Bass alt.

It feels a strange outcome for me to be bass in the string section assisting at a jazz big band gig.  But there I was.  Nice that the jazz bassist, Evan, did a great job, and I could enjoy a listen in.  I liked the role of providing colour and hits and tonal washes against the drive and excitement of 13 or so wind instruments and a 5 part rhythm section.  This was ConneXion Big Band and we were playing the return gig of their 64-Bit Big Band Videogame Music Night.  So there were costumes and music very unlike the clicks and buzzes I remember from Asteroids.  Games are different now: sophisticated and complex and filmic with some great composition.  We played two sets, mostly all in, about 1/3 with just the big band, several tunes with singers.  It was a load of fun and, at least earlier on, a challenge for the syncopations which can be a job to read.  I was blown out by sax and brass hits, some blaring guitar solos, some great bass, nice drums and percussion, a few memorable solos from all manner of horns not least from Justin B upfront.  Interesting, too, to see the mix of ages, with some very capable players of little ages, not least Nicole who sat in front of me.  And it all sat together in the end and the audience and band enjoyed it all and I was perfectly happy to sit in the accompanying strings.

ConneXions Big Band performed computer games music at the Belconnon Community Theatre under Aaron Michael (MD) with singers Zanelle Ramsay-Daniel (vocals) and Justin Buckingham (vocals, alto, MC).  Bottom enders were Evan Teece and Eric Pozza (basses) and Nicole Philipse (cello) approached the bottom end.

Powerless

I don't write about all my jazz gigs, just when there's something notable or when we play with someone new.  Now this last gig had a few items of note.  First up was playing in a park with no power.  So I was working hard as bassist with no amp, and we couldn't play with piano, being unwilling to cart an acoustic piano.  So, this was the Tilt Sax Trio with Justin Buckingham.  It was interesting as a chordless trio, just bass line and melody/solo above.  And drums of course.  I liked the effect.  Just working our way through standards charts, starting at A; sounding open and clear, contrapuntal rather than harmonic.  It was hard work playing outside with now power, but the air was still so we heard pretty well (you can lose sound with a breeze) with the band adjusted to a lower volume.  But it was certainly a workout for this bassist's fingers/arms and it demanded some simplification.  That was nice, too.  The outcome was evident in my favourite solo for the day, slower, more clear in chordal statements, more mobile over the neck and through octaves.  Suffice to say, we enjoyed the gig and hope to do it again sometime.  Thanks Justin, great playing.  Oh, and one more thing to note.  We performed for a Commitment Ceremony.  That was also something new to me.  How the world changes!  So congratulations to Patrick and partner.

 Tilt sax trio were Justin Buckingham (alto), Dave McDade (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).

Bop in the time of contagion

It was so quiet at home that I relented for a distance-aware gig. Justin Buckingham with Wayne and Phil and Mark. It had to be good. It was: a local lesson in take-no-prisoners bop and driving modern styles. Great fun: loud and strong and demanding from the top. There were a couple of tunes from Bird, Ornithology and Billie's Bounce, and a few standards, There is no greater love and Moonglow, which was perhaps the quietest of the lot, and I'll remember April. Great tune and again, unrelenting, solos all round, most tunes with fours or a solo from drums. All pretty standard in structure but demanding in implementation and hot in presence. I particularly like Justin veering off into diminished territory at one stage, all adventurous and somewhere off contratonal (my neologism of the day), and Phil and Mark were always strong and some great solos and Wayne: he's just a local gem, always spelling tunes and embroidering them with delicious solos, then, in the break, talking of playing Rachmaninov piano concerto no.2 . I must hold him to that. If it's anything like Rach symph 2 it will be a shocker to play. Yeah, it's the time of coronavirus and the bar was pretty quiet and one professional muso I spoke to had only one confirmed gig left on his books, but all kept their distance and alcohol sanitisers appeared beside the beers. The music was nice, while it lasts.

Justin Buckingham (alto) led a quartet with Wayne Kelly (piano), Philip Dick (bass) and Mark Levers (drums) at Blackbird.