Learning

Yet another visit to the Jazz Bar. This was for an open rehearsal for the Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra (EUJO). They practice Wednesday afternoons and our plan was a short stop to catch them and have a coffee/beer/scotch. Not quite as slick as the more experienced artists, but very interesting. We heard some good, challenging charts even on standards. The one I noticed was Love for sale, although it was pretty nicely camouflaged within various complexities and embellishments. Also some sectionals passages: the saxes as they worked through a particularly tricky syncopated passage and the trumpets for some high note features. The groove was good with punchy, PA-ed piano, good steady e-bass walks and a nice drum solo that got a few run-throughs. A nice musical interlude in a tourist’s day.

The Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra rehearsed at the Jazz Bar in Edinburgh.

Guesting

Tuesday is jazz jam night at the Jazz Bar. Ever hopeful, I went along for a listen and perhaps to play but first up I was taken aback by the band. Not that they were poor, but that they were anything but: this was clearly and scarily an excellent trio. I wondered if it left much confidence for sit-ins but then I just decided it was a high level session. Jams exist at various levels of competence and this just looked like a top-level outing. Peter Johnstone led from the piano, all skill and speed and invention, spaced and slippery and reminding me of Keith Jarrett, and followed nicely by a most excellent bass from Andy Robb, all syncopations and thumb positions and flexibility and deliciously interesting phrasings. Who might sit in here, I’m thinking. Doug Hough on drums initially seemed more laid back but his solos, too, were unexpected, discursive, easily inventive, so the night was looking like a classy trio with perhaps a hot horn to sit in. That’s OK but more awesome concert than jam. Then a break and a series of guests: Ken Rose on tenor; Teddy Lyons on drums; Dylan Turner on another tenor; another trumpet. All capable and interesting but not quite as fearsome as the host trio. Then I met Rob Anderson who put down a pocket trumpet (Bb, small) on my table while readying to get up, so we chatted. He was from Perth (Australia not Scotland). We chatted of WAAPA and local players and the jam styles and instruments had me more relaxed and ready to chance my arm and anyway I wanted to try out Andy’s bass. He had a bass extension mounted and that interested me (he’d played some classical in the past but little now). So I was up, for the final two tunes. The bass was nice and the amp excellent. The host trio had worked on various standards including Skylark, Celia, Nobody else but me and they had treated them very freely, open in timing and harmony and deliciously tangential. The jammers were more evident while doing a perfectly capable job, again on standards like I’ll remember you and Softly. My two were Monk’s dream and Bye bye blackbird. Monk’s dream was a nice medium up, comfy and swinging. BBB was called by Rob for his wife when he got up and was quick. I enjoyed the feels, with so-capable Pete for both and Doug for the final tune. The groove was steady and driving and there were some smiles in the back line and some adjustments for at least one groove that moved a little. But that’s all part of the fun and fun it was. These were excellent players to play with. I’d admired the hosts’ opening set hugely and enjoyed the blowing and finally got a few tunes and a feel of the bandstand. Great fun and a great memory and an awesome host band. Thanks to all.

The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, hosts a jazz jam each weekly on Tuesday nights. The host band changes but this night was Pete Johnstone (piano), Andy Robb (bass) and Dough Hough (drums). Sit-ins were Ken Rose (tenor), Teddy Lyons (drums), Dylan Turner (tenor), Rob Anderson (pocket trumpet), Eric Pozza (bass) and another unknown trumpeter.

Above Cowgate

Edinburgh’s old town and its famous castle is built on a volcanic plug so it’s dark and hard and oddly structured. Mostly that’s built over these days, so there are long streetscapes but it requires bridges to cross deep cuts, like Cowgate, and turn a corner and there are long stairways or steep alleyways. It’s the area of the university and hostels and boasts a busy night life. And the Jazz Bar. It’s a simple name. It’s a basement venue and a busy one. The program has 2 or 3 gigs every night, mostly jazz but also funk or the like. And like some other jazz venues, they have a resident big band gathering each monday. I found it interesting that an open rehearsal precedes the gig and I found it amusing that one local corrected someone in the audience for applauding during the rehearsal. It didn’t make much difference: there was applause none-the-less. The band didn’t seem to have a name, just the Jazz Bar’s 17-piece Big Band. The program said it had a variable line-up of pro-class players who come in from Glasgow, Borders, Perth, Fife to play with others from Edinburgh and it’s co-led by two members, saxist Keith Edwards and ex-LA bassist Erik Lars-Hansen. It’s true that they were slick. The repertoire was mostly standards but scored for big band with some delicious colours. That’s one of the wonders of the big band, of course, that colour. One tune seemed to boast a transcribed solo played by a section and that was intricate and exciting. There were some genuinely decent solos, too. That’s something I often find lacking in big bands. My guess is that bb players mainly perform as ensemble members and solos are short so they have little time to extend themselves. The rehearsal was interesting, with starts and stops and repeats from various bar numbers and with some general comments from Erik over the PA about time and feel but the playing still had life. The performance had a little more gig formality and some amusing chatter from the stage for a pretty packed audience and some nicely slick playing. So some great playing of fairly mainstream style and repertoire for a generous audience. Nice.


The Jazz Bar Big Band played at Edinburgh’s Jazz Bar with co-leaders Keith Edwards (sax) and Erik Lars-Hansen (bass).