Looking bigger still (Moruya 5)

Large ensembles are big, loud, complex and supremely satisfying. Every jazz nut loves great soloing, but large ensembles are perhaps my favourite. The interaction of parts, the harmonic movements, the diverse tonalities, the rhythmic intricacy, and the unification of all this, which is the composer’s chart.

The ANUSM brings all three of its large ensembles to Moruya. This year, I only caught two: the Commercial Band and the Recording Ensemble. It’s an ongoing game for me to pick a favourite as the bands play each gig, or changes their members or repertoire over time. I loved the hot and sticky Commercials, but the Recording Ensemble got my vote this year. Last year, it was the Commercials. No matter; they’re all fabulous in their own ways.

The Recording Ensemble set had a lovely edge of student humour which partly set it apart. Sebastian McIntosh entertained with droll introductions and Miro was like the proud father at the end congratulating the band for its creativity, but there was seriousness in the original compositions and the performances. It’s clear these guys are friends, and this shows in the music, not just in the repartee. No doubt there’s some competition, but there’s also support for well stated solos and well arranged parts. I remember Nick Combe’s impressive Mingus-influenced composition from last year. This year, Sebastian joked it was the “Nick Combe Show” after the set started with a run of tunes by Nick. He’s impressing as a strong composer/arranger. Somehow, performing on the baritone sax just seems to fit this mold. Other tunes were an arrangement of Monk by Kayla Corlis and Matt Sykes’ original composition, River. I also noticed the doubled-up rhythm section. Two guitarists are common enough, but not two drummers and two bassists. And these instruments (even Chris Pound on electric bass and Hannah James on acoustic bass) often enough played together. It lends another level of complexity, especially to rhythm, and an extended and unusual palette for visceral tunes like River.

The Commercials were fast and exciting and hot and sweaty as they should be. This is fun music and challenging charts, and it had the audience braying for more. There was one original here: the band started with Kayla Corlis’ 8 o’clock traffic (a constant source of amusement for bandmaster Eric Ajaye, who’s experienced traffic in LA as well as our rather less challenging peak hour traffic in Canberra). But mostly these are covers or purchased charts. They did their version of Prince’s Thieves in the temple, Marvin Gaye’s spine-tingling classic, What’s going on, and Jaco’s Chicken as their high-spirited departure tune. Great fun, hot chops, funky and loud, as this style should be.

There was more to the festival than just these bands. I also caught snippets of various other bands, and missed many others. Mike Hallam’s Hot Six and Waiting for Guinness and Syncopators were professional and entertaining and drew the crowds. Spicey Fruit Chutney was folkey and lively and were well received. I just missed or caught just a few bars of old friends Mother’s ruin, and Pierre Kammacher in various outfits and Kooky Fandango. I sadly missed offerings by Lilly Henderson and her dad’s annual funk outing, Turner’s antidote, and Austin Benjamin’s trio playing their own music, and James LeFevre’s latest outfit, and Jo Lloyd’s quintet. Also Moondance, for whom I almost filled in on bass, and who won the audience choice award. I would have liked to have heard All the things you would be if Sigmund Freud’s wife was your mother. With a name like that, it’d have to be suitably experimental. But you can’t catch everything, even at the smallish Moruya Festival, so I take the philosophical approach that I also use when I travel: you should always save something for your return. It’s a much more relaxed way to travel or to attend a festival.

Thanks to the Moruya Festival committee for a pleasant few days, great weather, beautiful local beaches, and the loan of your lovely, intimate town as the backdrop for the music. The 12th was another successful festival of jazz and a locum of musical companionship. Thanks from your mates from the moderately bigger smoke, Canberra. Looking forward to next year.

Big enough (Moruya 4)

Eric Ajaye brought his trio Vertical. Eric made reference to his last trio, Straight up, by saying that his direction remains the same, but this is a different sounding outfit. I’ve hugely enjoyed them both. Vertical has Paul DalBroi (piano) and Chris Thwaite (drums) playing with Eric (bass). It’s a more cerebral, considered, controlled outfit, with some sweet and thoughtful playing on both originals and covers. Paul provides arrangements of some unexpected popular songs, from West Side Story or Cyndi Lauper, and even that 60s pop hit, Raindrops keep falling on my head. It’s an unlikely choice, but a jazz sensibility can convert the most obvious to the most profound. This just proves it. Eric played his visceral, glissando style on 5-string acoustic; Paul was quiet and considered, with well chosen melodies, occasional flourishes and exemplary control of dissonance. I was sitting near Chris and hugely enjoyed his receptive, dynamic, even symbiotic performance. This is a band to savour: for their inventiveness and skill, but mostly for their emotional honesty and connectiveness. A lovely set.

Eric stayed around for a very different set in the Mike Price trio. This band is honed after 10 years of weekly performances at the Kurrajong pub, which have sadly ended in recent weeks. It’s the end of an era, but hopefully they’ll find another venue. This is mainstream, swing, ballads and standards with exemplary skills. Mike (guitar) plays a woody, unaffected sound with the most competent swing-sensibility . Think Wes Montgomery and the like. In fact he played Roadsong by Wes, along with Kenny Wheeler and standards like I should care, Please send someone to love and Crazy she calls me. Eric Ajaye (bass) melds with his stylish, swinging grooves and rapid, gliss-full and sure solos, and Col Hoorweg (drums) provides rhythm from the most basic of kits (his “Kurrajong kit”) comprising snare, a few cymbals and various sticks, mallets and other percussive tools. This is sound experimentation applied to standards … and a very easy drum lug at a gig. Their set ended with a complex samba, and left an audience joyfully swinging. Very nice, very capable; entertainment with intelligence.

Another wing of the ANUSM faculty when John Mackey appeared with Miroslav Bukovsky as a Saxession. I missed the first Saxession, but the Saturday night one featured John and Miro with star students, Austin Benjamin (piano), Chris Pound (bass) and Evan Dorrian (drums). John introduced a set of stock standard tunes from the era of Coltrane and Miles and Shorter. Stock standard, surprisingly restrained, and superbly expressive. It was unusually laid back in style and tempo, but John can’t remain laid back in emotion. His sinuous and virtuosic tenor is a thing of wonder. You could hear him listening, as his long pauses made space for Austin’s comping. Every student has played these four tunes (Impressions, All the things you are, Footprints and Oleo) but this was the result of years of hours of study and it showed in fluency and melodic integrity. Miro brought the hard and ravaged edge of brass and the melliflousness of occasional harmonies on the heads. Austin, Chris and Evan are a capable trio in their own right, with an excellent recent album of original style. But they performed the post-bop and cool swing with integrity and oneness. I particularly liked Footprints played in its original, quiet style. Atypically temperate, informed and wonderfully expressive.

Not too big (Moruya 3)

Moruya’s not a big festival, but it’s intimate and relaxed and a lovely weekend at the coast for the performers and aficionados. It’s a holiday atmosphere: cheap, friendly, easy-going, shorts on stage, and the weather’s generous so mornings are on the beach rather than in the bars. But the music’s good, too. There’s a range of bands from the students at the Jazz School, sometimes formed for one performance at Moruya. The names usually give those away. But there’s also the teachers and their slick and virtuosic performances, a range of amateur or semi-professional players, and a spattering of the popular (less demanding, but better paid and more entertaining) feature artists. I mostly miss those feature bands, but they always draw the big crowds. I love the large ensembles, and the Jazz School always provides the Commercial Band, the Big Band and the Recording Ensemble. All different, and all big and exciting and rich sounding. For me, it was the Recording Ensemble that blew me away this year. They were having a great time (Sebastian McIntosh was in fine and dry form as MC), blowing hard, and playing original charts. Miro leads this band and he asks for, and gets, original charts, and creative input from the students. Congrats due here.

I didn’t catch the whole festival this year, given my relaxed demeanour, the languid temperatures and the pleasant housemates, but here’s my report.

Drummers seemed to be in abundance. Fantastic Woollen Fishing Rod (named for the occasion, I expect) was a quartet of trumpet, alto and two drummers. It was an odd mix, but a nice experiment. Andrew Fedorovitch (alto) played with Shane Spellman (trumpet) and John Wilton and Jono Lake (2 x drums). The Recording Ensemble was also doubling up on drummers (and more) but more on that later.

The Melds appeared after a great outing on ArtSound in recent weeks. They featured 3 drummers, and finished with a drum feature with synth guitar accompaniment. The band seems pretty fluid, as the membership was different from the ArtSound outing. Shouldn’t be a problem, as it’s largely free, sustained, layered improvisations on fairly simple themes, but very compelling. I was amused to overhear at one stage this snippet from the stage: “Don’t stop now. See what happens”. And, of course, it did develop and it was compelling. It was a nice bit of adventurism. The Melds were led by Matt Sykes (drums), with Matt Lustri (synth guitar), Chris Pound (bass), Andy Campbell (guitar), Jo Lloyd (alto), Reuben Lewis (trumpet), Hugh Deacon (drums), John Wildon (drums) and Valdis Thomann (trombone).

Dub Dub Goose is equally capable, but very different, being a dub/reggae outfit led by Nick Combe. Nick’s impressed me over recent years with compositions for the Recording Ensemble. Apparently he has a penchant for reggae, and the opportunity to perform it with capable players. This was another big outfit that probably expanded on the day. Reggae (or dub?) is an attractive style, and indulgently stupefying. I enjoyed the start with tunes by Ernest Raglan, but I found it a stretch by the end of the set. They mercifully finished with something different which I liked and found refreshing, a 7/4 with lush orchestration. But it was well done, and my response says more about my preferences than the music. Nick Combe (tenor) led Reuben Lewis (trumpet), Sophie Chapman (trombone), Matt Sykes (drums), Matt Lustri (guitar), Chris Pound (bass), Austin Benjamin/Bucket (piano), James LeFevre (tenor), Alistair Clarke (trombone), Valdis Thomann (trombone) and Alex Raupach (trumpet).

The Lethals are a hot, funky, loud outfit led by hot, funky Leigh “Lethal” Miller (bass) with Neils Rosendahl (tenor), Aron Lyon (guitar) and Sam Young (drums). They were a big hit. I heard them twice. Obviously the darker evening hours suited the flamboyant performance, but he morning gig was good, too. These guys are supremely professional. No-one overplayed. There were lots of notes, but they fitted without being forced. There was Weather Report and Jaco (Teen town) and Soulive, and some originals, so the heads were challenging, but the essence of the band was tight, hard blowing, and they did it with panache. Niels always impresses, and Aron was fluidity and fast, smooth runs and loops and echo and the rest. Great fun, loud, engaging and popular. A blowout and terrible to follow!

Sally Greenaway toned things down with a lovely, arranged set and a capable band. Sally is renowned as a prize-winning composer, so we can expect new and original compositions when she plays. But these are not blowing tunes; they are emotionally satisfying numbers with apt and developed stylistic approaches. Tunes included an arrangement of Smile in 5/4, a funky Stefon Harris tune, a Vince Jones ballad, and several originals. Her band’s good too. The Sally Greenaway Project included Sally (piano), Raf Jurgen (bass), Ed Rodrigues (drums), Niels Rosendahl (tenor), Valdis Thomann (trombone) and Marie LeBrun (vocals).

Launching a festival (Moruya 2)

Moruya was also where we announced a new festival of modern jazz for Canberra. The name is not finalised (due to a misunderstanding with the ABC, no less), but the date is Saturday 4 April, and there will be bands on two stages at the Folkus Room from 12noon – 12 midnight. Performance is by invitation, and we are seeking interesting and original offers: original compositions, special performances like replaying renowned albums, retrospectives of famous performers, cross-genre styles like NuJazz, jazz-poetry, breakbeats, that sort of thing. We are seeking something with a theme, or a hook, rather than standards, although no doubt there will be some standards there, too. Get your manuscript and pencils together and make us an offer. We have 4 bands so far, and support of the Jazz School. We are planning for up to 20 bands over 12 hours.

The Folkus Room is comfortable. It’s well located with good parking. There’s food and drink, and places to escape the noise for a while. There are 2 rooms and good PAs. ArtSound’s onside, and is likely to be recording and perhaps broadcasting. Even ABC’s DigJazz Internet Radio is supportive.

The festival is also a charity event. We aim to raise $7K to donate to Wellwishers. Wellwishers is a charity that digs wells for poor villages in dry and poor Ethiopia. $7K will pay for one well to be dug, and change the lives of the people of one village. Help us out by volunteering to play or to assist in other ways. It’s a great cause, and it will be a fascinating day of jazz. Any surplus will go to the performers.

The Committee is Cameron Smith, Courtney Stark, Brenton Homes and Eric Pozza. CJ will advise more soon (when we finalise a name). In the meantime, you can contact the Committee through CJ.

We have also learnt that guys from ADFA are organising a more mainstream jazz festival (the National Capital Jazz Festival) for late November 2009 with the expectation of it being annual. The two festivals will be working together. So that means, an annual modern jazz weekend in April each year, and a full blown mainstream festival in November each year. Exciting! Keep your eyes on CJ and join the CJ Group on Facebook to hear more.

Wellwishers

Taking it easy (Moruya 1)

It was a tamer Moruya for me this year. Just one band to play in, although 3 sets, including our debut at the Air Raid Tavern. Michel was being generous. I was also staying with the band and a few wives (for a greater level of civilisation) at a holiday house at Tomakin. In fact, I was slack enough to only attend on Sunday for our gig at the Monarch. As your jazz journo in Moruya, I have to apologise, but it was fun and relaxing.

Firstly, reporting my own band. We repeated tunes for sets 1 and 2, and each version went off well. The second time was a bit more prepared, but following the explosive and virtuosic Lethals was somewhat harrowing. But our compositions are presentable, and I’m proud of them. Daniel wrote about 5 tunes, and I wrote three. We’ve discovered the import of composition, and also that it’s not so difficult. Miro inspired me at last year’s Moruya when he told me how he prompts students to compose: they shouldn’t worry if their compositions are not perfect first time around; if it works, OK, if not, drop it and write another. After all, you have to learn composition like you learn performance. It’s a liberating thought, and frees the mind to write something down and drop the Real Book. I always try to provide something unique at Moruya. Last year it was Giant steps and a Horace Parlan album. This year, it was a fully original set (played twice, because we weren’t sufficiently prepared), and some free jazz. We described the free as an indulgence, but it worked much better than we had hoped for, and perhaps got the most claps of the weekend (I was stunned). Congrats to Daniel for being daring enough to suggest it! My band is Toucani, and the members are: Daniel Wild (piano), John Baczynski (tenor), Brenton Holmes (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).

There’s also education at an event like this. I learnt something new about modal bass playing, which has been on my mind for years. The influences were chats with Daniel, our pianist, over recent weeks and listening to, and thinking about, bassists Chris Pound and Eric Ajaye and Hannah James, and also John Mackey’s restrained but emotive performance on the Saturday night. Thanks to my mates for the help they didn’t even realise they were giving. We must discuss it sometime. Anyway, I put it into practice in a moderately paced version of Impressions on Sunday, and it worked. It’s such a deceptively easy tune, but so central to the modal style. The learning was satisfying.

Your editor at Moruya (Moruya 6)

Moruya 5

Moruya was a big event for your editor. And for CJ’s new writers, who played with the editor as Trio Toucan. I organised two bands for the event, then got asked shortly before to sit in with another, and also got a unexpected invitation on the Saturday for another two sets. So I was busy. I enjoyed the playing, but sadly missed a few events I would have liked to attend.

Pics by Rita and Brenton

Parlay Parlan was my first outing. It was a tribute to the pianist Horace Parlan. We played Horace Parlan’s most notable post-bop album, Happy frame of mind. It wasn’t a note-for-note replay, but the tunes were in order and there was some some reference to the style of the original. Parlan is most known as a pianist on two Mingus albums, Mingus Ah Um and Root and Blues in the late ‘50s, as well as some later duo recordings with Archie Shepp. He’d suffered polio as a child, so had a clustered right hand style along with a heavy R&B influence. He recorded about 15 albums for Blue Note; this is his best known. We finished with Fables of Faubus, an infectious and renowned Mingus tune from Mingus Ah Um. The gig went off nicely, with some lovely front line work, although my leadership was a bit sus and our communication was not the best. But overall it was fun, and very pleasing when it clicked. And it was nice to play my fretless Maton again after years in a cupboard. Thanks to a band of great players: Michael Cleaver (saxes), Alistair Clarke (trombone), Daniel Hunter (guitar), Liam Wilson (piano) Yen Nguyen (drums), Eric Pozza (bass).

Trio Toucan was my other band. TT is a contemporary cum modern piano trio We played a fake book set. First was Elvin Jones’ Mr Jones, which is a minor blues that I’ve wanted to play for many years. Ballads by Wayne Shorter (Ana Maria) and Miles (Blue and green). Some obvious choices like Footprints and All the things you are. And there was a Coltrane theme in there too, with Invitation and enough cockiness to attempt Giant steps, although at a gentle pace. We had virtually no audience (Recording Ensemble, Mike Hallam, Psycho Zydeco and Spectrum Big Band were playing at the time), but it was a good outing, and we enjoyed it immensely. Lots of space and the opportunity for solos to fill it. Daniel’s classical training and Evans ear make for interesting harmonies. Brenton’s also got classical training from way back, and an energetic push to his playing, and I like the open space for bass to take both a creatively rhythmic and soloistic role. This is the first band I’ve played with where discussion is more on WB Yeats and Rachmaninov than beer and jazz (but not to say we’re wowsers). I’m looking forward to more gigs with this crew. Trio Toucan are Daniel Wild (piano), Brenton Holmes (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).

Moruya 7

More of your editor at Moruya (Moruya 7)

Moruya 6

Pics by Sue and Rita

Mother’s Ruin was departure for me. It’s also quite a mix: a ragtime band which also plays several traditional South American charts. It’s led by Oliver Hague and has a following on the local festival scene. Lots of reading arrangements and Scott Joplin, and some pretty odd and challenging time signatures in the Peruvian tunes. Ragtime is part of our jazz history, so it’s interesting in that aspect, and I enjoyed playing the role of a tuba cum sousaphone. This was good fun, and I found real pleasure in the styles. Mother’s Ruin were Oliver Hague (saxes), Margaret Hancocks (flute), Leonie-Ruth Acland (viola), Dave Gibson (guitar), Brenton Holmes (drums), Eric Pozza (bass).

This was unexpected, but Pierre Kammacher was short a bass player, so I got to sit in with Pierre’s Hot 5. Pierre is a past teacher in jazz at Canberra College, and he regularly finds capable players for his outings. The Hot 5 are a mainstream band, playing a range of standards with an early-style (swing era?) approach and sound. There’s clarity in his playing and he’s got great tone on an array of excellent instruments (only Selmer, I think). I always learn something from his accuracy, and I enjoy the exercise in sight reading the charts. Pierre still owes me a beer; I mustn’t forget. On the day, Pierre’s Hot 5 were Pierre Kammacher (saxes), Rod Harding (trombone), Mark Bolsius (piano), Daniel Hunter (guitar, first set), John Marshall (drums), Eric Pozza (bass).

That’s a total of 6 sets, with 5 on Saturday. It cost me most of Catherine Hunter, most of John Mackey, the Big Band and more, but it was fun. When travelling, I’m convinced you can’t see it all; you have to save something to come back to. It’s the same with festivals.

And ends (Moruya 5)

Moruya 4

Another faculty band ended the festival on a high note. Jamirocol is James Greening (trombone), Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet), Eric Ajaye (bass) and Col Hoorweg (drums). It’s the same band I reported on at the Gods a few months ago, and playing the same repertoire: this night it was Dedication to Thomas Mafune, Don Cherry’s Roland Alfonso, Ornette Coleman (Blues walk, When will the blues leave, Latin genetics) and a Greening original (Second wind). Col and Eric set up strong, fluid rhythms, and Miro and James perform lovely, melodies and melodic solos over them. As a bassist I have to praise Eric’s clear bass lines, with rich improvisations, brash slides and growls that never abandon the underlying beat. The others are all masters, too, of course, but I’ve written that before today! They only played 5 tunes, after a loss of power had delayed performance, but these were lovely, intense, joyous pieces.

So how was Moruya 2007? Lots of fun, lots of good music, lots of pleasurable company and friendly musical chatting. A last fling for students before the end of year exams and recitals. Mostly a last fling for the larger ensembles. A chance for the stayers like me to get their time on stage. A pleasant town, and a great little festival. Thanks to the organisers. Much appreciated; keep it up.

BTW, This post is broken into multiple pieces because Blogger only allows 200 characters for labels. To include all these names, I broke it up.

Coming up ... Moruya 6