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July/August 2008

Vancouver’s Jazz Festival ended a few days ago and I am left feeling inspired and delighted about what I was able to hear. There were definitely some highlights during the ten days that will remain with me for a long time. One absolute highlight was hearing French bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons and his trio play. I didn’t know his music before going to the concert but I had read about the flamenco-influenced music and also read about his wonderful technique on the bass and his brilliance as a composer. The concert was absolutely breathtakingly exciting and I found myself cheering spontaneously after certain pieces as did many other audience members. I had never heard another bassist do what he did with his instrument. At times he was able to make his bass sing with a high mournful tone or growl from a depth beneath a regular bass timbre. At times his bass sounded like a violin, other times like a cello. His instrument was used as an all-encompassing sound device to produce melody, rhythm, harmony; whatever the composition required, he was able to produce it on his bass. He had unbelievable technique and yet his playing never sounded “technical”. It was always fluid and it had a natural ease to it. His fingers blurred in moments of speedy staccato lines and other times gracefully bowed across the body of the bass. From where I sat I was able to see a curious and lovely image because of the lighting and black background of the stage. The background was a deep black tone and he was wearing black as well so as he cradled his arms around his bass there were a few times when you almost couldn’t see his torso or the upper part of the bass depending on which way the light hit him or the instrument. The image then was that of a man’s face and arms and plucking fingers leaning out of a black hole and playing on some invisible surface. It’s hard to explain really but I can only say that is was a surprising visual image, which really suited the music he was playing since so much of that was surprising too. It was like watching a magic show whereby the magician leaned out from behind the black curtains and flitted his agile fingers to create an aural magical dance of the fingers accompanied by this fascinating music and in fact he was doing all of that. I have to say I believe it was one of the best concerts I have every seen. His guitarist was a great flamenco artist and his drummer played one of my favorite percussion instruments: the Cajon, which is used often in flamenco based music.

On the last day of the festival I was able to hear some full on improvisation by one of our locally based trios. Paul Plimley is a spectacular improvising pianist. He is deeply involved in our improvising jazz scene in Vancouver. Since he is not a pianist whom one would necessarily think of as a standards player, the festival is one of a few times he can be heard during the regular course of the year. In other words you wouldn’t likely come across him playing music for the public in a restaurant or club setting because he is a powerful force of nature whose playing is not of the straight ahead style and could never be considered background music or even mainstream jazz. (not that anyone’s playing jazz should ever be background music of course) He played with one of my favorite drummers that I have been delighted to hear and to play with. Gilberto Moreaux is originally from Cuba and now resides in Vancouver. He is part of the Latin jazz group called Zapato Nego. I would have to call him a ferocious drummer. He is not ferocious in a negative aggressive sense. He commands the instrument and is in complete control of any rhythms and colors that he would like to employ. There is pure joy on his face as he plays and that is infectious to observe. I suppose one of the things I greatly appreciate and admire about his playing is that he can powerfully dig in and play with building decibels and crescendos and then in a fell swoop he is able to drop to a whisper level. Together the trio, which also included bassist Tommy Babin was able to do that. How exciting to be listening to the velocity and power of huge piano chords, pounding rhythms of the drums and rapid-fire bass lines all building to a frenzy of excitement with the further excitement being the spontaneous drop to a gentle quiet energy while the intensity never waned. This trio had what I call an arc in their playing. There was always the unknown, spontaneously unfolding whereby the three musicians went on a wild ride together, starting out in a fairly simple way, then taking all the bends in the road that they came across. Some of the trading improvisations between Gilberto and Paul were exhilarating to witness. Paul is a very percussive player and of course the piano can be a truly percussive instrument so some of the trading allowed the listener to hear rhythms played off of each other. Watching Paul play is quite the experience as well. He completely embodies the piano, whether standing right up out of his bench or swinging his head back in abandon with a huge smile on his face as he connects with his fellow musicians. This is music making in a free spontaneous and completely surprising manner. You never know what will happen next but you are interested enough to sit still and wait for each surprise as it comes along.

Following our festival in Vancouver I flew out to Quebec City to perform as part of the Festival D’ete. I performed with the astounding pianist John Roney. John is someone I have performed with a number of times when I performed out east a few years ago. I adore his manner of playing and he seems to enjoy the open approach and loosely shaped endings and even beginning to pieces. I love open endings that go on and on, in the style of Keith Jarrett for example since in those moments real magic can at times happen. I have performed with John and his trio and also in duo with John and within each format I enjoy everything about the experience of hearing what John plays and also the experience of singing with what John plays. It is quite a special experience for me. Quebec and Montreal are both fantastic cities to visit. I always love seeing the architecture and experiencing the Francophone side of living in Canada. I must work on my French more this summer. The two classes I took this past year definitely did not allow me to use the language to any great length (other than buying new shoes!) and I’d certainly like to be able to carry on a short conversation in our second official language. To my ear French is one of the beautiful sounding languages followed closely behind with Portuguese and both can also be very useful in the language of a jazz vocalist.

Another pianist who plays in a wonderful style and approach and which seems to suit me particularly well is Vancouver pianist Lisa Miller. Shortly after I returned to Vancouver after my Quebec trip I performed a weekend at O’Doul’s with Lisa on piano and Brendan Davis on the bass. I had incredible fun each night and continued to be excited with the chemistry in the playing of both Lisa and Brendan. It seems that lately when I have been singing with the musicians whom I have been choosing it has been tremendous fun to hear where everybody takes the tunes. In Vancouver I’d have to say that Lisa is possibly somewhat underrated. I know there are certain circles that might be aware of her talent but not enough I fear. I am always surprised to hear just how brilliant a musician she is and just how sensitive she is to doing what I call “serving the tune”; everything to let the particular tune you are playing come to life. Brendan Davis who played bass on my recent O’Doul’s gig with Lisa was just wonderful in connecting with us on our 3 nights together. We three had not played all together before but we quickly seemed to connect and be able to listen to each other’s ideas and allow them to combine in a pleasing fashion. It seemed to be pleasing to us and to the listening audience as well so that was doubly exciting. We are after all making music for the audience even if we initially do it because we love playing it for our own joy for the most part. Yes it’s a job but that is almost never why jazz musicians ever play together.

In Montreal I am sure John is not an underrated pianist. I don’t think he is that well known in this side of Canada but he has toured extensively with Bernard Primeau (who passed away about a year ago I believe) and other groups too. I think John is a wonderful composer as well and I have listened to one of his CD’s endlessly and love hearing his modern elegant approach to writing and to playing. I do hope to do more with John in the future. I think we have discovered a chemistry between us as well musically-speaking and of course that’s what it’s all about in the end when you are a musician. I’d have to say he is probably one of the most brilliant pianists that I have been able to work with because of his accuracy and technical mastery on the piano but also because he plays with what I call a “soul connection”; technique never gets in the way or disturbs the feeling of a piece. I like that a lot. Many people have “chops” galore but some are better at reaching somewhere beyond facility and technique. Perhaps the greatest musicians possess both. I am always striving to get better at both all the time!

Now as I complete this entry for these summer months I am on a real holiday. This is my annual visit out to the prairies where my parents live and where I grew up. Each summer I seem to come back to my roots and get in touch with certain things that really do matter to me: family, mother-nature, peace and quiet and time to reflect and hopefully I can generate some creative juices for composing and arranging. During the regular course of the year I appreciate these things as well but somehow here where there is no sound of traffic or the regular city hum I can slow things down again. Here there are only the sounds of mourning doves, crickets, robins, meadowlarks, bumblebees and the occasional dog barking. All is peaceful unless our family is amidst some excited conversation. Of course there is the sting of the mosquitoes if one is not careful and yes the prairie wind does decide to blow but there have been several wind-still perfect days already in my days here. One night there was a thunder and lightening storm such as I have never heard before and then a rainfall followed. The rain must have made all the farmers in the area very happy. I suppose not every hour is filled with silence but it is very different from city sounds. Each afternoon there is a long train going by which causes two of the village dogs to howl. I suppose they are attempting to join in and perhaps adding some harmonic color of their own. On the other hand perhaps they are upset about the train disturbing their afternoon snooze session. I’d like to think that it is their musical contribution to the relaxing rattle and hum of the pulsing train with its warning whistle as it makes its way across the prairies. It’s quite comical actually.

Here where I grew up the old piano is not in great shape anymore but it doesn’t seem to mind me playing Bach pieces on it and I still use it to compose though so far on this holiday no new ideas have come. Bach may still infuse me with inspiration. If Bach doesn’t do the trick, surely all of this prairie beauty will find a way to touch my creative soul. For now I will simply enjoy these lazy days of summer as I usually do and I will remember how lucky I really am to be able to do this…

Karin