At times quirky

Bianca started with Bluesette, all scat over a classic standard, subtly interpreted and nicely felt then explained that she liked humour in her tunes.  Not that that's all she did, but it was obvious and her chatter just confirmed it.  The next tune was I'm hip then later Peel me a grape and Is that a monkey you've got.  But there was also a twist with very effective story told in person concerning Greek politics, known to her if not to most of us.  The lyric-writing was a stunner, personal and sincere and chilling and ending "Think of the people I've killed / I never will".  Geez, that's expressing politics.  Otherwise, this was a joyous and touching occasion at the end o her ANU degree (SOM and politics).  Not just that, but touching and intimate piece by Joni Mitchell and Graduation Blues, another of her originals.  I just stayed for the first set but this was a stunner.  A top band, piano, bass, drums, subtle and relevant and underplayed despite solos, swollen with harmony vocals and guitar or three horns or whatever.  A celebration of that Graduation.  Not at all the blues.  This was one I hadn't seen or expected to attend and it was a beauty.  Glad I stayed, even if only for one set.

Bianca Tzioumis (vocals) celebrated her graduation and EP release with Ruben Hinton (piano), Harrison Whalan (bass) and Oliver Stott (drums) and a string of invitees at Smiths.

Free Tues

It was a free Tuesday and that means Molly and perhaps Smiths but who was Cherly? I didn't know the name and no reference in FB or otherwise that I could find.  Lucky I went.  Cherly were great.  Students or thereabouts from the Music School and that's always a good sign.  First up, a latin and a swinger but not played standard at all.  This was all rich chords, Nord piano tones, 16th note busy bass, edgy drum fills, interestingly ignoring the grand piano and facing each other for easy visual closeness on that small stage.  I was loving this, but then a tune had me thinking Domi & JD Beck and that scene.  In the end it was a Kiefer tune, another contemporary jazz/hiphop/electronics crossover.   Then later another one by Kiefer called Cute.  A similar chordal piano wash and moving effects through solos and blistering bass and stunningly perverse drum grooves and a drum solo over an ostinato.  Just lovely stuff.  So who were Cherly?  Ruben Hinton, Harrison Whalan and Elisha Adisa.  In the break I got off to Smiths for a Bang! Beng!... session.  Not quite so thrilling for this jazz oriented listener.  I caught three singer songwriters with strummed or fingerpicked guitar and presumably self-penned songs.  This is more folk scene, so words and thoughts and feelings are more central and for that they were interesting.  Danny V with songs of Trouble blues, Jungle of your love, Zoom catastrophe and more.  Merryn Cavenaugh with songs mostly of love and relationships but also about not being so young anymore (early 30s), Ready for you, This love has changed you/me.  Then Jeffrey Charles, self-described musical comedian with songs of "banal middle class existence": I wanna work from home, Take back the skies (kill all the magpies), You need deodorant and You asked me why I left the group chat.  Variously amusing, angry, social, relational.  So an interesting night out and a great jazz find.

Cherly performed at Molly.  Cherly are Ruben Hinton (piano), Harrison Whalan (bass) and Elisha Adisa (drums).  Danny V, Merryn Cavenaugh, Jeffrey Charles (guitar, vocals, songwriting) performed at Smiths.