Never wearied

It's their 45th anniversary concert tour and CD and these are masters and seasoned of our jazz craft so it's so surprise that this was such a deeply satisfying gig to attend.  Sure, we see them in smaller groups but to hear the compositions, the solos, the personalities, the arrangements of little big band colours is a special thing.  I'm still thrilling at the precision of those colours; of the contemporary classical crossover of Kevin Hunt's piano outings; of the touching depth of Sandy's introduction to the gig and Miro's Ornette-infused Nostalgia (isn't what it used to be) to end it all, of Steve Elphick's understated but ever correct Hadenesque presence.  And they fit a space like this, theatrical, spacious, respectful, nicely amplified.  It was casual, too, compered by Sandy and a space and casualness that we could see, experience the personality, musical and other, of each of these players.  I was amused by the cool pleasure of Warwick Alder and his chat with Miro; ever gregarious and friendly James Greening and his quips and then floored by his trombone responses to a Sandy solo; the as-one pairing of Sandy and Andrew and offsider Paul; Matt filling in for John Mackey, blowing in this own style and verve.  Rease Cameron was new to me, but nicely effective.  Just 10 tunes over 2 hours and two sets.  A hugely mature set of musos and musical and compositional grouping ends in a fabulous and deeply satisfying night of music.

Ten Part Invention performed at The Street Theatre.  10PI comprised Miroslav Bukovsky (co-musical director, trumpet, flugelhorn), Sandy Evans (co-musical director, tenor, soprano saxes), Paul Cutlan (tenor, baritone saxes, clarinet), Andrew Robson (alto), Matt Ottignon (tenor, flute), Warwick Alder (trumpet), James Greening (trombone),  Kevin Hunt (piano), Steve Elphick (bass) and Rease Cameron (drums).

Late starter

I was relaxed in arriving at the Orange Winter Jazz festival this year.  My first concert was the last few mid-afternoon tunes of Bungarribee.  It's a project of Gary Daley of The catholics fame.  He's collected a quartet of odd combination to play a style of chamber music influenced by jazz and classical and more.  How's this for a format: piano/accordion, various winds, cello and drums.  The names are notable: Gary with Paul Cutlan, Oliver miller and Chloe Kim.  I came in to music soft, meditative and unexpected and bass clarinet solo.  Then to finish they started with free piano-based introduction leading to a gentle and pretty 4/4 with wind melody.  This was in Holy Trinity, a cathedral with considerably live sound, pretty obvious for this performance.  Wish I'd heard more.  Then off to Chloe Kim playing a solo outing in the Uniting Church which I remember as my favourite acoustic from last year.   Chloe had played a concert of 100hours solo drums over 10 days at MONA.  She subsequently selected 28 themes and improvised as a CD.  This was her first live performance of those selected themes, 1 minute allocated to each.  I doubt I've ever attended a solo drums concert but this entranced especially with the themes listed, like Cymbal peak or Dance! or Push and pull or Garbage truck.  It was Garbage truck that first got me.  Chloe had seard a garbage truck outside during her 100 hours and took the constant pulse as an improvisatorial prompt.  You could hear that truck.  Not all the themes were so clear but they were intriguing and honest and presented with connection.  Stunningly good.  

 
Bungarribee comprises Gary Daley (piano, accordion), Paul Cutlan (flutes, saxes, clarinets), Oliver Miller (cello, electronics) and Chloe Kim (drums, percussion).  Chloe Kim (drums, percussion) played a solo gig at the Uniting Church.

Contrasts

It was a fascinating contrast to be introduced to North and South Indian classical music in one week. I'd heard of the distinction but never chased it up. I guess this is indicative: Bobby Singh and tablas and ta ka di mi in the north; Tunji Beier and various tones and drums from the south. Both were playing with western musicians in a jazz context. I wrote of Bobby Singh with Sandy Evans a few days ago. This was Tunji Beier with the ANU Jazz Faculty band in the band room. To me it was like listening to an album, with tunes running one into another, perhaps with a connecting solo segment. Each tune nicely clear and purposeful with a minimalist few chords with a head from Paul Cutlan, visiting ANU and here playing bass clarinet. The feels were spacey or 8-to-the-bar grooves or even a final South African feel, so much repetition with rhythmic plays, modern and so much less harmonic than much jazz, bebop and the like. Truly inviting solos from bass and guitar and bass clarinet variously, playing with syncopations or playing tones, not least like didj from Paul at times, or just hugely effective bass solos, soft but more jazz-like. Not that this wasn't jazz but then bundaries are flued these days anyway. And the drums. Mark took a heavy mallet solo with unrelenting pulse, then to be joined by Tunji with his powerful complex Indian broken rhythms. Lovely and it worked a treat. And to open and close, sharply toned rocks dragged and clicked against a larger rock. And that tuned bowl. And somewhere that mouth harp. This was somewhat towards music for meditation but not there, minimalist to a degree but album-purposeful. I liked this one lots.

Tunji Beier (South Indian percussion) played with Mark Sutton (drums), Brendan Clarke (bass), Greg Stott (guitar) and Paul Cutlan (bass clarinet). Kim Cuneo (piano), ANU School of Music Director, sat in for the opening bars.

Another day, another suite

And here I am thinking jazz suites are rare. This was Lloyd Swanton's composition, mostly music, but with accompanying and explanative spoken word and projected photographs. Again, with a collection of some of Australia's best jazz-oriented musicians and even a classical mate of mine, James Eccles, of the Australian Haydn Ensemble and Noise and more. The Ambon suite told the story of Lloyd's uncle, Stuart, who was sent with Gull Force to Ambon Island in WW2 to protect against Japanese invasion. It was a woefully inadequate response, a doomed action, and Stewart and Gull Force ended as prisoners of the Japanese, enduring harsh treatment for several years, Stuart dying of beri-beri just the day before the end of the Pacific war. Tragic and sad for family. Interestingly, while researching, Lloyd found webs of connections, not least that the father of legendary Melbourne jazz drummer, Brian Brown, had also been prisoner and died on Ambon. It's a small jazz world. We have heard much of military matters recently as the Abbott Government lavished on the centenary of WWI, and I just hope this worthy project got some of that funding.

So what of the performance, of itself and inevitably with some comparison to yesterday's jazz suite by Stu Hunter? There were spoken words but not singing; music that was both more traditional (mirroring the music of the time) but also noise, of dismantled wind instruments and tapping various other instruments and bass with rattling metal attachments; the playing on all was impeccable; I drooled over the silver sheen of Michel Rose's pedal steel guitar (more complex than I'd imagined: 20 strings, 9 pedals, 8 knee levers? I have loved this instrument since hearing MR with the catholics - he told me that was early '90s; he'd left to play with Lee Kernaghan); I enjoyed the classical and authentic touch with James E playing uncle Stuart's actual viola; I was entranced by yet another solo by James G played with his uncommon abandon; I enjoyed some heavy beats in the second half, although these were not common, and some exquisite four part wind passages, and otherwise some delicate percussion; a passage of tunes by the strings was lyrical, just bass, viola, pedal steel, ukelele and guitar; I was intrigued by the uncannilly authentic sounds of tropical birds and forest in one passage; I was blackly amused by some stories, like the unknown brother flying low over Ambon Harbour for sheer bravado and surviving Japanese ack-ack, or of the meat-case bass. This was aural colour and historical song, religious faith and humour in adversity all in a true family story. There were even pics of Stuart's gravestone, now updated with military honour, and of his diary now resident at the War Memorial. This was touching, educative and musically satsifying, so a great success all round from a wonderful set of mature, communicative musicians and a emotionally touched composer. A second wonderful jazz suite.

Lloyd Swanton (bass, composer) led the band in the Ambon Suite at the Street Theatre. The band was Lloyd (bass), Paul Cutlan (saxes, clarinets, recorder), Sandy Evans (saxes), Alex Silver (trombone), James Greening (trombone, cornet, tuba, baritone horn), Fabian Hevia (percussion), Ron Reeves (kendang, percussion), Hamish Stuart (drums), James Eccles (viola), Michel Rose (pedal steel guitar), Jon Pease (guitar), Sam Lemann (ukelele).

Real adults

James Greening and mates came to Canberra and it was obvious the adults were in charge for the night, at least at the Gods. This was Greening from Ear to Ear. All light and jovial but supremely skilled and in command and well prepared. I wrote notes: respectful of tradition, deeply skilled, open, unpretentious, respectful, communicative (everything other Canberra- visiting adult-pretenders are not). But back to the music. The Gods is undergoing renovation, so we were in the Arts Centre foyer. More square, damply reverberant but nicely fat sounding with the audience. The band was close in one corner. This was a 7-piece band with three horns in front and the writing showed, as did the excellent musicianship. These guys are top of their trade and the harmonies were blissful and the grooves sat with precision, unstressed, seemingly so easy, but that's the skill showing. Playing music as it should be played is deceptively easy, but it takes years to master. These guys had it. These are Sydney masters and I was entranced. The first set was James' Tam O'Shanter Tales suite. He wrote the suite while in Tasmania and it's dedicated to the musical influences in his life: his family, Monk, his wife, Jackie Orszaski, with some less obvious insertions, like Parallel lines (a fabulous little big band chart) and Hazara (of more political relevance). I was stunned by the ease of interaction and perfection of the harmonised sound. These were not easy charts, but always played with easily but sweetly. Then the solos. I loved the Hammond tone from Gary and the fabulously twisting percussion from Fabian. James' solos were perfectly formed and Andrew's were a lesson in melodic statement, embellishment and development. I have admired his sax playing for years and I learnt something here on the night. Paul was more abstruse, less a matter of formal development than an emotional journey. Steve Elphick was sitting in for Brett Hirst and set some firm grooves and was nicely considered in his solo. I don't remember Hamish taking a solo, but every bar was rich with variation and connection. Another lesson. The second set was a few tunes from band members. Fabian played guitar on Domingo, simple descending chord changes over a medium tempo 4 with an Euro street vibe imparted by lovely accordion from Gary. Andrew's 22 degree halo featured Fabian's percussion solo that floored me with its delayed beats and falling rhythmic complexity (Latin training required). Then another then Lowdown, again from Andrew, funky with an odd count. There were changes of instruments: Rhodes - Hammond - accordion, or bass clarinet - tenor, or alto - baritone, or trombone - sousaphone - pocket trumpet (that's an odd combination and quite a challenge of sizes) or double - electric bass. All fabulously played, tight as, perfectly harmonised and blended. This was fabulous and about as good as it gets.

Greening from Ear to Ear played at the Gods. GfE2E are James Greening (trombone, sousaphone, pocket trumpet), Andrew Robson (alto, baritone sax), Paul Cutlan (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Gary Daley (accordion, organ, piano), Steve Elphick (bass), Fabian Hevia (percussion, guitar) and Hamish Stuart (drums).

Return of both master and style

I’d heard tell of Andrew Robson, and heard some snippets here and there, but never heard him or his band live. I did last night. And it was a stunner. I have spoken here before of two of my favourite albums of all time: The cry of my people / Archie Shepp and Love from the sun / Norman Connors. Both are from the early ‘70s; both have vibrant, earthy, rhythmic, soulful playing and political comment around race issues. Andrew Robson’s band reminded me of that music and that era.

The night started with a horn duo, Andrew Robson on alto and Paul Cutlan on bass clarinet, playing an apparently free set. They were both spectacular, calling up harmonies then melting into new ones, bouncing lines and echoing each other, changing rhythms and roles at will. This was intense and communicative and emotionally mobile music by two players who obviously know each other musically. Paul switched to Eb clarinet and tenor sax, and Andrew to soprano sax, so the tones changed, but the interaction remained intense and true. Andrew sounded more jazz-influenced lines, and Paul, perhaps inevitably given the clarinets, impressed me as a more classical idiom. They played two tunes. The first improvisation lasted perhaps 30 minutes; this was dense, exploratory, searching. The second was much shorter, in expectance of the trio to follow; this was flighty, buoyant, jumpy. I’d heard an earlier concert with this pair on ArtSound, but hearing them live was insinuating and engrossing. So I was stunned before the rhythm section even appeared.

The performers were billed as the Andrew Robson Trio with Paul Cutlan. After the two duets, Andrew called up the other members of the trio, Steve Elphick and Hamish Stuart. The tone of the evening changed. The first tune hit with simplicity at first, then a devilishly fast rainfall of bass notes which was to be repeated later in the tune, long lines of alto, continuing changes in rhythm and groove, abundant life and energy, and a clear path to the history and tradition of the art of jazz. A second tune was given over to Barack Obama’s win which occurred on this day (Australian time). You could hear New Orleans, and extended bop lines, and 60s free and sax masters. The first tune was Big Ben, a dedication to Andrew’s major influence, saxist Bennie Wallace. A mate reported that Albert Ayler is another influence. Whatever, I looked at a friend when the break came, and we were both overwhelmed by the virtuosity and honesty of this music.

The second set continued with long and sinuous unison melodies, a rhythm section that continuously mutated and weaved its way under clear and expressive solos, walks and syncopations, horn counterpoint, deceptively simple drumming and a wonderfully expressive drum solo, and horns and bass freely exploring their full ranges, into thumb positions on the bass and honks and squeals on the horns, with long intervals and extended intervallic runs. But always with purpose. The final tune was a dedication to Don Johnson, the inaugural head of the Jazz School in Canberra. He died several years back, but is well remembered by Andrew. This was his Ode to Abe Snake, apparently Don’s Native American name.

Here’s a product of our Jazz School who’s come back as a master. This was truly an intelligent, engrossing and profound concert, and a welcome visit to my favourite style of jazz. ArtSound was recording, so listen out for the broadcast sometime on Friday Night Live. It was a stunner.

Andrew Robson (alto, soprano sax) played with Paul Cutlan (bass clarinet, Eb clarinet, tenor sax), Steve Elphick (bass) and Hamish Stuart (drums).