Edge and centre/er

NYC is too far away for Canberra but a little of it was back at Smiths after its workshop outing that afternoon. This was Quentin Angus, ex-Adelaide but not NYC, leading a trio with Sam Anning, six recent years in NYC but recently back in Melbourne, and Ari Hoenig who I've only known as NYC. A stunner! Quentin led with several of his capable compositions plus a few that displayed his interests, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Parker, Goo Goo Dolls (Iris), Oasis (Wonderwall). Again, the updating of the standards repertoire with songs of today: it's an essential refresh. Quentin had spoken earlier in the day of the business of music: playing melodies that people know is one aspect of this. I also liked the political reference. As we fret over Trump, one of Quentin's tunes was One for Bernie (Sanders). Obama campaigned on hope: we could do with some now. But the playing? Variously restrained and exuberant. Quentin's is neat and precise, thoughtful, clean despite some discrete background echo and an intriguing freeze pedal. Sam's is also precise (they all were this!) but more playful, swapping lines back and forth with the hugely exuberant Ari. Ari's a master of the polyrhythms, although always with a purpose in the tune, cognizant of melody. But busy, he is. There's huge embellishment here, dynamics, rhythmic subdivisions, colour that washes over the band. I was amused by the interplay of Sam and Ari and additionally amused to hear Sam checking tuning in a solo and making it part of the music. This is virtuosic playing. Quentin is also listed as a composer and you can hear the complexity in unison lines and neat accompaniments - and see it in 5-page charts that get turned over mid-tune. As ever, NYC visits with chops and intellect and I love every visit. It had me resubscribing to the Smalls feed. At the edge visiting the centre.

Quentin Angus (guitar) led a trio with Sam Anning (bass) and Ari Hoenig (drums) at Smiths.

Double dose workshopping

I just hope this continues. The ANU School of Music presented another public, free workshop with visiting artists, this time Quentin Angus with Ari Hoenig and Sam Anning. This is the NYC connection and I was waiting with some anticipation for the gig in the evening. The workshop was an added bonus. I arrived early enough to hear Ari experimenting with various polyrhythmic stuff. It was going ot be the theme of the day. I thought it was a warmup, various limbs playing various patterns, but he told me later it was trying to revisit something he'd heard. Then into two talks. Firstly, Quentin on the business side of making it as a muso. This is not something students always put their mind to but it's essential. He suggested even 50% of time on career vs craft is apt, perhaps even 70% career to establish yourself. Times were that you a record label contract or nix; now it's different. Then he ran through a string of matters: power is now with the artists; streaming pays virtually nix; video equals discoverability (use both Facebook and Youtube); diversify with multiple income streams: gigs, tours, workshops, music libraries, transcription and other books, teaching; philanthropy, grants and competitions; use tools (contact managers, email marketing); join APRA; websites; agents and publicists; legal matters. Lots ot investigate and necessary to make a buck.

Then Ari provided the earliest of introductions to polyrhythms (which we mostly failed). Firstly, don;t be in denial; it's needed for all. The session reminded me of similar exercises by Will Vinson a few months before at a workshop at Smiths (Ari plays with Will). We tapped 4/4 and clapped 6 against it (quarter note triplets); then 12 over 4/4 (eighth note triplets), then displaced the accents, from first note of triplet, to second, to third; then accenting each fourth triplet note, then sixth, etc. All against the 4/4 tap and singing a song along (we did Blue monk then Blue bossa). This is the first steps for complexity in rhythm, polyrhythms, and it's needed by all players, even if only to respond to others using it. Suffice to say, we were weak. This is not easy but it is something you can practice anywhere, anytime, with no gear.

We heard some enticing music that promised much for the evening's gig and got challenged on two fronts, Quentin's, the business front that many tend to ignore, and Ari's, the complex polyrhythmic richness that is an essential ingredient of today's jazz. I'm still pondering; a very beneficial outing.

Quentin Angus (guitar), Sam Anning (bass) and Ari Hoenig (drums) presented a workshop at the School of Music. Quentin spoke on business matters in music; Ari spoke on first steps in polyrhythms.

Adel-NYC connections

Australians are everywhere in the jazz world and plenty are in NYC. The Quentin Angus Quintet played at CGS Gallery the other night. Three of five are Adelaide sourced, two of these are currently resident in NYC. I’d actually heard the NYC pair sometime back in Adelaide, so they even have a history on CJ. But any visit from a famed jazz city is exciting to local jazzers and this certainly was.

Quentin leads from guitar, writing most of the tunes and leading the band. They have played widely at festivals around the world, and its shows in their tightness and easy responsiveness to arrangements, all the starts and stops and changing feels, and in the easy responsiveness of the players to each other. It’s a very accessible, attractive music. It reminded me of West Coast guitarists with easy feels and lyrical melodies and some rock influences. John Abercrombie isn’t West Coast, but he is of the fusion camp and I’m pretty sure that Quentin has been studying with him. Quentin’s attractive compositions and echoed tone and crisp runs reminded me of that scene. So did US drummer Kenneth Salters. I asked about his take on technique, playing ride with left hand, not crossing the snare hand. He told me he’s left-handed playing a right-handed kit. I didn’t quite confirm if that’s by preference or loan (the kit was on loan) but his technique didn’t seem to suffer at all. [PS. I checked YouTube later and Kenneth is regularly playing a right hand kit]. It actually seemed that this uncrossed form lent itself to a driving, less riffy/repeating style rich in toms and fills and responsiveness and implied rhythms. This was subtle and colourful playing with dynamics that moved easily with surrounding solos and drum lines that fell effortlessly from his sticks. Chad on soprano and tenor saxes was the major soloist, even if everyone had their spot in the sun. Geoff remarked on the power of his soprano, and it was a satisfying tone. He’s a lanky man and he strangely rocked and cavorted and stepped but his long unstoppable lines moved through tonality and dissonance with structured fours and were a wonderful display of modern-cum-contemporary jazz. Matt on piano was more impressionistic, presumably with classical references. I missed most of his comping because the small grand was not a match for this band in flight, but this was softer, flowing with large scale and range and arpeggiated colours. Bassist Lyndon was the only Australian resident, out of Adelaide and presumably touring with returned mates but no chops lost here. He was strong, fast, responsive and quite an eye-opener in thumb positions. They mostly played originals by Quentin, but there were some standards: takes on Rhythm’a’ning and A weaver of dreams and Ornette’s Turnaround and well altered arrangements of Nardis by Matt and another of All the things you are featuring drums. But the essence of this band was driving and powered jazz with a good deal of post-bop influence and attractive compositions. Great stuff. Adelaide done good here; no doubt about that. Much enjoyed.

Quentin Angus (guitar) led his quintet at the Canberra Grammar School Gallery to launch their new CD, Perception. The Quintet comprised Quentin with Chad Lefkowitz-Brown (soprano, tenor sax), Matthew Sheens (piano), Lyndon Gray (bass) and Kenneth Salters (drums).

Black noted in Adelaide

It was a visit to Adelaide for Christmas, and a chance to catch up on jazz in my hometown. I’d checked the Net before the visit. There seemed to be plenty of jazz in Adelaide, but not much at the time I was around. But I’d found an informative site that listed a young band playing “bossa to cool jazz and hard bop”. The band was the Christian Weber Quartet although it performed on the night as a drummerless quintet.

The CWQ were young players with connections through jazz studies at Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium: some were current students, others met there but were now further afield. They played a well-known set of charts (Blue bossa, Alone together, St Thomas, Softly, Song for my father, All the things you are, Bird’s strangely lighthearted My little suede shoes and obscure Segment, etc) with just a few originals in the final set. The two originals were by the guitarist and bassist, and were perfectly presentable. I would have liked more. Ross’s “I can’t believe it’s come to this” was in the standards tradition, and Quentin’s “Cruisin’” was laid back groove. Both were decent tunes, and worth the outing. The core of the band were capable, smooth swingers. Chris Weber (trumpet, flugelhorn), Quentin Angus (guitar) and Ross McHenry (bass). They played with restraint and gentle volume: Chris was lyrical with a sweet tone and frequent falls to flat fifths and sevenths; Quentin was typically jazz guitar smooth, capable and fluid. Ross interested me with his 6-string electric bass, some occasional slaps and thumb work, but mostly fast and melodic solo lines high on the neck. This was quiet music suitable for restaurants and cocktails and perhaps a little too laid back for the venue (but maybe I’m just displaying my preference for a bit of raunchy, hard swing).

The ring-ins were Matt Sheens (piano) and Patrick Thiele (trumpet). The two trumpeters had played together some time back at the Con, but Chris had gone to Japan for work, and Patrick had departed to Melbourne for further study. Patrick played much hotter and tougher than Chris, free from bar lines and root notes, and frequently and comfortably moving in and out of tonality. His intro to Autumn leaves at breakneck pace was clear evidence of his approach. I particularly liked Matt Sheens (piano). Piano is an orchestra in itself, so lends itself to rich ornamentation, harmony, invention. Matt was confident and free enough to sit in or out, reharmonise and move through discordances, play through extended atonal sequences, anticipate and otherwise mangle time, switch from chords to lines and back at will. I also enjoyed what seemed to me to be a rich sense of the history of piano, as he played in various styles. This was an impressive display from a current student, and he’s obviously someone to watch.

It was a disappointingly small audience, but I met several local jazz supporters. Ross Spain is a music writer and reviewer for the Australian Jazz Scene and the South Australian Jazz Archive. Yacek Szocinski of the Yacek Jazz Agency is the promoter of the Black Note Club. Chris (missed her surname) is on the committee of the longstanding Jazz Action Society in Adelaide. It was also interesting to hear news of the current course at the Adelaide Conservatorium and to compare notes on names from the past (Schmoe, Ted Nettlebeck, Ralph Franke, Hal Hall [all still around] and Dave Dallwitz and the Creole Room [sadly departed] were mentioned). There was also talk of a big band run by Mike Stewart, a teacher at the Con and the local Jazz Coordinator. They play monthly at one of the pubs around town, and sound like a local gem.

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Elder Conservatorium