Jacam and Paul

Jacam Manricks with Paul Grabowsky, Alex Boneham and Andrew Gander. It was the ultimate gig of the Canberra Jazz Project for 2013. Ultimate in several ways: an intellectual treat with virtuosic chops. There’s a spot of Paul Grabowski’s album, Tales of time and space, where, at the end of the blaster, Tailfin, Branford Marsalis exclaims “Great Caesar’s ghost”. That’s what this gig felt like. This was a stunner and the skills were top class; worthy of wooing them anywhere. Jacam, with his lithe, fluid compositions that sit so nicely and the perfect chops with the flowing streams of notes, mostly smooth, strained on call, always lucid in intent and punctuation. This time with Paul Grabowsky, endlessly inventive and a fine foil to Jacam. I wondered if sometimes this overflowing creativity clashed, but to be overwhelmed with skills like this is something I’ll suffer. Alex, as always, strong and supportive and with a sweet solo of 10ths and 13ths and the like, relatively undemonstrative but neatly intoned and careful and studied. Andrew Gander’s tumpy toms and kick, tuned low and throbbing (I’ve noticed this recently with other drummers and I guess it’s a new fad around Sydney or maybe wider) with neat upper cymbals register. I melted from some perfect 4-bar leadin fills in the final tune, Thread, which was premiered in this format. I mostly recognised Jacam’s tunes from his 3 CDs. Ondina (borrowed from a flute etude); Forbidden nuts & fruit, a slow punctuated 4/4 leading into a bass solos and then that busy interplay of piano and sax; Cry from Cloud 9; Mood swing with Alex bravely reading devilish syncopations; Cloud 9 in 5/4. These are interesting compositions: easily syncopated, fitting for Jacam’s melliflous tones and varied chordal movements, undemonstratively virtuoisic. Jacam’s technique is almost too perfect: rapidly repeating phrases that sit so unforced and dissolve into whatever that follows. He’s the son of two classical orchestral musicians, so I guess it’s that technique that shows. Paul hit me in much the same way. I noticed one spot where he was not expecting the solo but switched it on at will, all structured and inventive from the first note. Masterful stuff. This is just Canberra, but this could be anywhere. Memorable.

Jacam Manricks (alto) lead a quartet with Paul Grabowsky (piano), Alex Boneham (bass) and Andrew Gander (drums).

Jacam’s conversations

It was too short but very sweet. Jacam Manricks visited again from New York. I look forward to his visits. It’s a taste of jazz that I love. Not just in terms of sheer quality, although there’s plenty of that, but there’s a sincerity and commitment that shows in the skills and contorted but flowing sounds. This is intense and busy playing but the ideas flow succinctly and easily. I don’t feel here any clashes of conception, when someone can’t continue a scale to the top register or can’t carry on a sequence or can’t run the chords without a break and so drops into something that doesn’t quite fit. And there’s a strong sense of conversation between players. Maybe crossed but never of cross purposes: diverse, individual statements but easily stringing together. This is wonder to my ears.

Jacam led with his compositions of intricate melodies and unusual time signatures. He’s an intelligent and cerebral composer. Wandina was in 10/8 and based on a sax exercise in some extreme sax key that no-one ever plays. He mentioned Fb minor. Does it even exist? Enharmonic Emin expressed in flats? No matter. The next was Forbidden fruit which has unison bass/sax and a time signature I think I counted as 19/8 split 9-10. Then a Finnish tune which is a standard played at christenings, translated as Friend of children, but having a meaning more like a Higher being looking over a child. This was slower, Nordic, with bass space and mallets. Jacam had arranged and reharmonised it for his own child, as requested by his Finnish wife. Last was Cloud nine, all easy arpeggios, fluid responsiveness and moves in and out of seductive swing. I admired Jacam’s imbued skills, his ease with all registers, sustained patterns and easy chord transitions: all clear and modern, with awareness of tradition and with no careless atonality. The overall volume surprised me. The whole band played with intensity but with much restraint on the dial. Des’ bass was essentially conversational: that’s the word he used with me after the gig. Rhythmic throbbing in lower positions with occasional ventures to higher and neck positions. Even his solos were more concerned with feel and groove than scalar flair. Very nice and with musical depth. And Jochen was a master. He didn’t seem overly comfortable at this gig, but still this was subtle and vibrant and deceptively busy. I recorded it (with permission, of course) and listening back, I’m surprised by his busy accompaniment. It all looked so restrained on the night. One solo started with just snare and cymbal (and kick, I guess) and intrigued with just dissections of time; then plays with colour over the whole kit; then power and punch.

I don’t do it justice here, but this was subtle and skilled and conversational in the best modern jazz traditions. It was too short, of course, but for the full outing we’ll have to visit Manhattan or maybe 505. There was support, too. The band had run a workshop for Radford College music students before the gig and the Big Band performed as a lead in. The repertoire was Blue monk, Brick house, Moanin’, and What’s hip. Just one pic.

Jacam Manricks (alto sax) led a trio with Des White (bass) and Jochen Rueckert (drums). They were preceded by the Radford College Big Band.

Unsparing energy

Energetic commitment is a feeling I often get when big city visits Canberra, especially big jazz city New York. NYC was again visiting in the guise of the Jacam Manricks Quartet. I got the energy in spades with Eric Mcpherson’s solos, which started with intensity and exhilaration and ramped up from there, but Linda Oh showed it equally although not as evidently as a drummer can. Jacam Manricks was leader. He’s also infused in the Manhattan vibe, but he’s calmer, more crisp and intellectual, although not without a certain extravagance, and Australian Jackson Harrison also took to the excitement, although not with Eric’s take-no-prisoners commitment. Jacam’s music is like his playing: richly informed and of the mind. It launches with long solos and intense crescendos, but it’s not a music of abandon. Jacam is a teacher and holds a high level academic degree in music and you hear it in his care and consideration. I heard it once in an introduction to a tune which was formed from two standards that he’d accidentally merged on a gig. The outcome was a new tune that was a reharmonisation with new melody and which combined the essence of the two original standards. This is not Mingus and the blues; this is more a music of considered options like Shoenberg and his tonal system. There is much logic in music and I hear it here.

And what playing! Eric Mcpherson just exploded on drums. He was sharp and snare-staccato on accompaniment, but was unstoppable in solos. And those strange plastic spatulas for sticks: handles with a flat inverted-V shape for the stick end that he’d swap to change tone, something like stick to brush. Similarly Linda Oh was concentration and commitment, showing her NY-residency of 5 years. A mate asked jokingly how many fingers she had. Certainly, she was busy. I noticed lots of open strings and large intervals: her solo style is efficient and the sound was busier than the fingers needed to be. This was clever playing with a sweeping tonality. Jacam was the sharp, tutored altoist. Absolutely correct; changes spot on the barline; clear thought and the most precise tone; lines dropping around the listener with beguiling ease. This was clinical playing and a lesson in precision: cool and with dignified, even austere emotions. I also enjoyed Jackson Harrison’s staccato but continually responsive accompaniment as it moved bar by bar with Jacam’s alto solos. So, a challenging and energetic night as NYC came in from the (Canberra) cold. It’s always a pleasure when Jacam and his NYC offsiders visit. Jacam Manricks (alto, compositions) led a quartet with Jackson Harrison (piano), Linda Oh (bass) and Eric Mcpherson (drums) at the University of Canberra.

Cyberhalides Jazz Photos by Brian Stewart

NY up close and personal

Internationals are in the air at the moment. Last night it was a visiting New York outfit, Jacam Manricks’ Quartet featuring Aaron Goldberg. But unlike my recent Opera House concerts, this was in a small room, with a club atmosphere, as jazz should be, and with a chance to chat with the masters. So this was special. And these were no slouches; they all have significant pedigrees. Aaron’s pedigree has to take the cake, being sideman for the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Madeleine Peyroux, Wynton Marsalis, Nicholas Payton and Joshua Redman. But the others have notches including Ray Charles, Ben Monder, Bob Mintzer, Dave Liebman, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Lee Konitz, Jeff Ballard, Barry Altschul, Andrew Cyrille, Gary Bartz and Mark Levine. Wow! Jazz heaven. It’s a long way from NY, but Jacam and drummer Danny are Australians so are presumably on a working holiday back home. Great to see the good turnout and organisation to keep Canberra on the circuit. Saves a trip to NY. But what of the playing?

The concert comprised two sets of nine tunes in total, mostly taken from Jacam’s new CD, Labyrinth, along with Coltrane’s Countdown. Mostly it was modern style with syncopated rhythms, complex heads, sometimes repetitive grooves on madly syncopated ostinato phrases in odd time signatures, sometimes long chordal patterns, sometime complex structures. Gangbusting was a lively opener. Long ago and old fashioned was a mix and reharmonisation of parts of the standards Long ago and far away and I’m old fashioned. Mood swing was a tribute to Milton Nascimento. 2-3-2 and Sketch were examples of those difficult repeating syncopations. Aeronautics was a gentler ballad style. Microgravity was originally called New bolero, so obviously bolero in feel, but in 9/8 time. Countdown was Countdown with its Coltrane changes. Labyrinth was the final tune, a hugely complex melody with a super-fast little filler bridge.

Jacam led all this with a honey smooth tone and snake-charmer glissandi on some tunes, but then hardened up with honks and squeaks for some others. Hugely fluent arpeggios and extensions over the full range of the alto; dropping in and out of long double-time passages. A mate commented it was like a sax trio alternating with a piano trio. I didn’t hear it quite like that, but Aaron’s piano was similarly powerful and well spoken. He was often relaxed in finding the muse (there was a common feeling of space and sparseness in this band) but then he’d grow to consistent patterns ranging over the higher octaves, with varied left hand harmonies and an uncanny, drummer-like ease with maintaining a left hand syncopation against a right hand solo. I commented on the difficulty of reading the syncopations, and bassist Andrew agreed, saying it was only on Countdown that he could really play rather than read. So his was very much a challenging support role in this outing. Danny seemed more comfortable with the pieces. I’ve heard him with Jacam in the past, so presumably they play together often enough. He was a master, providing busy rhythms and colour using bushes and sticks and one time hands. I noticed again that ease with kick drum syncopations against complex right hand solo lines and the sharpest of stick techniques presenting mathematical permutations of beats and divisions.

Suffice to say, it was a magical concert, well attended and very well received. Thanks to the band for the fabulous performance and for saving us at least this trip to NY. But also to the decent turnout that will keep Canberra on the touring map.

Jacam Manricks (alto sax), Aaron Goldberg (piano), Andrew Emer (bass) and Danny Fischer (drums) performed music from Jacam’s CD, Labyrinth, at the University of Canberra.

Awards (Wangaratta 2009)

The National Jazz Awards this year were for the sax – tenor, alto, whatever. I heard little of them, other than the final three players performing their grand final sets over ABCFM as I was driving back to Canberra. It’s interesting how different people hear things differently. But firstly the formalities. Ten players, whittled down to three for the final performance. These were Zac Hurren, Jacam Manricks and Phil Noy. They were backed by Sam Keevers (piano), Phil Stack (bass) and Ben Vanderwal (drums) and judged by Mike Nock, Julien Wilson and Jamie Oehlers. My order was: 1. Phil Noy, 2. Jacam Manricks, 3. Zac Hurren. I liked the technical clarity of Phil and Jacam, Phil’s emotional honesty, and Zac’s individual style. The judges found: 1. Zac Hurren, 2. Phil Noy, 3. Jacam Manricks.

Jacam Manricks also appeared at the National Big Band Composition Competition which was held this year at Wangaratta. The other finalists were Andrew Murray and Joseph O’Conner. The Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra presented the three compositions and the judges were Mike Nock, Evan Lohning and Dave Panichi. Again I got it wrong (or at least got a different result from the judges). My pick was: 1. Jacam Manricks, 2. Andrew Murray, 3. Joseph O’Conner. The judges gave it to Andrew Murray.

A cut above

From the first notes it was evident that this Hippo event was special. Jacam Manricks took a very tarnished alto from his case, and the dull lustre said commitment and experience. He blew a few notes, and they said practice and preparation. He wondered aloud if this was a listening audience. Well no … Hippo is always noisy and chatty, except maybe at the end of the night when the clubbers have departed. But, with the support of Australia’s Contemporary Music Touring Program, he had a powerful quartet of players, and he blew through it with that committed, searching playing that we expect from that jazz mecca, New York.

Jacam has been based in New York for 7 years, after a few years in Sydney, but he’s a Brisbane boy. Danny Fischer, on drums, is a NY-based Melbournite. They both turn out with a swagger and visage which is obviously not local. It’s the same style that was evident with Don Byron’s Trio. Joining them were Brendan Clarke, bassist, Canberra born, bred and trained, and Jackson Harrison on piano. Both Brendan and Jackson won their respective instruments at the Wangaratta Festival’s National Jazz Awards. No slouchers here.

We got what we expected. There was fabulous, intense, closely responsive playing all round. Original compositions and richly reharmonised standards; long complex melodies and charted bass lines in accompaniment; constantly changing implied chordal movements; simple changes that occasionally emerged amongst the reharms; a buoyant extravagance of improvisation. I heard Jacam’s solos as exploring pitch structure and intervallic options within harmonies in a modern bop-influenced style, comfortable with long eighth-note passages which morphed into 16th-notes on call. Jackson seemed more dissonant to me, and perhaps more pensive; I thought I heard more substitutions or chromatic lead notes. Brendan accompanied with a busily moving left hand, dropping lovely but unexpected syncopations freely, and sounded with a soft underlying tone. Danny drummed with a marked smoothness in his movements and soloed with a sustained 16th-note pattern which mutated around the kit then ended with long sustained pattern that held tension but dimmed oh so gradually over time. There was a general feeling of comfort, a lack of struggle with fast playing against presto tempos which was evidence of their abilities.

There were several originals by Jacam. I think it was Super size slippery stick that was I got rhythm under the covers. You could feel the cyclic movements, but the melody was long and complex and the harmony was recreated and richly embellished. There was another that appeared to start as a ballad and later took on a march-like presence with snare drum rudiments but in 9-time. Olivia, a friend from the Jazz School, counted the drums and bass playing in 9/4 and 9/8 so they crossed every two bars. Another tune, Number one, developed into a free extravaganza. The title of another tune, Fours and twos, suggested an intellectual approach to composition, and had choruses ending with a massively quick little unison run. They also played a few from the fake books: Monk’s Introspection and Coltrane’s Satellite and finished with I hear a rhapsody.

Megan mocks me as finding every event as fabulous. I know I take a positive approach and for that reason I call these posts “reports” rather than “reviews”, but this really was a cut above and in a style which is current, and both emotionally and intellectually satisfying. How I long for NY.

Two bars to a treat

Text and pics by Brenton Holmes. Mike Nock Trio - Mike Nock (piano), Mike Majkowski (bass), James Waples (drums) with Jacam Manricks (alto sax, NY) at Hippo. It only took two bars and I knew I was in for a treat. Majkowski and Waples laid down an impeccable muted intro on bass and drums. Enter Jacam Manricks - mellow, haunting. His lyricism was remarkable. The tune, Aeronautics, was his own, but this was no flashy-just- flown-in from-New-York routine. Instead we heard a gentle, perfectly shaped line that oozed musicianship. When he moved up a notch into his solo the phrases lengthened, the tone brightened, the contours had a more dramatic sweep. But the lyricism stayed. Manricks built the intensity, working off a rhythm section made in Mike Nock heaven, opening out into long, running sweeps, running up staircases of notes, delivering swirls of impressive virtuosity. Still the lyricism stayed.

Waples gives a lot of drive from his ride cymbal, and there's power in everything he does, but while his presence is strong, he's not intrusive. Majkowski has to be one of the finest bassists on the Sydney scene, and he and Waples have a rapport that glows. Their playing was one of the unrelenting joys of the night.

When Nock took his first solo in the tune I was struck by how much it reflected Manricks opening style. Whether this was a deliberate ploy, or just intuitive ensemble music-making, it worked brilliantly. As he built up a head of steam, we soaked up vintage Nock. Sadly, his new electric piano wasn't doing him any favours. Something about the settings had the instrument sounding more organ than piano. As a result, clarity suffered , and what would normally have shone as a sparkle of notes came out more as a smear of tones. It was something Nock had to contend with all night – although some judicious tweaking improved things a little in the second half.

The rapport between bass and drums extends to Nock. This is a trio that clearly enjoys each other's company and shares a deep musical intimacy. You can almost feel them listening to each other. Their responsiveness extends to the most subtle of interactions. It's like they share a fused musical brain. I found the effect extraordinary, and one which is decidedly rare. I struggle to recall a similar trio experience.

When Majkowski solo-ed I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. He was rivetting - strongly melodic, not a cliché in sight, and technically superb. His effort was short and sweet – something which characterised almost all his solos. They are the musical equivalent of those wonderful 9x5 masterpieces of the Australian Impressionists. Everything you could wish for is there.

Super Side Slippery Skip, the second tune of the night by Manricks, was a straight ahead swing with the intricate melody doubled on sax and piano. There was something cheeky about it – almost like it was a parody of a blend of the most played tunes in the Real Book. But it cooked. The rhythm section locked into a groove while Manricks gambolled all over the place - kinda Dexter Gordon meets Ornette Coleman with a dash of Dave Liebman. The band then really began to open out, managing to achieve a more expansive ensemble feel through the seemingly contradictory process of all the players pumping out solos simultaneously – a kind of bristling inventiveness.

When they dropped back to give Mike Nock some space he gave the lower registers of his still muddy piano a serious workout before moving into a more atonal style higher up the keyboard. He switched back and forth between sections that were rhythmically and harmonically conventional and passages of very free, angular and arresting playing. Again, bass and drums were with him all the way. Waples was particularly adept at building off and responding to Nock's soloing while the other Mike continued to give them both all the nourishment they could possibly need.

Majkowski again delivered a striking solo – full of invention, bending rhythms to his purpose without a hint of losing structure. Then it was time to swap fours between drums, piano and alto. Waples made the most of every four that came his way. Each time, he took his material from the preceding solo, sculpted it into a new shape and handed it back as a shiny new toy. Nock and Manricks clearly enjoyed it. The number closed out with a return to the melody doubled on piano and sax before wrapping with a tight, neat finish.

Next up was, for me, one of the highlights of the evening – probably because of its audacity. Manricks took the over-exposed Australian folk tune Bound for Botany Bay and turned it into an arrangement in 5/4 time that was a sheer delight. When Manricks moved into his first solo he again revealed the polished professionalism that his recent years of hard work in the US have no doubt helped him to achieve. You could hear the main Botany Bay tune being morphed one note at a time into its improvised version. Manricks kept faith with the strong 5/4 rhythmic phrasing as the shift evolved, then simply freed himself from it to sail breezily into an extended solo. Majkowski complimented the effort with another fine solo of long clear lines, never sacrificing the music to technical cleverness. On this occasion, Nock's solo seemed a little flat, though I suspect it was largely a product of his having to deal with the uninspiring sound coming from the piano.

The last tune of the first set was Mike Nock's Transitions, a pacey number with a backbeat funky feel and punctuated phrasing in its opening section before kicking into a fast swing. The funky section gave a strong structural foundation to the piece, and the switch to swing was effective when one might have expected it to feel cliched. Nock's chord voicing skills were on full display in his accompaniment. It's obviously a tune that he has a lot of affection for. His solo mixed short flurries of notes with long, chromatically ascending stretches that drew the rest of the rhythm section with him. The master was strutting his stuff and the apprentices were with him all the way.

Waples entered with a dramatic drum solo, but the sustained high volume playing pushed it into more a technical display than a musical statement. It would be unkind to judge him harshly on this account, because throughout his ensemble playing Waples had consistently demonstrated his credentials as an inventive, musically strong drummer. A nice, tight ending out of the funk theme closed the set to the enthusiastic applause of a very satisfied audience.

Manricks introduced the first number of the second set with the warning “don’t try this at home”. Creatively titled Number One, it was a full-blown excursion to the avant-garde – a musical Jackson Pollock on speed. The audience loved it. The very free-flowing alto introduction offered no obvious meter, and as Nock moved in, the piano and alto locked into a dance that steadied the piece for take off into totally free fireworks. It was all there – bowing, slapping, squeaking, thumping, full-frontal atonality. It would have done justice to a contemporary art music gig in Vienna. The music ebbed to a reprise of the opening section, with piano and sax shadowing and echoing each other, then swelled to a climax of slapped bass and pounded floor toms before tumbling gradually into silence.

Mike Nock’s Homage was next on the list – a gentle swing that really gave Nock a chance to shine. Again, it proved the trio to be very much at home as an ensemble, with bass and drums giving exquisite support. When Manricks introduced the main tune on alto it put me in mind of the song melodies that the brilliant Stephen Sondheim has given us. The mellow solo was eloquent over a sustained pedal bass. Manricks played with the notes like a kitten patting a ball of string. Nock’s solo kicked off with handfuls of fourths, peppered with groups of skipping phrases that would end with a quick dash up the keyboard. Bass and drums chased him all the way – although occasionally Waples playing knocked the balance askew. Majkowski’s bass solo started with long repetitive phrases that grew into a beautifully crafted effort. There was an almost architectural quality about it, with lots of interesting features to give it internal colour. The piece wound out with the main melody. Definitely Sondheim !!

Jacam Manrick’s Gangbusting produced an opening alto line that sounded like a jaunty, slightly drunk bossa. But it turned into a feisty 7/4, which the group held together meticulously throughout the piece. No small miracle was happening here, because there were lots of chord changes, and with the on-stage lighting almost non-existent, reading the charts must have been a nightmare. Hippo needs to get its act together in this respect. Nock’s solo hit the spot again. Bass and drums tucked in behind every move. Their rapport is almost spooky. Waples drum solo was very disciplined, keeping the pervasive 7/4 pattern in the foreground, and fed beautifully back into the close.

The penultimate tune was Mike Nock’s Essence. Delicious in every way – basically a steady jazz waltz, but with a punctuated melody that gave it a very attractive quirkiness – Nock caressed the work into life ready for Manricks to adorn with his alto. Manricks always conveys the impression that he knows exactly where he’s heading and what he wants to achieve, but there’s absolutely no loss of spontaneity in the feel. He is clearly a highly skilled musician. His Doctor of Musical Arts, and an impressive record of composition, suggests that his knowledge is deep. His playing, his fellow musicians and his audiences are the fortunate beneficiaries. Nock returned to deliver another solo that was almost rhapsodic at times, with Majkowski and Waples keeping the faith as ever.

A fast swing capped off a marvelous night, with Nock’s Triflin’ providing the platform for some sizzling playing. Jacam delivered his long lines buoyed up by a rhythm section giving him everything he could possibly have asked for. He was like a surfer in the zone , riding a long, slow-breaking wave that went all the way to shore. Majkowski had his final chance to strut his stuff, and he did it with aplomb – and with Waples right there with him. Nock played his solo like a mischievous child who refuses to go to bed and keeps running back to the dinner party, sneaking away, then returning with glee to liven things up. Waples provided a powerful solo, but one which was neat and compact. The final round was a sparkling affair – spoiled marginally by an unnecessarily excessive exit. But hey, where there is no extravagance there is no love.

Nock is an eminence grise of downunder jazz and we should all feel blessed by his presence. His comrades on the bandstand are all his former students. Nock admires Manricks both for his musicianship and his professional zeal, and the respect is reciprocated, and Nock is thinking of putting another band together especially to tour with his young US-based protégé. Watch this space.

Visitors from NY: Jacam Manricks

New York is a gathering place for jazz players from around the world. It has something like 10 major jazz clubs, and perhaps 100 venues for jazz. It’s still a mecca for advanced players, and the home of many famous jazz names. So jazz visitors from NY are something to look forward to.

Hippo’s NY visitors were Jacam Manricks (alto sax), Steve Newcomb (piano), Jasper Leak (bass) and Danny Fischer (drums). Jacam is the leader and composer, originally out of Brisbane. He’s the son of professional orchestra-playing parents and has a impressive history of awards in Australia and OS. In NY, he’s currently working on his doctorate in composition, and earning as a jazz educator. So, he arrives with lofty expectations. But these are all Australians with NY connections. Danny and Jasper have been in NY for several years; Steve was in NY but has now returned to Brisbane.

So what is it about NY? I feel you see immense commitment and seriousness (that classic book of modern jazz, “As serious as your life”, comes to mind). Also, I hear original compositions with a hard, exploratory and energetic edge. I imagine that’s partly an expression of the individualist, live-or-die, competitive world of the US (which is presumably at a frenzied pitch in NY) and modern jazz itself. And obviously, high levels of musicianship and vigorous renditions of standard tunes.

JM’s band didn’t disappoint. JM’s original compositions were spikey inventions, with big intervals jumping up and down through sinuous melodies, often with syncopated, written rhythm section accompaniment. The piano solos were thoughtful and adventurous; the sax solos were initially non-legato, and developed into long, atonal flourishes; the drums solos were frequent, fast and disjunctive, with lots of rolls and rudiments finishing with frequent staccato slaps. I only remember one bass solo, but it was highly competent and interesting. I’d heard Jasper Leak’s album, and, as a fellow bassist, I was very happy to hear his name mentioned when the band started up. He was absolutely solid in underlying these hard charts, and an immensely interesting foundation. There were a few walks, one which appeared spontaneously in UMMG, and another lovely walk throughout Countdown. Otherwise, he played syncopated, rhythmically diverse lines throughout the night. I discovered something when I noticed how he would break up the rhythm, playing on -2-4, then perhaps 2-41-34-2-4, so the beat moved from the 2-4 to the 1-3 then back again, usually at unexpected times. It’s like a rhythmic version of playing substitute chords: not wrong but quite disconcerting. Great playing.

The non-originals were Sam River’s “Beatrice”, Stayhorn’s “Upper Manhattan Medical Group” and Coltrane’s “Countdown”. Otherwise, the show was all original. As I remember, the played Numbers 7, 3, 2, a medley of 4/5, and 1. Trust me; the compositions were more creative than the titles. There was some complex reading and writing demanded of all the players: good and interesting stuff. Check out Jacam’s website for a generous collection of his original music.

JM is playing at Wangaratta in a few days. I hope the band gets a larger audience there than last night’s disappointingly small one. They deserve it.

http://www.jacammanricks.com/