Next gen?

This night felt different.  Obviously for the music, but not sure why otherwise.   I thought next gen, but it's not just age.  It was fresh and I enjoyed it immensely.  It was two women leaders presenting their albums.  First up was Hilary Geddes and her quartet out of Sydney.  It started with changly guitar strums, moving through diverse and almost unrelated rhythms, then into sharp but sparse drums, their rhythms present but not too obviously stated, then into a melody of sorts on bowed bass, sometimes with unison piano, soundscapes in G (key is my guess from the bass fingering).  That was written for a street in Bremen, near the conservatorium, where Hilary was studying.  Then more, very different, perhaps with solos for all at various times.  Some were obvious and standard enough, including a genuine blow guitar solo in the last piece, but that was the one up-walk-feel.  Otherwise, plenty of bowed bass amongst the fingered including solos in each and bowed tailpieces and the like, some delicious piano counterpoint-cum-accompaniment, sharp and elusive drumming to die for, more tunes with Bremen references and some odd times that had me flumoxed.  Perhaps they were changeable; one 6-6-4 seemed to change all over.  I think that Bill Frisell touch, but he's never touched me, but then it took a little time for Hilary to do so, too.  At least half a tune!  Great stuff.  Then a second act at Street Three.  This was Claire Cross from Melbourne.  Claire, e-bassist and composer, sitting and leading a larger team including even viola and cello, mostly scored although she spoke after of leaving space for thematic improv by players.  This was much calmer, ordered, meditative, but again intensive and expansive.  The piece was created through a Melbourne International Jazz Festival program and recorded with many of the same players, although at least drums and cello had just sat in that day.  The drumming, although shared with Hilary, was far more restrained, Claire's bass was all fingerpicked chords and just a few fingerstyle passages, the strings added colour and the trombone and alto broke out into lovely solos every so often, but this remained a discreet work.  So different from Hilary's but again intriguing.  So quite a night.  Somewhat a revelation, really.  Hear their albums online: Hilary Geddes Parkside on Spotify; Claire Cross Into light on Bandcamp.

Hilary Geddes (guitar) led her quartet with Max Alduca (bass), Matt Harris (piano) and Alex Inman-Hislop (drums).  Claire Cross (e-bass) led her ensemble with Harry Cook (piano), Alex Inman-Hislop (drums), Jordan Murray (trombine), Flora Carbo (alto sax, bass clarinet), Biddy Connor (viola) and Eleanor Streatfeild (cello).  Both groups performed at Street Theatre Three.   PS, sorry for the pics!  Best I could do under the circumstances...

Double album

Two concerts on a day and the second a double album launch. This was a mixed band of mates from the James Morrison Academy of Music in Mount Gambier. We've seen them before at Smiths. They are recent graduates and they are good. They play as a quintet but this time they were around to launch two albums: those of saxist Lachy Hamilton and trumpeter Mathew Nicholls. Lachy and Matt up front with rhythm section of Harry Morrison, Patrick Danao and Matt Harris. This is a hard-ahead style, somewhere after bop. Mostly originals (and interesting they are) accompanied by the standard jazz repertoire of the style (this night Recordame, Beatrice, I love you and Body and soul). Matthew's originals were varied in theme, perhaps images of events or memories of people: ible ible or Light of the world or Pumpkin fingers. Lachy's theme was the allegorical novel, the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, so his titles were more obscure: Crystal merchant or Urim and thummim or just the Alchemist. But both provided fascinating structures and musical themes and some seriously hot playing. These guys are good and they are well trained. A great listen.

Lachy Hamilton (tenor) and Matthew Nicholls (trumpet) variously led quartets and quintets with Matt Harris (piano), Harry Morrison (bass), Patrick Danao (drums).

Messages from jazz history

We all know of Art Blakey for his longstanding Jazz Messengers as a training ground for so many jazz musicians of note and of the great post-bop tunes that the band played. I hadn't realised quite how much this was a cooperative venture, but it seems obvious when you consider that so many members penned tunes. And it was no surprise to hear of AB with the bop crew and especially Monk. But what did surprise me was to hear of his playing with the swing big bands of Fletcher Henderson and Billy Eckstine. Perhaps we shouldn't be. Bop-era names played in swing bands while bop was still a developing revolution. Sothe extent of AB's history was a revelation, from the '40s through to that long post-bop ascendancy that only ended in the late '80s. So it was a great pleasure to hear Andrew Dickeson take on the Messengers mantle for a performance at the ANU PopUp for Geoff Page. There were tunes we know and love and some lesser knowns. We all love the insinuating melodies of Ugetsu, Along came Betty, Nica's dream, One by one, Ceora (by stars in their own right: Cedar Walton, Benny Golson, Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan). I was less taken but still exhilarated by the quickies (both ~340bpm): Bu's delight and The beehive. I enjoy the speed but the melodies suffer as solos become screed rather than passages. The band was great: sharp, accurate, neat and with great solos all round. They were mostly fairly senior, although with a young gun on piano, as was AB's way. I enjoyed Andrew's chats and snippets of history, like how his wife disliked hearing Along came Betty, written for a prior girlfriend, until the royalties started coming in. Or the talk of Nica (Baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter), she of jazz patronage and Rothschild fortune. I also enjoyed our own Wayne Kelly coming to the stage to feature on Now's the time. He has recorded with Andrew. He did a great job, but they all did, not least the young gun. I noticed plenty of knowing smiles around this stage during the night. The two horns were beautifully intoned, authentic in their counterpoint on heads and both soloed with discretion but lovely phrasing. Piano was young and more expansive and mighty in speed through his longer solos. Bass sounded great, took some nice solos, held walks at ~340 (not relaxing!) and spelt some lovely lines. Andrew himself was reasonably discrete, although had a fair share of solos and they were incredibly neat and always a blast. He told a story that AB had complained of young drummers who thought drumming was all too simple. His style was of steady swing regularity but could be intense with hits and noisy responses. I never caught Art Blakey so this was as close as I am going to get and it was great. Hugely satisfying and very strong swing and some memorable jazz hits.

Andrew Dickeson (drums) led a quintet comprising Al Davey (trumpet, flugelhorn), Andrew Robertson (tenor), Matt Harris (piano) and Ashley Turner(bass). Wayne Kelly (piano) sat in for one tune. They played the music of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers at the ANU PopUp for Geoff Page.