Hatnohahat - Henderson/Dyne/Cranson

This was the last night out for the Wellington Jazz Cooperative before the Third Eye shut up shop on Sunday night. Hatnohathat - Jeff Henderson, Paul Dyne, and Rick Cranson - made it an evening to remember. Jeff doesn't get down here all too often, so this was a gig I didn't want to miss.

Free interpretations of standards/jazz tunes was the modus operandi. "Bye Ya", "You Don't Know What Love Is", "Impressions", "Blues Connotation", "Friday the 13th", "Holy Family" (Ayler) and "Red Car" (David Murray) were the ones I noted down. I think they opened with a tune of Jeff's. Often the pieces were link by, or emerged from collective free improvisations. At times it was full throttle stuff - Rick being an excellent choice - from the first beat you knew he wasn't messing around. P.D was particularly fleet fingered on this evening. "Relaxed intensity" is what I scribbled in the notebook. Perched on his stood, eyes closed, fingers flying.

Probably my favourite pieces of the evening were "You Don't Know What Love Is" (with Jeff on baritone) and "Blues Connotation". The former being a well placed ballad and the latter serving a reminder that, as much as I enjoy him on baritone and soprano (he has a fantastic soprano tone), Jeff is an alto player through and through. His alto playing has that bubbly, buoyant thing going on, and a singing tone. It swings too. As swinging as any alto player I'm aware of in New Zealand. This side of his playing doesn't always reveal itself, but when it does, it's a real treat. Maybe at times on "Blues" his phrasing reminded me a bit of Ornette, but melodically it was quite different.

At first it seemed like it was going to be a small turn (I was suspecting a case of jazz festival fatigue), but it there was a late turn out and in the end a pretty decent crowd fronted. Hopefully some of the university students were there (I've lost touch with who's at school these days) as it would have provided them with a different perspective on how to approach these tunes.

The only thing I'll mark it down for was the live sound. Seems to be a common theme of late (I'm getting fussy in my old age). Things seemed to settle down by the second set, but the first set was way over-amplified (and loud). Paul's bass tone suffered the most - especially when the dynamic level did drop. I'm not sure why they even used the PA. In that size room Rick and Jeff aren't going to have problems being heard! And it's not like they are battling a noisy room (like at Rogue and Vagabond). Anyway, I won't harp on. I'll survive. It will be interesting to see where the Wellington Jazz Cooperative finds a home in the new year.

Arthur Street Loft Orchestra: Jeff Henderson

While I tend to pick and choose the gigs I attend (and sometimes work dictates what I can get to), I like the variety that the Arthur Street Loft Orchestra series has produced over the past year or so. What other series features Jeff Henderson's group one week and then follows up with the Rodger Fox Big Band seven days later?

The Wellington jazz scene is lucky to have Jake organizing this series - without which a lot of music would not have been created and heard. I know it took a while to draw in consistent crowds, but attendance is consistently strong now. And on Monday (18 Nov), a full house was in attendance to hear Jeff's work tackled by a 20-piece ensemble comprised of (including doubles) 4 basses, 2 tubas, 2 bass clarinets, 2 trumpets, euphonium, cello, 2 violins, drums, percussion, soprano sax, vibraphone, a couple of stringed instruments that I don't know the name of, plus Jeff conducting and blowing some clarinet too (the largest group of the series so far?). At the end of the set Jeff took an auctioneer-like approach to rattle off the all the names.
 
It was a night for something completely different (but not entirely unexpected from Jeff) and it was thoroughly enjoyable. The highlight for me was a section (probably about half way through the set) that featured Bridget Kelly blowing some melodic bass clarinet over the top of the four basses. As additional instruments joined in (starting with Cory's vibes and then Blair's bass clarinet) Bridget's bass clarinet was gradually consumed by the ensemble with the section wrapping up as Jeff wailed over the dirge-ish full ensemble.

It's always a treat to have a roomful of people come out to listen to improvised music and it was nice not having to rush off at the end of the gig, giving me the chance to catch up with both Jake and Jeff - keep up the good work chaps.

The Melancholy Babes at Snails

I forgot to post a photo of The Melancholy Babes gig. Snails in Palmerston North was the third stop (of five) on the trio’s North Island tour supporting the release of their fourth album, Shingles.  It was nice timing to hear Jeff live, having just spent the previous month digging into The Triplets Book. I picked up a copy of Shingles, so eventually I might get around to adding that to the NZ Jazz posts.

The Melancholy Babes (L-R) Jeff Henderson, Anthony Donaldson, Tom Callwood

NZ Jazz: The Triplets Book

The Triplets Book (iiii Records)

Jeff Henderson (alto/bari/C-Melody/C-Soprano Saxes) Eamon Edmundsen-Wells (b) Joseph McCallum (d) November 2016

Sometimes deciding what album to delve into proves to be problematic. I've tried making lists but invariably I don't stick to them (but I continue making them anyway!). This month the plan was to listen to the newly released Good Winter from the Antipodes, but that fell by the wayside when October rolled around and I still hadn't bought it (I have since taken care of that). So instead I went for another release from earlier this year, The Triplet Book, which I picked up from Slow Boat records at the end of September. 

It's nice to feature the freer end of the jazz spectrum - something I need to do more - and also, this post marks the overdue appearance of Jeff in this series (if you exclude a NZ Music Month post on Syzygy from a few years back). Maybe Jeff was on my mind after I wrote the post on Roger Sellers? Whatever it was, it's nice to include him here and I have another couple of albums on the pile to get to down the track.

I can remember when Jeff added the baritone and clarinet to his arsenal, the soprano too but from memory, I haven't heard him play the latter until now. He's got a sound I dig on the straight horn – fat and resonant (there is also something I think of as sweetness). And it's the soprano that kicks off the album with “Triplets”. It's a good example of improvising within a limitation – in this case the whole tone scale.

“Stones” flows on from the opening track and features more a pointillistic approach to Jeff's phrasing (still on soprano) and space plays a more prominent role, as does a lower dynamic level – nice contrast to both the proceeding piece and the track that follows. Following a solo introduction from Jeff, “Wabi-Sabi” takes shape with full-throttle blowing throughout – something I don't remember hearing on a C-melody before. The tubbiness in the core sound actually works pretty well with Jeff's rasp and bark around the edges. Although it doesn't fully surface, I get the feeling that there's a march feel underlying things here.

Considering the time of year, it seems appropriate to have a piece titled “Swarm Warning” (there were two swarms last week). It's full of pops, clicks, squeaks, slaps, blasts, multiphonics, air sounds, wailing, scrapes, prods, and stabs. Everything in moderation. First and foremost I think of Jeff as an alto saxophonist - it's the horn I have heard him on the most. On "New Folk" he passes a classic alto bubbly-ness through his own filter. In this case it's a little more Ornette-y than I expected (at least towards the beginning). There's plenty of energy and the buoyancy makes for a nice contrast to the previous piece and the upbeat feeling makes for a satisfying way to round out the album.

Jeff is the driving force out front but the rhythm section hold their own. While I'm aware of their names, I've heard very little from Edmundsen-Wells (some videos posted by John Fenton and Jim Langabeer's excellent album, Secret Islands) and even less from McCallum. But that's exactly what this listening series is about. It's quite a raw sounding recording, which I don't mind, but with the drums and saxes more prominent in the mix, I deliberately spent some time concentrating on the bass to make sure I digested Edmundsen-Wells' contributions without them slipping by – which could happen with more casual listening. There's a really nice blend between the bowed bass and throaty baritone sax on the contemplative, even tender, “Old Friends.” Plus he gets some solo room to stretch out, in which he contrasts the rich low register with whispering in the upper reaches. Although I found the polyrhythmic playing (along with the limited tonal field) on “Triplets” created a nice meditative quality, often I found McCallum's playing a little too dense for my liking. Not that the density was really out of place, but maybe it wouldn't have bothered me as much if the bass popped out a bit more - I'll survive. The more spacious “Stones” worked better for me, as did the mallet work on “Old Friends.” I welcomed whenever the dynamics dropped welcome, as it gave the bass a chance to reveal itself. 

Often I prefer to hear this sort of thing live (volume can be an issue for me... but I can control that here), and often I treat free jazz recordings like a concert and sit down and absorb things in one sitting via headphones (my stereo is in a box somewhere floating home). But not all that often do I make repeated listens over the course of a month, and it has been refreshing to do so. And I have to say the composed melodies are pretty catchy. There's a curiosity factor at play too (not a bad thing at all), as one thing I find a bit fascinating with music along these lines - particularly the “scratchy” and/or full-throttle playing - is that I don't envision myself ever playing this way. I'm not sure I'd know where to start, but maybe I should have a crack. 

“Hey Babe!” Remembering Roger Sellers

Following a long illness, the one and only Roger Sellers passed away on 14 June. Over the past 37 years (plus he had an earlier stint here during the 60s too), Roger was a integral part of the New Zealand jazz scene. And during that time he must have made his way to the top of the list of “most loved Australians living in New Zealand” (a short list perhaps (wink), but he’s up there nonetheless!).

Fortunately I was back home, and had the pleasure of taking my good mate John out to the burial in Makara. Not surprisingly there was a great turnout. And after reading the tributes that filled social media feeds since his passing, I decided to add some memories of my own. I delayed this post somewhat as I tried, so far unsuccessfully, to track down some concert posters I had hoped to upload. But somewhere on the way they seem to have disappeared along with a number of gig posters from the early 2000s I thought I had stashed at my parents’ place. 

During my fist year at music school, I lived a very short walk from The Lido and pretty much every Sunday night I went there to hear Roger and Paul Dyne with various incarnations on The Boptet - my favorite being the edition that included any or all of Scott Towers, John Bell, Nick van Dijk and Noel Clayton. But it was a couple of performances with saxophonist Jeff Henderson that immediately came to mind when I started writing this post. Jeff revealed a side to Roger’s playing that wasn’t always on show - relentless, burning intensity.

John Street Grill, circa 2000: Roger Sellers and Jeff Henderson Duo. I was expecting the typical crowd from jazz school to be there out-numbering a few punters grabbing dinner and a drink. But it was quite the opposite, and I may have been the only one from school there - I know I was sitting by myself at a table right next to Jeff and Roger. And once the music started it felt like I was the only one in the room and they were talking directly to me. My bowl of fries got cold as I soaked it in. There was no warming up on the bandstand. Once they were set up and ready, Roger smiled and nodded and then Jeff called, “blues, 1–2–1-2-3-4,” and they were into it. Full steam ahead. This was an eye opening gig for me. The duo’s intensity caught some/most/all(!) of the audience by surprise, with one couple ("oh, there's a band playing tonight") heading for the door by the time the first IV chord came around! I don’t really remember the specifics - I think they also played Rhythm Changes and maybe a ballad… “You Don’t Know What Love Is” perhaps -  but the energy, intent and feeling has stuck with me. I was somewhere between exhaustion and elation as I floated home alone. What a night!

I think it was not too long after the duo gig that he played a couple of trio gigs at The Space with Jeff and Paul Dyne (one was advertised as “Two Jazz Legends, One Imposter”!). The first featured standards, the second was original compositions. I ran into Jeff the day following the standards gig, and the first thing he said was along the lines of, “How great did Roger sound?!” Back at school the following Monday, Roger said he had to ice his wrists and have a couple of days recovery.  

My music library doesn't contain many recordings featuring Roger, and certainly nothing along the lines of these live concerts (at least as I remember them!). But I and planning to work through the Sustenance albums once I get a turntable.

I got to hear Roger with Mike Nock a couple of times too. And Mike’s description of jazz seems apt when talking about Roger: “serious fun.” Roger was one hell of a musician and one of the sweetest guys I’ve known. Roger’s nodding, smiling, gum-chewing, happy, swinging beat will be missed. So too will his humour, encouragement and wisdom, which he would gladly share with up and coming musicians. He was (and still is) the only person I’ve heard refer to everyone as “Babe” - this greeting always came with his trademark grin, and once he followed it up by asking if I was still modeling! Roger was the real deal.

NZ Music Month: Syzygy - Tongue Grooves

For Part 4 of my New Zealand Music Month posts (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3), I've been revisiting an album I listened to a lot during my time at music school.

Syzygy: creative music ensemble - Tongue Grooves (Yellow Eye)
Jeff Henderson (as) Joe Callwood (g) John Bell (vibes) Paul Dyne (b/e.bass) Chris O’Connor (d)
Recorded in Wellington during 1996, I never managed to hear this group live. But later on I did get to hear the members in various other groups playing around Wellington (particularly from 1999 up until I headed to the U.S in 2004. And again between 2005-2009). This album may be a bit harder to track down than the other three albums I've written about this month. Originally I brought it from Slowboat Records and somewhere along my travels I lost it. But thanks to Gemm, I managed to get another copy from Slowboat.

Tongue Grooves has plenty of variety - the grinding "Pain and Darkness", straight ahead swinging "Nquitpausuckowashawmen",  the comedy of "Saydah's Tongue Groove", the mellow "Breathe Now", the high energy of "The Risk" and the angular "Demented #2" - but there is also continuity that glues the album together into a solid work. 

Mike Nock recordings aside, Tongue Grooves was the NZ jazz album I listened to the most during music school (C.L. Bob (live and recordings) got plenty of airtime too). It was rare that anyone ever mentioned NZ jazz around school (Paul, Chris and Jeff (briefly) taught me at the university, as did John but I don't remember having any classes with him). The curriculum didn't place any emphasis on NZ jazz and I cannot recall playing tunes by Kiwis (although there were a couple of big band charts by Alan Broadbent), nor can I remember our jazz history class spending any time on the NZ scene. I hope this changes.

Listening to Tongue Grooves this month has brought back memories of 1999 and listening in my bedroom overlooking the car park out back of The George. Nostalgia has kicked in and I want to check out more NZ jazz recordings from that time period. I'm sure there are plenty of NZ jazz albums from the 90s that I haven't heard but Tongue Grooves must still rank very highly. Next time I'm home I'll have to hit the used record stores to try and track some of them down.