Fellow visitor

Just one night in Kuala Lumpur, but a lucky night to catch an international tour of note. Tim Garland and the Lighthouse Trio were playing at the Alexis Bistro Ampang. Tim Garland is a noted reed player and composer out of England, with awards to his name, sessions with Chick Corea, classical and jazz composition commissions including one by Corea to rearrange the Crystal Silence album for Corea and Gary Burton to play with the Sydney Symphony in 2007. Several of these arrangements have since been released on the new crystal Silence album. The Lighthouse Trio is currently on a tour to promote a new album, and will be visiting Australia in late October (Canberra doesn’t get a visit). So Tim and the band have renown and local connections.

This was something out of the ordinary, although jazz is often out of the ordinary these days. Worldly, with Middle Eastern and Spanish and South American influences, and a diverse range of percussion and reed sounds. Classical, through presumed classical training of the pianist and Tim himself. Some sense of swing, but more rhythmic, driving, even heavy. This was a trio, but not of a common mix: there was no bass other than that supplied by deep drums and piano, and no standard drum kit. The reeds were standard enough, but highly proficient, throughout the range, toying with tonalities and frequently moving through bass clarinet to tenor and soprano: diverse sounds and proficient execution. The piano was busy and rich and extensive. I thought of early 20th century classical, like Ravel, and expect he’s trained in these styles. There were times when I heard left hand accompaniment and extensively dissonant right hand soloing, but generally the hands were more as one, less defined in roles, freely playing the low registers in the absence of a bassist and enjoying cross-rhythms against the drums. The drums were not so much timekeepers as a lithe wash of colour overlaying the heavier and defining statements of the other two players. Light tones, with unusual drums and often played with the hands. One unusual drum, the Hang drum, formed the basis of one composition. It was played with hands, was pitched, and had that delightfully joyous tone of the steel drum mixed with a heavy core thud. Another composition was a melody by Tim layered over a ten-beat Middle Eastern cycle, so this percussion did have influence on the writing of the band. The tunes were mostly originals, often with rapid, melodically pure lines that were reminiscent of Corea. The solo passages sat over extended repeats, but would drop into unison lines, or sit excitingly with crossing rhythms and patterns. There was one with an ever ascending 8-bar sequence. Another was a tango with its militant march and brooding secrets and suggestions of danger. There was also a standard, Blue and Green from the Kind of Blue album, but extensively reworked. There were rippling piano chords and gentle but obvious sax delays.

This was not demanding like free, not jolly like trad or lively like swing, but it was a challenging set and it demonstrated the broad purview of jazz today, covering a spectrum from classical formality and technique to worldly vibes and tonalities. I heard this as great playing from a original compositional voice. Tim Garland (tenor and soprano saxes, bass clarinet) led the Lighthouse Trio with Gwilym Simcock (piano) and Asaf Sirkis {drums, percussion, bass Udu, Hang drum, etc).

The night had started somewhat earlier when Megan and I had pre-dinner drinks. It was a decent KL hotel, so it’s not surprising to find music at this time. This was piano bar music, with film themes and gentle pop from the standards era onwards. Some favourites of mine (should I admit it?) like Moon river and Shadow of your smile, and some ever-present others like Desperado, Michelle, Georgia and even Love me tender. It’s soft stuff, but it was nicely played by Ahmad Saifuddih. Ahmad is a guitarist but he also gigs on piano in this gentle, background style. There are plenty of tritone substitutions and chromatic movements and flourishes and flowing arpeggios and segues. Nice stuff, and very pleasant for a chat and a drink. But one piece still has us pondering: was it really a blend of I still call Australia home and Fools rush in? Ahmad Saifuddih played a piano bar set at the Grand Millenium Hotel.

Tim Garland's website

Postcard from KL

Greetings from CJ’s dauntless jazz journo. I’m out of Canberra for a while, and hoping to search out some jazz wherever I alight. First stop Kuala Lumpur. We’ve arrived during Ramadan and on the long weekend of Independence Day in memory of that day (31 Aug 1959) on which Malaya ceased being a British colony and became Malaysia. The people are proud of this, but it seems to be a pleasant and relaxed family weekend and perhaps time for some window or real shopping. Despite the wishes of nationalists, national holidays tend to be like this everywhere, and I approve. I had searched out the jazz on the Net, but given it’s Sunday, I expected little. The most promising club had shut the year before. In the end I found some music and busy Asian night street liveliness, along with some good humoured contacts during the day.

I caught the David Gomes Quintet with singer Junji Delfino featuring. They were playing a commercial gig in an up-market store. Not the opportunity to let go, but these were decent players and there was interest in their playing. Junji sang an impressive interpretation of How high the moon, that made me think Ella in her sense of anticipating and syncopating the melody and falling to 7th and other colourful notes. Nice one, and a good, strong voice. Both the saxes were satisfying. David harked from the US and playing a very decent and sometimes sinuous tenor; Eddie appeared more local but was similarly authentic on his solos. Leader David on piano was involved in the interesting jazz room that had closed a year before, but was obviously still plying the trade. I noticed a minimal style in accompaniment, and capable solos with just a touch of dissonant sequences. As you’d expect, this was not an out gig. Steve on drums was steady, and Vincent on bass played a few solos. I felt the latins were comfortable but perhaps less so the funk. I just caught one set with a steadily swinging Take the A Train, a funky version of Nature boy, a comfy latin on I’ll remember April, and David singing the Beatles’ Can’t buy me love. They finished with a tune that was introduced as a well known Malaysian song, but it sounded very much in the American songbook tradition to me, with cycles of fourths and I guessed a 32 bar chorus.

Later in the night I came across some other jazz-ish playing. Well, these were standards, but they were played in a wedding cum dinner background style. The local concierge described the style as “Ghazal”. I explained that we had it in Australia, too, although I haven’t come across it for some time. This is soft latin rhythms, endlessly repeating, virtually mesmeric choruses, some gentle and undemanding solos, and sax toying over melodies played on keyboard. In this case, with tambourine replacing drums, and I think some keyboard sequencing for the bass line. Eminently backgroundable. But I found it interesting with the national twist, the sweet and mesmeric sounds and the upright, dignified presentation. And tons better than piped elevator monotones. The band was Music Irama Malaysia but I missed the performers’ individual names.

I didn’t get the feeling that KL is particularly jazz-oriented, but it’s a big city with a mess of tall buildings and busy roads, a real monorail, touches of British colonial history and a good natured population. Jazz is an international art, and I trust I can find more over coming weeks to expand slightly on CJ’s Canberra centricity.

David Gomes (piano) led a band with Junji Delfino (female vocals), David Muehsan (tenor), Eddie Kismilardy (alto), Vincent Ong (bass) and Steve Nanda (drums). Later, I caught the Music Irama Malaysia playing Malaysian “Ghamal” music.