Features Overview
The Age (Melbourne), 03/08/2002
Jazz review: Half Bent Winter Jazz Festival
Title: Half Bent Winter Jazz Festival
Where: Trades Hall, Carlton
When: Tomorrow, 3-11pm
Tickets: $22/$18 What kind of jazz is "half bent"? Judging by the line-up for tomorrow's mini-festival, it's not quite free jazz, not quite mainstream, maybe closer to the former than the latter and not always easy to find, especially for patrons who haven't ventured beyond Melbourne's dedicated jazz venues.
In any case, it's a term that can convincingly be applied to Sydney trumpeter Phil Slater's brazen use of electronics; Diane Peters' compellingly unconventional approach to the harp; and Adam Simmons' penchant for turning innocent children's toys into weapons of musical assault.
A veritable parade of jazz and improvising artists - some of Melbourne's finest - will feature as part of tomorrow's festival, including Jamie Oehlers, Steve Magnusson, Peter Knight, Tim Shawcross, Bendar, Vada and the Faulty Butchers Trio. The event will stretch across eight hours, with three stages operating simultaneously alongside a chill-out bar.
At least two of the ensembles appearing tomorrow have been put together specifically for the festival. Phil Slater, pictured above, will team up with two Melbourne musicians (Anthony Schulz and Ronny Ferella) to explore a partly improvised, partly notated musical environment, while the Rusty Tank Quartet unites four innovative wind players (Tony Hicks, Adam Simmons, Tim Shawcross and Gideon Brazil). The festival will also premiere new compositions by several of the artists participating in the event.
Title: Pros and cons to Half Bent philosophy
The Age (Melbourne), 30/06/2003
JAZZ review: THE NATIVES; ERIK GRISWOLD, At Kent Street Cafe/Bar, Fitzroy, June 26
Pros and cons to Half Bent philosphy
Review - Music
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Jessica Nicholas
JAZZ review: THE NATIVES; ERIK GRISWOLD, At Kent Street Cafe/Bar, Fitzroy, June 26
The current "Half Bent Thursdays" series grew out of last year's memorable Half Bent Winter Jazz Festival, and aims to build a profile and identity for the festival in the lead-up to this year's event.
The Half Bent philosophy is to provide a forum for creative music in venues that are amenable to, but not necessarily associated with, jazz. There are pros and cons to this concept.
The "pros", in Kent Street's case, included a cosy, informal atmosphere and a small but friendly audience, the listeners lounging on the couches downstairs or sitting at the bar upstairs.
This was The Natives' debut performance, but there was an impressive unity of purpose in the trio's delivery. Without a piano or bass, the musicians (Gideon Brazil on saxophone and flute, Dan West on electric guitar and Rory McDougal on drums) had to rely on one another for harmonic and rhythmic support, and there was a pleasing fluidity to the interplay of the three voices.
On Atmoris, West's guitar wove subtle loops to form a kind of drone, merging with Brazil's understated saxophone lines and occasionally breaking off into more staccato asides.
Turkey rested on a hypnotic and appropriately Middle-Eastern figure, while Waiting Game managed to coax odd time signatures into an exuberant, syncopated groove.
The second set featured Brisbane-based pianist Erik Griswold, who, in the absence of a full-sized piano, performed on a selection of miniature instruments - toy pianos, small electric keyboards, a harmonium and a melodica.
Sadly, this was where the "cons" became noticeable. A set-up such as Griswold's requires a roomful of silence to do it justice, but the talkers at the bar were largely immune to the subtlety of what was being presented. Kent Street's division into two floors meant that few listeners were close enough to hear the microtonal resonance created in this enchanting, Lilliputian sound world.
Still, there were moments when the sheer charm and whimsy of Griswold's explorations rose above the limitations imposed on them, whetting the appetite for another helping of this "half bent" music at the next available opportunity.
The Half Bent series continues each Thursday in July at The Old Bar in Fitzroy.
Feature 3
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