Contemporary and Siena

Otherwise we just hung around with friends in Sydney, ate too much in Chinatown and thereabouts and got to the Gallery to see the new wing and a few old faves.   Of note were some contemporary Aboriginal works, a jukebox with songs of protest, a video of digital tunnels that you could navigate (I'm not game-trained enough to be particularly capable), an amusing and unexpectedly attractive big rotten lemon in shiny glass beads and a fascinating smell-sensory work of spices in stockings.  The Tank was closed for refitting.  Then the main gallery and the traditional stuff, not least the earliest European painting in the collection, a Madonna and child by Sano di Pietro dated somewhere within 1450-81 and a long-term fave of Circe by Bertrand MacKellar.  All lovely or challenging or at least interesting.

Harbour Banks(y)

Just up to Sydney for a weekend to catch up, mainly to catch up with mates from Edinburgh who were passing through.  We ate well and got to a few art events.  We checked out the local music scene, not that I know Sydney too well.  There was some jazz but not too obviously adventurous (not surprising on a weekend), and some classical that was sold out or exorbitantly expensive for what it was.  Otherwise, DJs.  Getting there we came across several demos and I always like them, even if they seemed pretty small.  Thank God some people still hope for better.  The Ukraine demo was underway; a demo against executions in Iran was setting up; the Christians were also setting up and singing and handing out brochures as we left.  Otherwise, Banksy at the Town Hall.  He's well known and interesting enough.  I liked his politics, including purchase of a yacht to save refugees on the Mediterranean.  He obviously does well out of his work (this exhibition seems pretty commercial and touring the world: "The show is now touring Australia after its incredible worldwide success with over 1,750,000 visitors!" [exhibition website]) but his heart seems to be in the right place.  I thought of Andy Warhol but perhaps with more empathy.   Certainly he'd used similar techniques at times and obviously referenced Warhol's Marilyn.  I particularly liked the reference to Phan Thi Kim Phuc, the running naked girl in Vietnam after US bombing, but Banksy had her between symbols of US capitalism.  Nice.  Lots more interesting if obvious commentary and just a few pics here.  Interestingly, if you bought an expensive ticket you could stencil a Banksy image on a t-shirt on exit.  Merch: as I said he's cluey in more ways than one.

Without limits [There is always hope], the art of Banksy was at the Sydney Town Hall.

Great players on a great day

I caught Trio Klein Ahnung in Sydney, at Lazy Bones in Marrickville after missing their gig at Molly's in Canberra. They were a fabulously modern, lithe, expressive band, understated at times, explosive at others, all powerful musicians in their own rights but all ready to lay low when the music called. I chatted after the gig with some of the Canberra contingent, now mostly out of town, in Sydney or even as far off as Berlin. Brian Blade and ambience were mentioned as similar or stylistically influential. Yes, but. Carl is so strong and, being the guitar, the front liner in a guitar trio and he was the patter of the band on stage. I heard current Manhattan guitar but wasn't sure which one. A quick survey identified Kurt Rosenwinkel as the closest to my ear. Strong and defined notes, devastating runs, softly overdriven with some reverb or echo or both (my guess). Sam was at his expressive best, often understated, hugely expressive in lines and just nicely explosive with his own devastating runs, just sometimes. Raj was hugely understated, soft and delicate, taking just a few solos, demanding us to listen carefully to follow his delicacy. They were releasing a CD on this tour with some tracks including Sean Wayland. So this is Aussies in the world: NYC, Berlin and home. Suffice to say I was enamoured by the gig in Marrickville. They played tunes from the album but also a few standards: How deep the ocean and Without a song. I tried to count How deep... at Marrickville but failed. I noted "oddly timed", thinking they'd changed time signatures from the swung 4/4. So what a surprise when I saw a video of this same tune from the Molly gig and hearing it as a clear four. My guess is this was time implied, held in the musicians' minds but far from clearly stated, rather than formally rewritten passages. I feel it in our trio at its best, usually when we're playing pretty frequently. Time dissolves but doesn't: it's there but not evident; ready to resolve occasionally. What appeared as time rehashed was an improvised interaction. Wonderful, exemplary and a statement of the contemporary in jazz. At least to my ears. (Carl, have I got it right?) So, a great gig at a lovely, dark, seductive venue (worth a visit for the design ambience alone). Thankfully, I didn't miss this one. BTW, klein ahnung translates as "little idea".

Trio Klein Ahnung are Carl Morgan (guitar), Sam Anning (bass) and Rajiv Jayaweera (drums). They performed at Lazy Bones, Marrickville (and Molly's) while touring their new album.

Through mediaeval eyes

It was clearly different back then. Virgins, unicorns, lions and the rest. Strangely, they still concerned themselves with these things, but virgins were expected and inevitably horny creatures were everywhere in abundance. Or at least one unicorn and one lion and lots of flowers and a few dogs and rabbits and the like in every tapestry. This was the famed French Lady and the Unicorn tapestry series on show at the Art Gallery of NSW. We'd gone down to Sydney for other things but also this. It was a mercifully little exhibition but fabulously important and weirdly diverse. The series is 6 tapestries of much the same size, each perhaps 3m square. The first is called My sole desire with the young woman fronting a pavilion with the inscription Mon seul desir and attendant, dog, lion and unicorn, flags and the rest. Then five other tapestries labelled Smell, Touch, Taste, Hearing and Sight, each with the woman and the unicorn and lion and millefleur plus more. Each item symbolises something, love or fidelity or cunning or innocence or strength or chastity or whatever. We don't get this, of course, but it's lovely and delicate and immense work (est. 2.5 years work for 2 weavers). Sadly the colours are faded and there are repaired rat bites. The backs, protected from the light, display more vivid colours but they are not on show. But I love this odd, unfamiliar era which is the European middle ages. This was very late, ~1500, another world to our rational, open times, but still with some strangely common concerns. What a pleasure to see something like this so close. And then a quick run through a few other rooms.

The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are on loan from the Musée de Cluny (Musée national du moyen Âge) in Paris at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Big city burn

We were down to Sydney for other matters but I fit in a visit to Venue 505, no knowing who was playing. And what a lovely surprise. A few sets of some terrific jazz with some of the best of the locals. Warwick Alder was just stunning on the most fluent of jazz trumpets. Relaxed, lightly toughed and hugely flight-of-foot. Danny Carmichael joined in for a few tunes late in the night and Warwick just upped the level. Not that Danny was weak: very different, firm toned, clear tonal and atonal lines. Greg Coffin was on piano which I could hear clearly up close for some pics but less well further back where some chair were free. Cameron Undy was stunningly fleet over the extent of the bass neck, moving freely and very easily well into thumb positions. Clearly intentioned in solos, hugely quick, fabulously well spoken in support. I guess pentatonics and much more, but never an uncomfortable note and some very fast solo and walk lines. James Waples was on drums, distinctively open and mobile on the kit and free from a stock swing take. I was in awe, the music was beautifully played, the door was free and there was a constant movement. Not quiet, so not so easy to listen with intent, but lively. I missed some subtleties, mostly on piano which didn't cut through at my location, but a great city burn none-the-less. Much enjoyed.

Cameron Undy (bass) led a quartet with Warwick Alder (trumpet), Greg Coffin (piano) and James Waples (drums) at Bar 505 in Sydney. Danny Carmichael (trumpet) sat in late in the night.

Out & about (DHJF-4)

Just some pics from Sydney and the Darling Harbour Jazz & Blues Festival. The first pic is of Raymond Borzelli, jazz dancer and popular favourite at the festival.

So sounds the Harlequin

Text and pics by Daniel Wild

The Harlequin is an appropriately named venue for jazz performance. In eighteenth century Italy, the role of the harlequin was to play the buffoon in an improvised drama. Just as the performers worked from a rough script and pre-set roles, so do the jazz players of today work from sketched chord charts and preconceived notions of what it is to be a lead, bassist or drummer.

Lindsay Winkler’s quartet provided laid-back and swinging musical soundscapes at the Harlequin in Pyrmont, Sydney. This is a pleasant venue for jazz although the many television screens, multiplied by mirrors, proved distracting for audience and musician alike. The musicians didn’t falter in their improvisation but you could see their eyes wandering towards the screens now and then, and this might have limited the interaction they achieved with the audience and among themselves.

They played “Milestones” at a steady pace, refreshing for a piece that is often played too fast. Granted, the modal structure allows for fast renditions and displays of virtuosity, but note Bill Evans on the Waltz for Debby album, where he showed that the soloist who pays heed to the underlying structure can tease out quartal harmonies. Quotation and exploration of the opening motif are also possible when playing this piece on its merits.

Winkler was a bit rough and squeaky around the edges when quoting the head; once he settled into his solo there were some smooth and vintage alto sax lines. Monique Lysiak’s solo on Milestones was exceptional, indicative of many years experience and a well trained ear. She listens thoughtfully, builds on the main theme and subtly varies it through different tonal centres and pitches. The way she colours her solos by using the whole keyboard is intriguing to the listener. She builds the expectations of the listener. Expectations established, she then made use of what sounded like quartal chromatic ascents that lifted the solo to another level before safely returning to earth in time for Shannon Haritos’ bass solo.

The bass provided solid ground work for the keys and sax and the solos were interesting and executed as if he Haritos was plucking a guitar. She makes the playing seem effortless and has a deft command of the instrument all the way up the fret-board. Her solo on a dreamy rendition of “All the things you are” and on a bluesy piece in F minor were well appreciated by the audience.

“Stella by Starlight” was romantic, dreamy, impressionistic and very satisfying. Winkler seems most at home when playing ballads. He moves the listener with silken tones and thoughtful phrasing that moves like a wave up and over the floating bobber on a fishing line.

Sam Barr’s drumming was solid throughout. Perhaps there was an overuse of the kick drum, but this is purely a subjective assessment. Many like the emphasis that the kick drum can give to a peaking lead phrase (especially in fusion); others feel it has only a minimal place in swinging jazz and should be used gently, if it all. Barr’s solos are always a pleasure to hear. He quotes military themes and is not afraid to overtly experiment around seemingly simple motifs on the snare which are then incorporated into more complex sallies around the whole kit.

The band was tightest when playing medium swing pieces, although there were commendable aspects to every standard they performed. The last piece, BlueTrane, requested by the audience, was one of their best, with deep and harmonies on the keyboard that showcased Lysiak’s touch. At the end of the bass solo, Lysiak made the mistake of telling Haritos what key the piece was in and what note the bass line should centre around. It is best in jazz to leave these things to chance and the musician’s ear. All things considered, there were worse things to be doing on a Sunday evening. This light-hearted jazz, not worn on its sleeve, provided a much needed post-election antidote.

Lindsay Winkler (sax) performed at the Harlequin in Sydney with Monique Lysiak (piano), Shannon Haritos (bass) and Sam Barr (drums).