The Jazz Council Reunion at the Studio/Stage Door

Posted on 2014-08-17 by Rod Wilson

The Jazz Council Reunion Concert, at the Studio / Stage Door Friday August 15, 2014 8pm

Here are some brief words from their press release to get the ball rolling:

“Cranbrook, BC – It’s reunion time! Two years after their last concert together, the original members of The Jazz Council are bringing their infectious swing, magnetic energy, and new original tunes back to The Stage Door in Cranbrook on Friday, August 15 at 8 PM. Drummer Sven Heyde, pianist Tim Plait, saxophonist Bernie Primbs, trumpeter Laurel Ralston, and bassist Joel Kroeker have been honing their skills and exploring new musical horizons – here in the Kootenays, across the country, and abroad. They are thrilled to meet back at home this summer and pick up where they left off – making great music in their signature style.The Jazz Council has given over 40 performances since forming in 2010, and released their successful debut album, Dawn, in 2011. They are renowned across the Kootenays for their unique sound and blend of instruments, skillful playing, and irresistible stage presence. The Jazz Council firmly believes that jazz is, at its core, popular music, and can be both authentic and accessible. Their original compositions and their covers weave together many different strands and sub-genres of jazz, giving the listener’s ears a well-balanced diet, while their ability to select sounds from a specific palette gives them a unique, clear sound that is all their own.”

In the meantime there are a lot of images to browse:

The Jazz Council kicked off this concert with Bernie Primbs ode to his wife with Quiere Casarte Conmigo followed by the Miles Davis tune Four. That first tune was off their CD Dawn. So that set the pattern for the night – a mix of tunes they had recorded and mostly new and original material. Their playing was very “snappy” and precise with lots of swing, so much so that it was hard to believe that they have not had many, if any, opportunities to practice together over the past two years. In her never ending search for technical and spiritual inspiration Laurel has been dipping into to playing of Booker Little. The results of her research was her rendition of Booker’s composition Bee Tee’s Plea (check the YouTube link Bee Tee’s Plea ). Booker was a disciple of the Jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown who died in a car crash in 1956 at the age of 25. Booker was only a couple of years later and was only 23 when he died of the complications of uremia. Considering how short their respective careers were it is amazing that here in this day and age, 50 years after their deaths, these two musicians are still exerting a significant influence on new generations of trumpet players. Other compositions played were Drifting (Herbie Hancock), If I was a Bell, A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square (a piano trio outing with some nice brush work from Sven). No night of jazz would be complete without at least one Thelonious Monk’s tune and the band did the honors with the jazz standard Well You Needn’t. The original compositions presented were Laurel’s Broken Drill Bit Blues and Cinder; Joel’s 5/4 romp Rainy Night Caper and his funky January 29th; and Bernie’s “creepy Jazz Style” On the Prowl and for the encore his Everybody Could Use a Minor Funk. There was lots of humor in the evening and it was evident that these musicians really enjoy what they are doing. It is a pity we may not get to hear them more often. Laurel is heading back to Ottawa, Tim to Edmonton and Joel to Fernie. That only leaves Bernie and Sven around town. Too bad.

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All Blues at the Heid Out

Posted on 2014-07-05 by Rod Wilson

THE LITTLE JAZZ ORCHESTRA PLAYS THE BLUES at the Heid Out in Cranbrook, Thursday July 3, 2014, 6pm.

Classical music may be the composer’s art, but not entirely. Jazz may be the performer’s art, but, again, not entirely. I suppose it is just a question of degree. The rules are a little more rigid for the classical performer and in Jazz the performer can take a few more liberties at the composer’s expense. And, once again at their regular first Thursday of month gig, The Little Jazz Orchestra (LJO) goes about taking lots of liberties. This time it was with the blues. The bands regular musicians, Dave Ward (trumpet, fluegelhorn), Graham Knipfel (drums), Janice Nicli (this time on electric bass) and Jim Cameron (this time on Fender electric telecaster) “amped” up the music for their special ramble through the blues repertoire. The night got off to a bit of a rough start with some electronic malfunctioning with Janice’s electric bass and as a result the Miles Davis 6/8 classic All Blues didn’t quite make it out of the gate. It was an unfortunate hiccup but the only one of the evening. With a different bass in hand Janice was back on deck for The St Louis Blues and a full blues drenched evening. As with previous themed nights the band enlisted the help of their jazzy friends. It was case of “double trouble” with Graham Barnes on electric guitar, joining Jim Cameron for the classic Kenny Burrell tune Chitlins Con Carne. It is not often we see two jazz guitars in a band line-up.There was also “double trouble” from the Knipfel clan when “Big Daddy” Murray Knipfel joined the band on stage for an opening salvo of vocals. Later in the evening Murray switched to tenor sax. Murray was not the only vocalist of the evening . Jim Cameron stepped up to the plate with Kansas City and Janice Nicli did her Jump Jive party piece. I think everybody was in the mix on Flip,Flop and Fly with some nice Telecaster slide from Jim Cameron. In an appropriate nod to the cast and crew of Calender Girls in the audience the band launched into a version of The Stripper. Other tunes served up included Georgia, Saint James Infirmary, Blues in the Night and a Dave Ward original dedicated to the Heid Out’s owner, Heidi Romich, called (appropriately) Blues for Heidi. As luck would have it Laurel Ralston (trumpet) had just arrived back in the area and towards the end of the evening joined Dave and Murray on stage for a two trumpet / tenor sax line up that finally rode out the evening on Duke Ellington’s C Jam Blues.

For those interested, check out the following YouTube links

Miles Davis ALL BLUES (audio only) from the classic 1959 album KIND OF BLUE

Kenny Burrell’s CHITLINS CON CARNE this is from the classic 1963 Blue Note album Midnight Blue that featured Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax, Major Holley Jr on bass, Bill English on drums, Ray Barretto on congas and, of course Kenny Burrell on guitar. The blues don’t come much better than this.

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LJO at the Heid Out

Posted on 2014-05-03 by Rod Wilson

The Little Jazz Orchestra at the Heid Out in Cranbrook, Thursday May 2, 2014 7-9pm.

I’m happy. Why wouldn’t I be happy? Thursday was the first Thursday of the month and that meant the The Little Jazz Orchestra (Janice Nicli on bass, Graham Knipfel on drums, Jim Cameron on guitar and Dave Ward on trumpet and fluegelhorn), were playing their regular gig at the Heid Out in Cranbrook, and, even better, they played a couple of my favorite tunes (Bernie’s Tune and Manha de Carnival). Good food, good beer, great ambience and my favorite tunes LIVE!!! What more could I ask?

So, remember the first Thursday of the month 7-9pm – LIVE JAZZ WITH THE LJO AT THE HEID OUT IN CRANBROOK. Over the summer months the band is planning some “themed nights”. On the drawing board at the moment is a Blues Night, a New Orlean’s Night, Show Tune night and a Latin Night.

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Jim Hall – R.I.P. December 10, 2013

Posted on 2013-12-25 by Rod Wilson

“A light snow falls today on the wonder that is New York City. As I walk the streets and ride the subway, I glance at the faces around me. Young jazz student firebrands blow be-bop in the West 4th St. station. A young woman wearing earbuds mouths the words to a song and does some dance steps down Sixth Avenue. It is another day, a new day. But as I ponder the news received this morning that Jim Hall, one of the greatest musicians of all time and a monumental influence on me and many of my elders and colleagues, has passed away, it’s not just the blessed arrival of a new day and all its possibilities that assails me. It is the sad fact that one of the great ones has moved on, and that feeling always affects everything as I/we move forward…. “ – Nels Cline

Jim played some of the most innovative and visionary jazz throughout his career, From the late-50s, he blazed trails and made history with the Chico Hamilton Quintet (Chico, R.I.P.), the Jimmy Giuffre Three, Paul Desmond, Sonny Rollins, and in duet with Bill Evans, among many others. – Nels Cline

Jim Hall Wikipedia entry

Jim Hall Documentary

It seems like the jazz guitarist Jim Hall has been around forever. The first time I heard him was on a Jazz Anthology LP in the mid-1960`s that, unfortunately, also featured the superb Herb Ellis. I say unfortunately because Herb was a blues oriented player with an edge that, at the time, had more appeal to my youthful rock&roll sensibilities. I tended to overlook Jim Hall. He was more laid back with a very mellow approach. It took me many years to develop a real appreciation for Jim`s approach and realize that he is one of the true giants of jazz guitar. My appreciation grew exponentially when I first obtained the Mosaic Box Set of The Complete Capital and Atlantic Recordings of Jimmy Giuffre. Recorded from 1954 through 1958. Jimmy Giuffre was a clarinetist, saxophonist and composer with a somewhat experimental approach that proved to be a perfect fit for Jim Hall. The Complete Recordings of the Paul Desmond Quartet with Jim Hall was another milestone in my developing appreciation. Paul Desmond was definitely one of Jim’s musical soul mates and this collection features a fairly straight ahead jazz approach to many jazz standards as well as a wealth of Bossa Nova tunes. The material was recorded between 1959 though to 1965. Like a lot of true musical giants Jim Hall recorded prolifically throughout his career and constantly evolved from one project to the next. He was not a dramatic figure; no prima donna acting out; no drug abuse issues; just a solid ordinary guy with a family, a career, and a very professional approach to his craft. Throughout his life he played exceptional music in a plethora of circumstances. He was still actively performing, and I don’t mean just going through the motions, right up to his death. He died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday December 10th, 2013.

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Jazz at The Heid Out

Posted on 2013-12-21 by Rod Wilson

Ferdy Belland informs me that way back in the 1960’s Cranbrook was a jazz town (“don’t judge Cranbrook by the sawmill”). I didn’t arrive in Cranbrook until 1976 so I can’t vouch for that but I do know that in the 1980’s there was jazz around town. The big band, The Sounds of the Forties was a going concern as was the band Wham Go the Ducks. I don’t recall any significant local jazz groups since those bands stopped performing. There have been the occasional touring groups that have dropped into the Studio / Stage Door to take part in Gord & Jill Johnston’s Swing Street concert series. The the Key City Theatre featured jazz and blues on an infrequent basis. But, by and large, the town went over to mostly Classic Rock in the bars and now, of course, that scene has largely dried up as well. Over the past 18 months there has been a resurgence in live Jazz in the area. There have been two mini-festivals run by the Kimberley Arts Council that featured jazz groups from as far away as Poland and Belgium. Two local bands, The Jazz Council and The Little Jazz Orchestra, have also kept the jazz flame alive and burning during that period. The Little Jazz Orchestra (featuring Dave Ward on trumpet and Flugelhorn, Jim Cameron on Guitar, Janice Nicli on Bass and Graham Knipfel on drums) is still around and holding down a regular gig (every first Thursday of the month) at the Heid Out in Cranbrook. This was the basic core group for the special Christmas session on Thursday, December 19, 2013. They were Joined by vocalist Shauna Plant, keyboard player Evan Buekert; Bernie Primbs on Baritone Sax, Ferdy Belland on Bass, Stu Taylor on Trombone and Sven Heyde on drums and Congas. In other words it was an all-star cast of local jazz musicians.

Fittingly the band kicked off the evening in a bluesy mood with Miles Davis’ All Blues from the classic album Kind of Blue. That album was recorded in 1959, has never been out of print, has sold over 20 million copies and, nearly fifty years after its original release it is still selling at a rate of about 5,000 per week. “In the church of jazz, Kind of Blue, is one of the holy relics“. With it`s innovative modal approach it forever changed the face of jazz. If there is a need to have only one jazz record in your collection then this is the one. But, I digress, this tune was a classic start to a classic evening and it set the stage for what was to follow. A wonderful evening of live, free wheeling jazz that leaves one pondering “how do they do that?”. Mostly working from lead sheets the group played a wide selection of Jazz, and non-jazz standards. From time to time the guest musicians took centre stage for tunes such as Besame Mucho, My Funny Valentine, St. Thomas, Lagrima Negras, some Christmas ambience in Let it Snow, Let it Snow, I Wish you a Merry, Merry Christmas, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. The country tune Walking After Midnight featured the wonderful voice of Shauna Plant and Janice Nicli (also on vocals) rocked it out on Jump N’ Jive. The old time jazz classics featured during the evening included Bill Bailey Won’t You Please Come Home, Ja Da (written in 1918) and Duke Ellington’s C-Jam Blues. The stand out tunes for me were Sonny Rollin’s St. Thomas and, with its shades of a New Orleans funeral, the old Gospel tune Take a Closer Walk with Thee. Classic Rock and Blues are fine but there is nothing quite like the snap and crackle of straight up jazz in a wonderful venue like The Heid Out. Thanks should go to Heidi, the staff and the musicians for a wonderful night of music. Here are some images from the evening:

And now for a touch of the surreal – The Condensate on the High Windows

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Don Davies Quartet at BJ’s

Posted on 2013-12-20 by Rod Wilson

Don Davies Quartet at BJ’s Creekside Pub, Saturday December 14, 2013, 7:30pm

I never really think of Kimberley as a jazz town and yet at Centre 64 the Kimberley Arts Council has run several very successful mini-festivals. They have featured jazz artists from across Canada and from as far away as Belgium and Poland. Closer to home The Don Davies Quartet (Don Davies – piano and vocals; Stu Taylor – trombone, Bill Visintin – bass; Steen Jorgensen drums and alto sax) always attracts a good audience. Especially at BJ’s Creekside pub. I guess the selection of great old tunes, the food and refreshments, performers who are having fun and the ambience of this wonderful neighborhood bar always seems to pull an audience in the door. Last Saturday evening was no exception. The Quartet spent the evening running through such favorites as The Lady is a Tramp, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Bye Bye Blackbird, Night Train, Girl from Ipanema, When Your Smiling, Georgia on my Mind, Satin Doll, Besame Mucho, Don’t Get Around Much Any More, Autumn Leaves, New York New York and a few seasonal tunes such I Wish you a Merry Christmas. “Lyndell” sat in on drums for a few swing tunes and a lady bounced up on stage to do a duet with Don on the old country favorite Please Release Me. Here are some more images from this cosy night of music.

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A YOUTUBE Pick (#1) – “Eleanor Rigby”

Posted on 2013-12-14 by Rod Wilson

“Eleanor Rigby” performed by Chick Corea and Gary Burton, to see the video click on the link Eleanor Rigby

I’m not a luddite. It’s just that I have lived through so many technological changes in the recording industry that I am ready to take a pause for a while. I have had 78s, vinyl, reel-to-reel, cassettes, discman (minidiscs) and CDs. I have successfully avoided the 8-track disaster and the more recent SDAC (Super Audio CD) format failure. I don’t own an iPod and for some unfathomable reason the format doesn’t interest me – maybe because I don’t like the micro earphones that are used to access the sound. My recording medium of choice for over 25 years is the CD. There is the great sound, the great selection of material and recordings that are not going to disappear with the press of the wrong button. Also I don’t have to spend time downloading material. However, having now taken a pause I am ready to move on and I concede that YOUTUBE is impacting my listening (viewing) habits. There are disadvantages to the media. In my instance I have to use a computer to access the videos but still that is working for me. I jump on the exercise bike and crank up some YOUTUBE videos. Erasing the boredom of riding an exercise bike is a distinct advantage for me. In addition to all first class performances there is all the music tutorial material out there (just check out all the stuff on playing Congas – amazing). For those interested in Jazz it seems that the Europeans have documented and continue to document all the important European Jazz Festivals. So an uninterrupted 60-120 minute video of some of the world’s greatest jazz performances is not unusual.

Having said all that, why this particular YOUTUBE selection? It is not necessarily the best or the brightest. It just happens to be the one I stumbled across this week. First of all “Eleanor Rigby” is a great tune by the Beatles. It is well known and for a “pop” tune it is in the unusual meter of 6/8. I do not know of any other “pop” tune in 6/8. In Irish/Celtic music it is the predominant rhythm and turns up in many dance tunes and traditional songs. One wonders if the Beatles, coming from Liverpool, were exposed to lots of Irish music in their youth. It might explain the melodic strength of their music. Now the performers in this instance are not “pop” musicians. They, dare I say it, are more than a step above the average “pop musician”. And the performance is not a standard jazz treatment – play the melody then mash it up until it is time to revisit the melody. It is a duo – piano and vibes – no bass, no drums – and it is a format these two master musicians have been polishing for over 40 years. Their first duet recording Crystal Silence was recorded and released on the ECM label in 1972 and subsequent duo recordings won Grammy Awards in 1979, 1981, 1997, 1999, 2009 and 2013. Chick Corea was not Gary`s only partner is the duo format. Gary also worked with the pianist Makoto Ozone and others, including, most notably, the guitarist Ralph Towner on the CDs Matchbook and Slide Show (two of my favorite recordings). Both Chick Corea and Gary Burton have been staples on the jazz scene for over forty years. Chick Corea is “an American jazz and fusion pianist, keyboardist, and composer”. Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis’ band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever. Along with Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Keith Jarrett, he has been described as one of the major jazz piano voices to emerge in the post-John Coltrane era (excepts from a Wikipedia entry). Gary Burton is a Vibes player (a juiced up xylophone) who was born with the gift of perfect pitch. He was performing as a professional at the age of eight, he joined the the Stan Getz Quartet when he was still in his teens shortly there after forming his own groups that included the likes of Pat Metheny and, of course, Chick Corea. There were other jazz vibes payers on the scene long before Gary strode onto the stage in short pants. Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson were the two noted vibes players of the earlier generation. Technically, what sets Gary apart from his predecessors is his four-mallet technique. Musically and visually it is astounding to see and hear him navigate the complexities of the music with incredible speed and agility using four mallets. He may not have been the first to use this technique but for every player that came after him there was no choice but to use four mallets. Music came easy to him and he gives lie to the saying “that those who can`t , teach“. Besides being a player of giant status he was an educator of the first order for over 30 years at the Berklee School. By his retirement he was a major administrator in the organization. All of that time he was in the fore front of jazz performance and this performance of Eleanor Rigby indicates that he is still at the top of his game.

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Who is Pat Metheny?

Posted on 2013-11-13 by Rod Wilson

Pat Metheny website

As the story goes, years ago way, way back in Florida, the TV Producer/Writer/Director Chuck Lorre (Big Bang Theory) was invited to a Guitar Master Class by one of his University associates. At the time Chuck was a working musician who thought he had his guitar playing well under control. On first seeing the “kid” who was directing the class he thought he was unlikely to walk away with anything of value. After all he was a professional musician with a lot of hours under his belt. He was wrong. The master class completely changed the direction of his life. After seeing and hearing what he had yet to accomplish he more or less gave up music and switched to TV production. The “kid” was Pat Metheny.

Outside the Jazz arena most people, including a significant number of guitarists, would say “Who?”. And yet “the twenty time Grammy Award winner is one of the most popular musicians of the past forty years, his impact and influence as a composer, guitarist, producer, arranger, collaborator, musical visionary and habitual sonic explorer is without parallel. Metheny’s induction into the DownBeat Hall of Fame is yet another accolade for this perennially restless musician. Having sold 20 million records worldwide (three RIAA-certified gold), Metheny, as well as being a best-selling artist, is also an educator, poll winner and father of three. He has topped the Guitar category in the DownBeat Readers Poll for seven consecutive years.” – December 2013, DownBeat, page 30.

From his website here is a thumbnail sketch of his biography:

PAT METHENY was born in Kansas City on August 12, 1954 into a musical family. Starting on trumpet at the age of 8, Metheny switched to guitar at age 12. By the age of 15, he was working regularly with the best jazz musicians in Kansas City, receiving valuable on-the-bandstand experience at an unusually young age. Metheny first burst onto the international jazz scene in 1974. Over the course of his three-year stint with vibraphone great Gary Burton, the young Missouri native already displayed his soon-to-become trademarked playing style, which blended the loose and flexible articulation customarily reserved for horn players with an advanced rhythmic and harmonic sensibility – a way of playing and improvising that was modern in conception but grounded deeply in the jazz tradition of melody, swing, and the blues. With the release of his first album, Bright Size Life (1975), he reinvented the traditional “jazz guitar” sound for a new generation of players. Throughout his career, Pat Metheny has continued to re-define the genre by utilizing new technology and constantly working to evolve the improvisational and sonic potential of his instrument. Metheny’s versatility is almost nearly without peer on any instrument. Over the years, he has performed with artists as diverse as Steve Reich to Ornette Coleman to Herbie Hancock to Jim Hall to Milton Nascimento to David Bowie. Metheny’s body of work includes compositions for solo guitar, small ensembles, electric and acoustic instruments, large orchestras, and ballet pieces, with settings ranging from modern jazz to rock to classical. (Under his own name he currently has over 43 CDs and 6 performance DVD’s in his catalogue – and that doesn’t include sixteen film scores and a huge number of recordings where he was listed as a sideman).

In the December issue of Downbeat he was inducted into the Reader’s Hall of Fame.

Here is an abbreviated Youtube clip from my favorite album Question and Answers Pat Metheny Trio plays the title track .This was an extraordinary album of straight ahead jazz with two master jazz musicians: Roy Haynes on drums and Dave Holland on bass. The Youtube clip doesn’t have these two original sidemen and as a result doesn’t have the punch of the original 1990 recording. From the original CD notes Pat says “I’m used to going into the studio with truckloads of stuff, but in this case, I walked in carrying the guitar and that was it: one guitar, one setting. We had a great time. We played for about eight hours, we didn’t listen back to anything, we just played.” The session was just a one day break in their individual busy touring schedules. Don’t we all wish we could pull music of that caliber right off the top of our heads. No rehearsals – just play.

If you are a guitar player it is easy to spot Pat Metheny’s unusual technique. He holds the pick in a really insecure way and one that defies conventional logic. He uses his left hand in a baseball grip with his thumb hooking over the top. There are no conventional bar chords shapes. It’s weird but, for him it works. If you are not familiar with his work check out his recordings.

And as a special treat here is a link to Pat playing And I love her so and with Herbie Hancock on Cantelope Island and in the weird file there is Pat Metheny’s Orchestrion

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Jaclyn Guillou Quintet at Centre 64

Posted on 2013-10-19 by Rod Wilson

Third Concert in the Fall Jazz Series: The Jaclyn Guillou Quintet, at Centre 64. October 18, 2013, 8pm Jaclyn Guillou website

In a departure from the previous Jazz concerts the Jaclyn Guillo Quintet was presented in a cabaret format in the downstairs studio in Centre 64. The sound and style of the quintet lent itself to the ambience of a cabaret and the opportunity to partake of wine and beverages also helped create a more relaxed informal atmosphere. Also the piano in the studio was a top quality Kawai that begs to be played. Apart from the obvious advantages of the venue and Ray Gareau’s light and sound enhancements, there was pay back for the use of the grand piano. Bruno Hubert, the quintet’s pianist was more than willing to spend many pre-concert hours tuning this marvelous instrument. So when Bruno sat down to accompany Jaclyn Guillou (vocals), David Blake (guitar), Andrew Millar (drums) and James Megen (bass) all the ingredients were in place for a night of fine music. By this time the expectations were high and the quintet did not disappoint. Somewhat similar to the Norbet Kogging jazz performance of a few weeks previously the musical emphasis was on original material done in a jazz style. Although there was a sprinkling of familiar tunes, such as Cry Me River (Dinah Washington), No Moon at All, Wayne Shorter’s Yes and No, Billy Strayhorn’s Lush Life, a Joni Mitchell song (from her album Blue), a blues and a Brazilian tune, the normal jazz staples of the “great American songbook” were largely put aside. I was caught in cultural limbo when one song was introduced as one that every Canadian knows. It turned out to be The Land of the Silver Birch. I was not born or raised in Canada. Apparently every Canadian kid that’s been to summer camp knows the words to this tune. The band works as a collective with contribution from all members in arranging the tunes. There was lots of straight ahead jazz with solos by Bruno Hubert on piano and David Blake on guitar. David sprinkled his solos with some lively Wes Montgomery “octave riffs”, a musical spice that we never get to hear in this area. David is a student of Vancouver’s ace guitarist Bill Coon and it shows in his playing. Andrew Millar’s deft handling of brushes and Brazilian rhythms is also another little spicy tit-bit that is not heard too often in this area. Classic rock does not lend itself to these types of explorations. This is a band of dedicated professional musicians. Jaclyn is the only member with a “day job” – she teaches music.

The organizers of the event would like to thank the following sponsors The Burrito Grill, Pedal and Tap, Our Place and Mountain Spirit for their generous support and contributions. I would like to thank Laurel Ralston, Keith Nicholas and all the staff and volunteers at Centre 64 for their dedication in presenting this fine evening of music.

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Kogging at Centre 64

Posted on 2013-09-30 by Rod Wilson

KOGGING – THE SECOND CONCERT IN THE FALL JAZZ SERIES, The Dutch Jazz combo Kogging at Centre 64, Kimberley , Saturday September 28, 2013, 8pm

Kogging website

Back in the early 1980s the Australian Director Peter Weir made a film called The Year of Living Dangerously. Set in turbulent times in Indonesia in 1965 it was one of Mel Gibson’s early roles and also starred Sigourney Weaver and the amazing Linda Hunt. Linda won an Academy Award for her performance in this film. One of the sub themes in the movie revolved around the ancient Indonesian Wayang Kulit shadow plays. These plays are essentially silhouettes of especially designed puppets projected onto walls to portray traditional epic stories. So here we are are 50 years later and half a world away from tropical Indonesia with the Dutch Jazz Singer Norbert Kogging on a cool September evening in Kimberley B.C. Norbert is relating his experience of a sunny Sunday morning watching the early morning shadows of kids playing in the yard dancing across his wall. It prompted him to write the song Wajang Scenes. This song was one of a collection of original pieces presented by KOGGING , a Dutch jazz quartet of Folkert Oosterbeek on piano, Tobias Nyboer on bass, Felix Schlarman on drums and Norbert Kogging on vocals. From almost the first note it was evident that this is a quartet of well schooled and disciplined musicians. The control of dynamics, pacing, phrasing and their general approach was definitely a cut well above most musicians.There was a time when a descriptor of “well schooled” had negative connotations in certain styles of music. The popular image of a classically trained musician was of one completely captive to the printed page an unable to play without a printed score. That has changed and a lot of jazz and popular musicians can flash the fairly significant academic credentials they have acquired to enable them to perform in diverse fields of music. Wynton Marsalis, Keith Jarrett are just two jazz musicians who immediately come to mind who have significant statue in both classical and jazz realms. A little digging around in the background of any number of pop musicians can also reveal some unexpected surprises. Newer approaches to musical education and a willingness of musicians of all stripes to experiment and broaden their horizons has made for a richer and more diverse musical landscape. Even within this quartet there is evidence of a very different approach to jazz vocals. Usually a jazz vocalist relies heavily on interpretations of material from “The Great American Songbook”. Not this time out of the gate. There was only one cover tune during the entire evening and that was Joni Mitchell’s Edith and the King Pin – not exactly a jazz standard. Rather, taking a cue from popular music, Norbert featured wholly original material that had hardly anything in common with the “moon, spoon, June” motives of a bygone jazz vocal era. With songs like Holding the Line, Daydreaming, Our Freedom, Night Train, Craters Song and Silent Scream it was a refreshing departure from the norm, and, according to Norbert, not such an unusual approach in European jazz circles. Judging by some of Diana Krall’s recent recordings the practice may have also crossed to this side of the Atlantic. Like Diana Krall (particularly in her earlier work) Kogging also has a strong instrumental component. The bass / drums combination of Tobias Nyboer and Felix Schlarmann deserve special mention. They are a rock solid rhythmic foundation for the music. I particularly liked Felix’s deft brush work, including a device I can only describe as “straw brooms” and his ability to seamlessly move from sticks, to brushes, to broom, to mallets and back again. As always I have an inbuilt suspicion of kit drummers playing in small venues. More often than not they play too loud and lack finesse. Not Felix, he proved that a drummer truly reveals his talent when he plays his kit with brushes. None of this is meant to undermine the talents of the shy smiling Folkert Oosterbeek on piano. He had ample opportunity in his accompaniments and soloing to demonstrate his strengths. Once again we have to thank Laurel Ralston for her unflagging devotion to jazz and bringing this rock solid Dutch Jazz Quartet to Centre 64.

A special treat Kogging performing Daydreaming

The organizers of the event would like to thank the following sponsors The Burrito Grill, Pedal and Tap, Our Place and Mountain Spirit for their generous support and contributions.

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