Never wearied

It's their 45th anniversary concert tour and CD and these are masters and seasoned of our jazz craft so it's so surprise that this was such a deeply satisfying gig to attend.  Sure, we see them in smaller groups but to hear the compositions, the solos, the personalities, the arrangements of little big band colours is a special thing.  I'm still thrilling at the precision of those colours; of the contemporary classical crossover of Kevin Hunt's piano outings; of the touching depth of Sandy's introduction to the gig and Miro's Ornette-infused Nostalgia (isn't what it used to be) to end it all, of Steve Elphick's understated but ever correct Hadenesque presence.  And they fit a space like this, theatrical, spacious, respectful, nicely amplified.  It was casual, too, compered by Sandy and a space and casualness that we could see, experience the personality, musical and other, of each of these players.  I was amused by the cool pleasure of Warwick Alder and his chat with Miro; ever gregarious and friendly James Greening and his quips and then floored by his trombone responses to a Sandy solo; the as-one pairing of Sandy and Andrew and offsider Paul; Matt filling in for John Mackey, blowing in this own style and verve.  Rease Cameron was new to me, but nicely effective.  Just 10 tunes over 2 hours and two sets.  A hugely mature set of musos and musical and compositional grouping ends in a fabulous and deeply satisfying night of music.

Ten Part Invention performed at The Street Theatre.  10PI comprised Miroslav Bukovsky (co-musical director, trumpet, flugelhorn), Sandy Evans (co-musical director, tenor, soprano saxes), Paul Cutlan (tenor, baritone saxes, clarinet), Andrew Robson (alto), Matt Ottignon (tenor, flute), Warwick Alder (trumpet), James Greening (trombone),  Kevin Hunt (piano), Steve Elphick (bass) and Rease Cameron (drums).

Finals

The final concert was a big one, long and plenty of performers and tunes.  It was called Mulanggari and was heavy on first nations themes.  First up was Stiff Gins with our mates Dudok and Kevin Hunt, perhaps others.  SG are entrancing, inviting, singing songs with gloriously correct voices and lyrics that I didn't catch, but I fully expect are worthy, bridging Euro and Aboriginal languages and themes.  Jonathan Zwartz had a role in developing, writing or orchestrating some of this.  A relaxing outing for our Dudok accompanists.  Then an interval a country, sometimes dissonant , often double stopped Ben Ward bass solo piece written by Brenda Gifford. And a ecstatically driving piece for three percussionists by Holly Harrison.  The players were Claire Edwards, Veronica Bailey and Niki Johnson and the piece was wonderfully powerful and rocky with a kick drum and a huge pleasure.  Then a larger group for Wadhu (skin), composed by Brenda Gifford and the solo played by Claire Edwards at Verity Lane earlier in this festival.  As I remember this featured violin Veronique Serret and didjeridoo William Barton.  Then another larger work, Burruguu (time of creation), by Nardi Simpson.  And a final work, again by Nardi Simpson and arranged by Jonathan Zwartz and Roland Peelman, with the further addition of Luminescence Chamber Choir.  The stage just keep growing.  Then a final few words, of thanks to Roland for a great third decade of CIMF and off to chat and drink outside the hall.  The final party, especially for CIMF staff and volunteers and performers and various associates is a well loved ending for the festival.

The final concert of Canberra International Music Festival this year featured first nations, European, reconciliation and related themes.  Works by Nardi Simpson, Holly Harrison and Brenda Gifford (composers) plus perhaps others were played by a cast of musicians featuring Claire Edwardes, Ben Ward, Stiff Gins Artist Stiff Gins Nardi Simpson and Kaleena Briggs (vocals), Luminiescence Chamber Singers (choir), Roland Peelman (piano), Kevin Hunt (piano), Dudok Quartet Amsterdam, Ellery String Quartet, Veronique Serret (violin), William Barton (didjeridoo) and more.

Kevin Hunt records at ArtSound

You may know that Kevin Hunt is the first Musician in Residence at ArtSound. I imagine the relationship is a little ill-defined or at least pretty variable to suit both parties, but it’s an excellent idea, and I saw one hugely productive aspect of it today.

Kevin Hunt has an interest in classical (especially French) music of the era of Ravel and Debussy. Apparently, his masters thesis was a study of this music and its interpretation in a jazz format. For this, he worked with Gary Holgate (bass) and Lawrie Thomson (drums), and he has recently performed this repertoire at the Adelaide Festival of Arts, and is due for a performance in Canberra (Southern Cross Club, Thurs 19 April). So this is a labour of love, as it would need to be for it is complex music. It must have involved plenty of investigation and reinterpretation to the jazz idiom. I saw some bass charts and they were deceptively simple, but the music was complex and rich, and vibrant in classical, jazz and occasionally blues forms.

The session was the second day of an open house recording session. The first day was spent on setting up mics, equipment and a workable mix, as well as refining arrangements. The second and third days are for recording, and there will be mix-down and mastering sometime in the future. This second day saw the trio recording Kevin’s interpretation of movements 1 and 3 of Ravel’s Valse noble et sentimentale, movements 1 and 3 of Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque (no. 3 is “Claire de Lune”) and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in blue. The interpretations were fascinating. Kevin explained that he maintained the structure of the pieces, but he often rephrased famous lines or reharmonised in a jazz format, or broke into solos sections which were influenced by the original but not just imposed on the original piece. Kevin also showed himself as a great teacher in this process. He explained the approach to the students present, and took a real interest in their experiences and development. So it was much more than just a recording session; it was also an effective training workshop. So, we heard that Ravel’s work comprised 7#9 > min > dom/maj7 movements at one stage; how the flourish at the intro to Rhapsody in blue covers the full range of the clarinet, and how Kevin approached its replacement in this reinterpretation; the extent of the “heavy reconstruction”; the application of jazz minds to classical forms, and so on. It was a fascinating discussion to accompany the engaging performances.

I was also interested in the recording processes. Tony Hunter was the engineer for the session. The equipment is excellent, and the result will no doubt be professional. Mics included Neumann, AKG, Shure, Rode. The mixer is a digital Yamaha (DM1000) with Cubase SX and Genelec monitors. All top stuff. It was also quite a stunning change to move from the mixing room, with its precise and clinical sound to the live room with a loud Yamaha 7-foot grand piano in action. But all fascinating and educational.

From left, Liena Lacey (classical piano), Reuben Lewis (jazz trumpet), Olivia Henderson (jazz piano); students at the ANU School of Music.

Congrats to Kevin, Gary and Lawrie for the intriguing, impressionistic music, and to ArtSound for the inauguration of their musician-in-residence program.

The Kevin Hunt Trio plays this music, and JS Bach, Bernstein and Ellington. Thurs 19 Apr, Canberra Southern Cross Club. $22 show only (starts 8.30pm), or $57 incl dinner (starts 7pm). Bookings ph 6283 7288. More info:

CSCC events info