Music for Commuting: A Bunch of Broadhurst

For the last couple of weeks the I've shared the ride to work with a handful of Phil Broadhurst albums. It's nice hearing the same (almost) personnel across the four albums. Roger Manins (ts) and Olivier Holland (b) are there all the way and following Delayed Reaction, drummer Alain Koetsier is replaced by Cameron Sangster. When not listening at 100% it's interesting to hear what pops out and sticks with you... and that forms the basis of this post.

Delayed Reaction might be the odd one out (solo disc aside) or at least the one I haven't dug as much. It splits Broadhurst's tunes with those of Michel Petrucciani (whereas the other albums feature Broadhurst compositions). There's a latin-type thing and general cleanliness (?) running through the album that I'm not much of a fan of, but Roger brings plenty of energy that gets things moving (although sometimes it almost feels out of place).

Flaubert's Dance has quite a warm, mellow vibe. Usually I listened to these albums on the way to work but this one hit the spot when I wanted to mellow out at the end of the day during the ride home (rather than caffeine music to kick off the day). Roger's tone has some added smoothness to it here which works nicely. The trumpet of Mike Booth eases into the group on three tracks (he made a single appearance on Delayed Reaction) and here, and on the albums that follow, his melodic approach compliments the busier Manins.

Of the five albums Panacea was the only one with which I was familiar. Roger is on form throughout and it’s no fluke that his discography has grown rapidly over the last 10 years or so (yet surprisingly, I don’t have a lot of his work as a leader yet). He is the go-to player if you’re looking for some contemporary tenor in this part of the world. He’s not all rip, shit or bust though – the opening of “Inverted” is one example of his lyrical side. Another thing that really pops out on “Inverted” is the pedal steel of Neil Watson. And it’s a nice touch (and an ear grabber) that he emerges about half way through the track (Watson also makes an appearance on “Knee Lever”). And then there's "Japanese Shadows", the sole trio track. Once again, it breaks things up nicely.

Positif opens up with some great energy (perhaps a flow-on from having an audience present) and the album really grew on me with each listen. You can hear the development over the span of the recordings and with the latter two, the quintet comes together and sounds like a really solid group. The horns and piano only on "Sorrento Sunset" was nice way to break things up.

Solo jazz records are not a common thing on the New Zealand jazz scene, so I was keen to hear the new release, Soliloquy. I recognized "Sambal" immediately, although I hadn't listened to Sustenance's Food for Thought in a long time - it's funny how some things stick in your brain. And another track that popped out was "You Stepped Out of a Dream", as it's the only standard across the discs. With a few exceptions, I tend to prefer hearing Kiwi's playing original material as it's pretty rare that I'm really taken by standards. And why so few solo records?

Each of these albums are worth more attention than I have afforded them, and no doubt I will return to them again. If I had to recommend any, I'd go with Panacea or Positif for the ensemble records and Soliloquy if you're after something a little more introspective.

NZ Jazz: Dixon Nacey - The Edge of Chaos

Dixon Nacey - The Edge of Chaos (Rattle)

Dixon Nacey (guitar) Roger Manins (tenor sax) Kevin Field (piano/keys) Olivier Holland (bass) Andy Keegan (drums)

Although Dixon Nacey has recorded a number of albums, from memory I’ve only heard him on Tim Hopkin’s Seven (which I wrote a bit about here).

I picked up The Edge of Chaos on the spare of the moment from Slowboat Records the last time I was in the city. I wasn’t planning on reviving the series, it just happened to be the start of the month and I threw it in the car one morning on the way to work.... and here we are. And let’s face it... the title is quite apt for the current climate (hang in there everyone, isolate, take care!).

In the liner notes, Nacey mentions the problems practicing and developing the pieces with the aid of computer playback vs the realities of working with people. I’ve started getting into composition recently, but it’s an issue I’ve avoided as I don’t compose on a computer. I can see how it could be a real danger for many though.

One of the strengths of this listening project is it has me delving into things outside of my norm – and that’s the case here as The Edge of Chaos is not really the type of music I reach for on a regular basis.

The playing is first-rate – not surprising considering the personnel involved. I don’t recall having heard Andy Keegan before this, but his playing is on point throughout. And the remainder of the band – Kevin Field, Roger Manins, and Olivier Holland – are ever-present, heavy-hitters on the jazz scene in New Zealand.

At times the density, particularly the over-excited thing, gets a little too much for me – maybe this is my edge of chaos? Higher, faster, more notes. At times it’s fine, but it is often the “go-to” option – not only on this album, but a lot of contemporary jazz recordings/performances/aesthetic suffer from it too. Or maybe it’s just me ranting and raving as a result the current lockdown situation. I’m still not sure about the chaos though.... the music is not uncontrolled or disordered – actually I feel it is quite the opposite. Something bugs me though. Maybe it’s the lack of chaos? What exactly is chaotic jazz? Is The Edge of Chaos at the edge of chaos? Cluttered maybe? Not that I’m a minimalist, but things here seem constantly busy. But the arrangements manage to contrast things too – the solo passages of melody on “Bench Wrecker”, the way they brings things down for the piano solo on “Sketchy” brings some welcome relief (though it didn’t take them long to ramp things up again). “Ballad 2” offers some respite, but I feel it could have been stripped back further (chaos via silence?). The added vocals of Jonathan Leung and Chelsea Prastiti on “Taupo” bring a nice textural change. Once the vocals enter the piece has bit of a sound-tracky vibe - not a bad thing - I hear it as some kind of dark, rainy, murder mystery thing (not that I can think of many soundtracks with bass solos). Again, I prefer it when the vocals are less busy, particularly with the piano playing lines at the same time.... that just seems to be the mood I’m in at the moment.

It’s been a lot of fun returning to the NZ Jazz series. There’s every chance I’ll be back next month with another round. Let’s see how things pan out.

NZ Jazz: Roger Manins - Trio

Roger Manins: Trio (Rattle)

Manins (ts) Mostyn Cole (b) Reuben Bradley (d)

I surprised myself when I realized that the series really hadn’t featured Roger Manins (Secret Islands being the only album I can recall). For a while it seemed that every other jazz album Rattle released featured Rog, yet I don't have many of his albums. During the early 2000s, Roger spent a little bit of time bouncing between Auckland and Wellington. And when I he was down here, I'd catch him when I could. I was trying to remember if I ever heard this trio live? If I did, it was at a Welington Jazz Club gig, but I can't remember who the rhythm section was that night. And hearing him with Shuffle last week broke a long drought.

I assume that the six tunes were all compositions of Roger's (it doesn't say... come on Rattle!). Roger has chops to burn but keeps things real with his fat expressive tone. He achieves a nice mix of old and new - muscular hard bop, burning Post-Coltrane complexities, a blues swagger to keep things rooted, and throw in a touch of tenderness too (less on show here). Some players take one of those elements and run with it. Roger takes it all and gives back his own thing.

Clocking in at 19 minutes, the album opener, “Marty White”, is the longest single track of the NZ Jazz series to date. It may be long, but the ebb and flow keep things interesting. I enjoy the way they take a relatively basic vehicle, dive and and extract the most of out they can (in that way it reminds me of Sonny Rollins). Following a long rubato opening, the bass and drums take over and Mostyn builds into the main riff. Roger takes off after the melody and the piece comes to a boil as the time breaks up and then things drop right down for a bass solo with spacious accompaniment from Reuben. When Roger returns the trio is simmering along. It's a different kind of intensity the earlier – laid back but with purpose, before the drums ramp things up into the out head. 

“Missing Wes” allows for a touch of tenderness in Roger's playing. For a ballad, the playing is quite busy at times (particularly drums and sax), but I think they make it work. The mallets provide a welcome change of texture. 

I've long enjoyed Reuben's playing and I'm sure more of his albums will appear in this series. He takes care of business with plenty of energy whilst remaining interactive and hooks-up well with Mostyn. Sometimes it's the little things that pop out – like the single tom hit from Reuben at 2.10 on “Blues Form”. The tune features simple yet effective arrangement. Mostyn plays fills during the opening head and Reuben plays them on the repeat. While the out head features no fills, just space. Reuben's solo to open “Hip Flask” really captures the essence of the tune. I like that they don't feel the need to repeat the full melody to end the tune – instead they just play the hits (in somewhat understated manner in comparission to the first time round). I'll have to track down the Hip Flask albums to see how it compares with this trio verstion.

This is the only recording I have featuring Mostyn (edit: since writing this I've picked up Reuben's Resonator.... I'll get to that eventually). And outside of some videos from CJC gigs posted by Jon Fenton, I haven't heard him in ages (I think the last time was at Happy many moons ago – maybe a project of James Wylie's). It's been nice to reaquaint myself with his playing. “Silo” has a lovely solo bass intro featuring a rich tone and melodic playing. The way he develops the solo into the melody is a nice touch.

Maybe the odd track out is “Filled Rolls”, which has Mostyn playing electric bass. I don't think the change was necessary, but it does give the chance to hear compare his approach on the two instruments (not surprisingly he's more notey on the electric). Had he been on electric for the entire album, the end result probably wouldn't be as much to my liking. But one track keeps things interesting.

Exuberance is something I missed from last month's listening, but Trio more than makes up for it. If you like the sax/bass/drums trio format and/or robust, swinging tenor sax, Trio will likely sit pretty well with you.

Shuffle on tour at Rogue and Vagabond

Easter weekend didn’t really pan out as I would have liked. The first plan went pretty much as expected (I made an effort to be slightly more social and enjoyed the night that ended listening to slightly drunken renditions country tunes). The second fell through and its replacement never got off the ground. By the time I remembered that Shuffle were playing in Whanganui on Sunday night, it was too late for me to make the gig. Thankfully they were playing the following night in Wellington, so I braved the end of Easter traffic as far as the train station and bookended the weekend with brief trips to the city.

Shuffle - Roger Manins (saxophone) Ron Samsom (drums) Michel Bénébig (organ) and Neil Watson in place of Carl Lockett(guitar) - were touring in support of the newly released, self-titled album on Rattle Records.

“B.B. Gun” was a  nice slinky opener for an Easter Monday. Perhaps it was a little too relaxed, but the high energy “Beep” kicked the crowd into action. Feet were tapping, heads bobbing, some swaying, and plenty of smiles. It remained that way for the rest of the night. There was plenty of swank during “Big Leg Shuffle” as everyone hit their stride. Bénébig found the deep pocket as he opened his solo. And through this solo he kept tapping back into it. It fed the band and Watson really dug in too for a fine solo. I thought Roger was perhaps a little tame earlier in the set but became increasingly unhinged (in a good way!) throughout.

Roger’s between tune banter can be a little off the wall, and his mid-solo-cadenza shout out to Rogue sound man (and all-round nice guy) Chris was a classic. A compilation of these with the context removed would be bizarrely entertaining (hidden track on your next album Rog?).

“Gout Foot Shuffle” kicked off the second set with Bénébig playing another fine solo with a really happy feel to it. Throughout the night I’d catch myself getting drawn in to his hypnotic feet working the pedal board. Watson hit the deep pocket in “Dog Funk Walking” while Roger moved from laid back and sub-toning into some classic blues honking and wailing. They rounded out the night with the mellower (in comparison) “Hungry Pig Shuffle”. 

Two sets of shuffles is about all I can take but the infectious feel, good grooves and high energy end to the long weekend could make returning to the grind tough going. It’s an extra short week so I guess I’ll manage.

NZ Jazz: Jim Langabeer - Secret Islands

Okay, so I'm running a little late.... maybe not the best start for 2018 but here it is.

The pattern of alternating between newer and older releases continued in December with Jim Langabeer's Secret Islands, released in mid-2017.

All 11 pieces are by Langabeer. They stand alone really well and combine make a great album with a lot of variety yet there is a unified thread running through the work making for a superb album. The choice of personnel is crucial and Langabeer made great choices and the instrumentation provides plenty of textural/color variety too. 

Jim Langabeer (tenor sax/flute/alto flute/putorino) Roger Manins (alto sax) Rosie Langabeer (piano/fender rhodes, organ) Neil Watson (guitar/pedal steel) Eamon Edmundson-Welles (b) Chris O'Connor (d)

Rosie was one of the more creative musicians during my time at music school but I haven't heard too over the past several years so her inclusion is a welcome one for me. Roger is the foil to Langabeer's stripped bare approach – reminded me a bit of the contrast between Miles and his saxophonists. It's nice to hear him on alto too.

When he was based in Wellington I regularly heard Chris O'Connor and he's one of my favourite drummers on the NZ scene. His versatile and creative playing is somewhat understated here but integral to the overall sound of the album.

Neil Watson was in some ways the surprise package (most likely due to me not really keeping tabs on his work). He combining jazz/rock/blues/country to great affect. His pedal steel playing is an important part of the sonic make-up of the album.

Eamon Edmundson-Welles was the only player I wasn't familiar with. He slots in really well. Nice arco tone. Sometimes the bass is a little muddied in the mix but when it's not it pops. He hooks up well with Chris.

I never really heard much of Jim's music but I was aware of his position as a veteran of the New Zealand jazz scene. His recordings are few and far between - the Superbrew album is on the shelf waiting for a spin but I'm not aware of others (suggestions and recommendations welcome!).

His playing is unhurried, sparse and the importance of tone as an expressive device comes through.  It's not ego driven, leader centric music. He's not dominating in any way as an individual (and often takes a backseat to proceedings) but still his conception comes through clearly.

“Bad Call” eases the listener in and is nice introduction for the things to come. The piece simmers as the collective improvisation builds.

The lounge-y “Rata Flowers” features a dreamy padding of pedal steel and mellow fender rhodes with melodic tenor floating above.

The melody of “What If” features multiphonics from the saxophones over a slinky swing feel. Rosie digs into the blues with unexpected twists and turns. Her rhythmic strength holds things together. Watson opens with staccato playing before moving onto the slide with plenty of off-kilter blues swagger (much like Rosie but with different outcomes). And Roger gets slippery on alto before the out head. For whatever reason I couldn't help but think of film noir and Neil Young's Tonight's the Night.

The collective improvisation, shifting tempos and hits of “The Big Smoke” keeps your ears primed for surprises. Provides a nice example of contrast between the saxes – Roger follows Jim's lead but with busier approach. Roger may be a more slick or conventionally virtuosic, but he is not lacking in fire or feeling.

“Tangi” is well placed following the more hectic “Big Smoke.” No one overstates their case and it's a wonderfully paced piece. The droning guitar and arco bass lay the foundation. The two saxes have a cry to their tone (with Roger drawing on some influences from India). One of the highlights of the album is the Rosie's solo piano stretch that ends the piece.

“Out Of Harm's Way” gives Chris some room to solo with backing from the rest of the band. There'a nice angular and jagged dialogue between bass and piano and plenty of exuberant saxophonic wailing as Jim and Roger ride tandem on the way home.

The Unhurried and well placed “Hinemoa and Tutanekai” makes great use of minimalism. Featuring the saxes playing octaves, multiphonics, and sustained notes. There's very subtle background tinkling (what is that... organ/guitar/bass? - great texture) with percussion eventually added to the mix. Space is a key ingredient.

Alto sax, flute, and piano improvisations are underpinned with textural drums and sparse bass lines until an explosion of distorted guitar really starts ramping things up for just a moment on “Orakei Karoako.” “Freequency” flows in from the previous piece with dense distorted guitar and rolling percussion.

Again there's some Indian allusions on “Central Plateau” with lyrical flute, drone-ish guitar and mallet percussion opening the piece. It kicks into some solid swing for Rog and Watson to blow over. Rosie's comping behind the alto solo grabbed my ear. Things settle as the flute re-enters but the piece doesn't lose urgency.

“Waiata o te Taniwha,” a lullaby-like tenor feature, seems like the perfect way to sign off.

Secret Islands made great listening during December and feel it is an album I will keep returning to. For me, the two key ingredients are fun and mystery. Highly recommended.

Final words.... more Jim Langabeer please!

Recently Listening: A bunch of Mike Nock

There was plenty of Mike Nock on the apartment airways during 2015 and I’m only just starting to catch up on things now. It was exciting to stumble upon reissues of The 3 Out at Dusty Groove a couple of months ago (they are available on vinyl too). 
Move was recorded in 1960 shortly after Mike Nock (p) Freddy Logan (b) Chris Karan (d) formed The 3 Out. The focus here is on standard tunes (there are 3 originals – 2 from Logan and a slow blues credited to the trio).

The trio’s follow up, Sittin’ In, is split in two. The first side features the trio and the second half of the album is augmented with Erroll Buddle (ts) Don Burrows (as/bs) Ron Falson and Colin Jones (trpt) and features four original tunes (one each from Burrows, Nock, Falson and Logan).

I remember hearing Mike mention that this is the group people ask him about the most. Perhaps now that Move and Sittin’ In are more easily available the questions will ease up. These two albums are essential listening for Nock fans and those interested in the rise of modern jazz in Australasia. Now we just need reissues of The Fourth Way.

Another nice surprise from Dusty Groove was a Japanese reissue of Piano Solos (Timeless). Recorded in NYC in September 1978, this solo outing provides plenty of variety in tempo and mood.

Recorded during a fertile period for Nock - In Out and Around, Talisman, The Opal Heart, Climbing and Ondas are all from this era - Piano Solos has been on regular rotation of late. “Break Time” stood out on my first couple of listens and there will be some interesting follow-up listening. “Break Time” and “Jacanori” appear other Nock albums, and “Fallen Angel” alludes to “Forgotten Love” - from In Out and Around (recorded a couple of months earlier) and Ondas. Back-to-back listens of these tracks is on the cards sometime soon. Then I'll need to give Talisman another spin too, as both solo albums were recorded in 1978. 

Two-Out (FWM Records) pairs Nock with saxophonist Roger Manins for a set of eleven standards. Taking a quick look at the Nock discography, this album appears to be the first time he has recorded an album entirely devoted to standard tunes. The cover photo really captures the essence of the album - a relaxed, fun and warm meeting of friends. I can't recall hearing Manins sound so relaxed and, at times, vocal (a new dimension seems to have appeared in his tone) and it leaves me wanting to hear more..... how about a follow-up featuring Mike's tunes spanning his career?! I'm adding Two-Out to the list of his fine duo outings including The Waiting Game (with Marty Ehrlich), Duologue (with David Liebman), Open Door (with Frank Gibson Jr.), Kindred (with Laurenz Pike)... more on the latter, later.

Mike's albums on FWM Records are available via Bandcamp.

Mike Nock Interview: Cadence July 1992

As a youngster just getting into jazz, Mike Nock (b. Sept 27, 1940) was the first New Zealand jazz musician I was aware of who had "made it." As I await the arrival of his latest album (Two-Out - a duo with Roger Manins released on Mike's label FWM Records) I've been listening to his 1978 solo recording Talisman and right now I'm downloading Kindred from Bandcamp. Earlier in the week he was interviewed by Eva Radich on Radio New Zealand's Upbeat program (you can download the audio here). While we are at it, here's an interview with Mike from the July 1992 issue of Cadence Magazine (click on image to open the full interview as a PDF).

More magazine articles can be found here. Happy Birthday Mike!