Canb Jazz Fest 1

Thanks to Nigel and Beth and Bevan for the latest take on a Canberra Jazz festival.  They have the venue, a main stage and several smaller spaces, so this is very likely to be workable and the return next year had already been announced.  Great!  And Day 1 was a friendly, often inspiring outing.  First up was Tom Fell and his quartet which I raved about when I saw them recently.  Tom with Damian Slingsby, Nick McBride and James Luke on bass this time, so a classy and capable outfit playing music from Tom's new CD and at least one standard, Isfahan, with a plea for peace in our times.  Not the only performance that had such a theme appear.  I wrote sweet, correct, understated, adult, but there were some spots where it let go too.  Tom's soprano sax is his expansive, dirty, dissonant instrument: his tenor seems to pop up for more balladic numbers.  Then upstairs for Mic Knight trio, a reformation with offsiders who have now left Canberra for Melbourne given the ructions at ANUSOM, Evan Teece and Oliver Stott.  These were more let-go, unrelenting takes on standards, Almost like being in love, Green Dolphin St, Stella.  I like the unrelenting outlandish playing and but personally melted over James Luke's certainty and clarity with Tom.  Brett Hirst was to offer that later, too.  Then Wanderlust, Miro's fabulous, band of stars with the most delicious originals melodies out, not least Bronte Cafe, once regular star on ABCRN.  I had to leave towards the end.  I managed ~35mins and they had only finished their second tune.  This was Miro with James Greening, John Mackey, Alister Spence, Fabian Hevia and Lachlan Coventry.  Miro said they hadn't played together for 18montsh but you wouldn't know it.  Smooth, inventive, glorious harmonies on delightful melodies, almost casual passing of solos, with Miro looking around in admiration and joy.  It all started with a considerably free piano solo, then into the bass groove and head.  Solos from front line, Miro essential, James playful, John nicely developed but ultimately explosive.  Perhaps piano and maybe bass and drums, then to the head.  Then a joyous chatter and into Bronte Cafe.  It's a wonderfully joyous tune, again Miro and explosive John, but amusingly then James bringing it down with his communicative leading solo.  That really was a wonder, and perhaps then Fabian's solo.  Not sure.  But suffice to say I dreaded that I had to go, but some duties called.  

Tom Fell (soprano, tenor) performed with Damian Slingsby (piano), James Luke (bass) and Nick McBride (drums).  Mic Knight  performed with Evan Teece (bass) and Oliver Stott (drums).  Wanderlust comprised Miro Bukovsky (trumpet, flugelhorn) with James Greening (trombone), John Mackey (tenor), Alister Spence (piano), Lachlan Coventry (bass) and Fabian Hevia (drums).  They performed at the inaugural Canberra Jazz Festival at Smiths. 

Thanks

Richard thanked me for coming to the latest SoundOut gathering and noted that it's not my music.  That's true to some degree but I've attended quite a few SoundOuts over the years and I deeply respect his work in this.  It got me musing on what I like and like less of this form of music.  SoundOut posters proclaim "free jazz and experimental music" and this is perhaps a large field.  I've heard some great jazz-trained players amongst some people lesser trained in the formal arts.  That's not to put them down, but it is a different approach.  I heard that again this time.  To some degree it may be familiarity but I loved Miro's expressive and repeated or developed lines over the partner sounds less formal, often created with non-traditional techniques on traditional instruments or other.  They can be interesting and varied but they can be like pots that you play for a while then switch to another pot, sounding of change but not development.  But then, you could say something the same for sections of formal music, that you lurk in one, then switch.  I do find some comfort and invention in rhythm and harmony and melody that are functions of our formal systems, and again they can go missing.  Much of formal non-European music  ignores harmony.  Miro's lines over the top provided and defined the structures through those techniques.  And Miro was not alone.  There were several players who displayed those techniques even if not always using them in this context.  And also players who displayed good chops without indulging in the traditional forms.  Charles Martin was there with computer and he's well trained although I didn't notice obvious links to traditions this time.  Richard himself has some great chops on tenor and preferred tonguing and alternative techniques.  Karim Camprovin did some wonderful vocal work defining all manner of harmonies and even scalar plays against Miro and also played with alternatives.  Percussion came in too with Karim and Miro.  I think it was Bruce Spink on a classical guitar who displayed classical chops then all manner of dissonances, but that's standard technique these days.  Jamie Lambert, playing with him, avoided standard technique on e-guitar but coaxed some intriguing tones, especially with a small metal strip (?) and a more traditional little bow.  Paul Wong was also on a guitar and Yichen Wang on OP1 (?) with a VR headset and projection and tones varied with hand movements (did I get this one?).  That was strange.  More guitar/keys and invented electronic instruments from Stuart Orchard and Brian McNamara.  Various combinations of commercial effects and noise generators like this are common at SoundOut and can be fascinating and inviting.  Then the all playing as a large ensemble to finish.  And all the while, Nicci Hayes provided a varying projection of drawings, colours and washes.  And the backdrop was NZ mountain paintings by Euan Macleod.  So, is this "my music"?  Yes, I like the formalities and enjoy the experimentation.  I guess I prefer the free jazz to the experimental .  But I also remember a response from a NZ female pianist at a SoundOut years back.  I complimented her on her excellent set then asked what key she was playing.  She answered that she didn't know.  Best to retain some humility in our preferences and opinions.  And thanks to Richard for his ongoing work that is SoundOut.

Richard Johnson (tenor) assembled the latest SoundOut Explorations session at the Drill Hall Gallery.  Miro Bukovsky (trumpet),  Karim Camprovin (vocals) and others performed.

In the meantime, this YT video is relevant > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzodB0Sp6ZI