Telling on our times

It's not a good time these days, with Covid and climate and government so maybe that's why I didn't get so many belly-laughs at the latest Wharf Revue.  Yeah, they were funny and I did laugh outright at the skit on Jacquie Lambie.  The swearing helps with its shock value, of course, not that that was the only skit with swearing.  But I also warm to Jacquie: a rough jewel but she speaks truth and owns up to mistakes.  Not so our PM or the party in general.  Not so much some of our media.  Murdoch got a run with Mephistopheles in a skit on selling souls, but, if I caught the humour right, it was a turnaround with Murdoch doing the selling and Satan the buyer.  An interesting twist.  My heart sank with a big skit on housing with Dorothy as a hopeful home-seeker and the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion as various real estate people and, interesting, the Wizard as Philip Lowe, head of the Reserve Bank.  The ScoMo skit was meagre like the man and Albo didn't even get a skit.  That says something.  His one appearance was as a potential planetary saviour as seen by despairing aliens: one pic on a screen, that's all.  There was a decent Trump skit; a big cabaret number by Michaelia Cash; Barnaby Joyce showing three others through his man (coal) cave; a Kublai Khan rehash for Xi Jinping; an impressive Armenian song, with balalaika, for Gladys B; some ex-PMs, Rudd and Howard; Pauline Hanson, of course.  So on for 90 mins.  All somewhat sad and pretty telling of our country at present.  The response, too, was indicative: supportive but not overwhelmed.  I only noticed one standing ovation.  Nonetheless, good on the Wharf Revue and shame on our politics.  Pretty costly though, but that I can understand: artists don't sell furniture.

The Wharf Revue 2021 was entitled Can of worms.  The WR is created by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phil Scott and Mandy Bishop joins them in performance.

• Thanks to the WR for the use of their banner.  I trust they won't mind.

Just what is that fingering

I love piano and the last few concerts have been solo piano and there was a piano for this concert, but the feature instrument was clarinet.  Not an instrument I hear too often, for jazz or classical, at least not outside an orchestral setting.  This was interesting.  Helena is a recent graduate from Elder Con in Adelaide and she was accompanied by Lucus, an ANUSOM graduate from a few years back.  The clarinet was clear in this context, woody, earthy.  I was close and could see the fingering and that was slick and very fast with lots of long scalar runs.  I believe the fingering doesn't repeat on the octave, but I'd have to investigate.  It's a difficult instrument not least for clear and reliable tone but Helena did well.  And she didn't select her music to get an easy pass.  The selections of Weber, Louis Cahuzac and Saint-Saens were all challenging.  The Cahuzac was Arlequin and it was a solo clarinet piece.  I was just blown over by the speed.  I could see Helena take a breathe quite often.  Lucus was different, of course, reading capably, straight backed, eyes lifting when a phrase will be led, the model of accompaniment, no breathing issues here other than to remain calm.  So a fresh sound and a virtuosic outing.  Great stuff.

Helena Mayer (clarinet) was accompanied by Lucus Allerton (piano) on Weber and Saint-Saens and played solo on Cahuzac at Wesley.

Delta VI

The final MusicACT Delta Session was Genesis Owusu and Citizen Kay presented by UC Live.  Genesis opened with nice steady, driving grooves with rap above.  Unison lines with some lyrics and those sung not spoken.  Music moving in and out, suddenly, voice moving through  "Wait / Could this be true / I don't need you, don't need you / Aaah / could this be true / I don't like you / don't like you"  Then stop.  Into another music groove, another performer, Citizen Kay, slipping winds, "Yeah" into deep bass groove and rap.  Nice stuff, strong, firm, steady, rhythmic.  Spoken word verses then sung choruses, four steady chords, varied dynamics, as is this style, some unison bass and something higher pitched, flute or whatever, then space, rest, decay.  "I'm saying who are you / who are you to tell me what to do / I'm saying, I'm pulling through / I'm looking through the bullshit that you say" (did I get it all?)  And wow, a wonderful jazz sax solo, perhaps sampled?  I liked this performance.

Genesis Owusu (vocals, production?) and Citizen Kay (vocals, production?) appeared on the final Delta Session of UC Live.

The priest and the others

Twice delayed by Covid but finally it arrived.  This was Phoenix Collective as a trio: Dan on violin with the local pairing of Clara on cello and James on harpsichord.  Dan noted they were local baroque exponents (from Limestone, CBE and more) and they were a nice fit for a program of baroque favourites.  It was a change from the normal quartet given Covid.  And what a satisfying program it was!  It was entitled The priest, the intellect, the eccentric and the pirate.  The main composers were four (Vivaldi, Bach, Biber, Pandolfi) with interesting introductions from Dan.  Corelli appeared at the end, probably as an encore (although a generous one with 22 variations on La follia).  Not sure where he fit in those personifications.  Very good playing, too, although there were some issues with balance.  Dan is a pleasantly flashy and entertaining and inventive player and the Corelli and Biber showed this off wonderfully.  Clara was certain and reliable and very present but introspective and the music didn't always demand so much of her, lots of long notes, but a few lines in Bach blew me out, so quick and sharp.  Sadly, maybe from my location or acoustics or just the instrument itself, I didn't catch most of James, except a generous solo passage in the Bach which was lovely.  So the mix was sadly problematic but a great collection of tunes and some capable playing.  I'm charmed nonetheless.

Dan Russell (violin) led the alt. Phoenix Collective, this time with guest Canberra musicians, Clara Teniswood (cello) and James Porteous (harpsichord).

One (or four) to remember

The Schubert impromptus are renowned but I didn't really know them.  Mark Jurkiewicz played the first four (apparently there are eight) them from memory on Wednesday at Wesley.  It was an impressive performance.  He's been entranced by them since first hearing them so I guess they are central to his musical life.  Certainly, they sounded well imbibed and much loved.  They are not really movements, so the audience clapping is maybe to be expected, but it obviously wasn't something Mark expected; he stood and bowed but the breaks were short.  This was a solid performance, a stolid application, an impressive memory and an honest interpretation with real history.  Hugely impressive all round.  Hope to hear the other four next year.

Mark Jurkiewicz (piano) performed Schubert Four impromptus D.935 op.142 at Wesley.

Picking dates

I like to choose a release date with some significance.  The first were trivial: New Years Day and Easter Sunday.  I also got a family birthday in there, and I just missed the anniversary of the start of the Occupy Wall Street.  My latest album is a playful pomo classical outing, again by The Pots (appearing as The Potsherds), called Play midi for me.  It's a mix of midi instruments and samples and classical and pop and jazz.  A bit of fun, really, and a change from my political and climate rants.  And the release date is 11 Nov, the date of ... the hanging of Ned Kelly.  I thought that fitted my purposes, although I could have chosen some other event that occurred on this date.  Not to demean that event, especially not the deaths of so many Australians (or then British citizens?) and others in someone else's war.  After all, there has been some change.  We now go to wars for a different country.  But, remember, this is an album with no rants.  Have a listen to Track 1 Pergolesi if nothing else.  Fun to create and hopefully fun to hear.

Play midi for me / The Pots (appearing as the Potsherds) is the fifth album by The Pots. Have a listen on these or other streaming sites:

• Bandcamp > https://thepots1.bandcamp.com/
• Spotify > https://tinyurl.com/3mstb39f
• YouTube > https://tinyurl.com/ym2zj9t5

Wonders

It's not just work from home with Covid, but also concert from home.  The Net is an embarrassment of riches.  Nothing new there and it's great to hear the locals, but the world is also waiting.  Streams, live, historical, etc.  I've been taken in recent days by an wonderful concert with Jack Dejohnette, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock and Dave Holland from 1990.  Wow!  Then I stumbled on Dan Tepfer doing one of his online duets this morning.  I just heard the end, a few tunes, one free improv.  Just stunning.  We've seen him here, at Smiths, at the Fitters Workshop, even at Mt Stromlo, for the mostly-classical Canberra International Music Festival.  He has an advanced degree in astrophysics, as I remember, so a mind for the tech, too.  The advanced astronomy students I've known have all been capable coders.  He's been working to make online group playing easier, with JackTrip and Farplay.  This is a seriously interesting musician.  Serious in that admirable NYC way.  Wow, what magic is this?  And for the musos, check out JackTrip and Farplay.

Dan Tepfer (piano) performed a livestream duet with Hermon Mehari (trumpet).

• Pat Metheny+ 1990

 

Delta V

This week, Smiths Alternative and MusicACT presents Rebecca Mann and Small Town Alien, introduced by out host, Nigel.  Again, Rebecca is a singer-songwriter with strummy steel-strung guitar and nice voice and personal stories.  First up, Operate, from her recent live EP.  "I told them, that I'll not operate that way / I told them / I may change another day".  Then Faith, from the EP and also released before as a single.  It's one of her faves.  "I play cards with the Devil as he reached over my head /// You're so full of sorrow / we've both been suffering / Don't you tell me, darling / that you are losing faith / I'll tell you that / I believe in something / but it's not written down / anyway."  Personal stuff.  Then Small Town Alien, from his upcoming album.  First up, the King of Canberra; totally fictional!  About a public servant concerned about the "listening agency".  "I work in Woden / at the Dept of Expression / I'm not Ed Snowden / nor ... / 'cos the agency is listening / always listening ... Call me the King of Canberra / call me the King / it don't mean a thing".  Then into a little rap; funny. "I don't know if this song is anthemic / but I need it to distract from the pandemic".  Cool line and a interesting structure!  Then Heartbreak forever for the hopeless romantics, perhaps entitled Love kills.  "Too ... / Let's walk into heartbreak together / forever and ever / too rich, too poor / too...".  This guy is strummy and purposely nasal (I can talk?) but interesting in music and themes.  The name alone suggests a performance and a character and we get it.  I'm enjoying this.  Short snippets from a series of performers that I've mostly heard of but not heard.  Not always my scene, but always good to be aware of what's around.

Rebecca Mann (guitar, vocals) and Small Town Alien (guitar, vocals) performed for the Delta series.

Honesty and French revelations

France is in the news recently, as is Covid, so a first Wesley post-lockdown concert of French piano music seemed so apt.  Stuart Long was playing solo piano on Poulenc, Satie, Ibert, Debussy and Chaminade and he's an Aussie and no liar so this was a wonderfully expressive outing and an eye/ear-opener for me.  I hadn't heard a whole concert of French music before, so it suddenly took on a new sense of investigation, playfulness, lightness, modernity with tradition.  So it was an education.  Now this fascinates me.  I've visited Paris and travelled in France, but my Australian experience is subtly coloured (by Anglo/Franco history, Henry IV Pt.1, French/US revolutions, Italo/Franco variations) and I always feel this is not a culture I really know.  So this was quite a revelation.  Stuart did a great job and has obvious love and respect for this music, treating it with gentleness and intimacy.  And being a return concert, this was doubly significant.  Too bad about our Pants on fire bad manners of late.  But nothing unexpected there.

Stuart Long (piano) played French music at Wesley.

Canberra Cosmo Capital?

CJ's Belgian correspondent reporting.  Seeing we cannot experience the music scene in Belgium this year the next best thing was to check out what is happening locally.  Smiths Alternative has kicked off with an outdoor Spring series starting last weekend to help us all get out of the COVID lockdown blues.  The series is held under the new marquee on the pavement and can cater for 90 people under the current rules, no mask wearing, except when going inside.  Drinks and food however can be ordered from the window. Each session only costs $10 so inexpensive entertainment.  The series started on Saturday with The Burley Griffin. We only caught the last song as we were wandering around Civic from elsewhere, a great local band.  Decided to come again on Sunday to see the Brass Knuckle Band.  Now I must admit I can never keep up with who are the members of this group.  At least I did recognise Tom Fell on sax, what bands doesn’t he play in?  A great afternoon of music in the balmy weather.  A few tunes recognised but I blame the ales for not remembering them now.  Thanks Smiths and the musicians for helping us to open up again.

Pic and text by Neal Gowan

PPS / Ed.  It seems that the Smith's Spring series is now cancelled due to noise complaints ... for a quiet, early Saturday afternoon gig (2-4pm) of an unamplified New Orleans-style brass band.  Well, brass is noisy, but it's fun.  So much for Canberra Cosmopolitan Capital.  See the Facebook comments below.  Oh well, oh well, oh well.  Thanks Neal, even if it's a sad story to tell.  Not the first of those in CJ over the years.

• Pics and comments on FB

PPS2 / Ed.  Rethink!  Well the series seems to be still on.  Probably inside.  Canberra reigns supreme ... sort of.  Good on ya, Smiths, Nigel, Beth.  Check out the Smiths Alt. Calendar online for the Spring Series.

• Smiths Alt. Calendar

Delta IV

Tonight's selections are from the Old Canberra Inn.  Kim Yang first up, singer-songwriter playing live but with some background harmonies (maybe digital but I don't think so).  The guitar is strums.  The voice has echoes of Joni Mitchell, a great hero of mine and many.  First up, Fantasy, then Brave, themed good to be brave, but also OK to say no to people at times.  As her FB page says, balanced "delicately between vulnerability and power".  Sounds about right.  Then Moondog.  Ah, the blues!  Dirty guitar, 12-bars, moving beats, blues harp, percussion under every foot, dense reverb.  "I love the way you walk / I love the way you talk / got my eyes on you" ... "Early in the morning / can't remember one thing that I said / [but] got my eyes on you"  Great stuff.  Love it.  Takes me back to the Blues Club ... and, of course, the OCI over various incarnations.  And that slow blues "I'm a moondog, baby, can't you hear me when I howl /[rpt] / I can't wait any longer baby, I've got to have your love right now".  Is " vulnerability and power" the theme of the night?  If so these are two very difference expressions of it!

Kim Yang (vocals, guitar) and Moondog (vocals, guitar, blues harp, percussion) streamed for MusicACT's Delta sessions.

Long time between drinks

It just a little warmup for our Maruki return.  This is my first classical group get-together post-Covid.  Tilt has met and the chatter and playing was a much enjoyed thing.  However, something more formal like an orchestra seems more postable.  But our lockdown is not fully complete so this was just strings for a half session.  Just a simple read on some Purcell and Holst.  The Brahms and Tchaikovsky are more challenging but delayed.

Maruki strings returned after Covid lockdown.

Unlocked

ACT is perhaps the most Covid-vaccinated population in the world (as they are saying) so it's not unexpected that we'd be opening up, and we are.  My first outing to a music venue was for commendable locals, the Greg Stott Trio, at National Press Club.  They played standards and latins and perhaps pop in jazz styles (we heard Eleanor Rigby) and they were just inspirational!  Greg is fluid and swift and inventive; Mark is our local drum gem, stunning me with an open sounding solo of such exhilarating and intellectually satisfying polyrhythms as to drool over.  Bass was Chris Pound on electric.  Chris was once a star student but I haven't heard him for years.  He bio says he's played in USA, England, Poland, Cyprus and Ireland since graduating from ANUSOM in 2009 but obviously now returned to Canberra.  Again, neatly expressive and melodic in solos, not flashy but satisfying.  The lineup at NPC is always impressive and this trio nothing less.  It gets an extra mark given the lack of live playing for a while.  We just caught one set, but mature and capable and wonderfully sharp playing.  Not NYC but it may as well be.

Greg Stott (guitar) led his trio with Chris Pound (bass) and Mark Sutton (drums) at the National Press Club.

Delta III

Tonight was Gang Gang's turn to invite some performers.  First up was Apricot Ink. Well known through TripleJ Unearthed and their single.  I looked up their site but couldn't track down names.  "Gus, Sara and Willo make up the 3-piece Alt-Pop project.  A motley crew of Canberrans who got together during ISO to make music."  They were a duo tonight: female vocals with guitar and male harmonies (mostly).  Nice harmony 5th below if I hear right.  The first song was Make believe; the second was Is it OK.  "Many made me mushroom pot / Take another tote, blow it out the window / It's a madhouse, it's a share house on the corner ...  Euphoria just around the corner / Is it OK, to be not OK".  Ah the memories!  Listening later on Spotify and it's very  nicely done in the recorded version.  Then Matty Ellis, a solo guitar singer, presumably song-writer.  He sang two songs, Indian Ocean and So far (I think I caught the track title).  Both songs of lost love (again, if I heard it right).  " I can't stay here in this place / I can't travel alone / There's a space in my heart ... forever / There's a space like the Indian Ocean".   Strums and an obvious Aussie-voice.  Then a second lockdown song: occasional falsetto; another love song?  "How could I know you'd let all this go".

Apricot Ink (female vocals, male vocals, guitar) and Matty Ellis (guitar, vocals) performed for Gang Gang Cafe on MusicACT's Delta streaming series.

Better late than never

My apologies!  I watched Meatshell (Helen seemed to pronounce it "Meet-sha", presumably Euro or Scandi) at Earshift then missed the writeup.  So I watched again and here it is.  Strange, as it was one I was particularly hanging out for: lockdown can be my excuse.  Meatshell are a duo of sax and bass/voc, very much at the experimental end of the spectrum and very fascinating to my ears.  Helen's soprano vocals with purpose "there is nothing for me here outside ... now I sit and wonder why / I don't know it's over ... I'm losing my way-y-y-y).  Lovely twiched voice with flits up to end in the style of punk and Scandinavians, propulsive and so-solid grooves from bass or floating fills from sax or bass or beautifully apt and responsive sax melodies.  They started with two songs from their album Since subito, Lost and Growing (out of nothing); then a new song Old mind.  All slapped sax keys and drones and long vocal notes.  Deeply felt and expressed vocals with sympathetic sax lines and challenging, poignant effects.  A final song, Face, had Helen singing bass put down and even more challenging vocals.  Just stunning and ear-opening and challenging to many a comfortable habit.  I am seriously blown out!  Then the chat.  FWIW, they are a couple which may influence things.  Collaborative process?  No formal process, whatever works.  The duo came together new with the first album.  That only had one tune with vocals, so Helen's singing is new.  Now she loves the singing, even happy to put down the bass.  (I think it showed on Face).  Tunes may start with a riff or an idea, then a thought, like how many ways to say something.  Then plays with abstacting forms form an original state, pulling apart the puzzle and experimenting: to "decompose" (Wayne Shorter).  Plenty of extended techniques, multiphonics, quarter tones, articulations, slaps.  They have both studied extended techniques for Masters studies in overseas; Banff and NYC got mentioned; perhaps more in Europe or Scandinavia.  They mention the influence of European folk which they heard frequently overseas.  And finding things that blend and conflict, but intentionally, of the joy and unpredictability in combined sounds; unexpected but conscious.   This performance was not much rehearsed, to save freshness and prerecroded for lighting and presentation (and followed with a celebratory pizza).  Andrew spoke of the novelty of live-to-air balancing against presentation value and the product, so needed these days.  So an interesting discussion and just a stunning performance.  Hugely impressed and much intrigued.

Meatshell are Helen Svoboda (vocals, bass) and Andrew Saragossi (tenor).  They performed for Earshift Festival.