Back to blues

I used to attend blues jam regularly but it faded, but I've been looking forward to a return for some time. Finally, notification of a Blues Club jam at Hellenic and a free Sunday afternoon. Great! Pack my most appropriate instrument (stock standard sunburst fretted JB MIM with DiMarzio pups) and off. The host band was Northside City Slickers with John Van Buuren, Tim Spellman and Fred Pilcher and Bridget Croft sitting in for a few songs. Then the jammers list. I was lucky enough to play with a great band led by Chris Harland with Peter Kirkup, Mitch Preston and Chris Tominich on harp. Three 12-bar blues: Medium temp C, some walking; 12/8 in A; driving blues in G. That's the blues for ya. Great fun, fabulous amp (Mesa-Boogie, thanks Bucky), hot and tight. Then a series of other bands and various mates: Steve, Don, Ken, Ross, Dan, even Wayne Kelly made and appearance. A big hall with a decent crowd, some dancers, German beer away from the rain outside. Great!

Canberra Blues Society jam sessions are held 2-5.30pm, third Sunday each month, at the Harmonie German Club.

Canberra Blues Society monthly jam

Flat fives

Blue Note Fix is not the only group of musos who love this music. Post-bop is cool, bluesy but inventive, insinuating and easy to love. Think Sidewinder or Moanin' or Killer Joe or Stolen moments. This was the first outing of some mates who play as Blue Note Fix. They do it well, Hammond sound, calm choppy guitar, drums that know the essence of the tune and hold it, James up front on tenor with a deeply imbibed love of the style. No bass, but the organ works well for that, at least with that cloudy bass line with soft and gentle tonality. The Hammond in jazz is a style of its own. Peter plays a contemporary two-manual electronic Hammond sounding all the world like the original B3. Easy, laid back, chordal, arpeggiated, glissed. We joked Glissando man, but how can a bass player raise up a laugh when his instrument is relegated! You recognise all these tunes, even if they are just blues and even when they are previously unheard. This music is like that: it all feels just so simple and right with the bewitching grooves and comely melodies. And the band carried it off with relaxed persuasion. That's Blue Note for you. Every hot tune is very cool. The tunes? Chicken shack, Mellow mood, Blues walk, Killer Joe, I remember Clifford. More absolute common markers like All blues, Song for my father, and the insistent groove machine Mercy mercy mercy. All great tunes in their inevitability and simplicity and I can only share the love of this era. Blue Note remains a label for the ages. I understand the craving.

Blue Note Fix are James Hoogstad (tenor), Tyson Jones (guitar), Peter Kirkup (organ) and Jamal Salem (drums).

The joy of a nice gig

What a great little gig I played on Thursday night. It was just a piano trio with Peter and Brenton at the Tradies: quiet, spacious, relaxed. Peter was enjoying the Kawai grand, observing that it’s well maintained and the action is not as heavy as some Kawais and just how good it is to play a real piano. I hadn’t played for a while, but I had travels and European jazz clubs in my mind, as well as some recent listening to Scott LaFaro. His voluble, melodic style was in my mind. I was happy with my solos on the night, with space and melody and structure and some fast bits, but I still dropped back to 1s in accompaniment. But my pizz was working well, and that was pleasing. Strange to say, but for me the most important tone control is the volume control, meaning you have to get that right or your pizz is either pondrous or feeble. This night I got that right and dropped out some low-mid honk and it was sounding good. Ah, how nice is that! Brenton was also relaxed and enjoying the gig and our tempos were steady and solid. Just standards but it was a very nice gig and much enjoyed. I’m glad it was because I missed two others on the night, including Ben Hauptman just a few hundred metres away at the Loft. This one was worth it: this is why you bother with all the practice and the rest. Thanks to Peter and Brenton. Peter Kirkup (piano) led a trio with Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Who? What!

Cognac Lounge played a particularly smooth gig on Sunday, and I was enjoying the lounge grooves and even the hipster-cum-nightclubby connotations of this music was amusing revelry. Playing hits of Sneaky Sound System (who?) and Barry Gibb (what!) and Leonard Cohen (revived blast from the past) and big names and mid-sized names that I’d never heard of that were newer than Miles and not as new as Me’shell.

We fitted in a few swingers, too: the commonly jazzed up ones, but also Joyspring (vibrant) and East of the sun west of the moon (delightful) and Lament (exquisite). Lots of bass solos, Peter playing some angular substitutions and finding ways back in, Monica in fine voice which I seemed to hear for the first time given better monitoring and Brenton loose and busy over a performance rich in (musical) vamps. I’m gigging a bit more frequently these days, so time to stop reporting the run-of-the-mill gigs here, but this one was great fun.

Ice ice

This was a nice little gig. Cognac Lounge played again at Adore Tea. It was unseasonally cold and raining, so ice ice is not inappropriate. But that’s not all. CL is currently moving to smooth lounge with Sadé grooves and music in the style of the pop jazz ladies, like Diana Krall and Madeleine Peyroux, and even some minimalist dance tunes like Ice Ice Baby and Tainted love. I like the simple chords (Ice… has two, but these tunes often have just one) and the miasmic repetition and the simple but insistent hook. I’m suggesting we harden up a little with interesting pop numbers from the likes of Prince and Nirvana. But either way it’s an entertaining diversion from the standards: fewer and simpler chords, more hypnotic minimalism, more popular and well received. Entertainment is meeting the punters’ preferences, and I’m happy to do it. Cognac Lounge are Monica Moore (vocals), Peter Kirkup (keys), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Now Cognac Lounge

I always enjoy gigs but I was concerned. I’d been away for over four weeks and hadn’t touched a double bass. Double bass is a demanding instrument, requiring stamina and exactness, thus practice. But in the end all was OK after a few days of considered practice, and doubly so as I resuscitated my glorious Yamaha TRB-6P. So it was a good day. The weather was generous, Adore Tea had a decent crowd that enjoyed Monica’s singing, and the band was in good humour (and covering a few mistakes pretty well). The music was jumping by the end with tight grooves and plenty of solo space (and lots of bass solos). Sounds like a good gig to me. Thanks, guys, nice one.

Cognac Lounge is the new name of this line-up. CL comprises Monica Moore (vocals), Peter Kirkup (keys), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Fever in the freezer

The predictions were for a cold weekend (Min -3C, Max 12C. Fine, early frost) and we were playing outside, even if undercover. I was dreading freezing up with cold hands on my double bass. But in the end it was sunny and free of breezes and the fingerless gloves did their job. Quiros Street Collective played Adore Tea with a singer this time. I like playing with a singer. The tunes settle better, the less that is more is much easier to achieve, and the message or wit of the song is manifest. It just feels as it should be, voice being the personal and human thing that it is. It suits gigs like this, too. The public connect with a singer in a way they don’t with instruments. Instrumentalists have their own technical fascinations and a closeness to pure sound and can forget that most people don’t share this fascination. They see the band as just the support for the story teller, the singer. And fair enough too, if they are your interests. Of course, venues often feel the same way, because their customers like songs, especially ones they recognise. So it was when we played.

Monica Moore was singing. Peter plays with Monica in a local pop band, but she also enjoys the jazz standards and the malleable structures of jazz. Musicians sometimes reject standards in the search for originality. That’s OK, but the standards remain huge markers in the jazz tradition, examples of the very best of song-writing, and people who play them seriously argue for their capacity as training vehicles. Whatever, I just melt with the beauty of some tunes, even if their ubiquity can make them seem kitsch. Nothing particularly unusual, but we had a great time playing tunes like Georgia, The look of love, Secret love, Recordame, Summertime, You don’t know what love is, Joyspring, Fever and the like. Nothing unusual, but every one a long established work that was closer to its original purpose due to the vocals. Thanks, Monica, much enjoyed. We’ll do it again.

This time round, Quiros Street Collective was Monica Moore (vocals), Peter Kirkup (piano), Eric Pozza (bass) and Brenton Holmes (drums).

Resolve it on the 1

The QSCollective was out again for a pleasant Adore Tea gig. This time it was the core of Peter, Brenton and Eric with Joe Taylor sitting in on tenor. Joe’s inventive soloing was intriguing for the band, and I guess was considerably challenging for the audience, but was well received. Peter noted that it changed the way he played on the day. The dissonant lines called for clear harmonic definition at times, but also taunted us to respond in kind. I, too, like to break away on bass lines. In this context it’s satisfying and rooted just to state the changes, but also an aural extreme sport to go feral with chromatics or pentatonic substitutions. It can be like walking a vibrating pathway, but it works (can work?) when you resolve on the 1, and it certainly provides an alternative to diatonism. But it wasn’t all so out. There was some sublime swing with a gently paced standard, There will never be another you. I rediscovered the lovely ballad, Bewitched, and put a name to Rollins’ angular tritone blues, Blue seven. And I enjoyed the opportunity to replay an old favourite modal latin piece, Little sunflower. On the other hand, our Beatrice never really settled, despite its being pretty interesting and pretty, and I liked God bless the child with the 12/8 bluesy feel but Peter wasn’t so sure. I enjoyed the open sound of a sax trio for Blue bossa, and the ostinato line that Joe requested for bass on Softly as a morning sunrise opened up a new, if obvious, line of exploration for me. And I got to introduce Joe to a cute old favourite, Bluesette. Thanks to Joe and Peter and Brenton for a very enjoyable gig.

The Quiros Street Collective (QSC) comprised Peter Kirkup (piano), Joe Taylor (tenor), Brenton Holmes (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass) and played at Adore Tea House.

Suburban collectivism

Collective is a descriptor that’s been used by a number of bands since the 60s. They are usually at the avant-garde and/or communal end of the spectrum, what we’d call the left in politics, and imply a more cooperative approach to composition and creation of the music that renunciates the “big man” concept of a leader. A few mates and I have borrowed the term for our informal musical gatherings. It’s useful when you don’t know who might be available on any one day. We get different combinations of instruments and it’s so much easier to organise amongst otherwise busy lives. Maybe one day we’ll venture into composition and new musics, but for now it’s just a means to more easily arrange sessions. We meet at Quiros Street, so we are the Quiros Street Collective or QSC.

QSC did a gig yesterday as a piano trio playing standards, and with a singer/guitarist sitting in for a few tunes. Hardly avant-garde, but enjoyable nonetheless. It was a beautiful day, warm with a gentle breeze, and we were outside but under cover. The gig was for Adore Tea, a venue which is currently supporting local jazz with Sunday afternoon concerts. The trio sets were more indulgent, as instrumentals are, with longer solos and a more challenging take on the tunes. The vocals sets took the pace down a little but got more audience response, as vocals are wont to do. I found it interesting to hear words to jazz tunes, like Miles’ Four, and even some standards and latins that I know as instrumentals. We played a range of ballads and swing and latins: nothing unusual but beautifully written tunes that are tuneful and classic and always interesting to play. Thanks to Peter, Brenton and John for the outing.

Just an aside about voice. I was reading Bass Player mag the other day on Slam Stewart and Major Holley. They are early bass players who sang while playing bass. The article accompanied a transcription of Close your eyes, a number they recorded together, singing scat with two basses, accompanied by drums and piano. There was a comment from bassist Lynn Seaton saying that “singing while playing has helped me hear … instead of just letting my fingers play digital patterns” and perhaps more interestingly “having to take a breath forces me to leave space and improve the phrasing. It also helps my ability to play in tune” (Bass player, v.21, no.3, March 2010, p.51). Vocals really do introduce a humanity that instruments can lack. I tried to sing and solo and there was something different. Just to show how valuable is a voice.

Quiros Street Collective were a piano trio on the day, comprising Peter Kirkup (piano), Brenton Holmes (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass), and Hank Sinatra aka John Burke (vocals, guitar) sitting in for the later sets.

Moruya 2009

It’s time for my annual run to the Moruya Jazz Festival. I got to play and I heard the Canberra locals get together in various combinations, some I hadn’t heard, most I had. I’ve reported on them often enough, so just a few comments. Obviously my gig is vital for me, so I take the liberty to start with that!

I got together a few mates for the festival, and we appeared at Deja Two. Deja Two was Cameron Smith (flugelhorn), Peter Kirkup (piano), Mark Body (drums) and Eric Pozza (double bass). Just some standards, but: Cam reads easily and plays a stylish and correct solo with a lovely flugel tone; Peter knows his jazz history and music theory and is a pleasure to play and chat with; Mark is jazz school so well trained and possesses a broad swing (so says Peter); and I continue to struggle with my change to the big, acoustic bass, but I’m enjoying the challenge. We rushed a bit and were harmlessly messy on a few starts and finishes (it’s just a blow, after all) but indulged in some extended solos, got some decent band dynamics happening and pleasingly held the audience. So we enjoyed the outing.

The Air Raid Tavern added a second stage in the Bar this year. It’s been the modern end of the festival and the home of the ANU Jazz School for years and remains so. I was only down for Saturday and didn’t manage to move beyond these two stages.

The morning started with the Kade Brown Trio. It’s a young local (Eurabodalla Shire) outfit led by Kade Brown (piano) with Josh Freestone (drums) and Mishi Stern (bass) playing a standard repertoire of jazz tunes.

Angela Lount and the Fedoras played the soft pop/jazz (read working) end of the jazz spectrum with supple smoothness and some interesting playing. They are classy and you can see why they get the corporate gigs. Angela Lount (vocals) sings with the Fedoras: Paul dal Broi (piano), Dan McLean (trumpet), Hannah James (bass, sitting in for James Luke) and Chris Thwaite (drums). I noted a classy solo from Paul and a wonderful growling plunger mute solo from Dan.

I just caught a few bars of my mates Kooky Fandango. They play a bluesy-jazz style, without a chordal instrument (other than Peter when he plays chords on his crystalline 6-string Alembic bass). It was a fore-shortened KF with only 4 players on the day, but they are entertaining and well rehearsed and it shows. Courtney Stark (vocals) fronted Cameron Smith (trumpet, flugelhorn), Peter Barta (bass) and Robert Nesci (drums).

As Famous as the Moon is an institution around Canberra. Dirk Zeylmans (sax) leads a very smooth, stylish band with Graham Monger (guitar), Lachlan Coventry (bass) and John Milton (drums). Dirk is a renowned local sax technician, so you can expect wonderful tone along with his pleasant and very direct and personal patter. This is cool jazz in the ilk of Stan Getz. Graham played some lovely blues-scale infested lines which fitted like the glove; Lachlan is a well-trained guitarist who plays a supple electric-bass style; John Milton played understated but steady and observant drums.

Smooth or funky, whatever

I played with my smooth jazz cum 70s R&B outfit, Stolen Moments, at Pangaea today. It was cold. We were inside, but once the sun went down you remembered what Canberra winter was like, although the light rain reminded me of Melbourne. I enjoy this popular style: the Sinatra cool, the steady walks, the Jobim bossas and Nicky’s tongue in cheek Peggy Lee and Dusty Springfield and the like. I was playing double for the first sets, but strapped on the electric for last R&B set. I get a feature on Higher and higher and just a little one on Sade’s Smooth Operator. Otherwise, it’s finger funk playing: solid sixteenth note syncopation and long rests for drum fills, and I like it immensely. We’ve got a great little outfit, although James was missing today on sax. Peter plays all manner of keyboard sounds, although mostly piano for this outing. Mick is a sharp and rock-steady drummer who ornaments with wonderful precision, and Nicky was upfront with her alluring alto voice. Good fun and much enjoyed.

Stolen Moments was led by Nicky King (vocals) with Peter Kirkup (keyboards), Eric Pozza (acoustic and electric basses) and Mick Schow (drums). James Hoogstadt (tenor) was missing on the day.

Busy night

I’ve been busy, but with few gigs, so I enjoyed getting out last night. This one cost me a chance to sit in on Joe Lloyd’s band at ArtSound, at least for the full session, but your dutiful reporter managed a few pics anyway.

First, the gig. This one was a quartet pulled together at the last minute to fill an offered spot. I’d named the outfit The Crispians expecting it to be made up of members of my commercial band, Crisp, but only pianist Peter was available in the end. Neveen from the Jazz School filled the tenor role and Robert Nesci of Kooky Fandango filled in on drums. We chose from the Real Book, had a great time, and even played with considerable liveliness. The gig was on the pavement at King O’Malley’s, with plenty of drinkers and passers-by, and later a big band in competition (Blamey Street BB started playing towards the end of our gig on the Garema Place stage). That just brought out the aggro, and we all turned up and played with that much more vigour. Much enjoyed and thanks to fellow Crispians.

Neveen Byrnes (tenor) played with Peter Kirkup (piano), Robert Nesci (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass) as the Crispians.

I caught Joe Lloyd’s Quintet on ArtSound’s Friday Night Live on radio, then another a few minutes in the studio for some pics. They play music of an era that I love immensely. I think Joe had written all the charts. I’ve heard this band once before and was hugely impressed both times. They play a modal style with pretty simple underlying harmonies, thoughtful heads, and intriguingly dissonant solos. To me, this is bliss. There were three saxes out front (Joe leading on alto, with John Mackey and Sebastian Macintosh on tenors) and a piano trio rhythm section (Luke Sweeting, Hannah James and Ed Rodrigues). Ed was sitting in for Matt Sykes for the night, and John was a featured extra. Listening on car radio is fraught, so I didn’t manage the subtleties. But all horns were playing an exploratory, open, harmonically inventive style. I noticed Joe and Seb drop into screaming outbursts, while John tended to hold more within (always mobile) harmonic statements with nice historical leanings. Luke was masterful with modern fourths sounds and jagged lines. Ed was pushing the band with incredible energy, and I felt the style suited Hannah, because it was a very comfortable and solid bass underlying the solos and melodies. JLQ is playing at Jazz Uncovered so catch them if you can.

Joe Lloyd (alto) led a quintet with John Mackey (tenor), Sebastian McIntosh (tenor), Luke Sweeting (piano), Hannah James (bass) and Ed Rodrigues (drums).

Infidel-ity?

Just why the studio is called Infidel, I don’t know, but Duncan Lowe obviously does a good job, so what’s in a name?

Over the weekend, my commercial jazz cum disco/pop band, Stolen Moments cum Crisp cum Kitsch in Synch, went into Infidel Studios at Queanbeyan to record a demo CD. It was a solid day’s work, especially for Duncan who engineered, mixed and finally mastered. We managed 9 tracks with a few extra layers for harmonies, Hammonds, percussion and the like, although it took us a few extra hours to finish all the mixing and mastering. We’d gone into the studio hoping to record 6 tracks and put down two takes on each. In the end, we added three throwaways with a single take, and they were good enough given we were nicely warmed up by that stage. As for the twin takes, we generally found take 2 was the better one, given a reorientation to the tune from the first take. We found that first take often moved slightly in speed, then would settle to a tempo, and this would be the right tempo that defined the second take. It was surprising how just a few clicks on the metronome made so much difference to the feel.

Everyone was in good form on the Saturday. We played the takes with headphones and well isolated instruments. My bass amp was in a separate room and miked with a speaker (a speaker is really only a mic in reverse). I’d read about the technique, and Duncan says he likes it for the high-end roll-off on bass. It certainly ended up sounding good. Nicky was singing in the master suite for the guide track, and James ended up isolated in the kitchen, but we could all hear each other well enough given individual headphone mixes. I found it was not at all difficult to work through headphones, given decent settings for headphone levels. I finished my part early, so could then relax. We selected takes, did a few minor digital fixes. Then a few hours to record the vocals and layer harmonies, percussion and extra keyboards. Duncan had used a few tube pre-amps and compressors during the tracking, especially for vocals, and had been riding the sliders. But his ear and gear came particularly into play with the mix, where he was busily EQ-ing and patching in various outboard toys: more pre-amps, compressors, delays and a deft touch of reverb. He finished mixing final tracks on Monday night, then a little mastering and we had a decent 30minutes of demo.

Infidel seems to record plenty of local rock and indie-folk acts (of which there’s a strong local scene), but he’s also done some jazz and funk styles (Casual Projects recorded a CD there). Our session was just one-day to record a demo CD, but he does longer projects, albums and the like, and will often work with other studios, especially for the mystical mastering stage for CDs due for release. He’s obviously proud of his analogue gear and 2” multi-track tape recorder, although his digital work seems bloody good to my ears. He can also record on location. He did a great job, worked hard and our band was excited with the results as they appeared. It’s been a great experience, hard work but fun, and we get something a little more permanent out of it. And it sounds bloody good.

Stolen Moments comprises Nicky King (vocals), James Hoogstad (tenor sax), Peter Kirkup (keyboards), Mick Schow (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass). We recorded at Infidel Studios, Queanbeyan, with Duncan Lowe producing.

BTW, this is CJBlog post no. 300. Still going pretty strongly and heading towards 500. Wish me luck.