Mr Jones' offsider

Eric Ajaye hosted a Q&A with bassist Gene Perla at the end of his concert for the Jazz Haus at Tuggeranong Arts Centre and my ear particularly picked up at the mention of Mingus.  Amongst some questions about his technique, GP mentioned Mingus' influence after attending his gig.  As I understood it, it was to play more freely over the neck, more freely over positions.  I had noticed frequent playing of the E-string right up the neck, the use of longer intervals and 11th hand shapes in walking, an ease in all positions; John B mentioned the spaces left in walks.  GP advised to avoid open strings, presumably to promote this neck freedom up the neck and regardless of keys.  I'm not so sure of that one.  And one interesting quote caught my attention: "If I hear you, you're messing up [=not in the pocket].  I need to pay attention to me".  But this is bass chatter.  The music was a revisit to the classic Live at the Lighthouse album from the Elvin Jones band (Elvin Jones, Gene Perla, Steve Grossman, Dave Liebman), so hard bop, driving tunes, passed solos, some delicious harmonies on originals by all and more.  It was too loud at first but Gene insisted on a quieter bass in set 2 and the concert came alive to my ears.  Suddenly the piano was always there, the bass was more acoustic-toned although via the amp and easier to follow, the drums were more subdued and the two tenors clearer and more intimate in interactions.  Quite an amazing change.  But it was always going to be a hard-blown outing.  They played a range of hard bop tunes and two standards.  I drooled over some glorious harmonised written parts between the two tenors and great solos, Roger all range and light, flighty tone and beautiful lines and Andy just unrelenting hard eighth-note blowing , driving and expansive drumming from Mark, big sounding, full handed accompaniment and solos from Brett and of course that wonderful presence and drive from Gene, all over the fingerboard, always intriguing and personal and often referring the Elvin Jones band that I knew.  There were chats I would have liked to have with Gene but no luck, but to hear him remains educative, sometime breathtaking, just as Eric Ajaye was suggesting.  Truth is, we never spot learning.  I did a webinar just yesterday and they spoke of the same thing, that instruments demand this endless improvement, this time noting it can interfere with other paths in music, here,  the perfect pop song.  All paths, all valid I reckon.  But what a huge pleasure to see and hear these formative musicians in the flesh.  Oh, and one absurdist glasswork from an exhibition at TAC.

Gene Perla and band played music from the album Elvin Jones Live at the Lighthouse at the Jazz Haus at Tuggeranong Arts Centre.  Gene Perla (bass) led the band with Roger Manins and Andy Sugg (tenors), Brett Williams (piano) and Mark Sutton (drums).

Openers 2

Hip Flask is led by Roger Manins and is presented as barbeque music that will go down well with the neighbours as well as the jazzers. It’s true. I loved this outing. All grooves and blues and wonderful playing. It’s an odd combination with nice weight-weight but light-toned Hammond organ and Leslie sharing keyboard space with truncated, dissonance-rich, Monk-inspired quirkiness on piano, driving straight-ahead drumming, fabulously fat and clever tenor, soft but deep and endemic swing from bass and a leavening of stage humour. One tune starts with a wooden flute that’s bought on the day and played in the key of the new instrument. Apparently Stu could only find a plastic descant recorder in Wang, so this was it, wrapping peeled on stage and song key set. Surprisingly, Roger did a decent solo on the thing but lamented at the end “It’s horrible, this thing. Wang, can’t you do better?” He prefers wood. There were new tunes, choppy organ grooves, odd contrasting times. I failed to understand one count; I thought the organ was playing 3 and the rest 4, but that doesn’t sound nearly complex enough for this oddity. There were agile and contorted heads and simple bluesy repeats. There were some stellar solos. I particularly enjoyed the bizarre piano (I write bizarre with great respect!) and Roger’s firm lines, but I reeled from Brendan’s extended outing, soft but strong, long and ever intriguing. It’s not always you can say that of a bass solo but he’s such a master of swing. There was deep ‘70s funk and swapped fours between organ and piano (strange that one, what keyboard contrasts), and a most amazingly beautiful ballad, The beauty in their eyes, with haunting sax over raindrop piano accompaniment, then openly-spelt bass harmonies that were stunning. My foot tapped throughout but my brain synapsed too. Both clever and earthy and open to all. Great stuff.

Then off to the Blues tent for a very different experience. More people, more beer, more dancing, much much much more volume, less grey hair. Perhaps this is the real place for the barbeque and the neighbours (if not for the ears). I’d gone for some authentic, black American blues guitar from Joe Louis Walker. Blues is all much of a muchness and I feel it’s all been played before, but this was obvious quality. It’s not easy to do a style with authenticity and authority and this had both. Great presence, sharp blues solos, thumping drive, basic bass, expressive keys and busy drums. Plenty of dancers up front, plenty of beers, a modicum of cops and the breathalyser on the street outside. And that thapping punch in the stomach from every bass drum kick. Good and social and fun but deadly for the aural anatomy. It wasn’t quite so deafening out of the line of fire of the PA, but I didn’t last too long.

Finally, the Pinsent Hotel, jamming-home of the festival. It’s Friday and not the busy night and the trad end of the scene was in residence. I caught a few tunes from the Syncopators. Again, more entertaining and irreverent than the modern stuff at the major theatres. These were decent players but my interests lie elsewhere, and, wary of breathalysers, I stayed for only one beer.

Hip Flask are led by Roger Manins (tenor sax, recorder) with Stu Hunter (organ), Adam Ponting (piano), Brendan Clarke (bass) and Toby Hall (drums). Joe Louis Walker (guitar, vocals) played the blues with Phillip Young (keys, sax), Lenny Bradford (bass, vocals), Anthony Cage (drums). The Syncopators are Pater Gaudion (trumpet, vocals), Chris Lydowyck (trombone), Richard Miller (clarinet, sax) with Steve Grant (piano), Peter Baylor (guitar), James Clark (bass) and Andrew Swann (drums).