The 10th St Valentines Jazz Festival was held on the campus of ANU on February 14th and 15th, and also included a jazz/gospel church service at St Andrews Church, Forrest on the morning of the 15th.
Local and interstate artists participated in the festival, mostly in the form of bands and ensembles, but also featuring one or two solo and duo performances. I attended the Saturday night High Society Evening in the Refectory (in my role as MC for the evening), which was a kind of Jazz Ball and some of the Saturday and Sunday afternoon gigs in the various locations around the Campus. I also accompanied singer Gery Scott at the piano with double bass player Scott Dodd in two performances.
Well, it certainly was a huge weekend of music and was well attended although there wasn't the "throng" of people around that I guess I expected. This was my first St Valentine's Festival however, so I don't have a point of reference on which to compare attendances from previous years.
The Jazz Ball on the evening of the 14th was certainly a great night, commencing with the Benjamin Big Band - some twenty or so players. Led by reeds player Craig Benjamin the band is from Sydney and is a community based outfit featuring young players. Craig's father, well known tenor saxophone player Gordon Benjamin sat in for the performance and the band also included two of Craig's children - three generations all playing there hearts out. The band produced a convincing big band sound and Craig demonstrated his considerable ability on tenor, alto and flute.
The Black Mountain Jazz Band followed and people flocked onto the dance floor. This is a local Dixieland and trad jazz band, led by trumpeter Tony Thomas. A really professionally executed set both in quality of playing and presentation and a fine example of the style from six of Canberra's best players within this idiom.
Headliners for the evening were the Graham Bell All Stars, Geoff Bull's Olympia Jazz Band featuring singer Lee Gunness and Cajun band Psycho Zydeco. Earlier in the afternoon I caught the last half of the All Stars in the ANU Arts Centre before I went on with Gery and Scott for our set. It was fine playing indeed, the band including Graham Bell on piano, Len Barnard on drums and Tom Baker on trombone (he also plays trumpet and sax). They virtually left the audience breathless with delight with the their rendition of Creole Love Call - really mournful and beautifully paced, with that distinctive New Orleans looseness in the rhythm. The evening set however, whilst enjoyable, was just a bit lacking in enthusiasm by the players, although I think they were also a bit disappointed with some unfortunate small but annoying sound problems at one point.
Psycho Zydeco attracted great attention when their turn came and a whole new group of fans emerged just for them. This is a four piece band featuring drums, accordion, sax, foirtair (a kind of wash-board) with vocals from three members. The music is a blend of French folk music, jazz, Cajun and many other influences that together produce a very distinctive jazz/dance style. I thought they were wonderful and people just went mad - dancing, grooving and moving.
Geoff Bull's Olympia Jazz band were also fantastic and they took listeners and dancers alike on a tour de force of the best from New Orleans. This band had much more energy and punch than either of the other two trad bands (Black Mountain and Graham Bell), although by then it was late and I think the sound guys had brought everything up a notch or two as the dance floor was absolutely packed. It was also a larger band - about eight players from memory. Singer Lee Gunness was also excellent. She possesses a very gutsy powerful alto voice - certainly one that can "belt" out a tune, but also retaining true singing artistry - phrasing, pitching, subtleties of tone etc.
Finally came the Canberra Musicians Jazz Orchestra, led by saxophonist Adam Matthews. This ensemble of eighteen players just keeps getting better and better. I last heard them at Elmslie Homestead in October 1997. They have a real big band sound, great dynamics and precise rhythms.
On the Sunday, I caught stride pianist John Gill in action with violinist Ian Cooper. What wonderful players they both are and what a great duo they made. The room was small and stifling, but packed none-the-less and listeners were treated to Sweet Georgia Brown amongst other things. John also played two Scott Joplin Rags which he had embellished considerably (ideas for which he got from various piano roll versions) and they were superb. Wonderful left hand stride work and a glittering right hand.
Later on I caught the last two pieces from the Jim Latta band. The lineup included Brook Ayrton on trumpet, Con Campbell on tenor sax, Kevin Hailey on double bass, John Black on piano with Jim on drums and also the arranger. A great version of Duke Ellington's Caravan concluded this set - very convincing stuff.
Lastly I heard three pieces by another Canberra Big Band - Spectrum, usually directed by Glenn Rogers, but on this occasion conducted by Andrew Hackwill (Glenn was ill). This is another band who have come along in leaps and bounds in a short space of time and I was impressed with their tight ensemble playing and generally big sound. Singer Andrew Bisset who has recently joined the band rendered enjoyable versions of It Had To be You and I've Got You Under My Skin, the band playing charts based on the Sinatra arrangement (hard to improve upon).
Of course there's always room for improvement in festivals of this nature and I think that the biggest improvement that could be made to this already excellent festival is to offer a greater variety of jazz styles. As it stands, the overall pervading flavour is trad and dixieland - three of the four headliner bands were this style. What about such Sydney pianists as Bobby Gebbert, Mike Nock, Roger Frampton, Julian Lee and Cathy Harley, not to mention the "name" bass players and drummers that they would bring with them? Where's Kerrie Biddell and Kristen Cornwell? Maybe they were asked and all turned it down. Maybe the offers weren't attractive enough. Maybe they weren't asked at all.
First published in Muse Magazine (Canberra), March 1998
