Scott Tinkler. Image supplied.
There were certainly no foam peanuts in the third line-up of the monthly series, ‘Hard Core on the Fly’, curated by Melbourne jazz scholar, Scott TInkler. After the news that Bennetts Lane, a nucleus for the fusion and fission of jazz, will close its doors in June 2015, the Thursday night gig had a point to prove. Over the two hour set the intellectual musicians devoured each other’s flavours, moving away from the basic rudiments and tapping into each other’s instincts. With a cast of musicians who all sweat the details and unapologetically dedicate their lives to their craft, this gig went straight for the jugular. Known loosely as free jazz, once referred to as ‘the new thing’, this mode of music has no pre-determined agenda and sets to challenge the already established jazz language.
There was an injection of venom as Tinkler opened with a systematic unleashing which said to the upbeat crowd: tonight I have something to say. This barrage of dialogue, a bull-out-of-the-gate fanfare, set an immediate conversation between Barker, Pankhurst and following closely, McConnachie. Magnusson, like a ghost, crept into the conversation and was determined to wrestle with the dialogue, add fuel to the creative fire and take swirling ideas to a new melodic hemisphere. Garzone initially let the puppies play and took his time to enter the matrix of rhythm, harmony and attack. When he did, he reminded all that tone is king and maintaining substance in ideas is non-negotiable. With eyes open, Pankhurst responded to motifs; and with eyes closed, McConnachie did the same. Both relished, in their own way, the in-the-moment master-class by Barker, Magnusson, Tinkler and internationally revered Garzone.
Even with improvisation, ideas and culture can become set and sometimes a storm needs to occur to unearth fresh ground. The storm hunter on the night was Barker. For Barker there was no idle on his radar and the hyper tempo he set from the first hit to the last lured all into his web. He devoured, not just melodic ideas but textures and colours. Yes it would have been nice to experience some gentler transitions but when he (and they) tried, the pastel hues just didn’t stick.
But the night went to Garzone. When he played, everyone listened. But mostly he inspired. As an internationally acclaimed jazz educator who has pioneered a unique improvisation approach and taught students such as Branford Marsalis and Mindi Abair, his presence alone created a fervent energy that reverberated endlessly throughout the collective. When he did unleash, late in the second set, he set his own agenda, providing lessons for all and prophesizing a timbre from his horn that was deliberate, thoughtful, gut churning and could not be forgotten.
Amid the ladle falls of emotive energy, the musicians never stopped searching for the groove, the melodic ideas; the salt. On a stage that has been a place of refuge for jazz expression; the zestful camaraderie showed that a musician’s weapon truly is his instrument.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Hard Core on the Fly: #3
George Garzone: Tenor Saxophone (USA)
Simon Barker: Drum Kit
Scott Tinkler: Trumpet
Samuel Pankhurst: Bass
Stephen Magnusson: Guitar
Scott McConnachie: Alto Saxophone
Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne
www.bennettslane.com
Thursday 7, 14, 21 and 28 August
