Happy birthday, Blake

Blake Wilner celebrated his birthday and the anniversary of his engagement on Wednesday night at Hippos. Also present at his party were Brandon Allen (alto sax, occasionally tenor), Sam Anning (double bass) and Ben Vanderwal (drums). Blake, of course, is guitarist and leader of the Blake Wilner Quartet.

BWQ are currently touring Australia. Apparently, the whole band originates from Perth, but they are now spread widely. Blake and Brandon are resident in London (Brandon told me he’s been there for 6 years); Sam is in Perth; Ben is in Melbourne. They played instrumental jazz with lots of energy. I heard Euro jazz in some of the alto playing. There was Scofield in there too (the last tune was a Scofield composition). It was great playing all around. I especially loved the complex unison lines by guitar and alto (a sweet-sounding combination) and the all-in improvisation (reminiscent of 60s avant-guard). This trad-jazz approach of concurrent soloists bouncing off each others’ lines seems popular at the moment.

Looking up, it seemed like a grunge jazz session. Brandon played, bent over his alto, wearing black t-shirt and moving with muscular, angular motions. Blake played with beanie and t-shirt and looked relaxed but committed. Sam played steadily, and with power when the band lifted, and also played several effective solos. Ben was all over the kit, with complex polyrhythms and lots of rhythmic movement. BWQ gave an energetic and powerful display; a performance that confirms the quality of Australian modern jazz these days.

Blake's website - http://www.blakewilnergroup.com/

Ben Winkelman stomps Canberra

Ben Winkelman arrived in Canberra with considerable publicity (posters, and several articles in local papers) and a few weeks after he was originally booked. It was worth the wait. The Trio that performed in Canberra were Ben Winkelman (piano), Desmond White (acoustic bass) and Ben Vanderwal (drums). It was an fascinating night of eclectic original compositions, presumably penned by Ben W himself. The compositions covered a wide range of styles and motifs. There were stomps, rags, tangos and classical flourishes. There were dedications to deceased cats and Jelly Roll Morton, and German literature in the form of Thomas Mann.

Ben W plays a rich style of piano: big chords, orchestral flourishes, parallel octaves, stride, and more. To me it was a Euro-style (he’s a student of Paul Grabowski) and his classical training was evident. Ben Vanderwal was a fascinating drummer, more an accompanist than a rhythm keeper. He would switch drums and cow bells, rolls and patterns, sticks and brushes and mallets continually, perhaps every 4 bars, perhaps more often. This was a rich landscape of percussive sounds to accompany Ben W’s complex and varying style. There were 4/4 passages and solos in there too, but they would be interspersed with odd added bars or be reformed as a totally different styles. Des White provided lots of bass solos, but he was also a foundation supporting all this variation, but seldom with just a walk or a simple pattern, although there were one or two of these in there too.

The changes were organic. They were responsive to jazz, latin and other music history so they were self-evident and not jarring. But change there was, lots of it. It was an attentive audience, and Ben commented on it. But I think a large part of that came from the richness of the music on offer, and the calm, friendly and intelligent way that Ben spoke between tunes. This was a night of contemplation, and of rich engagement and exploration from young but surprisingly mature players. So it was a special night at Hippo’s. Ben promoted his new CD several times during the night, and highlighted its success as a runner up in the Bell Awards. Given this show, I expect it’s quite a journey.

Ben W’s new CD is - Stomps, Pieces & Variations (Jazzhead)

Ben W’s website – http://www.benwinkelman.com

Australian Jazz Archive

Canberra is lucky to be the site for the main research collection on the history of jazz in Australia, the Australian Jazz Archive (AJA) and its sub-collection, the National Register of Australian Jazz Interviews. The AJA is held at the National Film & Sound Archive (NFSA), located near the ANU. It's a national institution which holds many items relating to the history of jazz in Australia: sound recordings, film, videos and oral histories. Here are some links to start your research if you wish to investigate the AJA further.

AJA page at NFSA

State contacts for the AJA (Jazz Australia)

Article by Bruce Johnson on the establishment of the AJA

Valdis Thomann Trio

Valdis Thomann (trombone) led a trio with colleagues from the CSM Jazz School, Neils Rosendahl (tenor and soprano sax) and Michael Azzopardi (piano) at Geoff Page’s Jazz sessions at the Gods Cafe. Valdis joked his way through an evening of excellent music. Neil’s riddle indicates the tone: “Why are pirates so dirty? … Because they arrrrrr.” Hmmm…

But the tunes were an interesting collection played thoughtfully and with considerable variation. About half the tunes were original (penned by both Neils and Michael) and several interpretations were solos or strongly featured one player. There was also a lovely breadth of styles. Mingus’ Jelly Roll was treated with the respect for, and knowledge of, history that the tune deserves. Contrasting with this was a funky acid jazz original by Michael which ended the show on a high. Non-originals included Some time ago, Wayne Shorter’s Deluge and Neil’s solo on Round midnight. Michael performed a solo rendition of Herbie Hancock’s Dolphin Dance with synth effects that harked back to Hancock’s rhythmic-rich bands, but also was free with time signatures so breaking from the normal interpretation. Neils put on show his freedom with harmonic treatment and wide intervals, his ability over the full range of the instrument, and his playfulness with strained high notes and honking low notes. Valdis played clear heads and inventive solos with that characteristic mixture of bell-like tone and honky blat that is the trombone - lovely! I also noticed the horns blending sweetly with clear and balanced harmonies, which I assume were improvised. Michael provided a strong, dense and often staccato support which propelled all this along, and sizzling solos when he had the floor.

So, perhaps the music was better than the humour, but, hey, you can’t have everything.

Wonderful Miroslav

Wednesday was a fabulous night when Miroslav Bukovsky’s band played at Hippo’s: powerful, loud and rhythmic. Three sets of hard-rocking jazz – I guess you’d call it acid jazz or jazz rock or perhaps electric free jazz. The band was considerably bigger than the quartet first advertised. It consisted of Miroslav (trumpet), John Mackey (tenor sax), Arne Hanna and Ben Hauptmann (guitar), Zoe Hauptmann (electric bass) and Mark Sutton (drums). Niels Rosendahl (tenor sax) sat in for the middle set. It was hard, pumping music throughout, ending with a slightly incongruous but enjoyable reggae piece. No mainstream standards here: mostly originals by various members of the band, although there was one by Don Cherry, and maybe one or two other free jazz standards but nothing I recognised.

They were all stars. As a bassist, my attention first went to Zoe Hauptmann. The Hauptmann family has a great reputation as successful students of the Canberra School of Music Jazz School. Zoe played a driving groove at all times, using a fat and dirty sound at high volume. No solos; just complex, funky, finger-style, syncopated 16th note patterns driving the beat at all times. It was a object lesson in this style of bass playing. Mark Sutton was a worthy companion. I’ve mostly seen him with brushes (he’s a master of the brushes) but his stick work was infectious: polyrhythms crossing over Zoe’s bass lines, complex segmentation of the beat, and lots of work on the bass drum pedal. But the rest of the rhythm section were no slouches either! Ben Hauptmann played a telecaster with some great solos, developing from simple to blisteringly fast and complex. He was using strong effects (something like voice box or autowah) which sometimes made it hard to follow the solo lines (at least for me), but it fitted the sound of the band. Arne Hanna was a new name to me, but apparently he’s well known for his playing with Jackie Orszaczky. He played a strat through an Apple computer for sound effects (interesting and again appropriate), but I was most entranced by his gentle fingering, rich chordal work and deceptively simple but richly melodic solos. I was so taken by the rhythm section that I didn’t pay enough attention to the soloists, but as always John Mackey and Miroslav Bukovsky played interesting and well-intoned melody lines together, and challenging solos. Miroslav Bukovsky’s something of a Miles around town: he always puts together great bands. And it was nice to see Neils sit in, following his recent visit to Asia, and before he leaves for study and performance in UK/Europe.

Overall, a night of the highest performance standards. It’s not often you see dancers at Hippos on jazz nights, but the groove was so infectious, they were up too. Excellent performance by all.

As Famous as the Moon

I caught As Famous as the Moon at Hippos last night. AFATM is led by Dirk Zeylmans on tenor sax. It’s a smooth and very competent mainstream jazz band, playing latin, swing and some bebop. Dirk has a sweet sound. He reminded me of the Stan Getz style: in tonality (sometimes) and in phrasing (often). The other players were Chris Thwaite (drums), James Keith (double bass), Paul Dal Broi (piano) and Graham Monger (guitar). Chris is a great player who frequently appears around Canberra with different players. In this group, he traded fours in most tunes. James was solid and swinging at all times, taking a few nice solos. Dirk commented how he loves his long ringing sound and how it’s easy to play to. Graham was similarly competent, providing long and swinging solos. Dirk told me he knows every song under the sun. I thought Paul offered the most challenging solos for the night. They developed well and explored dissonance in the process. I can’t help but love montuno (those repeated one- or two-bar piano figures in salsa) and the lift it gives to latin tunes, so he won me over when they appeared.

You can see Dirk and friends around town in many locations. They play Babar’s at Woden on Fridays at 6-8pm, and can even turn up to relax the bidders before some real estate auctions around town!

Bernie McGann visits

Bernie McGann played for The Gods Cafe's jazz series on 2 May. I missed it so no review (reviews for canberrajazz.net are welcome - just email to Eric). Thanks to Alison Hastie for the pic above. It shows Bernie McGann with Lloyd Swanton. Also playing were Warwick Alder, trumpet, and Alec Musso who replaced John Pochée on drums.

Pierre's Dream Team

Pierre's Dream Team played Thredbo over Easter. Now here's a handsome group! Pierre Kammacher (various saxes), Rod Andrew (drums), Eric Pozza (bass) and Daniel Hunter (guitar). It was cold at times, and fingers suffered from winds coming off the mountains, but the views of fresh snow on the hilltops was impressive, the days were sunny, and people were relaxed and enjoying themselves.

Carl Dewhurst @ Hippo

The Carl Dewhurst Trio played last night at Hippos. It was a fabulous display of musicianship. CDT are (or at least were on the night) Carl Dewhurst (guitar), Cameron Undy (bass) and Evan Mannell (drums). Carl and Cameron grew up in Canberra, apparently attending school together at Philip College, so it was a homecoming, and it seemed they were surrounded by friends and family.

CDT played three sets. The first two were original charts. The third comprised more obvious compositions (D blues and a C Blues with clear reference to Ellington’s C Jam Blues) but the Real Book charts made the performance no less creative. The soloing and interaction between players was exemplary throughout. Carl controlled things will complex heads and chordal accompaniments. He could be blisteringly fast, and use all manner of effects, but was mostly just used a hard electric guitar sound, reminding me at times of Mahavishnu Orchestra (others would find more recent references). Cameron Undy was both solid and interesting, hunched over his bass in concentration. He warmed to some fabulous solos, especially in the later sets. Evan Mannell was on left-handed drums. He accompanied and matched the others in trading fours and soloing.

I asked Cameron if they played together much, and his answer was indicative of the dearth of opportunities for players of modern instrumental jazz. They play perhaps 3 times a year, and he guesses he plays this style live only about 6 times a year, and occasionally in the studio. Otherwise, it’s the musician’s life of corporate gigs and weddings. He analysed the opportunities at Jazzgroove thus: 48 nights per year, with 2 bands per night, ie, 96 performances per year to be shared between ~40 bands. Improvisatory jazz is obviously not the basis of a career. And there’s SIMA.

Given infrequent performances, the level of inventiveness and togetherness is doubly astounding. Excellent art; excellent entertainment.

Julian Banks Trio @ The Gods

Julian Banks presented last night’s session at the Jazz at the Gods series at ANU. What an eye-opener! This was highly sophisticated and energetic modern jazz, varied in tonality, interesting in harmony and melody, rich in capable and inventive solos, and virtually all from original tunes. The trio is Julian Banks, tenor sax, Damien Slingsby, piano, Sam Young, drums.

Julian played with a lovely, rich tenor tone, moving freely into and out of solos, and sometimes playing time with repetitive phrases. He has looks reminiscent of Mingus, which was doubly odd given there was no bass on stage. Damien was highly accomplished on a Yamaha electric piano, often playing bass lines against solos, freely changing harmonic relationships and always soloing strongly. He performed with eyes closed and head rocking back and forth (impossible to get a decent pic!). Sam both closely followed and defined the rhythms. He played minimalistic but expressive solos, including pitch changes by pressing drum heads - common enough, but nicely done.

Their repertoire was all original other than 2 tunes (“Miles mode” by Coltrane was one), although they finally played another non-original as an encore (You don’t know what love is). Chris Deacon (from ArtSound FM) recorded the concert, and it will be played on ArtSound in a month or so, probably on the Jazzwaves program one Sunday night at 8pm.

Julian finished the concert by thanking the audience for being appreciative and knowledgeable, but my heart sank when he added that performing for such an audience is rare for a jazz player. As it is for many other serious and demanding (and non-commercial) areas of human endeavour these days. This is both another issue and a tragedy. For now, we just have to rejoice that we have such excellent music in our midst – and support and promote it as best we can.

Mike Nock Trio @ The Gods

The Mike Nock Trio appeared at the first of the Gods Jazz sessions at the ANU last night. The Trio is Mike Nock, piano, Brett Hirst, bass, and Toby Hall, drums. They all played excellently, with two highly inventive modern sets.

Mike Nock was his usual creative self, despite playing an electric piano with a key that was sticking. He led two sets of mixed standards and originals. Some were quirky, like his “Summertime … so what”. It started with Miles’ “So What” line, which then got Summertime superimposed over the top. Or the beautiful melody of “You don’t know what love is” as a strangely discordant e-piano sound over a free improvisation by bass-drums. But it wasn’t all like this. His “One for the children” (or similar title) was a simple and beautiful piece with a touching, African history, and his “Blue 4” was a great and complex modern blues piece. His improvising is fluid and inventive, and he introduces dissonance and rhythmic complexity at will – a master at work. As a fellow bassist, I loved Brett Hirst’s bass playing. He had a strong, woody tone which was always clear in both accompaniment and soloing. He was also very melodic, reminding me of Charlie Haden in style. Toby Hall was fluid; moving in and out of the music with constantly varying intensity and rhythm.

Another interesting thing was just how much fun they were obviously having. Mike Nock was constantly looking across with respect to his cohorts. Brett Hirst frequently had a smile on his face, occasionally replacing it with a look of intense concentration. Toby Hall was obviously enjoying himself, and occasionally shared quips with Mike Nock.

The Trio is returning, this time with grand piano, at the Southern Cross Club, 8.30pm Thurs 28 September, 2006, ph 6283 7267. This was an excellent start to the series, and was a masterful display of jazz at an international level.

Sandpit

Sandpit were playing today at Edgar's Inn, for the Sunday afternoon sessions. They are a quartet: sax (soprano & alto), guitar (strat), electric bass, drums. I didn't recognise the faces. They played a 70s style jazz rock, in the tradition of Herbie Hancock and Bitches Brew Miles. I particularly liked the gentle, relaxed bass with a soft slap and, I think, autowah or some similar pedal. Sadly, my camera died last weekend, so no pics.

A Neck & another @ CSM

Jazz Area Staff Concert - John Mackey, Eric. C Ajaye, Mike Price, Miroslav Bukovsky, Col Hoorweg and Matt Thompson perform standard and contemporary original material. Bandroom, Peter Karmel Building, ANU, 7.30pm Wed 8 Mar 2006, $12/$10/$2 ANU students

Right Brain Series - Chris Abrahams (the Necks) and Simon Phillips play an improvised soundtrack to black and white silent film footage. RR3, CSM, 7pm, Tues 21 Mar 2006, $12/$10/$8 Friends

Jazz at the Gods 2006

Here's the lineup for 2006. Prices are $12/$8, or a season ticket for $45. Light meals available before the show. Eating is 6.30pm for concert at 8pm. For bookings, phone 6248 5538. There's limited seating (80) so make remember to book.

Tues Mar 28 Mike Nock Trio — Mike Nock, electric piano; Brett Hirst, bass; Toby Hall, drums

Tues Apr 4 Julian Banks Trio — Julian Banks, tenor saxophone; Damien Slingsby, electric piano; Sam Young, drums

Tues May 2 Bernie McGann Quartet — Bernie McGann, alto saxophone; Warwick Alder, trumpet; Lloyd Swanton, bass; John Pochée, drums

Tues Jun 6 Valdis Thomann Trio — Valdis Thomann, trombone; Neils Rosendahl, tenor saxophone; Michael Azzopardi, electric piano

Tues Jul 18 Straight Up Trio — Michael Azzopardi, electric piano; Eric Ajaye, bass; Christopher Thwaite, drums

Tues Aug 1 Luke Sweeting Trio — Luke Sweeting, electric piano; Bill Willliams, bass; Ed Rodriguez, drums

Mike Nock @ Gods Cafe

Mike Nock plays Gods Cafe at ANU on Tues 28 Mar, apparently in a trio format. I'm unsure of time and other details. I believe this is the 2006 return of the Gods Cafe Jazz Series, which has been organised for several years by Geoff Page, our well known local poet and jazz lover. I've got more info coming, so return here for more datails. Geoff Page's website has a link to last year's Gods Jazz series (as I write this, it's showing last year's program).

http://www.geoffpage.info/