2003 Vancouver International Jazz Festival Diary
Most foolishly, I failed to list the members of the fantastic NOW Orchestra in yesterdays report. They are, of course:
Coat Cooke – Co-Artistic Director/Sax/Flute
Ron Samworth – Co-Artistic Director/Guitar
Saul Berson – sax
Paul Blaney – bass
Bill Clark – trumpet
Bruce Freedman – sax
Kate Hammett-Vaughan - voice
John Korsrud – trumpet
Peggy Lee cello
Brad Muirhead – trombone
Rod Murray – trombone
Graham Ord – sax
Clyde Reed – bass
Dylan van der Schyff – drums
George Lewis – trombone/composer (guest)
Achim Kauffman – piano (guest)
Bernie Arai Trio
For the first time in years, did not spend the entire day at the Roundhouse for the scads of free jazz. The Bernie Arai Trio lured me to the backyard of the Art Gallery for a near-perfect afternoon of great music, sun and liquid refreshment. Dynamic and diverse are words often used to describe drummer Arai, and dammit if theyre not true! The energy and verve he pumps into his music never seems to flag, and hes a helluva M.C., too. Completing the trio were tenor saxist Jon Bentley, whos sounding fantastic lately, and, working extra-hard this gig, bassist Andr Lachance. Tunes by the likes of Don Cherry, John Coltrane, Bill Stewart, Paul Motian, Ornette Coleman, and Vancouvers own terrific pianist/composer Sharon Minemoto, long on melody and replete with sweet flowing liquid gold then fluttery trilling ascending and descending scales sax; high-octane keep-things-rolling drums; and up-front sweetly melodic bass, were the order of the afternoon and kept the audience rapt and quiet with listening - at a free stage! The trios easy chemistry, always-growing musicianship and love for this music made this an absolutely sure thing and they seemed to be digging it as much as the crowd. Nice work!
Bill Coon Trio featuring Ross Taggart
Like the above trio, this grouping has the luxury of playing together frequently and know each other so well, they make it look so effortless! The Bill Coon Trios classic and elegant modern sound has an easy and contagious swing punctuated by gently simmering solo work and a solid connection amongst all the musicians. The moments of interplay between Coon and tenor saxist Ross Taggart were one of the sweetest dances Ive heard and watched in some time.
Paul Rutherford Octet
Part of the fun of the Roundhouse weekend is the ends of the spectrum and everything in between that calls for dramatic gear switches. Hang on tight or move out of the way. The question on my mind at this improv session in the Performance Centre was how do eight people get anything going when theyre making it all up in an instant? Sometimes big ears, patience and good ideas that theyre willing to see through arent enough. This set saw lots of noodling, mostly sounding like maybe the inner workings of a very big clock. With its pluckings, tappings, pings and tings it was semi-organized chaos indeed that was kind of interesting but never really found much unison.
Steve Smiths 5 Expectations are a funny thing. You have em but there are no guarantees reality will live up to them. This new project of Vancouver-based bassist Steve Smith sounded interesting. After all, Id heard all the players in various settings before, and Smith and longtime partner pianist Lisa Miller and Smith have played a fair bit around town since they moved here a couple of years ago. I just wasnt aware of Smiths startling gifts as a composer, which are right in sync with his choices as bandleader in putting together the perfect group for this material: Smith, Miller, tenor saxist Dave Say, trumpeter Kevin Elaschuk, and, for this gig, drummer Paul Townsend. What a stunner of a performance! People all over town, the ones who didnt show and the ones who left earlier, should be kicking themselves hard in the ass for not being there. Obviously a very wise man, Smith composed this suite with the players in mind, and wrote quite brilliantly for them. The emotionally rich and lushly moody music swings with a sharp yet subtle edge. Elaschuk, Say and Miller all have all displayed dark sides in their music that make them the perfect choices for the depth of Smiths compositions; and Smiths and Townsends own tendency toward darker musical explorations came sharply into focus at this performance. All the 5 were on and deeply into the music and deserving of equal kudos for a very special show. Next gig please?
George Lewis/Hamid Drake/Marilyn Crispell/Miya Masaoka Good thing I took a break between SS5 and this, which unfortunately involved missing Susie Ibarras Trio, but such is life. A sold-out and excitedly anticipated grouping that had the place buzzing with tension that quickly dissipated with the presence of the very easygoing stage manner of trombonist George Lewis. Hes a natural leader, and naturally became the leader in this quartet of three-quarters introvert and one-quarter outgoing personalities. With a few shoulder shrugs (to much audience laughter) after a good 5-10 second pause before he gave in and hit on a cheerful little melody, Lewis set the pace for an evening of follow-his-lead. Lewis rambunctious pieces-of-his-horn sounds and propensity for laidback grooves gave great contrast to the intensity of Masaokas finger pick plucking and frantic bow see-sawing, Crispells very subtle and even infrequent musings, and Drakes soft, low rumblings on his kit. By the third piece, the quartet hit their stride with an upswing in pace and intensity that reflected their standing as amongst the worlds best improvisers and was a clear audience pleaser. A very interesting study in group dynamics that saw this foursome rise and fall most often with the rhythms of Lewis.
Talking Pictures with Achim Kauffman Was a little disappointed that TP would not be performing their thrilling compositions with the addition of guest German pianist Achim Kauffman, who seems ready to boil over at any second. Got over it quickly when they launched into some improv that,fuelled by the bands longtime collaboration and Kauffmans easy fit, took off immediately. The foursome that is TP are all good friends and as such, can jump right back in where they last left off musically, and thats the bonus for the listener, especially when an improvised piece (as especially their first of the night) sounds very much like one that was composed. Amazing. At several points in TPs two sets I experienced the high of feeling the end of the piece as it came - another bonus of hearing good and well-connected improvisers. And just when I thought Id figured it all out, leave it to the upstart pot-stirrer trumpeter Bill Clark to go and shock and startle us all by saying something else worth saying and definitely worth listening to.
P.S. Listened to new Roy Hargrove presents the RH Factors Hard Groove disc (Verve) while writing today. Pretty smooth and often slick grooves that occasionally try to sound street with a variety of guest rappers and vocals (Erykah Badu, Common, Anthony Hamilton, Q-Tip, etc.) that was probably a lot of fun to make, and would make good background music at a summer party. Lotsa loose grooves, but not nearly enough Hargrove horn for my taste (he plays a lot of keyboards here), and the Stevie Wonder influence heard strongest in track three Ill Stay doesn't linger long enough.
Diary Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
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Diary Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Writer/Photographer Josephine Ochej is a regular contributor to The Jazz Review, the Westender, Planet Jazz, and Coda Magazine.