Not Zimmerman

There were so many ways that this was an unusual Canberra Symphony Orchestra outing.  We walked in to find no printed programs, but a QR code with a link to CSO program for the year and the program for this concert.  Walking to our seats we find almost no one we recognised: this seemed a new group, different, perhaps younger and that's OK.  It was a full house or close enough: film music is popular and this was the music of Hans Zimmer, composer of Interstellar and Lion King and Pirates of the Caribbean and Dune and Gladiator.  And Driving Miss Daisy.  And a string of films I didn't know, Kung Fu Panda and Holiday and Thin red line and more.  Even those I knew of I mostly hadn't seen.  But I had played some Zimmer along with other film composers at an NCO concert and enjoyed the whole but he was not one I most admired.  Then it was a big orchestra, ~80, and had a rhythm (section) of guitar, e-bass and drums.  Strange that, with Chris and Nick from the jazz scene and Dave, normally from the CSO bass section, on e-guitar.  They didn't play too much: mostly Nick on drums, occasionally Chris, occasionally Dave, but he did have a standout, they might say solo, somewhere, with a repeating line with sustained, distorted guitar.  Standard metal tone if not so exciting.  Also four double basses, btw.  And a cello taking the part of and sounding often quite similar to a Chinese Erhu, especially up the neck, and voices in another piece that I guessed came from unison flutes and violins/violas although later someone suggested synths from one of two keyboard players.  Then later still an actual woman singer, first up wordless, then I think later with words, but not too sure.  And demonstrations by the orchestra of things, like how a very known song was slowed and made sparser of become the soundtrack.  And all this with commentary that I thought I had read in the program, from two fellow influencers from Melbourne, one a jazz musician the other an academic who is known to friends, about the films and Zimmer and scoring and that he'd appeared in the backline of The Buggles for Video killed the radio star (worthy involvement there!) in both the first and last episodes of MTV.  Did I mention the smoke machine?  And those crescendos and repeated simple lines, and how someone said of film composition that the amateurs use three notes and pros just 2.  Zimmer certainly used few notes and certainly dragged immense dynamic changes from them, sometimes from choice of instruments, and again those repeated four notes (too many?) that I remember the high strings all played, together, incessantly if powerfully.  You felt the emotional intensity.  So too from the light show, and the smoke machines.  The Zimmer man, not Dylan.

Canberra Symphony Orchestra performed music of Hans Zimmer under Nicholas Buc (conductor) with commentary from Andrew Pogson and Dan Golding and song from Cassandra Seidemann (mezzo-soprano) and a rhythm section of David Flynn (guitar), Chris Pound (bass guitar) and Nicholas McBride (drum kit).

Guitars

Mike Price talked of a band with two Carls, Dewhurst and Morgan, sometime in the past and I've got reports on CJ of various combinations of the 3 guitarists.  Mike was teaching and leading the jazz scool while the Carls were there, although at different times and has got together with them at various times.  It's all part of an ongoing jazz experience.  This gig was another incarnation.  Mike Price and Carl Dewhurst with James Luke and Nick McBride: a formidable combination.  The two guitarists remain diverse in presentation and approach: Mike more smooth, quick, scalar; Carl more dirty, loud, unanticipated.  The tunes were a very modern guitar bunch, from Scofield, Metheny, Stern, related sax Michael Brecker and Horace Silver Lonely woman and the uber-classic Bright size life (originally Metheny with Jaco Pastorius and Bob Moses) and a contrafact (strange word that) on The night has a thousand eyes.  To top it off, a guitar duet on Wichita Lineman: strange in this context but still a beautiful and touching tune and very fitting but different with the two guitars.  So a night of superb guitar artistry with quite different approaches, supported by top brass of the local bass and drums community.  Wonderful and 2,4 foot tapping and just a huge pleasure of many solos throughout over some testing tunes.

Mike Price Guitar summit featured Mike Price and Carl Dewhurst (guitars) with James Luke (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) at Smiths for a Geoff's jazz session.

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. 

Good Friday Alt.

It was fairly quiet in town when we went to Molly, it being Good Friday, I thought.  But we are none too religious a society these days and Molly was alive.  Even buzzing more when Tom Fell's quartet opened with a take on Green Dolphin Street, with Chris Pound playing emphatic chords from the first beats of the A section.  Tom on tenor spelling out the melody then a lovely, inventive solo with a goodly share of dissonance over more driving grooves from Nick McBride and Damien Slingsby.  Tom took a solo that I could only love for its firmness but also fleet inserts and Damien solid and chordal, perhaps less than bop flightiness, and occasional solos from Nick through the night, but always driving, powerful grooves and insistent fills.  Do I need say I was very taken by this.  Then on through In a mellow tone, something sounding Shorterish that Tom later identified as One for BM, a track from his new album, Mantra, and Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum which is by Wayne Shorter and the bouncy Cold Duck time to finish the first set.  In the meantime, we had a few beers, watched the locals, admired the band to the hilt, me remembering Tom from years back and marvelling at his expressive fluency and dissonance of today.  We only stayed for the first set but it was a doozy.  Now to have another listen to  Mantra, Tom's first album, bought and signed for my shelf by Tom.  Chase it up.  It's this same band other than Steve Barry on piano.

Tom Fell (soprano, tenor saxes) led a quartet with Damien Slingsby (piano), Chris Pound (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) at Molly on Good Friday night.

Another Tuesday, venue 2

It's Tuesday night so if venue 1 is Smiths then venue 2 is Molly.  Of course Molly is the unmarked timber door in the lane just behind Smiths and up the stairs on Tuesday night is a string of some of the best local jazz you will hear in this town.  And tonight was a doozie: Tom Fell leading a trio with Chris Pound and Nick McBride.  I came in at the end of the second set but there was a third, and it was a hard biting outing.  Tom was all movement and involvement and a pretty free concept of soloing over the chords with occasional hints at the melody and sometimes relaxedly standing as a head is passed back to him and always fascinating and adventurous.   He was playing a storm as leader and this trio supports it.  Chris was superbly fluent, quick and solid, rather than flighty, wonderfully clear throughout the range and well into thumb positions, and just inventive with his conceptualisations.  I think of Alone together as my song, but he floored me with his take on it.  Nick would solo in fours or more open formats and always sharp and correct and interesting.  These were just standards, but fascinating as modern takes on standards can be, if not always are.  I came in to a sax solo that I recognised from a few melody snippets as Have you met Miss Jones.  Then a break and a return for a final set with Take the A train, a blues, Alone together and another standard.  I've played them all even if I can't recall all the titles.  But this was exciting, busy, outgoing yet inviting, noisy and adventurous.  Just a great band playing standards with joy and chops.  Fabulous.

Tom Fell (tenor) led a trio playing standards with Chris Pound (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) at Molly.

Many happy returns

I got to the National Press Club especially  for Mike Price, given he was a major member of the local jazz scene a few years back but he's been off in Qld for some time.  In Cairns for 8 years, he told me.  But then I realised Nick was a Canberran who'd returned after years in Macau and Chris had been a decade or so in Cyprus (?) so they are all returnees.  Fascinating.  As was their playing.  The NPC gig is pretty relaxed, but there was plenty of controlled energy in this one.  Mike's clean, swift, chordal styled guitar moving through various dissonances and chromaticisms but also just telling the harmony as it is, or spelling the lovely melody of some standard.  They were standards, played comfortably up-tempo, with solos for all, fours for Nick, often with a tagged ending for a little more guitar solo.  All nice.  Clean, capable, certain jazz, guitarist styled.  Is there bebop here?  It doesn't quite feel it but maybe it just doesn't sound it without a horn.  Certainly the lines and improvs were bop-styled.  Whatever, this was wonderfully capable and expressive.  Chris' bass was a lesson for me, up or across the neck, quick and broken syncopated lines over walks, nice thumb positions playing and a fairly common but effective hand formation that I must revisit.  Nick's drums are the essence of stable, but can explode given half a chance.  Mike was deceptively clean and correct, more tone than improv, revealing for me far more depth and adventurousness with my eyes closed.  The presence was standard jazz club with Mike calling a tune and Chris grabbing for his iReal Pro or similar: casual presence and serious performance (or maybe causal performance with serious preparation).  As I like it.  Travel has done us all good.

Mike Price (guitar) led a trio with Chris Pound (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) at the National Press Club.

Transposition

It could be 55 Bar, as least it could have been 55 Bar a few years back when it was still open and Sean Wayland was known to play there.  This is the 55 Bar next to the famed Stonewall Inn on Christopher St in NYC and just near W4th St where we once stayed and a few steps from Smalls and Village Vanguard and Blue Note.  Those were the days.  But this was Smiths and Sean Wayland was in town playing with an old sparing buddy Nick McBride and Chris Pound who gigged with him on a visit to NYC.  And it was a madly ecstatic outing.  There was some fully understandable wariness from the offisders for some quick syncopated tunes and the reading therewith.  That immensely witty and busy songwriting that's accompanied by a prog rock synth presence and Moog fatness and gloriously melodic solos.  This is a music of speed and humour and virtuosity of an outgoing nature with perhaps a few soulfully embellished vocals speaking of shortened humdingers (Dinger) or wedding gigs (Club sandwiches)  or homemade synths (G2X Daisy) or failed promises of the Net (Shitformation superhighway) or modulations of some sort (Fried chicken modulations, or locally, Chick roll...) or a cover or two (Men at Work Overkill, Mondo Rock Cruel world) or even a solo ballad (We'll get through).  All with virtuosic fluency and glorious synth tonality and some degree of trepidation in Chris' eyes.  But Chris was funky and impressively on cue in some madly syncopated reads and just a blowout otherwise, and Nick was driving and exemplary and, well, our ex-Sydney NYC- resident of 25 years was just a blast as leader and keyboardist and tone-searching melodist.  Just wow.  A fabulous, infectious, overwhelming outing, in Civic, at 4pm in the afternoon.  Just a blast.  And I heard someone complain that they played a cover.  I couldn't get that.

Sean Wayland (keys) led a trio with Chris Pound (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) at Smiths.

A small and worthy outing

Herbert's @ Evatt is a little venue but it's had some amazing performers over recent months.  I finally got there if only for the final set.  This gig was the expert local trio of Lachlan, Chris and Nick, a rhythm section that we see often recently and always a huge pleasure with guest Mark Ginsburg.  I hadn't seen Mark for some time but the addition of his sax just lifted things with the addition of tone and the interplay of parts.  So a small venue with some great acts but a big presentation from the band.  We chatted with the players over their lunch and heard the final set, just a few common standards played with real panache.  I loved Chris' light and flight fingerwork; Nick is just as swift and wonderfully expressive; Lachlan always quick and melodic uniquely playing with a thumb pick and at least two other plucking fingers. Then over the top, the sweet tenor tone and telling solos.  It all ended too quickly, but Mark had to get back to Sydney, for a concert of Jimmy Webb in Angel Place.  JW is, of course, one of the great songwriters of ~70s, having started with Motown, no less.  Mark was advising me of JW's 10 easy pieces album and praising the voicings.  I could only remember my recent rediscovery of the JW song Galveston and its theme and rhyming haunts me daily.  So a small and worthy outing.  Herbert's suggests to book for lunches, but we could get a beer and sit outside and listen.  But Herbert's is small with a big musical heart on Sunday arvos.

Mark Ginsburg (tenor) played with Lachlan Coventry (guitar), Chris Pound (bass) and Nick McBride (drums)  at Herbert's at Evatt.

Zone calls

Sean Coffin visited Smiths to play with the locals.  He's touring with the band name Zoning laws referring to his improvisation method, Flow zoning, that he's writing up into a PhD.  I found it a fascinating contrast after a similar lineup the previous night under John Mackay, another sax star although quite different in style.  Not sure I can express the differences too well, but John seemed more fluid, fast and mellifluous while Sean was loud, powerful and choppy.  Both were impressive performers at a very high level but obviously style-wise diverse.  I asked Sean about his method.  If I got it right, it's seven x five note cells that can be applied variously to chords and tonalities and made more complex and varied with a range of technical modifications and embellishments.  Best to await his PhD release, but I enjoyed the determined, abrasive, potent soloing.  The band played just 7 tunes, so were generous with improvs all round.  The tunes were all from the standards repertoire, but a note suggested his technique lead to compositions, so I guess that complexity is held for his regular band.  But this local pickup band was no slouch.  Interestingly, I overheard one person suggesting that Sean should tour with this band.  Certainly they were impressive.  Nick McBride was long known to Sean; Chris Pound and Lachlan Coventry were more recent contacts.  They all blew a storm and all took significant, extensive solo spots and defined their time with aplomb and improvisational interest.  I particularly followed Chris, of course, and was floored by a few particularly expansive solos.  He can play changes neatly and with interest and variation but those solos often reach to the heights, using big intervals and chordal-like hand shapes and one just stopped me with a quick descending harmonic pattern to die for.  Nick and Lachlan were pretty good too(!)  So was Sean, as I said.  So I enjoyed this gig.  The 7 tunes that spanned the two sets were Sonnymoon for 2, Stablemates, Darn that dream, Milestones (old), Alone together, Invitation and You don't know what love is.  So some personal, less common choices, but all in the fake books.  Sean ended by commenting on how jazz can be created with people who just meet.  I doubt he's ever played with this combination but you wouldn't know.  Just another fabulous intellectual jazz treat.

Sean Coffin (tenor) led Zoning Laws standards ensemble at Smiths with Lachlan Coventry (guitar), Chris Pound (bass) and Nick McBride (drums).

Taking me back 2

Later in the night was guitar time, a dedication to George Benson, guitarist, singer, pop-breakthrough and especially his albums Cookbook and Breezin'.  I heard him yonks back in Adelaide but others mention him visiting Canberra only 7-or-so years ago.  Perhaps the closest thing to the Subterraneans in this was the clear, crisp, uneffected guitars.  Otherwise this was another world.  Standards, fast clips, clarity, walking bass and swinging drum grooves, baritone sax.  Bari sax?  It's a strange combination with clean guitar but George Benson used it and Tom told me the name of the NYC bari player.  I've forgotten his name but I can remember the effectiveness of that deep and satisfying tone, somewhat hard to hear clearly down in those frequencies with plenty of quick solo and melody lines, but it worked a treat.  Jokingly we were welcomed to the pre-gig rehearsal for this is a thrown together session in the jam session tradition, tunes being identified for players to learn then they get together on the night, I guess.  Maybe not for Chris and James because they'd done a similar gig in Melbourne, but there was plenty of concentration on a few faces on stage and big smiles when they carried it off.  And they did.  Fast and faster at times or ballads and even poppy, with GB's unlikely international pop-hit Breezing to finish.  But before that, all guitar solos passed and other instruments called for and fast-as lines, like Ready and able and The Cooker but also some ballads, Will you still be mine, Willow weep for me and some bluesy things, although not too obviously 12-bars, and interesting changing combinations, from quintet down to duo and two different guitar trios and a guitar quartet in between.    This was much more bop than funk so hugely different and more agreeable on the ears, but another fabulously interesting outing with plenty of good will and laughs.  Chris will continue this series with an invitation to another ex-CSM student, Sydneysider Carl Dewhurst, sometime in September.  Keep your eyes peeled.

Chris Johnstone (guitar) called together James Sherlock (guitar, Melbourne), Tom Fell (baritone sax), James Luke (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) to play a tribute to George Benson at Smiths.

Melody

We bassists have too little awareness of melody.  Even our awareness of chords is limited other than as movements and intervals, say, compared to a pianist who plays the colours.   It's understandable.  Our role is rhythm and we can play whole gigs with just a chord chart and it's common with many (primarily) single note instruments.  Nonetheless, melody and those chordal colours are central to well written music and Burt Bacharach is a key example in C20th popular music and I was astounded yet again at Smiths this night.  Greg Stott was leading a group playing the music of BB.  I was late, given some confusion over the starting time, but what I heard had me almost in tears.  Admittedly, it's music of my lifetime and that's of relevance, but the complexity and sheer inevitability of the tunes, their plays with time and abbreviated bars, their glorious unexpected colours and beautiful while self-evident melodies overwhelmed me.  The band was good too!  Great even.  Chris with a Beatle bass with pick and occasional finger style, thumping apt rhythms and grooves and plenty of expressive solos.  Nick a wonder on steady and determined beats that exploded with sharp fills.  Greg just shredding with his quick and neat guitar, and some delightful jazz solo takes on a few tunes.  El had a new 5-string e-violin that had me thinking viola until I heard of the low C string.  Her solos were expressive and right, but she stunned me with neat and glove-fitting fills, expertly played over Burt's captivating chords and melodies that just asked for such treatment in good hands.  And Liam who put the words, sometimes queried in our different world, of love and loss.  Anyone who had a heart had to be touched by his fluid jazz interpretations.  But the love, or the look of it, was filling the hearts at Smiths.  Not that it was a young crowd: this was of an era.  I mostly missed the first set, coming in on an instrumental Look of love (as I remember) then a break.  Then That's what friends are for, Wives and lovers, Alfie, Walk on by, Close to you, What the world needs now is love.  Just one of those would crown the work of virtually any songwriter.  Truly a master amongst  Lennon/McCartney, Dylan, Carole King, Joni Mitchell and the like.  But this was just some tunes.  I remember seeing Greg at the BB gig at the Royal Theatre here in Canberra in Oct 2015.  Just look at his playlist for that concert and fell the awe.  Given Burt's and the Greg's band, this was the concert I was most awaiting this year and I was not disappointed.

Greg Stott (guitar), Chris Pound (bass), Nick McBride (drums), Llewellyn Osborne (violin) and Liam Budge (vocals) performed music of Burt Bacharach at Smiths.

BB setlist Oct 2015

Awe all around

Wayne Shorter was obviously a formative artist for Con Campbell and Alex Raupach and they'd been planning a performance of his album Speak no evil for some time.  When WS died, aged 89, on 2 March 2023, it took on a special relevance.  Con's quintet comprised Con and Alex with Wayne Kelly, Chris Pound and Nick McBride.  It's a star-studded Canberra lineup but apt for this music, playing Wayne, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Elvin Jones.  But the start was also fascinating.  An original for the quintet by Alex, then a trio of trios.  Chris and Nick with Alex then with Con for two tunes by another uber-creative Thelonious Monk (Evidence, Friday the 13th), then a trio with Wayne playing a WK original.  Quite a different tune to end a shortish first set, in expectation of the album replay.  Then the album straight through in order.  Delightful syncopation on bass, extended flourishes on piano not least through chords, just fascinating chordal, often chromatic, movements with extensions spelling the flow, unique structures like 32-bars that were anything but AABA and 9 bar sections and the rest, all manner of colours in the writing.  And those indicative solos over, from Wayne and also more regular from Freddie.  I followed the chords from iRealPro and was fascinated by all this, and somewhat confused.  I'd played chords like this but never quite investigated these changes and the harmonic roles of these alterations.  This is deserving; worthy of investigation even at a kitchen table.  By the end I was quite awed by the source material but also by the local interpretation.  Just stunning all round.  The night ended pretty early and several went off to Molly for the jam session.  I started up the stairs, but the raucous sounds seemed at some conflict with what I'd heard, so I deferred, passing Nick on his way in.  Wow.  I still feel the awe.

Con Campbell (tenor), Alex Raupach (trumpet), Wayne Kelly (piano), Chris Pound (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) performed Wayne Shorter's album Speak no evil at Smiths for Geoff Page's Jazz series.

Changes

I'd been avoiding potholes while driving or otherwise in a damp and slippery cave all day, so a beer in Smiths went down very well.  I noticed it described as boho and it's spot on.  It could only be better with a seriously satisfying jazz trio, this time led by guitarist Harry Tinney with Paddy Fitzgerald and Nick McBride.  I arrived a few minutes early and they were preparing for the gig.  Harry and Paddy are friends from University but they'd just met NIck that night.  You wouldn't know as you listened, but, as Harry said, it takes lots of personal preparation to be able to just play with new people like that.  The prep on the day was walking through the charts with explanations and short plays to instruct or get some practice on the harder lines.  Then into the two sets, I think all originals from Harry.  Several mentions of Lockdowns (he was in Melbourne, after all) and effects on various people and coffee and cars.  All instrumentals.  A few ballads and a string of jazz numbers.  All sharp, clear, virtually uneffected  guitar tones.   He had a pedal board at his feet but mostly seemed to use a volume pedal, other than for one tune at the end with loops and delays and perhaps more.  But such lovely, intervallic playing, exploratory and intriguing.  Paddy was all syncopations touching on groove, softly toned with an array of synthetic core strings, intriguing in solos and also playful with long intervals.  Nick is back from many years in Shanghai, renowned and admired on any visit.  His chops and inventiveness were a huge pleasure but also his quick intuiting of the song and its requirements.  I noticed him marking his charts before, so there was preparation involved in his creativity, too.  Just a fabulous outing of three wonderfully inventive players with unique charts to carry the event.  And certainly a change after an afternoon of concert bands in a cave.

Harry Tinney (guitar) led his trio with Paddy Fitzgerald (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) at Smiths.

Sweetly analog

I have friends who don't feel at all this way but funk and synths are bliss bombs for me. I love those analog-like tones bent with pitch and modulation like a digital mouthpiece, varied in tone yet electronic and new worldly. Not that it's so new worldy these days, of course. Analog synths date from the '70s in common band usage even if they still don't enter the worlds of the some connoisseurs. But they are wild fun and intellectually delicious in the hands of a capable player who understands harmony and degrees of tonality or other like Sean Wayland. And doubly so with a funky bassist playing e-bass, this time Brendan Clarke after several weeks playing for The Book of Mormon where he's been switching through e-bass, fretless, double and bowing and where he found a refreshed enjoyment with the electric version, here a JB as in Marcus Miller. And a great young drummer who hits firmly and decisively with driving time and quizzical double time fills, Alex Hirlian, recent winner of the National Jazz Awards, this one obviously for drums, at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival. So it's not just me who's impressed. This was funky and exciting and musically satisfying.
The tunes were mostly originals from Sean, but two from Sydney's renowned and oft-remembered altoist, Bernie McGann, obviously by players who knew him. And one tune from Nick McBride, played by Nick McBride who was in town and sat in for two tunes. The other amused me in the guidance given by Sean on stage, to Nick, before playing: "Anything, just play". Hardly clear guidance but it worked a treat. It was obviously a little prepared gig, as only jazzers can carry out with panache and convincingly like this. Perhaps that's not fully true because jazzers prepare for just this eventuality, with knowledge of harmony and theory and the rest that others seldom learn. To end, I laughed at Sean's aside: "Right, we did it, we did a giggle". Relief and sly humour. And how easy to travel these days with keys! Here it was a keyboard controller, perhaps 5 octaves, with a second tiny controller (~1.5 octaves) to add accompaniment, a laptop and a small Yamaha PA for amplification, but the sounds were huge and fat and the complexities of accompaniment and solos were delicious. Interesting also to see and hear the difference in drummers: Alex more firm and unyielding and spacious; Nick more gentle and full and liquid. Both to die for. And Brendan, funky to a tee and deep and busy but always purposeful. A fabulous outing for lovers from the '70s to now.

Sean Wayland (keys) over from NYC to play with Brendan Clarke (bass) and Alex Hirlian (drums). Nick McBride (drums) replaced Alex for two tunes.

Night of extremes, pt.2

The other extreme was far less profound and far more sheer fun. Laurence Ku led an organ trio with Norwegian organist Steiner Nickelsen and renowned ex-Canberra drummer Nick McBride. Swinging organ trios have become popular of late and I’ve seen several in the last few years. This one is from Shanghai and was a blow out. This music is not meant to be a great cerebral experience. It’s hot and alive and seriously partying and this band did it justice. There were some tunes with out playing, but the essence of this music is tonality, swing, feel, dynamics. Laurence was playing pentatonics but they were seriously interesting. Great, alive, staccato lines spanning the fretboard, little stops to punctuate the solos, concentration released in smiles. The band obviously has a good time with music like this. It’s a game, too, although perfectly serious. I loved their openness. There were a few grimaces on the faces when they went for something that didn’t come off, but this is all part of the overt play. And I the band dynamics were astounding. It’s strange, because some of the individual dynamics were limited, especially the guitar, but overall, there were serious dynamics. Players dropping out, leaving a duo even a solo organ. The organ itself continually but subtly changing in volume and tone. But especially Nick’s drums that followed the flow, stating melody and responding to improvisation but never just mimicking. This was flowing, busy, diverse sounding drums and you could see every touch was individually formed and controlled. Maybe because there was no bass, but I sat in awe at nick’s flowing expressiveness. Again, I noted some grimaces, but any muso knows this happens on the edge, and any party muso knows that’s where you play. This was a tour de force to my ears. But that was just my focus for the night. Steiner’s organ was rip-roaring with nice bluesy lines formed and reformed and developing into blistering flourishes of that uniquely attacking but also sustained organ tone. I guessed he played with two keyboards on his Nord and he definitely a one octave footpedal under his left leg and a swell pedal under his right. It’s a busy job, and perhaps approaches drums for limb independence. They mostly played originals, a series of Pictures 1,2,3,4 by Laurence and several by Steiner. I heard lots of odd times and time changes. One count seemed to be 11/8 split as 6-5 then some triple feels then 11/8 as 5-6, but I’m never sure of these things. Suffice to say, it works musically but sits oddly until you get the count, but then it moves again. It can be flummoxing. They played a take on Poinciana and a considerably changed take on I’ll remember April which they called I can’t remember. But overall, this is music that doesn’t hide its honour or skills behind the bushel. It’s overt, excitable, youthful, dynamic and such great fun. We all left with wide open smiles. Great fun and very much the other extreme.

Laurence Ku (guitar) led an organ trio with Steiner Nickelsen (organ) and Nick McBride (drums).

Interestingly, I caught the trio again at the National Press CLub on Friday playing with Mike Price. Just one pic.