Birthday

This was Geoff's Jazz at Smiths and it was a special celebration, of the wonder of the long-standing band Wanderlust, and also the long-standing trumpeter who brought it together around 35 years ago in Sydney, Miroslav Bukovsky.  Anyone who knows Miro loves him so this was a special event.  And Wanderlust is such a perfect name for the music they play.  The tunes virtually were all by Wanderlust, often by Miro himself, and they were expansive, with only 9 tunes over two sets totalling about 2 hours.   So there was time to explore, another aspect of good travel.  But most obvious were the tunes themselves that spoke of a wide world, one samba in 3, one mambo, one from Burundi, one speaking to South Africa and Nelson Mandela, a final one just called Peace please, which speaks to all time and very much to now.  There was one cover, astonishingly called Wanderlust by Duke Ellington, a far more relaxed, luxuriant tune with nothing like the exploratory quest of this band, but still superbly lovely, as Ellington just is.  The band was superb, of course, understated, easily spoken, intriguing in harmony and melody, and settling into the most immersive grooves.  Which reminds me of a discovery I made listening to Miro's compositions, that trumpeters play melody so beautifully and thus write lovely melodies.  I guess it's related to the harmonic series that's the nature of technique on brass.  If not recorded already (surely it must be!) I reckon there's a PhD in that.  So this was all good nature, a party surrounded by admirers and friends and wonderful good will.  It's a memory for the ages from a band lasting ages.  Dry wit and so much joy.  Happy birthday for Miro's 80th and long may Wanderlust and the wanderlust remain.

Wanderlust performed at Smiths for Geoff's Jazz and Miro's 90th birthday.  Wanderlust are Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet, flugelhorn), John Mackey (tenor), Alister Spence (piano, keyboards), Jeremy Sawkins (guitar), Fabian Hevia (percussion) and Lachlan Coventry (bass, guitar) with guest Tom Fell (baritone, soprano saxes).  They were joined by Alex Raupach (trumpet) and Richard Johnson (bass clarinet) for some final tunes.

OWJF2022-9

Then old friends Wanderlust.  Now this was amusing as well as inviting and attractive.  Firstly, the tunes are to die for.  We hear a small number mostly at every Wanderlust concert, but I never tire of the colourful melodies and  insistent, somewhat international grooves and the three part front line and the solos.   They are in their 30th year but not playing too much, given Covid.  I imagined them flying by the seat of their pants but this is jazz.  Miro organising, passing or calling for solos, those unique feels, the amusements of James and all, really.  When do you see the saxist putting down his glasses on the stand, the trumpeter picking them up, the trombonist checking them out too, all while a delirious solo is taking place, with all in place for John when he's finished, you can only smile in collusion.  Then glorious startups from Fabian, all percussive rather than drum-styled, an unexpected solo started from Brendan when the audience didn't seem to want an end to the concert, and those delightful and expansive solos and fills from Alister.  Mightily musical but so much more; an intensely joyous event but also just lovely, inviting tunes.  How can you not love this outfit?

 And now for something completely different: The Morrisons.  This was classy country/roots/whatever.  Nice harmonies, up feels, fiddle and a string of stringed instruments, banjo, two guitars, a mandolin or similar and bass with slap-style playing. Someone mentioned Australian bluegrass and confirmed the lyrics and stories and compositions were local.  That's good.  I liked this outfit, capable and lively and happy.  Also nice was the location in the Lord Anson pub, so a chance to eat and have a beer.  A very different experience to the church-cum-concert hall events and a chance to chat with neighbours.

 Wanderlust and The Morrisons played at the inaugural Orange Winter Jazz Festival. Wanderlust comprised Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet, flugelhorn), James Greening (trombone), John Mackey (tenor), Jeremy Sawkins (guitar), Alister Spence (piano), Brendan Clarke (bass) and Fabian Hevia (drums, percussion).  No names given in the program for The Morrisons.

Venerable at 30

Wanderlust is 30yo.  That's quite an achievement for a band.  Miro's group that has changed a little but not tons over the years.  Still that delightful sweetness, that glorious sense of melody, that easy virtuosity with no pretense or hubris.  This is music to delight in.  They played their 30th anniversary show at Street Theatre 1.  The sound was a delight: I noticed when I tried to track each instrument, guitar, bass, drums, piano, perhaps sax soloing, and they were all there, clear and ringing, but nothing in the way.  Then the playing.  Of course, Brendan was a blast, but from a bassist that is without saying.  And his offsider, Fabian on drums, also a blast and an intriguing opening to the music of South America.  I hadn't realised he'd escaped Pinochet; I knew of Miro's escape from Russian tanks entering Prague.  It was a different Australia then.  Then Alister blew me out with the most alacritous jazz lines but also roguishly-perpetuated dissonance.  That is serious harmonic chops.  And working across the front line, John has those harmonic chops too, that we know, but my bliss was hearing his solo on Wanderlust, a tune by Duke Ellington.  I knew the tune, of course, but not the title.  John played the most unexpected and melodically glorious solo, so much in the tradition of the originators.  Bliss.  He told me later he'd been thinking who he would emulate and reeled off a string of Ellington's performers, what, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Ben Webster?  That's listening.  Then Miro, of course, gloriously melodic on flugelhorm, more stretching on trumpet.  I was noticing the sound helped me experience these guys more than I remember.  James is always a blast and an amusing stage presence, and his playing this night was overwhelming at times, deliciously tonal but also playfully quick and lithe playing to the trombone's strengths.  And finally Jeremy, always certain and clear and crisp, not so fast as certain and tuneful.  Fabulous band.  They played only 7 tunes in their 90 minute allowance, so plenty of solos shared around.  The audience delighted in it all.  They were mostly compositions by Miro.  Miro's melodies are delicious and this band plays the heads with authority, sweetly tuned but also expressive.  Bronte Cafe, Delicatessence, Mumbo Gumbo,  Pressure makes diamonds.  Mumbo Gumbo felt like a 12-bar at first, but I ended up counting 16+1.  An interesting structure.  Fabulous tunes that even found an outlet on radio as program themes (Bronte Cafe on ABCRN).  And that Ellington tune, Wanderlust, and one each from Alister and Fabian.  Then an end.  But an invitation for drinks to celebrate.  Great night of music and even a beer to finish off.  Other than the difficulty getting a pic (yeah, I know, it shows above!), all was well with the world.

Wandlerlust played their 30th anniversary concert at the Street Theatre.  Wanderlust were Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet, flugelhorn), James Greening (trombone), John Mackey (tenor), Jeremy Sawkins (guitar), Alister Spence (piano), Brendan Clarke (bass) and Fabian Hevia (drums).

Wander at will

I did just see them passing by - I have a few times - but I was blown out as always. Miro got Wandlerlust together for a gig at the Jazz Haus and it was a stunner. From the first bars of a lengthy, adventurous piano solo from Alister to open up, through the renowned Wanderlust songbook and a few newbies and a delightful standard by Duke Ellington called Wanderlust, no doubt, this was a thing of wonder. Bronte Cafe is famed not just for the band but for its incarnation as a theme on ABCRN a few years back. Dakkar just sits luxuriantly. There a good bit of Africa here, with one from Jeremy (missed the title) and Miro's Pressure makes diamonds (a fabulous title dedicated to Nelson Mandela). And deep grooves with Delicatessence and the latin/New Orleans Mumbo Jumbo. And that deliciously beautiful tune, again by Miro, Peace please, which they played as an encore and profound ending. This was Wanderlust as lustful as I've ever seen them. Gloriously tight and intoned heads that sit over infectious rhythms; James with his ever-gleeful presence and deeply satisfying solos; John and Brendan as the local visitors and insanely effective; Alister as deeply, harmonically investigative, Fabian all infectious latin, Jeremy often unobtrusive then guitar clean and melodic. Megan asked about some of the background, where these overly capable musicians on riffs spelling complex African grooves. Backing solos or backing out completely for solo bass or drums or guitar to play genuinely alone. Just so good. Great players know when to talk and when to sit. And again, those perfect heads. Someone mentioned there's not much ensemble playing. No, not written. These are mostly infectious grooves with gloriously melodic heads and space for improv that they leave to these great players. Did I say I enjoyed it? Hugely enjoyable tunes from the best of players. What's not to like?

Wanderlust appeared at the Jazz Haus. Wanderlust were Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet, flueglhorn), John Mackey (tenor), James Greening (trombone), Alister Spence (piano), Jeremy Sawkins (guitar), Brendan Clarke (bass) and Fabian Hevia (drums).

Relationships

They say most popular songs are about love. We went to hear Trish Delaney-Brown and she sings and writes songs of love, but more mature, more established, more experienced. Maybe it's better to say that she writes of relationships. There's intimacy and honesty here, but it's tempered by experience and it's a pleasure. It was a pleasure all round, of, course. She's a wonderful singer with serious training and great skills. She was a foundation member of the Idea of North, formed from the Canberra School of Music (pre-ANU) back in the '80s. She was touring her recent CD and mostly the band was from it (I think just Brendan was a ring-in) and they are peak players, sharp and understated and capable of abandon when it fits. She sang a few standards, too. I was wary to hear a start on Blue Moon, but I didn't need to worry: this was far more adventurous that that opening suggested. There was swing, but also grooves of various types, always clear and understated. Was there a foot wrongly stepped anywhere by Nic or Greg? Brendan was the eminent bass that we expect and Jeremy was understated but could let go with energetic solos with just a minimum of effects or switch to finger-picked acoustic for that supreme ballad, Nature boy. There were several unisons of voice with guitar and later keys that were obviously scored, presumably for the album, and they hit me for six. Then some delicious grooves, one an arrangement borrowed from Dianne Reeves for Softly that let go into a devastating solo from Greg and a short followup from Nic, who otherwise displayed immense decorum throughout. Trish writes lyrics, too, of real profundity and considerable astuteness from her life. One lyrics was to a tune written by Dave Panichi for a young cousin, Ruby. Another told of the pleasure of picnics as simple feasts and yet another of relationships as The Game, and Neat surprise and Thousand stories. All originals with their stories. Then the driver, What ya got, and the hard swinging paean to Ray Brown, Face of the Bass, which placed its demands on Brendan (which he managed with aplomb) despite the jokes of which Ray Brown, that RB of Tuggeranong? And Softly and Nature boy and a superb reconstruction of a murmuration of starlings simply called Birds. Trish and her band were classy and mature and massively skilled and a deep pleasure. Loved it.

Trish Delaney-Brown (vocals) led a band comprising Greg Coffin (piano), Jeremy Sawkins (guitar), Brendan Clarke (bass) and Nic Cecire (drums) at the Jazz Haus. Trish Delaney-Brown, Greg Coffin, Jeremy Sawkins, Brendan Clarke, Nic Cecire

Monk, Mingus, Duke

Gai Bryant led her quintet in a concert of classic jazz from the pens of Monk, Mingus and Ellington. It was a request of Geoff Page, who had booked the band, and a thing of pleasure. There were some great tunes here that are frequently played in jams but less frequently in concerts which tend to the original and contemporary. Perhaps one; seldom a program. The program was heavy on Monk with his quirky, jumpy material. Bemsha swing, Reflections and In walked Bud are standards. Think of one and Chimneys were less common. Ellington only appeared in one ballad, Prelude to a kiss, but his admirer, Mingus, featured with a few of his jaunty, sometime prickly, repertoire: Jelly Roll, Haitian Fight Song and Better git it in your soul. And Gai snuck in one errant tune: Peacocks, a ballad by Jimmy Rowles. So this was a pleasure but it wasn’t just a period piece. Gai herself was going to the dentist next day, so was none too comfortable playing sax. She apologised for her high notes and promised more inventiveness. No loss there. Inventiveness trumps chops any day. The band coalesced nicely as the night wore one, even if Gai looked increasingly uncomfortable. Paul played a heavy, determined style of drumming and soloing that fitted the era and the firm but rounded tone from Brendan. Brandan’s solos, especially in the second set, were stunners. Not dissonant adventures, but attractive lines and melodic quotes and waterfalls of notes in some truly stunning runs. I got that feel a few times with Danny, too. He played trumpet and trombone on the night. I laughed when he unexpectedly got the nod for a solo and a stream of clear notes fell from his trom before he settled into lovely melody, only to quote himself next time the chorus came around. But on this night, my ears were especially focussed on Jeremy, on guitar. His take on this music was a lesson in re-imagination, with chords that spelt strangely dissonant, but not jarring, colours that meandered behind solos and took form in solos. He spoke later of influences from Scofield and Frisell and of dropping the harmony-defining third and toying with 2nds and 6ths and neither was a surprise. So there was swing and the melodies were spelt honestly, but there was a contemporary air to this all: tunes as vehicles as much as artefacts. Lovely. A great night of some old favourites and a few oldies that I didn’t know so well and lots of honest, capable playing.

Gai Bryant (alto, soprano sax) led a quintet with Danny Carmichael (trombone), Jeremy Sawkins (guitar), Brendan Clarke (bass) and Paul Derricott (drums) playing a tribute to Monk, Mingus and Ellington at the Gods.

When Simon met wonder

I'm listening to Reina De La Pileta a as I write this. It's the album launched the other night at the Street Theatre by Simon Milman with Wanderlust. Simon composed the music. it's strongly influenced by his latin background and interests, and it's very good. I've admired Simon's compositions and performances for some time. Whether Ornette-influenced or Latin or whatever, his work has purpose. The launch was in the Street Theatre 2, an intimate performance space, with a few wide rows of seating and a good PA and an upright piano. Fabian was unavoidably absent and ably replaced by Steve Marin. Otherwise, this was the Wanderlust we know and love. James and Miro up front, forming perfect harmonies and Miro in some of the best form I've heard with clarity and perfectly formed notes and inevitably correct phrasing and sweeping scalar responses. James seems to be playing more trumpet these days, so he was on trumpet, pocket trumpet and trom and a few beats on cajon. Again, always impeccably phrased and intoned lines. Alister withheld his playing with some immensely simple but well placed small chords that fit latin and one reggae feel, but then laid out some solos that floored me and that we mates talked about after the performance, delving into syncopations and sequences and then into a delicious free jazz of colour and magnificent in conception and performance. This was not a gig of solos, although everyone had at least one - the horns had plenty - but from the relaxed grooves, these solos just emerged with intent and energy and they all were lessons in melody and structure. Then Jeremy, who mostly played supportive parts and also laid out at times, but took a few driven Scofield monster-solos and I think one on nylon strung acoustic, but his playing that floored me was some richly dissonant chording in one of the tunes that said Bitches Brew to my ears. Very prominent and just fabulous. Simon, too, was mostly supportive (he could have been louder in the mix) rather than flashy, but his solo was a lovely melodic statement with real connection and no phony flash or flourish, more than just a bop overlay over the changes. Drummer Steve was sitting in, apparently at short notice, and he did the job admirably, laying rhythms and nicely snapping the snare, and his solo was a cracker that not just Miro and ever-supportive James were admiring. Wanderlust is a band of long standing with mature musicians and an engaging repertoire. Simon's compositions did them justice and vice-versa. The first set comprised tracks from the album and the second had more album tunes and some Wanderlust classics and Simon's take on Cold Chisel's Khe Sahn. After the intro, I guessed this would be Khe Sahn (I knew Simon had arranged this tune) but even then I only caught one phrase in a 10-minute rendition. James' comment at the end was "Where did that come from?" It wasn't at all obvious, but it was another goody. Congrats to both Simon and Wanderlust for an enticing evening of exceptional playing. Truly impressive.

Simon Milman (compositions) launched the album Reina De La Pileta / Wanderlust meets Simon Milman. The performers were Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet, flugelhorn), James Greening (trumpet, pocket trumpet, trombone), Jeremy Sawkins (guitar), Alister Spence (piano), Simon Milman (bass) and Steve Marin (drums).

Blokes’ night out

Geoff Page’s jazz series featured the biggest band in its history when Wanderlust played at the Gods the other night: six hulking guys on that little stage. And what a pleasure it was! The music of Wanderlust is a rich, worldly blend of styles and influences. And the playing is from an experienced batch of musicians of similarly worldly backgrounds. The band has been around for about 15 years, so the gathering is mature. Gigs are not frequent (more like a family outing) and the pleasure of the players and audience is palpable when they occur. The music flows and swings and grooves with sweet melodies, taut harmonies, strong and attractive grooves and understated but very satisfying solos.

These were six big blokes, lounging in jeans and t-shirts. No hype; lots of smiles and comradely support; jokey, especially from the ring master, James; satisfied as in the glances of Miro or the smiles of Alister, but not overweening; competent and joyous, and also profound. There were tunes you’d recognise from the Wanderlust songbook. I don’t know all the titles, but everyone knows their “only hit” as a “one hit wonder”, Bronte Café, snippets of which I still hear on ABC Radio National every now and then. There were unusual times, like a mesmeric 9/4 bass-line (divided 4-5), with tinkling piano and slide guitar fills, whale calls and a slow, mystical melody overlay. There was a jumpy African 4/4 rhythm. There was funky with hot grooves and a guitar solo with dirt (rockabilly meets Jim Kelly). There was support from James jumping to the groove, sitting out (once literally, in the audience), and calls of Yeah and the like. This was like a mates’ barbeque afternoon, but the chatter was with horns and the discussion was broader than footy. Excuse the amateur gender studies, but it took on this dimension for me: a serious but playful male event. It makes me wonder whether Wanderlust was different with Zoe Hauptman on bass.

John Mackey was a ring-in for the second set. The tenor changed the tenor a little, although it was the second set and a bit more of a blowing session anyway. John gave a different air, with a woodwind sound (contrasting with the normal bell-like clarity of Wanderlust brass), a third harmony and a different approach, although his Coltranesque flurries seemed less conspicuous in this company. Superb playing as always, and a surprisingly easy fit for a visitor.

The second set saw a hard and committed version of Bronte Café, with hot solos all round, and generally intensive groove out of the excellent rhythm section of Steve and Fabian, abetted by complementary comping from Alister and Jeremy. James had played the night with his characteristically simple and superbly correct melodies, but broke into some challenging discordance and later Alister brought the excesses back to earth with masterly control. A beautiful ballad followed called Peace please. Just a melody and individual solos kept faithfully within the melodic style. I noticed John’s sax here (sax is such an apt jazz instrument, being able to voice like vocals, so excelling on ballads) but also Jeremy with an effected tone which gave him a horn-like presence (a standard “defret” effect on rear pickup and bassy tone setting). And pulling all this together was Miro, host and confidant, Harmon-muted or tempestuously trumpeting. Overwhelming and a night of joy.

Wanderlust were Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet), James Greening (trombone), Alister Spence (Rhodes piano), Jeremy Sawkins (guitar), Steve Arie (bass) and Fabian Hevia (drums). They were joined by John Mackey (tenor) for the second set.