Tag Archives: Chapel Off Chapel

SHAKEN AND A LITTLE BIT REHEARSED

Posted on May 22, 2013 | Leave a comment
Monique diMattina

Monique diMattina        (Image supplied)

ARTICLE

Ausjazz blog takes a look at how singer/songwriter Monique diMattina has taken some song ideas through customs, taken a flight overseas, and come home with a new album

It’s an intriguing and original way to record an album: Take an idea provided by someone else, spend 45 minutes writing lyrics and a melody, carry those ideas on a plane to New Orleans, team up with some fine musicians and lay down the tracks at Piety Street in the Bywater.

That’s how Monique diMattina made her fourth album, Nola’s Ark, on a pilgrimage to New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA to the locals) when she was 20 weeks pregnant.

The imaginative approach to song writing is not new for diMattina, who appears weekly on Tim Thorpe’s 3-RRR program Vital Bits for her Shaken Not Rehearsed segment, in which she writes and performs a song within an hour, based on listener’s requests.

The gestation of the second track on Nola’s Ark, Dig A Hole, is an example of how this creative and courageous process works.

First, there’s the challenge, issued by diMattina over the radio waves: “I’m here to write a song, every Sunday, so at 7.45 the challenge is out there. Call in and give me an idea and I’ll run off and write it.”

Then comes the idea.

A listener rings in: “I want to have my Saturday morning lovin’, but I’ve got to go out and dig trenches because of all the rain.

diMattina: “Oh, don’t you hate that.”

Listener: “I had to, yesterday.”

diMattina: “So you want your Saturday morning lovin’, you have to get out from under the doona, put on your … “

Listener: “Get the shovel out of the shed, and dig trenches down the side of the house so little rivers will escape my property.”

diMattina: “And who’re we talking to?”

Listener: “Greg

The delivery: In 39 minutes, diMattina has lyrics and a melody for Dig A Hole For Love.

It starts like this:

Come on babe hug me ‘coz I’m feeling all right

It’s warm under the covers gonna take you for a ride
She says “Hold on baby what you tryin to do?
you knooow I can’t stay and get hot with you -
‘cos the water’s risin, so quit your cryin and
Pick up a shovel dig a hole for love

This is a familiar routine for diMattina at 3RRR. On her website, she explains:

“Assuming I arrive on time, listeners call in 7.45am with a song idea. I hole myself up in Studio B, pray to the song gods, align my chakras with a complex ritual involving caffeine … and more caffeine … and receive whatever chaff they throw me.

“Some time just before 9am I play the fresh-born song live to air, coughing, spluttering, covered in vernix, but usually alive.”

Another caller, Rick, rang in after a Melbourne summer downpour wanting a song about the release of rain on the dry, dry earth. He had a property in Gippsland.

“I was struggling a bit, Tim,” diMattina says on air.

“It just felt like a bit of a boring song about rain and stuff and then I remembered the feeling, when I was living in Harlem when Obama came in, and Rick said, if release had a smell that the smell of the earth after rain would be it. And that started to strike a nerve with me, so that helped me along.”

The result was the song Bring On the Rain.

diMattina does not shy away from serious topics. Her song Godzilla is a response to a request from Steven, who had been watching footage of the devastation caused by 2011’s earthquake and tsunami on Japan and its nuclear reactors. He likened the images to Godzilla stomping across Japan.

As diMattina originally sang Godzilla on Triple R, she did without her piano “in solidarity with our friends in Japan”.

At Piety Street, the line-up for Nola’s Ark was diMattina on vocals, piano, Wurlitzer and Hammond organ, Leroy Jones on trumpet, Rex Gregory on clarinet, Loren Pickford on sax, June Yamagishi on guitars, Matt Perrine on acoustic bass and sousaphone, Eric Bolivar on drum, Richard Scott on accordion and Anthony Cuccia on percussion.

The talented ensemble is used to good effect on the five hastily written and four other originals, plus standards Young at Heart (Richards/Leigh), Let’s Do Something Bad (Matt Munisteri), I’ll Be Seeing You (Sammy Fain/Irving Kahal) and Numb Fumblin’ (Fats Waller).

If it seems surprising that songs written on the run could work so well when taken into a New Orleans studio with musicians new to the composer, it’s worth taking on board diMattina’s long affection for the music from NOLA.

In her album notes, she writes that all her life she has “loved and lived off the sounds and spirits of this swamp, that cross time, swim seas, pump blood for dancing, singing, crying winging, for suffering, truth, for soothing, sneaky grooves that move and woo”.

It would be interesting to know whether the five people who rang in with their ideas to Triple R are aware that they inspired a song that would be recorded overseas. And diMattina’s approach to composing raises the possibility of jazz fans turning up at gigs with a riff or two they want turned into a tune to be played on the night.

If instrumental “jazz karaoke” does take off, you heard it here first.

ROGER MITCHELL

CD-BABY-Nolas-Ark-cd-cover-300x

Nola’s Ark is being launched on Friday 24 May at Chapel Off Chapel as part of a Stonnington Jazz concert with singer/pianist, Kate Kelsey-Sugg.

Joining Monique will be six Australian musicians who are guaranteed to help her launch the album with verve and panache: Eamon McNelis (trumpet, vocals), Stephen Grant (accordion), Paul Williamson (saxophone), Doug de Vries (guitar), Howard Cairns (sousaphone, bass) and Tony Floyd (drums).

Monique diMattina studied at the VCA in the mid 90s, then studied and worked in the US. Her earlier albums are Senses (2007 Elwood Records), Welcome Stranger (2010 Head Records) and Sun Signs (2011 Head Records).

Nola’s Ark is released on Jazzhead.

Monique diMattina has some of her Triple R songs on her website.

Monique diMattina

Monique diMattina       (Image supplied)

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FASTER THAN A SPEEDING SHUTTER

Posted on May 29, 2012 | 1 Comment

REVIEW: Stonnington Jazz 2012
Tim Davies Big Band, Chapel Off Chapel, May 23, 2012

Tim Davies Big Band

Tim Davies Big Band performs at Chapel Off Chapel.

From the outset it was always going to be a contest between stick and shutter, between the man at the drum kit and the finger on the camera button. For a long while I thought the lightning-fast hands of Tim Davies would win — that it might not be possible to catch those sticks in mid flight.

Tim Davies

Faster than a speeding shutter: Tim Davies

OK, so eventually I fluked a few shots. But a concert is about being there and hearing the music, not about recording moments in time to view later. One word sums up this outing at Chapel Off Chapel — big. It was a big band, making a big sound, led by a virtuosic showman who had a big personality and wielded his sticks like an army wields weapons. The Grammy-nominated film and television composer, arranger and band leader had a 19-piece band to deliver his onslaught, if you count vocalist Zac Teichmann, who also had a big sound.

Tim Davies

Tim Davies with his big band.

Davies, who formed a big band in Melbourne before moving to Los Angeles in 1998, could have been channeling the flamboyant Gene Krupa in his solo during the opening swing favourite Sing, Sing, Sing made famous by Benny Goodman. Tony Hicks featured, as Davies put it, “on torture tube”.

Tony Hicks on tenor sax, Tim Wilson on alto.

Tony Hicks goes solo on tenor sax.

I had to leave after the first set, but it was ringing in my ears all the way home. Davies peppered his pieces with stories, beginning with the excruciating tale behind his composition Black Nail, involving a finger in the door and the pulling out of the damaged nail.

Eugene Ball solos in Tim Davies Big Band

Eugene Ball on trumpet up the back of Tim Davies Big Band

Hicks on tenor sax again featured in Davies’ Elegy for My Unborn House, before Goon Juice, with Eugene Ball soloing on trumpet from the back of the band and Tim Wilson on alto sax from the front.

Tim Wilson

Tim Wilson on alto sax.

A highlight of the big band outing was the unexpected addition of vocalist Zac Teichmann, who has obviously worked with Davies previously. I would have been keen to hear more from Teichmann, but he sang only the one number, Board Game. I don’t know which gave a richer, more resonant sound, Stuart Byrne on baritone sax or Teichmann.

Zac Teichmann

Zac Teichmann

The first set closed with the Grammy-nominated Counting to Infinity, which Davies said was a trilogy in four movements. He said it had emerged from his “morning-mares” (as opposed to the night ones), which is what he enjoyed often because he had a rich wife who works for Sony, which allows him to sleep late.

Pianist with Tim Davies Big Band

Pianist with Tim Davies Big Band

The energy in this big band performance was amazing. These would have been difficult charts to master in the short rehearsal time available, so full marks to the band. It was exciting playing and full of verve.

Guitarist with Tim Davies Big Band

Guitarist with Tim Davies Big Band

Tim Davies Big Band

Is this Stuart Byrne with Tim Davies Big Band? (Not sure)

Having said that, Davies style of big band music is not quite my ideal (and that’s immaterial except to me), so I’d rather hear Bennetts Lane Big Band or the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra. But seeing and hearing Davies at the helm was an unforgettable experience. And it was fun trying to catch his sticks in mid air, occasionally.

ROGER MITCHELL

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BROWNE’S BAND CONJURES BRIGHT REFLECTIONS

Posted on May 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

REVIEW: STONNINGTON JAZZ 2012
Allan Browne’s The Poetry of Classic Jazz, Chapel Off Chapel, Sunday May 20

The Poetry of Classic Jazz

The Poetry of Classic Jazz

It was so upbeat that I’m sure we listened with smiles on our faces or deep inside. Yet this exploration of New Orleans-style jazz and drummer Allan Browne’s passion for poetry began with a blues that expressed loss and deep sorrow. As a tribute to “a deep and longtime friend of mine”, drummer Peter Jones, Browne decided to open the gig with W.H. Auden’s Stop All the Clocks, alternatively known as Funeral Blues. The Crowded House drummer died on May 18, aged 45.

It was powerful poetry, delivered with feeling. It did not dampen the spirits of either audience or the band.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

…

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

…

Geoff Bull

Geoff Bull

With Browne to celebrate word and note at Chapel Off Chapel was Sydney trumpeter and vocalist Geoff Bull, Dave Hetherington on clarinet, Margie Lou Dyer on piano and vocals and Mark Elton on bass.

The serious mood continued, with Browne reading a James Langston Hughes poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers, which the drummer said “makes me cry”.

Again, it was moving, and Bull treated us to some rich wah wah in the accompanying music.

Geoff Bull

Geoff Bull

Then, lest solemnity become the rule, we were treated to a preview of Browne’s yet-to-be-launched volume of poems, Conjuror (published by extempore), with the reading of He’s Not Much, But He’s All He Thinks About.

Mark Elton

Mark Elton

And then, with the promise of no more poems until the second set, the mood hotted up, with the James Scott tune Climax Rag, made famous on Blue Note in the 1940s by George Lewis and His New Orleans Stompers. Racy, energetic stuff.

Geoff Bull

Geoff Bull

Next came Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor, with fine vocal work from Bull and a piano solo from Dyer, and nice jousting from clarinet (what a joy it is to hear this instrument) and horn. Down By the Riverside followed, then Don’t Go ‘way Nobody, which was heaps of fun, with Browne having a shot at vocals, some quicksilver-fluid clarinet and a great bass solo, and finally Bourbon Street Parade to end the set.

Hetherington and Bull

Dave Hetherington and Geoff Bull

Poetry began the second set, with Green Room recalling Browne’s “old days when you could actually make a living” playing at The Regent, when, he recalled, “you could put on a suit”, go downstairs and “you wouldn’t know you were in Melbourne — you could have been in Hong Kong or New York”.

Allan Browne

Allan Browne

I think it was about now that Browne unearthed a wasps’ nest, because there was quite a bit of buzzing going on. It was a hoot.

Allan Browne

Allan Browne

Another change of pace had Browne reading the Frank O’Hara poem for Billie Holiday, The Day Lady Died. He drew our attention to the last line.

… and I am sweating a lot by now and thinking of
leaning on the john door in the 5 SPOT
while she whispered a song along the keyboard
to Mal Waldron and everyone and I stopped breathing

Mark Elton

Mark Elton

Geoff Bull treated us to some more vocals in Just Over in the Glory Land, and there was some lovely interplay between horn and clarinet.

Hetherington, Elton, Bull

Hetherington, Elton, Bull

This was a happy, exuberant rendition.

Hetherington, Elton, Bull

Hetherington, Elton, Bull

Then we had a couple of numbers featuring Dyer’s smoky vocals — Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do, and My Old Bucket’s Got A Hole In It.

Browne, Dyer, Elton

Browne, Dyer, Elton

It was great to look across to the partnership of Browne and Dyer in action here, and to feel the rollicking, friendly and fun vibe coming from this ensemble as they captured the spirit of New Orleans jazz.

Browne, Dyer

Browne, Dyer

Announcing Panama Rag to close the gig, Al Browne said the piece was “synonymous with all this music”.

I reckon we were still smiling on the inside as we went outside, and that must have something to do with this style of jazz. But we were also, through the poetry, given the chance — or gently prodded — to reflect a little on life, and on friendship and loss.

ROGER MITCHELL

 

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VERSES FROM THE PAST

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Allan Browne Quintet and Trio, Chapel Off Chapel, May 22, Stonnington Jazz 2011
Allan Browne drums, Eugene Ball trumpet, Phil Noy saxophone, Geoff Hughes guitar, Nick Haywood bass, Marc Hannaford piano

Given Allan Browne’s love of poetry and whimsical sense of humour — often displayed at Bennetts Lane on Monday evenings — I was expecting quite a bit of humour and maybe some of the stream-of-consciousness outpourings of that ilk at this gig. Instead we were treated to a trip down memory lane in quite a serious vein, with a fair amount of emotion amid the recollections, and some concise and deeply expressive verse. As well, the musical responses to Allan’s words were some of the most expressive compositions I’ve heard, though that was no surprise given the calibre and imagination of these musicians. Marc Hannaford, Eugene Ball, Geoff Hughes, Phil Noy and Al Browne were the originators of the music played in two sets that seemed to race past. Luckily, these evolving works will be recorded, and they should rank with suites such as The Drunken Boat, Une Saison En Enfer and Stu Hunter’s works The Gathering and The Muse (both of the latter to be played during this festival on Wednesday and Thursday this week).

Allan Browne

Allan Browne and Marc Hannaford

The pieces were tributes to artists Browne had played with and who had visited Australia. Marc Hannaford’s Suite for Swing Street was for pianist Teddy Wilson, who recalled for Allan the era of 42nd street and Kansas City big bands. His verse included the lines “The sound of art changing the brain, And the quip of course, It’s confectionery”.
I think the suite carried on into For Art Hodes, a late twenties pianist with whom Browne enjoyed “great kinship”. Hughes and Haywood had top solos in this. Eugene Ball’s A Short Verse for A Tall Man was for vibraphonist Milt Jackson, who AB described as “a tremendously swinging person”. After the piece he described Ball’s composition as having “an Ellington sound … lush”. Marc Hannaford’s solo stood out for me in this.

Eugene Ball, Geoff Hughes, Phil Noy

Eugene Ball, Geoff Hughes, Phil Noy

Before the break the ensemble played Firefly, Geoff Hughes’ tribute to Emily Remler, a “truly inspiring young guitarist” with whom AB said he had a similar close relationship apart from the music, but who “didn’t make it back to America”. She died at age 32 while on tour in Australia. One of her sayings was that despite her tiny frame “inside I’m a big black man”. This piece began with Hughes playing behind the words. Then came solos from Hughes, Ball, Haywood and Browne. Moving stuff.

Nick Haywood and Geoff Hughes

Nick Haywood and Geoff Hughes

After the break came Browne’s Wild Bill, for trumpet player Wild Bill Davison. AB recalled playing in the 100 Club in London when Davison came in, and launching into one of his pieces, Hysterics Rag. Davison played at the Limerick Arms in Melbourne with AB’s New Orleans band, but asked to sit in with his quartet, which was a lot different, and was happy because “normally I have to play with tubas and banjos”. Ball and Hannaford had solos in this.

Al Browne attentive to a Marc Hannaford solo

Al Browne attentive to a Marc Hannaford solo

The highlight of the night for me was Hannaford’s The Flooding, for pianist Mal Waldron. AB told of going to Sydney with bassist and close mate Gary Costello, very nervous about playing with Waldron and asking what they would be playing. “When I nod my head, just play”, was Waldron’s response, so they did — for more than an hour and then for another set after the break. “It was all completely different and a great introduction for me to playing free”, AB recalled. Marc Hannaford’s solo in this was a delight, and the following cacophony superb.

Marc Hannaford and Eugene Ball

Marc Hannaford and Eugene Ball

Phil Noy’s piece Johnny Griffin was a tribute to the tenor saxophonist AB described as “an amazing cat” and “totally happening”. He recalled playing Just Friends with Griffin, Paul Grabowsky and Gary Costello and Griffin “starting so far ahead of the beat that we ended up playing the whole thing at double time”. At the end, Griffin must have said, “Phew, that was not the tempo I expected.” AB said Griffin had influenced him tremendously and that being able to play Cherokee for 20 minutes was “handy these days when playing with (saxophonist) George Garzone“.

Allan Browne and Marc Hannaford

Allan Browne and Marc Hannaford

As soon as the applause died away to close the gig I wanted to have the band start all over so that I could hear Al Browne’s verses and again marvel at the strength of these compositions, which are so evocative and full of interest. We do have not only really talented musicians in this country, but composers overflowing with originality.

Geoff Hughes

Geoff Hughes (the red lighting was too much so I turned it off)

So that’s enough waxing lyrical. Another top Stonnington gig. Vastly different to the youthful vigour of Sarah McKenzie‘s opener, but deeply satisfying. It’s just a little sad that not more people get to hear this material, but as Allan Browne would point out, it’s available at gigs in Melbourne most nights and not only during festivals.

ROGER MITCHELL

Marc Hannaford

Marc Hannaford ... Look Mum, one hand.

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WYNTON MARSALIS SENDS HIS APOLOGIES

Posted on May 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

Ausjazz blog previews Stonnington Jazz 2011 — May 19 to May 29

The days are suddenly much colder and the nights have that stay-at-home chill. Many of us are suffering from sore throats, persistent coughs and similar energy-sapping afflictions. So what’s the incentive to venture out to hear live music? During the past few nights I’ve had some of the worst coughing bouts in years, so I sympathise with anyone wanting to hunker down at home. But there are some real spirit-lifting performances coming up at Stonnington Jazz (May 19 to 29) and that’s exactly what we need as winter sets in. So, why not decide to catch one or two of these gigs over the 10 days of this festival? Go on, (to use an expression doing the rounds at our house), you know you want to.

The full program is online at the Stonnington Jazz website, so this preview is merely picking out some highlights — essentially what Ausjazz blog fancies as the gigs not to miss.

One thing to keep in mind about Stonnington Jazz. This is all home-grown talent and there is plenty of it. International artists can be a thrill, but this festival’s strength is that these musicians are ours — inventive and able and with the freedom that comes from being so far from the big names in the United States.

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
Sarah McKenzie at Stonnington Jazz 2010

The artists who are likely to feature in print media publicity for the festival are probably pianist and vocalist Sarah McKenzie, who will open the festival on Thursday and Friday nights (May 19 and 20) with her sextet; vocalist Katie Noonan, who will perform on May 22 with Elixir (Zac Hurren on sax and Stephen Magnusson on guitar); and Vince Jones & Band plus guests (May 21).

McKenzie is an engaging performer who delivers swinging standards and originals in a forthright and spirited manner that recognises the long history of jazz vocalists. She wowed crowds at Chapel Off Chapel during this festival last year and will return — this time at the Malvern Town Hall — with award-winning Eamon McNelis on trumpet (replacing Pat Thiele) and Alex Boneham on bass (replacing Sam Anning). Julien Wilson will be a special guest on sax. This venue will be larger and acoustically tougher, but McKenzie has the power to fill the hall. She will be launching her new album Don’t Tempt Me (ABC Jazz).

Allan Browne

Festival hopping: Allan Browne performs at Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival.

Ausjazz blog’s list of anticipated highlights begins with drummer and Stonnington Jazz Patron Allan Browne, who on May 22 at 2pm presents a program of musical portraits and poems inspired by some of the great jazz artists he has played with, including Johnny Griffin, Milt Jackson, Art Hodes, Wild Bill Davison, Emily Remler, Buddy Tate, Teddy Wilson, Mal Waldron and Jay McShann. Joining Allan will be members of his quintet — trumpeter Eugene Ball, saxophonist Phil Noy, guitarist Geoff Hughes, bassist Nick Haywood — and trio (Haywood and pianist Marc Hannaford). All those names may look like a laundry list, but Al Browne and his crew have been trying out this new material at some Bennetts Lane gigs on Mondays and, though I have not made it to these gigs, I am certain the result will be moving as well as lots of fun. Jazz and poetry may not always work, but the Browne Quintet suites The Drunken Boat and Une Saison En Enfer are evidence enough that these guys know what they’re doing.

Any opportunity to hear Sydney’s Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra is to be valued. You may be surprised at how a big band can do much more than merely blast away. Under the direction of saxophonist David Theak, JMO is a sensitive, expressive beast. And the finals of the National Big Band Composition Competition will add interest to this outing at Chapel Off Chapel at 7.30pm on Monday, May 23.

Anyone who heard Lost and Found at Wangaratta Jazz some years back, when Paul Grabowsky, Jamie Oehlers and Dave Beck played a standout set of unscripted improvisation, will value the chance to hear Grabowsky and Oehlers. Their 2010 album On A Clear Day explored their take on some standards. These two musicians will show the depth of their musical understanding in a Chapel Off Chapel double bill with Nat Bartsch Trio on May 24.

Stu Hunter

Sweet suite: Stu Hunter at Wangaratta

How suite it is that pianist / composer Stu Hunter‘s two magnificent suites — The Muse and The Gathering — will be played at Chapel Off Chapel on succeeding nights (May 25 and 26). The second work won Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year at the Bell Awards and Best Independent Jazz album in the Independent Music Awards in 2010. Both were huge hits at Wangaratta. I marginally prefer The Gathering, with the larger ensemble adding Phil Slater on trumpet and James Greening on trombone and pocket trumpet to quartet members Julien Wilson (on sax rather than Matt Keegan this time), Cameron Undy (instead of Jonathan Swartz on bass) and Simon Barker (drums).

But the deal is so good it’s hard to believe, because each gig has a substantial other half. Along with The Muse, tenor saxophonist Andy Sugg will fuel controversy over whether jazz stays tied to its apron strings or is let off the leash to explore (apologies for the mixed metaphors). Sugg, with help from Shannon Barnett on trombone, Natalia Mann on harp, Steve Magnusson on guitar, Kate Kelsey-Sugg on piano, Ben Robertson on bass and James McLean on drums, will endeavour to link John Coltrane‘s music with British punk, and use some technologically up-to-date devices to give Coltrane’s later music “radically new contexts”. I understand Wynton Marsalis has sent his apologies.

Scott Tinkler on fire at MJFF Big Arse Sunday 2011

Scott Tinkler on fire at MJFF Big Arse Sunday 2011

The other half of the The Gathering gig will feature four names to strike terror into their instruments and evoke frenzied adulation from their fans: Ian Chaplin, Scott Tinkler, Philip Rex and Simon Barker. On sax, trumpet, bass and drums respectively, these “daring and potent improvisers” (as the program notes put it) will be fathering children … no, sorry, creating a storm of fiery improvisation that will delight body and soul. (I know this because I heard Tinkler with bass and drums on the final night of Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival this year — he’s in great form.)

That this list of highlights is growing too long and in danger of leaving out little is testament to the quality of the programming by artistic director (and trophy-winning golfer) Adrian Jackson. So I’ll gloss over some gigs (Tina Harrod; Bloodlines: Dave Macrae, Joy Yates & Jade Macrae; Joe Chindamo Trio and guests) to mention three more.

Bassist Leigh Barker and The New Sheiks, flush with Jazz Bell Awards success (and cash), will keep things swinging at Chapel Off Chapel on Friday, May 27, giving patrons a chance to catch Eamon McNelis on trumpet. And sharing the stage for another set will be the collectively led Bopstretch, with McNelis, Rajiv Jayaweera (is there anywhere he’s not playing?) on drums, Ben Hauptmann on guitar and Mark Elton on bass. This band will play classic 1950s BeBop era material, with tunes from some famous names.

On the festival’s second Saturday, May 28, Chapel Off Chapel patrons will be treated to a top double bill. Paul Williamson (the saxophonist version) will add to his Hammond Combo guests Geoff Achison (blues fans will be there) on guitar and vocals, James Greening on trombone, Gil Askey on trumpet and vocals, and Bob Sedergreen on keyboards. Get ready for jazz with an R&B flavour. At the same gig, trombonist Shannon Barnett will perform with the quartet that released the album Country in 2010 and toured nationally after being awarded a contemporary music touring program grant.

James Greening

James Greening at Wangaratta in 2010

Finally, Ausjazz blog’s highlights list ends with a combination I would not miss for quids. On Sunday, May 29 at 2pm, in a quartet of revered musicians (Sandy Evans saxophones, James Greening trombone & pocket trumpet, Steve Elphick bass), saxophonist Andrew Robson will perform his arrangements of hymns by Thomas Tallis. And Greening, forming The World According to James with Elphick, Robson and Toby Hall on drums, will perform original compositions. What a way to finish a festival.

As these highlights demonstrate, there is a lot of class to this festival. Because the program revisits some bands and works aired previously either at Stonnington or Wangaratta, I was initially inclined to think there was less breaking of new ground than in past years. Perhaps so, but for anyone who has not had an opportunity to hear these musicians before, and for all those who have heard and want to listen again, Stonnington Jazz has a power of Australian music in store.

ROGER MITCHELL

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FIVEWAYS — JEX SAARELAHT QUARTET

Posted on July 24, 2010 | 1 Comment

CD REVIEW

Jex Saarelaht Quartet

4 stars

MOVING forward could be the phrase to describe the propulsion provided by Niko Schauble (drums), Saarelaht and Jonathan Zwartz (bass) in Five-nineteen, which the band leader wrote for the late bassist Stuart Speed.

Recorded live at Chapel Off Chapel for Stonnington Jazz 2009, this outing lacks only the lyrical Resignation from the original set.

It’s a standout concert brilliantly captured, with Julien Wilson superb on sax — breathily gentle, hauntingly surreal and deeply comforting on Thirteen/Two Minds, but whistling sparely on the staccato Pepperman. Unhurried Poorly is rich in repose.

Fiveways is a testament to the quality of the original gig and under-promoted pianist Saarelaht’s accomplished quartet.

Download: Thirteen/Two Minds
CD launch: Bennetts Lane, July 27, 9pm

ROGER MITCHELL

This review published in the Sunday Herald Sun on July 25, 2010

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STONNINGTON JAZZ 2010 — DAY 10

Posted on June 2, 2010 | 2 Comments

SARAH McKENZIE SEXTET at Chapel Off Chapel

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
Sarah McKenzie

The first set was my last for this year’s Stonnington Jazz. A family commitment meant I had to leave before Paul Williamson and Friends, and could not make it to the Sunday gig with David Jones and Friends. I was not all that happy with my photographic efforts for this “last” gig. I was probably already switching out of festival mode and into family mode for my dad’s 90th birthday bash next day.

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
Sarah McKenzie Sextet

The sextet line-up was Sarah McKenzie on piano and vocals, Pat Thiele on trumpet, Carlo Barbaro on tenor sax, Hugh Stuckey on guitar, Sam Anning on bass and Craig Simon on drums.

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
Hugh Stuckey and Sam Anning

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
Pat Thiele

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
Hugh Stuckey and Carlo Barbaro

They played McKenzie originals Blues for Monty, Don’t tempt me and I got the blues tonight, as well as Cole Porter’s You’d be so nice to come home to, Sammy Fain’s That old feeling, and Duke Ellington’s Solitude.

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
Sarah McKenzie

McKenzie graduated from WAAPA with a Bachelor of Jazz (Composition) and has won a string of awards — the Jack Bendat Scholarship, the Hawaiian Award for “Most Outstanding Jazz Graduate”, the Perth Jazz Societies Award for the “Most Outstanding Group of the Year for 2008” and the 2009 James Morrison Scholarship for vocals (after being a finalist in the scholarship for six years).

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
Pat Thiele and Sarah McKenzie

As I’ve said previously, vocals are not my first preference when it comes to improvised music, but I regard each vocalist I hear as an opportunity to be educated. So what can I say about McKenzie’s performance? I think it is a big plus that her renditions of her original pieces had the same feel as the Cole Porter and Ellington classics, because the heritage of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday do seem important to this 22-year-old singer. Close your eyes and listen to McKenzie and it could be a much older woman singing, there is such power, depth and maturity in the voice. There is also warmth and conviction — when McKenzie sings “You’d be so nice to come home to”, she sings as if she has someone in mind. You know it’s not you, but you wish, in that moment, that it could be. That is a sign of how well the singer is projecting the feeling. And clearly McKenzie, as was evident when she sang In My Solitude, is not scared of emotion. She seems to be quite an open person, at least in her stage persona, and that is engaging.

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
Sarah McKenzie

McKenzie’s style of piano is expressive but forceful and that goes well with the hard-driving energy of the sextet. This is robust jazz and it will appeal to audiences who like strong grooves and a swingin’ vibe. McKenzie has the appeal — often people make a point of saying that she has the talent to match her looks — to be an ambassador for jazz. But should that burden be placed on a young musician who simply loves to perform?

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
New York Bound: Sam Anning

McKenzie announced after her first song that Sam Anning — who was not playing at quite all the Stonnington Jazz concerts — has won a full scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music in New York, NY. Congratulations to Sam. His departure will leave a huge gap in Melbourne and many bands will miss him. The Sarah McKenzie Sextet will be one of those.

Sarah McKenzie Sextet
Sarah McKenzie

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STONNINGTON JAZZ 2010 — DAY 9

Posted on May 29, 2010 | 2 Comments

ZAC HURREN TRIO at Chapel Off Chapel

Zac Hurren Trio
Hurren, Anning and Bates

It would have been a great way to end a festival, but on Friday night there was still one night to go. I chose to break the rule about not switching gigs midstream. Usually it’s hard to acclimatise to a change of venue and leaving in a rush to catch another band can be a big mistake. This time it worked out. But it left me with a burning question: How could Sam Anning have played bass with Zac Hurren (saxophone) and Sam Bates (drums) at the Chapel, and then dash to Malvern Town Hall for a complete change of mood, playing with Joe Chindamo‘s ensemble? I’d have liked to ask him what went on inside his head as he moved from one gig to the next.

Zac Hurren Trio
Hurren, Anning and Bates

Anyway, I have no time to beat about the bush, so this is the gist of it: Zac and the two Sams were faaannnnntastic! Absolutely on fire. Brilliant. Hurren said he usually stands by the trees and plays by himself, and that was how he wanted to start. It was a short warm-up solo and then the trio was off and running.

Zac Hurren Trio
Hurren and Anning

What was so good about it? It’s still in my head, but I’m not sure I can easily explain. It was cathartic. It was a physical experience. But I don’t want to give the idea that Hurren just blasted away and filled the Chapel with noise, or that Bates smashed and crashed on the drums, or that Anning drove his bass notes remorselessly through the audience. There was an element of that, but all three displayed much more sensitivity than that. They played as a unit and were totally cohesive. The result was primal and managed to penetrate deep into the body and into the soul. Bates displayed great finesse and sensitivity, Hurren and Anning were a tangible force brimming with emotion.

Zac Hurren Trio
Hurren, Anning and Bates

They played Hurren’s compositions Joffra, Conveyance (written the night before the funeral of saxophonist and teacher Tony Hobbs ), a newish track the name of which I did not catch, and Mark’s Mansion (written to represent saxophonist Mark Simmonds‘s defence of jazz against the forces of evil). They wanted to play more, but had to stop. I wanted more but had to go. And of course Sam Anning had to slip into the Stonnington stretch limo and wind down for a few minutes before joining Joe Chindamo on stage for the second set at Malvern Town Hall.

Zac Hurren Trio
Hurren, Anning and Bates

A quick note: The gigs I missed — Ted Vining‘s Impressions and Tina Harrod — deserve mention, but I could not make it. And I’d heard Tina Harrod at Bennetts Lane recently. She was great there, so I’m sure her set was enjoyed by all. On to the town hall …

JOE CHINDAMO’S COEN BROTHERS PROJECT
at Malvern Town Hall

Chindamo
Joe Chindamo

I can’t do this concert justice either, but a few sentences for now. It was the inaugural performance of the Coen Brothers material, and an album launch for Another Place, Some Other Time. Chindamo has assembled Lucky Oceans on pedal steel guitar, Geoff Hughes on guitars, Kristian Winther on violin, Sam Anning (again) on (yes) acoustic bass, Raj Jayaweera buried behind on drums and Alex Pertout also in the back on percussion.

Winther
Kristian Winther

Geoff Hughes
Geoff Hughes

Winther was exquisite on violin, Oceans added something special on pedal steel and Hughes was, as always, most expressive. Chindamo’s piano has the presence and sense of space, as well as a classical feel, to capture and hold us in a moment (or many) of beauty.

Chindamo, Oceans
Joe Chindamo and Lucky Oceans

Lucky Oceans
Lucky Oceans

In the seconds before I fall into a coma from lack of sleep, the standouts for me were the theme from Fargo (as interpreted by Chindamo, of course), Man of Constant Sorrow (from O’ Brother Where Art Thou?), Lujon from The Big Lebowski, and the theme from Miller’s Crossing. Later, You Are My Sunshine was divine, with Chindamo on accordion and Oceans on pedal steel. Earlier Oceans played slide guitar on Hotel California (The Big Lebowski), but you had to wait for the familiar melody to drift through.

Winther
Kristian Winther

After the theme from Blood Simple, Joe played a solo piano encore, Goodnight Sweetheart (I should have known, but had to be told).

Anning, Winther
Sam Anning and Kristian Winther

It was not my favourite Stonnington venue, but this was a beautiful concert and a fitting tribute to films in which music plays a big part. Chindamo’s take on the Coen Brothers’ film music was entrancing. There was no need for any moving images.

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STONNINGTON JAZZ 2010 — DAY 8

Posted on May 28, 2010 | 2 Comments

TEN PART INVENTION at Chapel Off Chapel

Ten Part Invention
Bertles, Robson, Evans, James

It was fantastic to have this Sydney ensemble in Melbourne, though the band’s obvious enthusiasm at having come south was tempered a little by the absence of the bandleader, Bell Awards Hall of Fame member John Pochee, and by departure of saxophonist Ken James, who has settled in Hamilton, Victoria. It is to be hoped Pochee recovers quickly and can make it next time Ten Part Invention returns to Melbourne — which must be soon. James is expected to be able to play with the band occasionally, but was given a send-off during the Chapel Off Chapel gig.

Filling in at very short notice on drums — he is making a habit of it — was Ronny Ferella, with virtually no rehearsal and without having played with the band previously. He did not have stories to tell, as Pochee likes to do, but he did a great job.

The line-up on the night was Paul McNamara on piano, Steve Elphick on bass, Warwick Alder and Miroslav Bukovsky on horns, James Greening on trombone, Bob Bertles on baritone sax, Sandy Evans on tenor sax, Ken James on soprano and tenor sax, Andrew Robson on alto sax and Ronny Ferella on drums.

Again, time is hampering my ability to add a review of the gig at this stage. Suffice to say it was exhilarating. The musicians seemed to be having a lot of fun and this came through to the audience, which disappointingly was not as large as expected given Ten Part Invention plays in Melbourne so rarely. We do seem to have a habit of not turning out in large numbers when a bunch of talented Sydney musicians come to town, but you’d expect this band to be well known.

For now, here are some images. In time I will add a few words about the concert.

Ten Part Invention
Ferella and Greening

Ten Part Invention
Robson, Evans, James

Ten Part Invention
Greening and James

Ten Part Invention
Greening, Bukovsky and James

Ten Part Invention
Robson, Elphick and Evans

Ten Part Invention
Evans, Ferella, James and Greening

Ten Part Invention
Bertles, Robson, Evans and James

Ten Part Invention
Greening, Bukovsky and Alder

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STONNINGTON JAZZ 2010 — DAY 6

Posted on May 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

BERNIE McGANN TRIO
AND GUESTS MARK FITZGIBBON AND JULIEN WILSON
at Chapel Off Chapel

Bernie Mcgann in the groove
In the groove: Bernie Mcgann

As usual, Adrian Jackson creates added interest by nudging artists into new situations — e.g. Vince Jones adding lyrics to Australian instrumental compositions — or facilitating meetings of musicians that ought to have occurred, but have not so far.

McGann and Wilson
New combo: McGann and Wilson

I was convinced that I had seen alto saxophonist Bernie McGann play with Julien Wilson at Stonnington Jazz previously, but of course it was McGann with Jamie Oehlers in May 2008, also at Stonnington and also at Chapel Off Chapel, that was niggling at the edge of my failing memory.

McGann and guests
Fitzgibbon, Anning, Wilson and McGann

One of the larger-than-life figures of Australian jazz, McGann had not played with Wilson until Tuesday night. The program suggested Wilson would be invited to join McGann and the ensemble — Sam Anning on acoustic bass, Allan Browne on drums and Mark Fitzgibbon on piano — for the second set, but Wilson came on for the second piece of the night, the ballad Wendy by “late, great sax player Paul Desmond“, as McGann put it.

Allan Browne
On fire: Allan Browne

In a short set — it seemed so — that began with Monk and ended with McGann’s Spirit Song, the trio and guests treated us to a no-frills exposition of energetic and elegant, rhythmically rich grooves that were an ideal way to showcase the two saxophonists. There was no fuss, just accomplished playing that carried each piece forward in a way that was totally engrossing.

Anning and Browne
Anning and Browne

Browne seemed to be on fire from the start, if that can describe his apparent ease — he denies it — and evident joy. Add Fitzgibbon’s drive and Anning’s warmth and you have music that is deeply satisfying.

McGann and Wilson
McGann and Wilson

And what of the saxes? They are quite different stylistically. McGann does not move much as he plays, managing nonetheless to break out in those moments we all wait for in any solo, but without much more than a twitch or a slight incline of the instrument to show what the sound is saying so clearly. Wilson’s emotional input is more overt, which I like in any musician, but when listening is paramount — closing the eyes helps — the difference is inconsequential. Both players can express so much, but they don’t fuss about it. Here is Wilson, playing with a fellow saxophonist who he has long regarded as an inspiration, and he is just getting on with it. Playing with Bernie McGann seems to rule out anything overly dramatic.

McGann and Wilson
Together at last: McGann and Wilson

The second set began with Tin Tin Deo, by Dizzy Gillespie and Cuban Chano Pozo, with Browne and Fitzgibbon driving forward to meet melodic contributions later from McGann and Wilson, followed by two ballads, The Talk of the Town (featuring McGann) and Laura (featuring Wilson). Browne was full-on in McGann’s Brownsville, which was exciting, and the set closed with another McGann composition, D. Day.

This may have been just another night for a musician with the experience of McGann, but surely it must have been uplifting for him to play with a younger saxophonist of Wilson’s calibre. It was for the audience.

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