Best way to end the term 1

I only catch The Phoenix and TAFE when I see something of particular interest but I usually enjoy it when I do. The music course at Canberra Institute Of Technology (CIT) had an end-of-year concert where the faculty played with students performing mostly original tunes by the students. My mate mike is doing some composition studies and he was presenting two tunes. Mike’s were more complex, filmic sounding tunes. One lovely ballad, Soliloquy, that we’ve played in Gossips, and a complex structured piece in 7/4 with various time changes. The rest of the night was not like that. It was more rock and blues and pop, which I can only enjoy, and then the ending. More on that later.

So who were the performers? The faculty was a great little band. I’m sure the rehearsals would not have been extensive. I know that they had just a short time with Mike’s tunes and they were obviously the most complex and Greg was preparing by reading through dots in the break. Many of the other tunes were the daily grind for players with this experience and they were played with eminently solid grooves, plenty of colour and some great solos. James Luke was solid and wonderfully authoritative and often playful on a 6-string Modulus bass with classic SWR/4x10 presence. This was a delightfully varied performance of chords, slaps, pops, thumbs, fingerfunk over 24-frets and six strings but always with an unrelenting groove in mind. Dan McLean was fabulous on trumpet. He used mute on one ballad and a rotary-valved flugelhorn on another, but it was mostly hugely blues-inflected, growly trumpet. This was really strong playing in an idiom that doesn’t see lots of trumpet. Third year student AJ (Adrian Tonkovicz) was on drums and was also eminently solid and steady with a punchy amplified kick, as is called for in a rock/blues style, although he could have let loose a bit more for my jazz-atuned ears. I found both Troy Hambly and Greg Stott were taking a back-line rhythmic role, or at least were not loud and out front and centre, but both blew the audience away with fast and furious solos when they let go. Troy impressed me as musical director / conductor with the dynamics and coordination he imparted, a common role for pianists, and played some great rhythmic two-handed solos out of the R&B songbook. Greg is a stunner with sweeps and fast screaming guitar and there was some of this, although mostly he was playing more cleanly with a bluesy approach. Either way, terrific and exciting guitar playing. He also filled rhythmic duties on a cajun rhythm box at times although this was not too prominent amongst the other players.

The faculty band from the CIT Music School was Troy Hambly (keyboard), James Luke (bass), Dan McLean (trumpet, flugelhorn), Greg Stott (guitar) and third year student AJ (Adrian Tonkovicz, drums)

Best way to end the term 2

Danni Paryce started the show by singing a version of Cry me a river with a notably strong voice. Belinda Whyte sang two tunes with offsiders. A James Morrison soul tune called You give me something, and her original called Rise above. Her voice was nicely even and controlled and I enjoyed the sweet harmonies from Ruth then Lauree. Maddie Smeltink presented a totally different style, a quizzical old-style swing original about a modern day temptress called All about Eve. I must admire her for her for being so catholic in her tastes. Alex Cowell presented a very attractive original balled. Alex is the daughter of well-known local blues singer, Judy Pierce, so I’m not surprised that she showed such maturity and presence. By the end of the night, she’d sung numerous other tunes with confidence and real enjoyment for her and the dancing audience. Entertainment is much more than just musical skill and Alex carried it over with considerable panache. Ruth O’Brien sang Winter blues with a nicely authentic bluesy feel. Lauree Stuart sang another original ballad called Perfect, and Mike Walsh led his fusion original that reminded me of Corea and gave space for some nice indulgent solos from the band and beaming smiles from Mike.

The second set started with two originals by Mike Dooley. Mike is a seasoned player and it showed in the richness of composition, his leadership on the bandstand and his capable horn-like right hand solo lines. Miles away was a moody 7/4 with plenty of changes and Soliloquy was a lovely ballad. It was no surprise to me when Troy Hambly introduced Mike as not seeming like a student. Maggie Jeffs sang Fatts Waller’s Ain’t misbehavin’ as a rocky 12/8 and Gershwin’s Summertime with obvious and attractive Amy Whitehouse influences. The band then played a gentle and pretty original instrumental number by Lauree called Swan waltz. How interesting that a singer writes an instrumental. Simon Weaving sang a working class singer-songwriter tune, and Alex returned to present an original song by drummer AJ, although with apologies for not learning and performing the middle rap due to gender issues. Wouldn’t be alone there. The formal program ended with Simon returning to sing Ian Dury’s Hit me with your rhythm stick with that hugely funky bass line.

Then it was on for one and all for a long, unplanned medley of funk and rock and disco and good times. This really was a blast: dancing in the aisles, requests and passing of mics, lots of good muso memory and a few searches for chords and riffs, punchy fingerfunk bass, Mitch Canas amongst other visitors, rotating singers and harmonies and tons of smiles and laughter and joshing all round. What tunes? The intense funk of Rhythm stick started it, then over the next 30 minutes or so I noted Play that funky music, Superstition, Purple haze, Californication, Beat it!, My Sharona, Groove is in the heart, Sex machine and perhaps another half dozen. All pulled out of the hat or called as requests. Not too obscure, but nicely done at no notice. So? Great night, impressive playing and much fun. Just as the end of term should be.

Students and faculty from the CIT Music School included Danni Paryce, Maddie Smeltink, Alex Cowell, Ruth O’Brien, Lauree Stuart and Maggie Jeffs (singers), Adrian Tonkovicz (drums) and Mike Walsh (guitar). Mitch Canas (vocals) sat in.

Big improv

It’s not a thing of melody or even harmony, although there’s some minimal harmony there, and although there are times of immense rhythmic energy, there are others where rhythm is in repose. I don’t find Spartak and their like an intellectual music, more a music that guts the senses and pummels the emotions: intensely present and demanding of a response. Spartak’s gig yesterday at the Phoenix was wonderfully satisfying. I think it’s mood that this music emanates, with segments that are dreamy and others explosive.

Evan was in fabulous form. The drums were loud and heavy and big sounding in rock style rather than submissive swing and he was writhing in his seat as he threw forth the most truncated syncopations, hugely varied in rhythm and tone and, well, creative. I was aghast with these drums. Powered, precise, full and rounded and profusely varied. Taking the more cerebral drones from Shoeb’s processed guitar or voice or clarinet and exploding rhythmic possibilities. This was loud and it fitted, although it would have benefited from a clearer PA to serve the sound. I lost the detail of Shoeb’s lava-like structures as they flowed glutinously through the soundscapes. I noticed some simple repeated minor thirds, but the PA didn’t do justice to the detail, and the essence of this is the detail. The duo played a single set of 30 minutes, moving in and out through themes like Peon the week before. This was one set of Travis Heinrich’s mini festival, “Hey Dad, can you pick me up from Josh’s, otherwise it’s like two buses”. Being a parent to this university-aged group I see it from the other side, but the odd title rings true just the same. Nice to visit the Phoenix, too. It’s delightfully bohemian-bedraggled with a pleasant and intelligent clientelle. The festival was mostly indie, JJJ-style but the audience recognised and responded to this free, improvised music. So both audience and band impressed. Short but sweet all round.

Spartak are Shoeb Ahmad (guitar, voice, clarinet, laptop and processing) and Evan Dorrian (drums, percussion, some processing) and they played at the Phoenix Pub.

PS. Thanks to Shoeb for this explanatory info below. BTW, Spartak are soon heading off to play concerts in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Japan. Best of luck from CJ. In the meantime, you can hear them on 17 March at Urbancity, a mixed arts festival around Canberra over several days in March.

"I like what you wrote about our music being just really an intellectual music but something more visceral and physical - that's how we approach the improvisations we do and I think it helps making it a bit more 'accessible' though of course, I think the music itself has to mean something to the listener to really understand it, as with most free improvised music.

"Also, it's good that you noted that a lot of the sonic detail wasn't clear through the PA. Evan and I feel that we play louder and 'heavier' in those situations, even if it's still very washed out. I assume it adds to the physical nature of the sound but when we perform in, say, a gallery space, the music becomes a little bit more clear and spacious, maybe more delicate too.

"Re my sounds, I am essentially running my electric guitar through various effects pedals with distortions and looping functions directly into the laptop where I also have some processing tools and can set up loops, mainly as layers. Melodically, I was building up layers of guitar notes and chords, both clean plucked and without the string attack so I had a base before I started playing any sort of clear chord progression. During the middle section, I used the guitar as a soundboard by using the pickups to amplify the dictaphone with a field recording of trains I took in Bangladesh and also amplified the music box to have a melodic point of difference.

"The harmonica mic I had was also going into the laptop, so I could do some real-time processing with either the vocal or the clarinet so it has a more texturally quality.

"Evan was running loops and sounds of his laptop at various points during the performance though he also does some live processing with a microphone on the drum kit which adds a nice texture to the wall of sound."

Lightly edited email from Shoeb Ahmad