, Ben and James Hauptmann are well known in Sydney and equally known here in Canberra as local products. They are very well respected in various fields, but often seem to exude a feel of rock or blues or country that has obviously informed their playing. It’s an attractive and infectious sound. Here, in the family trio, Ben seemed to lead with his guitar defining so much of the melody and feel and providing the patter on stage. But the grooves were strong and steady (there’s an authority in the grooves from both Zoe and James) and Ben’s playing was looped and effected and his solos were rock hard and overdrive-screaming. I have enough rock background to love such indulgence! And the choice of Moon River for one of their reworkings was memorable. It’s such a lovely, sentimental tune.

As Famous as the Moon appeared without drums for this incarnation, playing as a trio of tenor, guitar and bass guitar. AFATM is perhaps the premier smooth jazz outfit around Canberra. I’ve played a few gigs with them and enjoyed them immensely. This outfit is so mature and easy going and liquid and well versed. This is one for the cocktail hours: smooth but in no way lacking in purpose or beauty or seriousness.