No fixed pitch

At one stage, Gian Slater commented on U.nlock, her band with Shannon Barnett, Sam Anning and Rajiv Jayaweera, as being a challenge because there were no instruments of fixed pitch. U.nlock is vocal, tromone, acoustic bass and drums, so hitting the right pitch takes good ears and technique. I didn’t hear it as a problem, though, and Gian joked that it wasn’t “95% of the time”. This is also an open-sounding band with no chordal instruments. They did it all with skill and accuracy and considerable panache. I was drooling over trom harmonies below Gian’s soprano voice. I loved the solo bass and the modern take on scat that used sidestepping and sequences and clever dissonancne like any contemporary sax.
I was stunned by some trom solos, that fat raspy tenor tone, sometime staccato, only once somewhat flourished, but always definite in chordal relationships and pitch. Not that this was too mainstream. The trom and bass could be deliciously independent of chord tones and tonal centres when they chose to be, moving very freely against or over the changes. Alone together is a tune that I regularly practice but I didn’t recognise the opeining bass solo and only just picked up the tune from the liberally arranged head. Contemporary jazz can stray very far from the underlying tune; jazz is now a very evolved art. Noone got lost, at least amongst the band. They played some originals by Gian and originals and arrangements by Shannon and a series of standards. These are old friends from teritiary training in Melbourne and they were getting together a tour of Wangaratta, 505 and more. It’s a return for Shannon, Sam and Raj who have been in NYC for several years. They were reading charts for the originals but it all sat easily. Raj is an undemonstrative drummer but clear and firm and steady. Shannon also had me thinking of how each instrument, or perhaps each group of instruments, has its own patterns, phrases, lines that sit easily. Her solos were not solos of sax, although she was fronting the same tunes. Similarly, hers were nothing like Sam’s bass solos. As guitar and keys solos are not like either. Both played clearly defined ideas of intelligence and responsiveness, but each was different. As were Gian’s solos, which were perhaps more like keys, sequences of scalar snippets, but with delicacy of tone and some everests of pitch, that were nothing like the earthy tone of the trom. All interesting, exploratory and quite a unique combination with some exceptional musicianship. Bring on more of that NYC vibe. U.nlock comprised Gian Slater (vocals), Shannon Barnett (trombone), Sam Anning (bass) and Rajiv Jayaweera (drums).

Vamp

I thought I had the Vampires sorted. Dub and reggae rhythms with highly syncopated melodies and some fairly short but very sweet and capable jazz solos. Despite their name and a relaxed readiness to settle on a groove and several clear vamps against drums solos, I didn’t particularly feel the Vamp-ires’ vamps defined the band. This was more a broad contemporary crossover. An all-ages band (tongue-in-cheek alert) appealing to jazz aficionados along with a pub set. There’s a lot of this around, partly to earn cash and partly to merge catholic interests of creative musicians into their more esoteric jazz studies. Nothing new, really: Diz crossed to latin; Miles crossed to rock; Herbie crossed to funk; Bad Plus crossed to grunge. Contemporary jazz is a melange and all the better for it. So I’d set them in the reggae camp, but there were the delicious trad-style collective solos, a fairly free outing during the second set and to top it off, a clear rock feel to finish. I’m chastened and promising not to put bands in boxes in future, but I’m elated. Great stuff and eminently entertaining and intellectually satisfying to boot.

The Vampires are a quartet of alto and trumpet fronting bass and drums but this outing added a Melbourne mate, Shannon Barnett, on trombone. So the front line was that much richer in harmonies and solos and tonal and conceptual contrasts. Trumpeter Nick Garbett was a wonder, playing with embrochure and squeels and squeaks, or blaring with rapid-fire lines that flared easily over changing chords. He was a finalist in the recent Australian Jazz Award at Wangaratta for brass, so I’m not the only one to recognise these skills. I’d caught Shannon Barnett at Wang but not in so intimate a setting, and was looking forward to this gig. She didn’t disappoint. Her solos were authoritative and nicely developed, with clearly-imagined melodic lines, often as calls-and-responses, and displaying intervallic and rhythmic intelligence and rich with dynamics. Jeremy was on alto for the night, less proud and bell-like than the brass, but equally inventive and humanising the harmonies with the more carnal reed tone. This was modern jazz dissonance meets pop sensibility: medium tempo, mobile, constant, often atonal. Alex 1, Masso, was all eyes and ears, quiet and admirably controlled for a drummer, but constantly aware of his surroundings and playful with those out-of-synch reggae beats. Some deliciously odd little fills caught my attention as did several solos played against front line vamps. But as bassist, it’s no surprise that Alex 2, Boneham, was the vamp master of the night, holding some very demanding bass ostinatos. I was surprised that his bass was so present given it was not amplified. It was miked through the PA, but that had little effect where I was sitting and the bass was easily heard for solos and accompaniment. Some nice solos, too, reaching right up high then easily moving the length of the fingerboard with pleasant and talkative ideas. All this over original compositions from Nick and Jeremy. Lots of syncopation in the heads; some extra bars thrown in here or there; some vamps or easy chord changes; some fairly short spaces for solos. There was a love song, and a doleful tune for Haiti, and a playful song for a dancing mother, and a few that were just clever and attractive, with their mostly off-beat reggae grooves.

Sydney met Melbourne via Jamaica with a touch of US and it was great entertainment and much satisfaction. A very promising start to another season of jazz at the Gods. The Vampires are Jeremy Rose (alto sax), Nick Garbett (trumpet), Alex Boneham (bass) and Alex Masso (drums) and good mate Shannon Barnett (trombone) sat in for the night.

Cyberhalides Jazz Photos by Brian Stewart

Trombones a close second (Wang 3)

Wang 2

It seems trombones are having their place in the sun at the moment. I’ve noted that in several CJ articles recently. Wang also provided its share: Robin Eubanks from Dave Holland’s Quintet; a pleasant surprise in Root 70 with Nils Wogram; and the busy young female trombonist, Shannon Barnett.

Dave Holland was the star international import and much awaited. He played on the Friday evening at the very start of the Festival. It was a high point of the festival, but thankfully didn’t end in an unhappy denouement. Robin Eubanks (trombone) was stunning and along with Chris Potter (tenor, soprano sax) were a formidable front line. Robin was stunning with clear, accurately intoned melody, solo and contrapuntal lines with minimal movement of the slide. His technique interested me. Apparently you can play full scales using high harmonics on a trom without moving the slide. Presumably it’s possible on every brass instrument. Robin was a master, with melody pouring out at speed with only occasional slide movements. The normally clumsy trom became a thing of unusual celerity. Stunning playing; and all so musical. I especially loved his counterpoint with Chris Potter. Chris is another renowned player. I found him intellectually satisfying, but less so emotionally. This was harsh and challenging playing, but so capable. Again, great counterpoint: this return to collective improvisation seems to be a theme in today’s modern jazz. Nate Smith (drums) is the newby in the band, but is a key member, and was much raved about. Steve Nelson (vibes, marimba) provided a wash of harmony with these relatively soft chordal instruments. Dave Holland (bass) played his deceptively simple, syncopated style on that stubby bass, and smiled as the proud father throughout the gig. Mostly Robin and Chris were stony-faced. I was sitting in the front row and just caught Chris ask “Twice?”. Robin replied with a nod and a smile. So these guys also play it just a bit roughly at times – not that you’d notice otherwise. Another thing to note was the fabulous mix on this gig. I hear Dave brought his own mixer. The sound was crisp at adequate volume, and every instrument was clearly defined, so the PA itself just disappeared from consciousness. Truly a lesson in how jazz should be mixed.

An unexpected surprise by most listeners was Nils Wogram’s Root 70. The band is made up of two Germans: Nils Wogram (trombone) and Jochen Rueckert (drums), and two New Zealanders: Hayden Chisholm (alto sax, bass clarinet) and Matt Penman (bass). This was light, airy, perfectly articulated music, harking back to swing and pre-bop styles, with collective and solo improvisation and some humour. It was lovely, sweet stuff which enchanted an unexpecting audience.

The other notable trombonist was Shannon Barnett. She seemed to pop up in several places, and played with considerable confidence and audacity. I heard her in two sets with Barney McAll’s septet. She was reading complex charts and burning through solos. She’s a notable player and apparently young to boot, so she’ll be worth watching over time. She also appeared with Barnett-Saarlaht-Browne, but I missed that set. Mostly Barney McAll’s complex, composed, latin-based was lost amongst poor sound engineering, along with Kurt Rosenwinkel. Barney McAll’s Septet comprised Barney McAll (piano, leader, composer), Jurt Rosenwinkel (guitar), Sam Lipman (tenor), Danny Fischer (drums), Shannon Barnett (trombone), Philip Rex (bass) and Javier Fredes (percussion).

I didn’t miss the Allan Browne Quintet performing his suite modelled on, and dedicated, to the poet Arthur Rimbaud, The Drunken Boat. This was a complex and rich thematic piece made up of short snippets of varied time signatures and tonalities, with final haunting singing by Stella Browne. I found it memorable and satisfying, but a mate thought it was inconsistent. Definitely it was varied. The band was Allan Browne (drums), Eugene Ball (trumpet), Phil Noy (alto), Geoff Hughes (guitar), Nick Haywood (bass).

Wang 4

Barney McAll's Modas

Barney McAll was one of the two out-of-town stars at the CJF. BMcA is past winner of the Wangaratta Piano performance prize, long-time sideman for Vince Jones, and now resident in New York. He's touring Australia with a local band, performing music from his recent CD. The CD was influenced by Barney's several visits to Cuba, and especially by music he heard there at a ceremony dedicated to the Yoruba goddess Yemaya. He recorded the rhythm tracks in Cuba, then added further tracks in NY. The Australian band was very capable, providing an intense latin experience unlike anything I have heard before. The band is made up of: Barney McAll piano, Jamie Oehlers tenor sax, Shannon Barnett trombone, Nashua Lee guitar, Phillip Rex bass, Craig Simon drums and Javier Fredes percussion. Loud, involving and complex. Good readers only should apply!