Farewell Cam

It was Australia Day and maybe we shouldn't have been at a band having a good time, on a hot day, being Indigenous aware as we are. There's politics here, just ask cantankerous, reactionary ole Barnaby J, but Cam Smith was having his last gig with Brass Knuckle Brass Band before he returned to his place of origin, Qld, and I wanted to say goodbye. It was at Smiths, outside, hot, shaded for some, decently loud, delightfully cosmopolitan, tats or business shirts, all manner, and beers, coffees and a general jovial good will. It's a pleasantly diverse collection that gathers at Smiths (thanks to Nigel and Beth for such a nice venue) and a joyous and welcoming atmosphere and the band was nothing less than chugging and noisily inviting. Good and tight; perfect for dancing; drums and percussion; charts for harmonies of horns; that lovely lumbering and enveloping sousaphone bass and all so nicely played. Some march tunes with New Orleans references, some two feels and pop tunes arranged for the band. I recognised the pop as Careless whisper (with help), Sweet dreams, Sexual healing. That was just the first set. How much fun is this, rollicking and joyous, musically capable and an irresistible invitation to dance. Was Trump right about art being just for entertainment? He was wrong about that (there's lots he's not right about) but sometimes it can be for fun and this was and it was a great outing. I guess the BNBB will continue, but farewell Cam, thanks for so much local music and, thinking back, for your help with a few festivals. Congrats also to Xavier Kim for the piano interlude before the gig.

Brass Knuckle Brass Band played a farewell gig for Cameron Smith (trumpet). If I have all the names, right, the rest of the band is Tim Bowyer (trumpet), Michael Bailey and Josh Hart (trombones), David Abkiewicz (sousaphone), Nathan Sciberras (baritone sax), Josh Buckler (tenor sax), Steve Fitzgerald (drums) and Damon Counahan (percussion). Xavier Kim (piano) preceded.

Back to the fray

It’s been a few weeks since Jason Moran - a few weeks of contemplation rather than attending jazz. But I was invited to In Full Swing's 20th anniversary concert, and it was a gentle reintroduction but a joyful one. IFS are a local big band and they were celebrating their 20th anniversary. As musical director Nathan Sciberras noted, it’s still a baby next to Spectrum BB (was it 75 years?) but still impressive and they will be around for their 21st year of maturity next year. We were all invited. And “all” was the right term. This was a full house in a big room at the Southern Cross Club and it was sold out and 80 people were turned away. I could see why. There was real enjoyment in the audience. The tunes were renowned popular numbers from various decades, the dancers were the local swingers, the band was having a ball and the room was swinging. Being swing, these guys (here I include the guy-ettes with apologies to Simone de Beauvoir) played old numbers, but they ranged over 50 years and Nathan even mentioned more recent Matchbox 20, and the older numbers sometimes got the treatment. So what did they play? A St James Infirmary that was funked up and some Basie and Benny Goodman and Zoot suit riot - all swing and homebase for the K-Motion and Jumptown dancers. I liked the Motown tunes and they were true to style and arrangement, eg, Ain’t no mountain high enough although Superstition is not a favourite of mine. There were a series of cubed tunes: Quando quando quando, Perhaps perhaps perhaps and Benny Goodman’s Swing swing swing. There were some sleazy oldies that I squirm at but ya have to live with, like Danke Schoen (still going around my head) and You’re just too good to be true and Tom Jones and there was audience involvement with Minnie the Moocher. My favourites were Bacharach’s I say a little prayer with its odd timings and L-O-V-E (Love is for the way you look at me) which is corny but I love it. There were others too, but you get the picture. The band was swinging and the solos were short and shared, as is the way with BBs. I especially noted George Cora on drums and a sweet clarinet solos from visitor Tom Manley. The singers were commendable: Lauren Black, a friend of CJ, was in fine form with a voice that rang big and clear and was perfect for the role. A new one on me was male singer Tom Johnson. His first tune was a Tom Jones number and I was surprised by its authenticity. Then some decent belting out of Sinatra and Dean Martin and more left me with some admiration. This is all amateur work, but it was a comfortable and confident front line. The rhythm section was steady and swinging; the horns were nicely timed, too. There may have been too many encores but the band was having a great time and the audience was in perfect concordance. IFS are turning 21 next year but let’s face it, who wants to grow up when you’re having such fun? [Excuse the camera. My normal one needs repairs.]

Brassy

The opening of a new venue is a night of anticipation. Thus it was when Legends opened for the first night with our local New Orleans-inspired strolling brass band, Brass’ere. This venue looks like it will be catholic in its tastes, with Ax Long playing a more post-bop style next week and Latin on weekends. But Brass’ere’s influences and the fact they can be mobile shouldn’t suggest something from lost past. They played Michael Jackson and Honky Tonk Woman as well as St James Infirmary and even threw in a miked and distorted trombone for a guitar solo (through a genuine Zoom guitar pedal, no less). But of course, the essence of the loud and strident brass tone was always there from pairs of trumpets and trombones and a thumping, billowing sousaphone. Sousa’s a great big, round sound with no sustain and lovely to hear and it even works with funk. But there were a few ringins in this brass band. I could hear the drums easily enough, and Mi Tierra’s percussionist was sitting in for the night, but there was one reed: Nathan on baritone sax. I only thought of this later, too late to isolate the tone, and brass purists may not be happy. But the clear, bell-like tone was predominant, so all is well. Courtney appeared on a few songs, but there were plenty of instrumentals, including some light and friendly originals like The song that could. I’m looking forward to hearing the strolling band. Even drummer Nesci walks with a snare. That’s the final and definitive connection with New Orleans and jazz funerals and the rest. I assume they drop the rock tunes from the repertoire for a genuine funereal march. But I jest, which fits the good humour on stage on the night and the effervescent nature of a brass band.

Brass’ere played the opening Thursday night of Legends Jazz Bar, upstairs at Manuka. Cameron Smith (trumpet, vocals), Zach Raffan (trumpet), Michael Bailey (trombone), John Gosling (trombone), David Abkiewicz (tuba, sousaphone), Nathan Sciberras (baritone sax), Robert Nesci (drums), Courtney Stark (vocals) and Francisco Meza (percussion) sat in for the night.

Crossing the barricades

There’s been a schism in the jazz community from the days of be-bop and it lives on as schisms do. The Bebop revolution brought a new approach to jazz, with the “mouldy figs” and “reboppers” parting ways. I’ve taken one side of that barricade at times, but these days I have a renewed interest in the history of our music, so it was with anticipation that I finally got to catch Brass’ere. Brass’ere aren’t just a wonderfully amusing name. They are also brass ensemble in the style of the New Orleans street bands. They can busk; they can walk and play; they sound generous and rotund with a fat tuba bass and marching drums; and they sneek in a baritone sax as the one reed instrument. They play standards of the brass band and trad jazz repertoire. But there’s joy and fun in this band (as should be with a New Orleans brass outfit - they play swinging music at funerals, after all) so their repertoire extends to a good bit of funk and even some re-imagined pop tunes. So, this is amusing and entertaining and big and satisfying music, and it swings with fat brass harmonies and backing lines. Wonderfully involving.

Cameron Smith leads the band, on trumpet and occasional vocals, but there’s another trumpet (Zach Rafffan) and two trombones (Josh Gosling and Michael Bailey). This is the core of the fat, swinging lines, and they do it with great rhythmic feel and dynamics and nice pitch. Brass players get good training in ensemble work, and you can hear it here. The bottom end is supplied by that phat tuba sound (David Ackiewicz) and the dirtier, reedy bari sax (Nathan Sciberras). A good strong bottom end with reliable time and a decent share of the solos. I hadn’t expected drums (Robert Nesci), given it’s a marching band, but I see from pics of the busking band, that Nesci walks with a snare. Nice one. In the studio he played kit. Nesci’s role is quite sparse and often with even feels on the 1,3 (more common on that side of that barricade) and he does it well. And there’s some vocal, too, when Courtney Stark sits in for blues or whatever, sometimes with accompaniment from Cam.

So what did they play? There were some standards of the trad repertoire (St James Infirmary, Sweet Georgia Brown), some blues (Happy blues), a decent percentage of originals of funk and ballad styles, and even a Jackson 5 pop tune (I want you back) that featured an introductory bass line on tuba. And that mainstay of the experience of brass band players, a hymn (Irish blessing). But how cool it all was! Great sound, big brassy chords and deeply entertaining! Great stuff. Break down them barricades!

Brass’ere performed for ArtSound’s FNL. They comprise Cameron Smith (trumpet, vocals), Zach Raffan (trumpet), John Gosling (trombone), Michael Bailey (trombone), Nathan Sciberras (baritone sax), David Abkiewicz (tuba), Robert Nesci (drums), Courtney Stark (vocals).

Sweep of history

Jazz@Folkus ended the year yesterday with a trio of bands across the sweep of jazz history.

I’m not a frequent listener to the century-old styles, but I enjoyed the Brass Monkeys Dixieland Band. The Monkeys are led by Cam Smith, with a few tunes even sung by Cam (along with a fleeting appearance by Courtney Stark). It’s such a different experience from the modern styles. The bass is that hormone-enhanced brass instrument, the sousaphone. Peter capably played the I and V square on the 1 and 3, with some simple scalar connections. It works, and it’s big and fat, and you can even walk (a short distance) with it, as in a funeral march. The drums play square, too, with the kick on the 1 and 3, the hi-hat on the 2 and 4, and a rudiment-rich syncopation on the snare, and just an occasional cymbal to mark the end of a line. It’s square, and very pre-ride, but it works nicely, and the two rhythm section instruments set up a bouncy and steady, if square, groove to support horn lines in harmony or unison and individual or group soloing. Anton’s excellent accordion weaves around, somewhat like a keyboard role (isn’t there usually a banjo in this style?), as does Tom’s clarinet, backing or integrating with various solo statements. And Cam’s cornet was bright and sweet and authoritative as perhaps the key melody instrument. They even started the show by walking in from the back of the room playing When the saints come marching in. Just like a funeral march. Nice one: very entertaining and much enjoyed. By me, and by a decent audience from the Canberra Jazz Club.

The Brass Monkeys Dixieland Band comprise Cameron Smith (trumpet, cornet), Nathan Sciberras (tenor sax), Tom Manley (clarinet) and Rod Harding (trombone), Anton Wurzer (piano accordian), Peter McDonald (sousaphone), Mark Levers (drums).

Frequently Asked Questions was actually the third band on the day, but was intermediate in jazz historical terms and they shared some players with the monkeys, so I’ll write them up next. FAQ took us back to the mainstream of jazz with a set of known standards and mid-century pop tunes. Theirs was a working-muso style: swinging, light, presentable, sellable, presumably developed by the band in regular performances at the Casino. Sarah Byrne leads on soprano vocals, with a classic cabaret songlist: This can’t be love, Bye bye blackbird, Blues in the night, Spring fever, They can’t take that away from me, and the like. But they are working players, so I wasn’t surprised by a venture into Route 66, although they played it more as jazz blues than R&R. My favourites were Secret love and that masterpiece of jazz humour, Makin’ whoopee. James Groves plays capable piano, in solos and comping and Peter McDonald reappeared from Brass Monkeys, this time on electric bass and tuba. FAQ are in essence a trio, but they added Mark Levers on the day on drums. This is light music for restaurants and bars and background, but lovely tunes and comfortably swung. The songs are insinuating so there’s a reason for their permanence, and any band that sings and swings them is a natural winner. You can find more on FAQ at their website. But add a few words (eg, canberra jazz) or you’ll be lost in millions of website FAQs.

Frequently Asked Questions are Sarah Byrne (vocals), James Groves (piano) and Peter McDonald. They were joined on the day by Mark Levers (drums).

Jam jar

I got to the second Jazz at the Folkus jam session on Saturday. It was not quite what I had expected. The music was fairly mainstream, rather than out-there modern, but jazz has a history, and it’s made up of a rich tapestry of historical styles. These were some that I love, but don’t always indulge in.

The host band for the event was the In Full Swing big band. It’s a community band based in Belconnen. It’s made up of about 20 players and is led by Nathan Sciberras. This is swing, the popular music of the 40s or thereabouts: think Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and the crooners, but with some popular modern classics. I love this stuff, and it’s become very popular again with the emergence of Sinatra-stylists like Michael Buble. The repertoire ranged from Cry me a river and Fever, through Lady is a tramp, Georgia, Night and day and Take 5, to Song of the Volga Boatman. All good stuff and the playing was satisfying. There was a very reliable beat from a capable rhythm section, and some good swing and interplay from the horns. The intonation was a bit sus at times, but the charts were professional, the dynamics were strong and the enjoyment was obvious. I took note of Samantha Seckold on bass and several solos, Lauren Black on vocals and Nathan himself as leader. It was a nice one all round and much enjoyed. Congrats to the band. I’ve grown to admire such community activities in recent years. Oh brave new town that has such things in it!

Next came my band, Toucani. We were Trio Toucan, but we recently added a sax so the small name change. We chose to do an originals set, but did sneak in our theme-tune standard, the lovely and slightly kitsch Out of nowhere. Most of our originals are penned by Daniel, who writes harmonically rich tunes as only pianists can. I wrote two others, and these are typical bassist tunes: latin and rhythm-based but with reasonably complex call and response melodies. I like to think we introduced a harder post-Coltrane edge to the proceedings, and hopefully our mistakes just appeared as early-60s explorations. Toucani are Daniel Wild (piano), John Baczynski (tenor), Brenton Homes (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).

Kooky Fandango followed with a very different set. KF seem to me a bridge to more popular and bluesy styles, which makes them a sellable proposition, only enforced with the female vocals up front. The players are good, the style is clean and precise, the levels are restrained. This is quite a professional outfit and was popular with the audience. Peter is a well-known local player on his 6-string Alembic bass. I especially noticed one massively fast, flamenco style solo. Cameron is classically trained so his intonation is always good and Nathan Sciberras (leader of In Full Swing) reappeared on baritone sax giving some interesting counterpoint. Courtney has a strong and deep female voice, which suited the blues-influenced style. Kooky Fandango are Courtney Stark (vocals), Cameron Smith (trumpet), Nathan Sciberras (baritone sax), Peter Barta (bass), George Cora (drums).

A jam session ended the day with players from the In Full Swing small jazz ensemble. The tunes were obvious ones of the period: Summertime (hate it!), Caravan (love it!), Don’t bug me, hug me (more 12 bar jump blues than jazz), and Don’t get around much anymore. It was a bit too subdued for me, but I warmed to the head of Caravan, which seems to be impossible to play without passion.

I hope to see a wider mix of players at future jams, including a smattering from the Jazz School. James LeFevre might bring a few along when he provides the host band in a few months time. The venue is roomy; the beers are club prices; the entry is free for musos; there’s a very impressive PA and a big car park just out the door.

Jazz at Folkus jams are held the third Saturday every month, 2-5pm. Entry free for players; otherwise $12/$10. Folkus Room, Serbian Club, Mawson. Queries contact Cameron Smith 0422 842 605

More from ArtSound (AS2)

Continued from…

After hearing the hot players from the school, Kooky Fandango are a more staid outfit, but entertaining and capable none the less. This is a bigger band, or at least slightly bigger and with the feeling and arrangements of a swing big band. There were harmony horns on heads and discrete solos from various band members. I liked the background horn lines and echoed melodies, and they were tight. The style mostly reminded me of 60s detective shows on TV with a heavy blues influence, but there was a latin in there too. They also had a singer, but she sang on only a few tunes in this short performance. Good to see that busy people with day jobs are prepared to invest the time required to maintain their chops and play in bands like this. Kooky Fandango also play around. They were at Moruya and performed coastal winery gig that weekend. My wife also heard them at Kingston markets the day after the Open Day. KF are Courtney Stark (vocals), Cameron Smith (trumpet), Tom Fell (alto sax), Nathan Sciberras (baritone sax), Peter Barta (bass), Donovan Gall (drums).

Quantum Theory are a vehicle for original music composed by another batch of senior students from the Jazz School. This is a very different style from the earlier outfit: more cool and tempered, and the players are more restrained. These were stately melodies and gentle and subdued soloing. Dave plays lyrically on his solid-sounding (I’d guess heavily-strung) semi-acoustic guitar. Sebastian was new to me in a small group format. He played some tasteful melodies and solos, dissolving into some cascading tenor flourishes which were apt and expressive. Nice. The rhythm section is the local stalwart of Bill and Ed. As always, they swung with solid grooves and walks or played tenderly in a more free style with close responsiveness. They are a wonderfully satisfying pairing. Quantum Theory are Dave Rodriguez (guitar), Sebastian McIntosh (tenor sax), Bill Williams (bass) and Ed Rodrigues (drums).