The allure of standards

Apparently Geoff had suggested a standards trio and I was not alone in thanking him for it.  Jazzers can become a bit blasé about our American songbook but when it's played with this delicacy and beauty and awareness of the great players that precede us this can be a thing of great beauty, immense subtlety and respect for history.  Thus it was with Hannah James and her return to Canberra with her standards piano trio with Adrian Keevil and Paul Derricott.  Just beautiful melodies played with respect, an array of great solos and a few traded fours.  Oscar Peterson, Mulgrew Miller, Horace Silver, Ray Brown, Tommy Flanagan: what's not to like and to swing to.  And some tunes that can be cheesy but just sat so nicely of the likes of Tea for two or Love for sale or Mean to me or some lesser knowns like NY attitude or It never entered my mind or something a bit funky with Mulgrew Miller Soul-Leo and that lovely transition that I think her offsiders didn't even expect, when Hannah sat on a repeated G on the 4/4 beat of Here's that rainy day that subtly mutated to the 3/4 of Moon river, a heartache favourite of mine, continuing to a solo and melody almost obliviously.  The room was swooning and the playing was delicious and Hannah's solos were understated and instructive.  Just lovely and I'm hanging out to revisit it in the mix.  Thanks, Hannah.

Hannah James (bass) led a piano trio with Adrian Keevil (piano) and Paul Derricott (drums) at Smiths.

Monk, Mingus, Duke

Gai Bryant led her quintet in a concert of classic jazz from the pens of Monk, Mingus and Ellington. It was a request of Geoff Page, who had booked the band, and a thing of pleasure. There were some great tunes here that are frequently played in jams but less frequently in concerts which tend to the original and contemporary. Perhaps one; seldom a program. The program was heavy on Monk with his quirky, jumpy material. Bemsha swing, Reflections and In walked Bud are standards. Think of one and Chimneys were less common. Ellington only appeared in one ballad, Prelude to a kiss, but his admirer, Mingus, featured with a few of his jaunty, sometime prickly, repertoire: Jelly Roll, Haitian Fight Song and Better git it in your soul. And Gai snuck in one errant tune: Peacocks, a ballad by Jimmy Rowles. So this was a pleasure but it wasn’t just a period piece. Gai herself was going to the dentist next day, so was none too comfortable playing sax. She apologised for her high notes and promised more inventiveness. No loss there. Inventiveness trumps chops any day. The band coalesced nicely as the night wore one, even if Gai looked increasingly uncomfortable. Paul played a heavy, determined style of drumming and soloing that fitted the era and the firm but rounded tone from Brendan. Brandan’s solos, especially in the second set, were stunners. Not dissonant adventures, but attractive lines and melodic quotes and waterfalls of notes in some truly stunning runs. I got that feel a few times with Danny, too. He played trumpet and trombone on the night. I laughed when he unexpectedly got the nod for a solo and a stream of clear notes fell from his trom before he settled into lovely melody, only to quote himself next time the chorus came around. But on this night, my ears were especially focussed on Jeremy, on guitar. His take on this music was a lesson in re-imagination, with chords that spelt strangely dissonant, but not jarring, colours that meandered behind solos and took form in solos. He spoke later of influences from Scofield and Frisell and of dropping the harmony-defining third and toying with 2nds and 6ths and neither was a surprise. So there was swing and the melodies were spelt honestly, but there was a contemporary air to this all: tunes as vehicles as much as artefacts. Lovely. A great night of some old favourites and a few oldies that I didn’t know so well and lots of honest, capable playing.

Gai Bryant (alto, soprano sax) led a quintet with Danny Carmichael (trombone), Jeremy Sawkins (guitar), Brendan Clarke (bass) and Paul Derricott (drums) playing a tribute to Monk, Mingus and Ellington at the Gods.

What shape is that?

A felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat, as seen on the Nile and Red Sea, distinguishable by its triangular lateen sail. Felucca (proper noun) is also the name of a contemporary jazz trio and I heard them the other night at Smiths. Not sure if I can see the connection but I enjoyed the music. The jazz Felucca was a sax trio with tenor sax and a distinctive aluminium strummed bass, sparse syncopated feels and long and intense crescendos. There's very little swing here, but this is the nature of current jazz. Abel's strummed bass was the identifiably different element, processed, metallic and ringing, strummed chords and pick. It was only very seldom that he played single notes and these were 4-to-the-floor rock feels that soon returned to syncopated strums. Drums were mostly acoustic and one tune started with a driving solo, but they, too, went digital when Paul processed through a drum machine, for deep echoes and stretched pitches. I liked this. New sounds, rock presence. Against this, a single tenor sax seemed simply toned, played without effects into a mic, but this was contemporary playing so nothing too obviously diatonic. The changes were rock-like, perhaps 4-bar phrases with a change each bar, but there was readiness to dissolve to free, or hold to a heavy psychedelia. It was mostly strong, driving playing, even if spacious, but there was gentleness, too, with some floating tunes of plectrum scrapes and heavily echoing bass and African rattles and pensive sax and cymbals. This is Sydney music, one band of many out of the JazzGroove stable, always interesting and probably performing too seldom. Contemporary jazz is a demanding form and not heavily attended, despite its obvious authenticity. A few aspects make this band new to my ears, especially the role of the bass, and so it is. There's a world of adventure in these combinations that visit us from Sydney. That's the nature of a developed jazz scene and Felucca is a comfortably inventive part of it.

Felucca are James Loughnan (tenor sax), Abel Cross (bass) and Paul Derricott (drums) and this is worthy invention with contemporary awareness and touched with some electronic freedom. Trangular, like the sails? Yeah, maybe, but the rhythms are square rigged.

Tone amongst meditation

From the first notes of Nathan Haines’ concert I was taken back to Coltrane and Love supreme. Not that Nathan comes over as a Coltrane clone. I sometimes heard Trane’s approach and sound, but Nathan’s a much more solid player than that implies.
Bala suggested Scott Hamilton. This wasn’t running the chords like SH but it was firm tone, defined and clear and well-articulated. I was really liking his tone, thinking of hard reeds and metal mouthpieces and occasional squeaks that are a cost of good tone, even if it seemed somewhat out of place. This music was meditative and that was the obvious Coltrane link, with few descending chords spread over bars, or perhaps chromatic movements like in Milestones, often limited melody and nicely intoned but oft-repeating bass lines. Against this was the intensity of that mid-’60s era, fourths or dissonant comping on piano and turbulent drums. Even the titles sounded like the ‘60s: Realisation, Evanessence (admittedly the one non-original), Universal man, Ancestral dance, Vermillion skies. This mix was a little culturally dissonant but satisfying. There was also a swagger of presentation and control that I felt was eminently professional. This was neat and cool. Nathan goes back a long way with fellow New Zealanders Tom and Kevin but only one day with Paul Derricott who was sitting in on drums so there was a little reticence and also a limited repertoire. He had to apologise for not playing an encore as they’d already performed everything they knew with Paul. Good on him. Jazz comes together on the day but there’s professionalism and respect for the art in not being too lackadaisical. Paul didn’t look so relaxed, at least earlier on, but he did a good job, soloing when called on, leading in one tune and laying out some suitably restless drums behind solos. Tom sat steady and accurate on some simple ostinatos and this just held the whole together. I liked his precise and studied intonation and limited fills, and when he did walk on two tunes, it took on a new import. He took a few solos, too, very scalar and etude-like, with careful intonation and long, sequenced runs over the neck. Nice. Kevin is obviously an old hand with Nathan, having played on several albums. His soloing is a counterpart for the sax: traditional post-bop sax-like right hand lines with chordal fills in the spaces. I loved the sounds and harmonies, even if I occasionally got lost in some very long lines and contrary chording. It’s not an uncommon experience in modern jazz. Tom’s solid ostinatos reminded me of the advice to bass: play more in when others are playing more out. But a nice gig and everyone around me enjoyed it. So did I. No encore? So what.

Nathan Haines (tenor sax) led a quartet with Kevin Field (piano), Tom Botting (bass) and Paul Derricott (drums) at the Street Theatre for the Capital Jazz Project 2013.

White Eagle on target again

White Eagle is always an anticipated outing. Usually, it’s a local band and an import. Both are interesting, often in vastly different ways. But they are always interesting. So, before I proceed, let me make a plug for WE. Don’t let the music die. Support White Eagle. It was not a big turnout last night. WE needs audience. Be there.

The local band for this latest event was one I’ve been awaiting, the Sally Greenaway Septet. It’s made up of very capable Jazz School graduates, but it was not this so much that interested me. What was interesting was the potential for original, richly orchestrated music, rather than hot blowing. We got quite a bit of blowing, too, but the sounds of a largish front line was the attraction. I was thinking of bands like Carla Bley’s or Dave Brubeck’s Octet. This is a band with multiple composers and comprises 7 players including a decent front line. Promising! We got Sally Greenaway and Jenna Cave, composers who impressed last year with their “Take it in colour” CD. Added to this were an original composition by Rob Lee and some covers of Stefon Harris, a favourite of Sally's.

On the night, the Septet comprised: Sally Greenaway (piano), Phill Jenkins (bass), Ben Braithwaite (drums), Jono Apps (trumpet, flugelhorn), Jenna Cave (alto, soprano sax), Alistair Clarke and Rob Lee (trombones). As you’d expect, the sound was frequently luscious. The clear, bell-like brass tones were bliss, most notably when the troms played with the softer flugel. The sounds were highlighted particularly on Sally’s compostion, Take a break, which featured the four horns twisting conterpoint lines with no rhythm backing. The tunes were mostly modern styles, but a final number used cut-time and sounded of early jazz. In all, 5 of 7 tunes were originals.

Solos were played all around. I was especially taken by Jonno, who just seems to improve his soloing with each performance that I hear. Both the troms did highly capable solos, but I must highlight Alistair’s playing on the night. He replaced Valdis Thoman at short notice, but you wouldn’t have known it. His reading was exceptional, and his solos lively and true. There were impressive solos from Sally and Phill, and I especially liked Ben's effort with unison backing.

The import for the night was Arrow out of Sydney. They seemed to be missing one member (vibes) but the remaining players performed brilliantly. I understood why when I noted the names, well known in the JazzGroove scene. Unusually, Arrow is led by a drummer. But this is a drummer who composes, so he’s a more musical style of player. His compositions were cryptic in titling, modern and quite melodic in style, and often displayed rhythmic changes or twists which we should expect in a drummer’s charts. Just for the record, the tunes included titles like: The Russian, Obtuse, Solipsism, Big C reprise and the like. Wayland was clearer in its dedication to Sean Wayland, the Sydney pianist now resident in NY.

Arrow was Paul Derricott (drums), Mike Majkowski (bass), Simon Ferenci (trumpet) and Hugh Barrett (Rhodes/piano). Missing on the night was Dale Gorfinkel (vibes). Every player performed with excellence, and the band itself displayed that energy, commitment and passion that I’ll put down to a big city buzz. Whatever, it was hard and inspired from the top. I loved Simon’s long, sinuous and always correct solo lines. Great playing! Paul played with power and grace, pushing the tunes but also playing with considerable but subtle chops. A perfect match for Mike. Mike’s visited Canberra frequently over recent months. He’s always hugely committed and perfectly capable: an excellent rhythmic support, but also a capable soloist. Amusing at times too, as he strums or whacks or drums the bass. It’s not done for humour, of course, and often it forms a perfect, unexpected climax to his solos, but you can’t deny a certain tongue in cheek aspect. Hugh performed well too, variously octave solos or more mainstream, in our out of the harmony. This was occasionally quirky but mostly hard and committed modern jazz with an attractive melodic component. Very nice stuff.

So, another night that hits the mark at White Eagle. Let’s keep it going. Keep music live. Make a date with each White Eagle.