THE AUSTRALIAN __________________________________________________________________________________ Melbourne Jazz Festival: opening gigs set a standard for elegance, artistry and innovation Branford Marsalis (tenor saxophone) in Melbourne, with pianist Joey Calderazzo (left) and bassist Eric Revis (right)… PHOTO CREDIT KEVIN PETERSON MUSIC Melbourne International Jazz Festival June 1-3 Published in The Australian, June 6, 2018 __________________________________________________________________________ ERIC MYERS Some Melburnians have long claimed that their city is the “jazz capital of Australia”. This world-class festival, featuring an unprecedented array of international and local artists in many venues throughout the city, has finally given some credence to this ambitious notion. I attended performances on the first three nights of a 10-day festival. The opening night in the Melbourne Recital Hall featured Australian vocalist Gregg Arthur, followed by American Branford Marsalis’s quartet. 1 Singer Gregg Arthur: an immaculate version of Billy Strayhorn’s Lush Life… Arthur began the festival with an immaculate version of perhaps the most difficult standard in jazz, Billy Strayhorn’s Lush Life, accompanied by pianist Peter Locke. His excellent Sydney quintet included fledgling saxophonist Michael Avgenicos who, given the unenviable task of playing the tenor in advance of Marsalis, acquitted himself beautifully. Marsalis is now probably the most elegant torchbearer of the jazz saxophone tradition. The touchstones of his performance were his sophisticated style, and the ability to communicate. Even with one foot in the avant-garde, his solos were accessible to the average ear. With an unusual amount of physical movement and energy on his part, and brilliant interaction between the members of the group - pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner – there was unerring trajectory towards a standing ovation. Bassist Sam Anning (right): a well-received, indeed triumphant performance… 2 The following evening featured bassist Sam Anning and his sextet, playing music from his new album Across a Field as Vast as One. An all-star group included Andrea Keller (piano), Danny Fischer (drums), Mat Jodrell (trumpet and flugelhorn), Carl Mackey (alto saxophone) and Julien Wilson (tenor saxophone & bass clarinet). Their last tune was Sweethearts, an endearing and funky composition which stops periodically, and continually re-launches itself. It concluded a well-received, indeed triumphant performance. Gretchen Parlato: could her extremely intimate and subtle artistry work in the concert hall? PHOTO CREDIT ANDREA CANTER US singer Gretchen Parlato who followed, has been hailed as the most important jazz singer since Cassandra Wilson. Could her extremely intimate and subtle artistry work in the concert hall? Not on this occasion, as her voice 3 requires a pencil-thin clarity, which was achieved only intermittently, owing to rather muddy sound, at least where I was sitting. This was exacerbated by her three accompanying musicians being amplified at an uncomfortably high volume. When accompanied by one musician only, her lovely voice was able to better project, and she received a huge ovation from a generous audience. Terri Lyne Carrington: she has taken R & B drumming to an immensely sophisticated level… My Sunday night took in two performances at The Jazzlab by the American drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and her sextet Social Science. This group demonstrated how jazz musicians can transform hitherto popular commercial forms of music, which might sound pedestrian in the original, into vehicles for creative improvisation. Here we are primarily talking about rhythm. Carrington, influenced by genres such as rap and hip-hop, has taken R & B drumming to an immensely sophisticated level, while at the same time creating space where extraordinary improvisers, such as the keyboardist Aaron Parks can play great jazz. With a simply superb singer Débo Ray, and rap artist Kassa Overall, who also doubles on percussion and turntable, the group’s reliance on verbal messages is paramount. Indeed recorded speech with sobering social messages were interspersed throughout the music. With so much electronic amplification being used, however, particularly with the keyboards, and Morgan Guerin on electric 4 Débo Ray: a simply superb singer… bass, there was always the danger that vocals and the spoken word might be overridden by electronics. Still, the second set ended in a groove-fest, with the band setting up such infectious rhythms, that rapper Overall took flight, and had the joint jumping, if not dancing. The deployment of rap in this way is an innovation we’ve not seen before in jazz in this country. Rapper Kassa Overall: he had the joint jumping, if not dancing… 5 .