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.