Future back-tracking

Great fun night. Jazz Republic plays a backyard for Martina and Jack. This is a crossing the generations gig for crossed generations. A standard mix of jazz and pop but a clear night, a band drenched in chemicals for the mozzies, some considerable fun and one of the only times I've played a party gig and had people sit later in the night to listen. Also amusing to be playing e-bass again. I forget how quick and fluent you can be on this thing, especially after years developing muscles on the ungainly but beautiful double bass. Is this a back to the future experience? Maybe so. Electric basses are hardly the future (dating from ~mid-1950s) but double basses have centuries on them. But much enjoyed. Thanks to all.

Jazz Republic were Leanne Dempsey (vocals), James Woodman (piano), Richard Manderson (saxes), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Happy New Year

CJ seems to be having an unplanned breather, but here are a few pics from a New Years Eve party we played at last night. For Richard and family, playing with Mike, Richard and Steve Richards. Richard relative Kahlee has singer-song-written pop and folk in Melbourne and sat in for a few tunes. I was satisfied with sound and technique so enjoying the outing. Sound helps with everything, but the openness of playing outside at moderate volume made for a groove-conscious, underplayed gig. I revelled in the polyrhythmic interplays of Herbie Hancock and sweetness and embellishments and simple counterpoint of the latins and the neatness of rock and roll pentatonics and the offbeat syncopation of finger-funk. All fun. And the party was good, too... This night, Jazz Republic was Richard Manderson (saxes), Mike Dooley (piano), Eric Pozza (bass) and Steve Richards (drums) and Kahlee Baker (vocals) sat in for one set.

Always a pleasure

In2Deep meets Jazz Republic, or at least a mix of musos under a few band names. Mike and Rachel perform as a duo under the name In2Deep and here's a pic. They called the band in for this night to celebrate end-of-year / Christmas. Noddy sat in for Brenton. Good family fun and some nice relaxed playing, even if James Brown always challenges on double bass. Thanks to all.

Another musical pleasure

Mark Sutton and Reuben Lewis are friends and musicians who I’ve heard and admired for a long time. I’d played one gig with Mark way back, on e-bass, and none with Reuben. So to have them sit in was a pleasure. Thanks, Mark and Reuben …. and Mike and Richard, too, of course.

Unseasonable cold

Jazz Republic played outside for a school barbie and it was fun but it was also bloody cold. Nice to greet James Woodman who was filling in for Mike on the night. But how cold! Wind chill factor cold; rain cold; fingers that refuse cold. I played with fingerless gloves, but I can only imagine the effect on exposed sax metal. Intonation becomes an issue, doubly so as Richard switched tenor and soprano. We had to play slower, too, so the blasters became medium swings in the second set. I enjoyed the few trio numbers, piano trio, then a format I’ve wanted to play for some time, sax trio. It’s open, chordless, contrapuntal and surprisingly modern sounding with much the same lines. I also enjoyed playing some of James’charts. We share a love for post-bop. Charts from Bobby Timmons and Ronnie Matthews as played by Woody Shaw. It’s an attractive era: interesting changes (not all 2-5-1) and written syncopations that transform easily into walks. Nice gig but memorably cold. On this night Jazz Republic were Richard Manderson (saxes), James Woodman (piano), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

There’s listening and awareness

You hear differently when you’re playing, compared to when you are listening. It occurred to me at our gig yesterday. Jazz Republic was playing with Rachel Thorne. I’ve recently met Jean-Luc Bodson, a newly arrived bassist in Canberra. He’d come for the wines and roses and he took my bass for a run on a transposed Autumn Leaves. When I play, I am aware of the others, the singer, the soloists, less obviously but more constantly of the drummer. But sitting back, I was hearing the bass as others hear it, louder, strong but middy, and noticing details in the singing and listening with care to Richard’s solo. I realised that Richard, sax player, listens like this often: horns get the chance between solos. Rhythm section players tend to play constantly, so there isn’t this same conscious awareness. What to learn from this? First to keep watching to strengthen awareness of the others, but that’s commonly said. The other is just how different is the listening when you’re not playing. Late, perhaps, but a revelation.

Otherwise, this was a great little gig. I was stunned to hear Ella at one stage, and Rachel scats often and easily, but she does more. Such a nice singer. Jean-Luc hadn't played for while (his basses are in transit) and on a new bass but he had some intriguing lines with a nice touch and he impressed me by warming up with some bop heads. Rhys sat in. It was his first gig of three for the day and a good warmup. He was nicely solid and professional and steady to play with. This is what training does for you and I’ve been working on just this: better chord definitions and steadier, more determined grooves. Mike and Richard were their normal impressive selves. My hands were benefiting from recent work on Bach sonatas and iGigBook and iRealb took care of singer transpositions. The flies outnumbered the audience, but we had a blast. Much enjoyed.

Rachel Thorne (vocals) sang with Jazz Republic for the Wine, Roses and all that Jazz festival. JR were Richard Manderson (saxes), Mike Dooley (piano), Rhys Lintern (durms, sitting in for Brenton) and Eric Pozza (bass). Jean-Luc Bodson (bass) sat in for one tune.

October

It’s October so it must be Moruya. I missed the Moruya Jazz festival for the last few years. This year I was playing with our quartet, Jazz Republic, and JR was supporting Wollongong diva Pearl Noire. I didn’t catch much else. The streets looked pretty quiet. What I did catch was interesting.

The ANU Big Band was impressive: no surprise there. John Mackey leads. This is a large ensemble with generous membership and includes a female choir out front. John mentioned the choir as a luxury. So it is. It’s an unusual big band sound to have half a dozen harmonising females out front. As for the band, the grooves are good and the horns tight. As at Merimbula, there was a touch of classics with six-string bassist Jack Schwenke doing a take on Bach’s Cello suite in G.

Rehab Brass Band were a missing their sax player but were still lively, sharp and entertaining. There were some decent chops here: nice rock guitar solos when called for and crisp tele chords otherwise; solid drum parts and some authentic bass lines from the sousaphone (sousa provides such a fat bass and this was played with impressive skills and a real feeling for the groove: more than just I-V); good trumpet and trombone solos and melodies; some vocals. They played occasional pop, including Eurythmics, but this was mainly a down south sensibility. How can you not chuckle to the succulent humour of Don’t you feel my thigh? Rehab BB are Dave Thompson (trumpet, vocals), Jeremy Borthwick (trombone), James Wyatt (guitar), Leigh Sherringham (sousaphone) and Dave Tracey (drums). Dave Cox (tenor) was missing in action.

Pierre was playing with with his Dream Banned for some attractive mainstream. I was particularly taken by Pierre’s smooth tone and neat solos. BTW, he plays only Selmer. Pierre’s Dream Banned were Pierre Kammacher (saxes), Sid Edwards (vibes), Roer Clark (alto), Adrian Rodden (guitar), Arthur Pikler (bass) and John Marshall (drums).

End of night was the Mackey-Bukovsky project at the Air Raid Café. This was essentially a blow session with students sitting in and out and milling around. It was as much a party as a performance. No surprise that there were some impressive solos here, not unexpectedly from John and Miro or Tate, but I also heard a few from bassist Mitchell Brandman and trumpeter Eddie Bernasconi and a nice interpretation from singer Kirrah Amosa.

Another headliner was the New Zealand band Miho Wada Jazz Orchestra which is fronted by the zany and personable Japanese alto/flautist Miha Wada with Pascal Roggen on e-violin. Thus the JO tag. Otherwise, I found them a jazz rock outfit with established rock rhythms rather than jazz swing. Not your standard jazz fare, but nicely presented, practised and tight. Miho Wada JO were Miho Wada (flute, alto), Pascal Roggen (e-violin), Andrew Rudolph (guitar), Leo Corso (e-bass) and Jared Descaux de Marigny (drums).

We caught DJ Gosper’s latest project, a very bluesy trio called Divine Devilles with drummer husband Michael Stratford and pianist/singer Ali Penny. Nice to hear DJ with accompanying female harmonies and vice versa and with the deep bluesy presence. Back to the roots with a swatch of 12-bar swing. Divine Devilles are DJ Gosper (vocals, blues harp), Ali Penny (keys, vocals) and Michael Stratford (drums).

Jazz Republic played one instrumental set and two sets backing diva Pearl Noire. Ax Long sat in on trumpet for a horn-rich front line and this was a great pleasure. There was some impressive reading from both Ax and Richard on Mike’s dot-rich neo-bop originals and sweet harmonies and plenty of joyful solos up front. One gig had Mike charting lines for the horns literally in the last minutes before the gig. Mike took musical director duties for Pearl and the pair are a formidable combination. Pearl is an entertainment powerhouse. This is a case of set the stage and sit back for the ride. She’s a fabulous presence with immediate audience rapport and plenty of sultry, earthy banter. Always a pleasure to play with Pearl. The Pearl Noire Experience was Pearl Noire (vocals) with the Jazz Republic. The citizens of the Jazz Republic were Mike Dooley (piano), Richard Manderson (saxes), Ax Long (trumpet), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Apart from lengthy chats and walks on the beach and the smoke of bushfires, that was my Moruya 2013.

FATs 2013

You just enjoy some gigs and I enjoyed this one. A depleted Jazz Republic appeared as a piano trio supporting Ruth O’Brien at the CIT FAT awards. It’s a nice open format although more work for everyone. Ruth is one of the advanced students in the CIT Music program. We performed various standards but also a few originals by Ruth including Stupid fool, a nicely funky piece that was sat well amongst the walks and dotted latin rhythms. I enjoyed the outing for several reasons. I had a nice amp supplied by CIT – loud and punchy, Hartke and Ashdown - and it was all setup for me. How nice is that? Mike had Nord and Roland, Brenton had Gretsch and the PA was big. So the gear was interesting and entertaining. We sat in a corner of a large hall with trainee stage managers and mixers, playing easy backing for arrival and interval for a decent crowd. The FATs are the 14th annual CIT Film & Television Awards. We saw a range of video and films, original concepts or C100 reports or music clips. Some were early attempts, but others were mature students and quite professional products. Just a pleasant, indulgent performance and for a decent crowd. Thanks Ruth.

Ruth O'Brien (vocals) performed with the Jazz Republic  at CIT Woden.  JR3 were Mike Dooley (piano), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Finally Merimbula 4

Then there was my band. I just performed in one band, for two sets over two days. We had decent spots in the program: 9pm Saturday; 10pm Sunday; both at the Sapphire; the second on the main stage. What a blast!

These were seriously good musos and such a pleasure to perform with: Pearl Noire out front, a Jamaican / English / Australian with presence to burn; the renowned local Noddy on drums; Baba and Dan on horns, both great readers and excellent soloists; Mike on piano and musical direction and me. This was such a good outfit: tight as, lively and entertaining, joyful but with serious chops and driving grooves. All reading with just a touch of preparation and otherwise seat of the pants, but with decent players who can cover when the things get loose. The second gig was noticibly better after the practice that was the first. The tunes were virtually all originals, songs by Pearl with charts by Mike, and a few original instrumentals by Mike. This was great fun. And I’m proud (relieved?) to say I carried my part. Thanks to the band, and hope we can do it again. We were Jazz Republic with Pearl Noire: Pearl Noire (vocals), Mike Dooley (piano, musical director), Rouslan (Baba) Babajanov (sax), Dan McLean (flugelhorn, Saturday only), Derrick (Noddy) Brassington (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).

Show going on

Gossips was booked but Leanne had the lurgie, so it was Jazz Republic with a guest singer, Rachel Thorne, instead. I've heard Rachel around and admired her singing for some time. It's always nice to play with capable new musos. She was good: singing, scat, and a nice take on mixing lines from one song in with another. The songs were mostly old standards. L-O-V-E is a ridiculously cute thing that I’d wanted to play for some time, complete with chromatic key changes. Otherwise Perhaps3, So nice to come home to, Come fly with me, Lullaby of Birdland. Nice standards and well received. We also played several original tunes. Mike debuted three songs: two witty love songs, a swing and a boogie, and one heart-on-the-shoulder ballad. My Sambala got an airing. I was playing solidly so enjoyed the outing and caught some clever solos and fills from Richard. My thing these days is setting the essence of tune, and letting the flourishes and fancy stuff come of their own accord. Slow learner, perhaps, but finally learnt. This was a nice, easy gig for a pleasant audience and I enjoyed it lots. Thanks to Rachel. Rachel Thorne (vocals) sang with Jazz Republic at Bite to Eat. The Republicans are Mike Dooley (piano, vocals), Richard Manderson (saxes), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Jazz band with choir?

I saw a Facebook status comment saying someone was watching jazz with a choir. The friend throught that was pretty strange. It was us! Jazz Republic was playing with the Rhythm Syndicate choir. It was a gig for the C100 Musical Offering, at the Brassey Hotel. Our pianist, Mike, is the accompanist for RS and he drew us in to read charts for a few tunes. It was an interestingly mixed gig. RS sang with Mike for some songs, with JR for about 10 others, and JR played several short sets in between. RS sang standards and rock & roll and early jazz, but also Sting’s Field of gold, with some more complex harmonies. I particularly enjoyed The nearness of you, given it’s such a lovely ballad, and a cute song of innocent film seduction called Baby it’s cold [outside] (girl plans to leave, boy warns of snow and cold, mmm). On the contrary, our JR sets were hot with fast takes on a string of tunes, especially a take on My finest hour at breakneck speed, but also a few funky numbers, Chameleon, of course, and Wayne Shorter’s Adam’s apple. This was fun and good practice in chart reading and hits. A very enjoyable outing at the Brassey. BTW, the first Sunday each month is Big Band afternoon at the Brassey. Good to keep in mind.

Rhythm Syndicate was accompanied by Jazz Republic at the Brassey Hotel. RS is led by Shilong Ye (musical director, conductor) and accompanied by Mike Dooley (piano). JR are Mike Dooley with Richard Manderson (saxes), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Memorable

I’ll sneak in another of my gigs, this time for our instrumental quartet, the Jazz Republic. There were many ways that this gig will be memorable. Firstly, Miroslav Bukovsky sat in for our wounded saxist, Richard (nothing terminal). How wonderful to play with a musician of such skills and long experience. It was a surprise when Miro told me after the gig that he’d taught Richard at the Sydney Con years before. How small is this jazz world. We were also playing this gig for the Canberra 100 Musical Offering, which is coordinated by Don Aitkin and Helen Moore. Helen wasn’t there, but Don and Bev, his wife, were. It turns out that Don plays a mean Brubeck piano by ear, having played professionally way back before his days in academia. We also had a mate of Mike’s in attendance, APRA and double-EMMY award winning composer and musician, Art Phillips, originally from LA and now resident in Sydney. If I’d realised he’d written songs for Minnie Ripperton, and played guitar for Barry Manilow and directed music for the likes of Demis Roussos, Dory Previn and John Rowles, I might have been more nervous. But nerves serve little purpose. Enough just to play, even if only one set of a few standards, latins and one of Mike’s original ballads. Good fun and thanks especially to Miro for sitting in. The band appeared as the Jazz Republic with Mike Dooley (piano), Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet, flugelhorn), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Canberra 100 Musical Offering

Art Phillips Music Design

Don Aitkin's blog