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A cut above

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:02 GMT

From the first notes it was evident that this Hippo event was special. Jacam Manricks took a very tarnished alto from his case, and the dull lustre said commitment and experience. He blew a few notes, and they said practice and preparation. He wondered aloud if this was a listening audience. Well no … Hippo is always noisy and chatty, except maybe at the end of the night when the clubbers have departed. But, with the support of Australia’s Contemporary Music Touring Program, he had a powerful quartet of players, and he blew through it with that committed, searching playing that we expect from that jazz mecca, New York.

Jacam has been based in New York for 7 years, after a few years in Sydney, but he’s a Brisbane boy. Danny Fischer, on drums, is a NY-based Melbournite. They both turn out with a swagger and visage which is obviously not local. It’s the same style that was evident with Don Byron’s Trio. Joining them were Brendan Clark, bassist, Canberra born, bred and trained, and Jackson Harrison on piano. Both Brendan and Jackson won their respective instruments at the Wangaratta Festival’s National Jazz Awards. No slouchers here.

We got what we expected. There was fabulous, intense, closely responsive playing all round. Original compositions and richly reharmonised standards; long complex melodies and charted bass lines in accompaniment; constantly changing implied chordal movements; simple changes that occasionally emerged amongst the reharms; a buoyant extravagance of improvisation. I heard Jacam’s solos as exploring pitch structure and intervallic options within harmonies in a modern bop-influenced style, comfortable with long eighth-note passages which morphed into 16th-notes on call. Jackson seemed more dissonant to me, and perhaps more pensive; I thought I heard more substitutions or chromatic lead notes. Brendan accompanied with a busily moving left hand, dropping lovely but unexpected syncopations freely, and sounded with a soft underlying tone. Danny drummed with a marked smoothness in his movements and soloed with a sustained 16th-note pattern which mutated around the kit then ended with long sustained pattern that held tension but dimmed oh so gradually over time. There was a general feeling of comfort, a lack of struggle with fast playing against presto tempos which was evidence of their abilities.

There were several originals by Jacam. I think it was Super size slippery stick that was I got rhythm under the covers. You could feel the cyclic movements, but the melody was long and complex and the harmony was recreated and richly embellished. There was another that appeared to start as a ballad and later took on a march-like presence with snare drum rudiments but in 9-time. Olivia, a friend from the Jazz School, counted the drums and bass playing in 9/4 and 9/8 so they crossed every two bars. Another tune, Number one, developed into a free extravaganza. The title of another tune, Fours and twos, suggested an intellectual approach to composition, and had choruses ending with a massively quick little unison run. They also played a few from the fake books: Monk’s Introspection and Coltrane’s Satellite and finished with I hear a rhapsody.

Megan mocks me as finding every event as fabulous. I know I take a positive approach and for that reason I call these posts “reports” rather than “reviews”, but this really was a cut above and in a style which is current, and both emotionally and intellectually satisfying. How I long for NY.

Urbanity, out of tragedy

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:07 GMT

The Mocambo Jazz Quartet fought fire and storms and chemical spills to bring us snippets of the history of Sydney jazz, and a little peek at the history of world jazz, when they played at the Gods last night. The Sydney history was a visit to the jazz clubs of 1958 through to the ‘70s when there was rivalry between the Mocambo Jazz Club of Newtown and the El Rocco of Kings Cross. The El Rocco is a famous name, and I think it still exists; the Mocambo is well gone, but apparently the neon sign is still visible if unlit. MJQ was also reminiscent of world jazz history: this was a tribute to its alter-ago, Modern Jazz Quartet that included others reminders of the era. I was chatting with our local Ross Clarke about how musicians grow to know and perform a certain style, about how it becomes part of the musical personality and usually remains fairly constant. In this respect, it was also a visit to musical personas of an earlier era. This was not a performance you’d expect from the current young guns, but a mature presentation of popular sounds, rhythms and harmonies of the 50s/60s.

The band arrived from Sydney, rushed and flustered after long delays due to a chemical spill at Marulan. Dave Levy almost played in trackies, but made it onto the bandstand with shirt and tie at the last minute. The first set had a resultant edginess but this settled down and the second set seemed to me to express the cool, sophisticated MJQ style more truly. I’ve always preferred a hotter style, or at least my cool more Miles-ian, but it grew on me over the night and I came to understand its subtlety and comfort, and even to enjoy big chordal soloing a la George Shearing. This style is more diatonic and cycle-sounding, with chords stated clearly in the bass and little substitution. But it can display lovely melodic playing within these limits, clear statements of the composer’s intentions, and subtle, dynamic playing within a largely percussive sound.

Interestingly, the band started with Ornette Coleman’s When will the blues leave, but retitled on the night as “God help Marulan blues”. The solos were treated diatonically rather than harmolodically (whatever that means) and this seemed a little strange to me. But then we entered home territory, with tunes by MJQ/John Lewis (2 Degrees East 3 Degrees West and Afternoon in Paris) and George Shearing (Out of nowhere and Nothing but the best), and I renewed my respect for these stylists. Dave Levy also presented a quizzical range of original tunes: one based on a sea shanty; another called “There’s a whole lot of fuguing going on” which started formal and baroque but incongruously ended in an extended Sunshine of your love riff (isn’t it always extended?); a funk that he’d played at London’s Marquee Club supporting The Who, and called Fink funk; a sweetie dedicated to Joe Sample, and called Samplin’. I particularly liked an original latin that he wrote for his children, Bookabucka samba (Bookabucka as in Kookaburra). I found it complex and satisfying and the chordal and melodic movements were true to form. Sid Edwards also provided a laid back blues and a dedication, Waltz for Joan.

The whole band was smooth and correct and tonal. Jim, on bass, clearly and consistently defined the chordal structure. I got thinking of dance styles, from the days when jazz was a popular music. Jim moved freely over the neck and into thumb positions, although there were occasional lapses in intonation. I also enjoyed Ron’s drums; they were dynamic and expressive, from clipped rolls to sizzling cymbals, and with a very sharp snare. Sid’s vibes were well played, often while he was reading charts with four mallets working away. The solos were swinging, but also the unison heads with piano seemed to define to the sound of the era. Dave’s chordal solo on Out of nowhere was an eye-opener - truly satisfying although softly spoken - and I got taken aback by a lovely chromatic chordal passage in Afternoon in Paris that was so right. In summary, I really enjoyed the smooth and elegant sounds of the band. The realisation hit me, as I was listening to Afternoon in Paris played as languid and relaxed instead of boppy and up, that this was probably how it was intended. So, to me the concert gave me a new awareness of the beauty inherent in the smooth styles of MJQ and Shearing and the like. Nice one.

The Mocambo Jazz Quartet comprised Dave Levy (piano), Sid Edwards (vibraphone), Jim Mitchell (bass) and Ron Lemke (drums).

In the prime of life

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:58 GMT

ArtSound turned 25 sometime recently, and it celebrated with a get together for volunteers and supporters last night at the studios in Manuka. It was a barbie with snags all around, wine tasting, noisy chatting and good cheer amongst too many people squeezed into the small foyer space. Background music, of course, was live to air courtesy of ArtSound. The recording studio was open for a visit by those who otherwise spend their time in the CD library or the offices or the little broadcast studios. But most interest was in sharing stories and meeting with others with a similar passion.

Thanks must go to the volunteers who make this such a strong institution, and who give such strong support for jazz in Canberra. Thanks also to the various sponsors which are so essential for the funding of the operation. There’s lots of jazz on ArtSound; see the broadcast program at ArtSound’s website. And tune in on Friday evenings for Friday Night Live. FNL features live broadcasts of local musicians from the recording studio and live concerts recorded by ArtSound around Canberra over many years. Live broadcasts by Sally Greenaway, Eric Ajaye and Allie Flett are coming up over the next few weeks. Fairly new and very exciting.

Congrats to ArtSound and may you prosper for many years to come.

ArtSound FM92.7

Friday Night Live

Just another day in Canberra

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:51 GMT

Three CDs were launched the other night in Canberra. Just another day in Canberra? Perhaps, and it shows of the strength of the local arts community. Sadly, I missed every launch, so no reports, but I’ll put up pics if I get any. In the meantime some cover art, some links for online listening and my earlier reports will have to suffice. These are three very different bands, but all capable and interesting in their own ways.

The CDs were "A touch of anarchy" by BlackSchu Band, "Amalgama" by Austin Benjamin Trio and "Point A" by James LeFevre Quintet

Austini Bejamin on CJ

Austin Benjamin on MySpace

BlackSchu Band on CJ

James LeFevre on CJ

James LeFevre Quintet on MySpace

Not for the fainthearted

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:50 GMT

Zac Hurren’s Trio arrived at Hippo last night with some fierce playing all round. I wrote of MFO recently as blissful. Blissful is not the word for this, but emotionally charged it was. Descriptions like hard, demanding, unflinching, challenging are more apt for this art.

The trio is chordless, comprising sax, bass and drums. This clears the air and leaves space for individual expression and equal roles for all players. It’s a demanding task master for all performers and audience, but exhilarating with the intensity and free flowing nature of the sounds that emanate. I’ve heard various sax trios and they all have this air to some degree, but Zac’s compositions, influences from free jazz and the lack of standards, just highlighted the intensity. This is take no prisoners; commitment to the fore. Not the cultured, self-controlled, witty, civilised world of the American popular song. This is the earthly struggle of primal screams, jungle calls and primitive drums. Obviously, there’s plenty of training to required achieve this, but the emotions are blatant, on display. Zac’s music is like this.

But there were some foundations that were recognisable. There was at least one blues, although with a wealth of substitutions and varied turnarounds, and there was a standard: Sophisticated lady (no surprise the standard was from Ellington and not Cole Porter). There was another head I recognised, but maybe from Zac’s CD, and the night ended with Lester Young’s Lester leaps in. But the playing throughout was high intensity, rhythmically jagged, harmonically multilingual, constantly mobile and communicative. Zac introduced each set with a solo passage, then into melody then into solos. He may have a rounded, full tone on early lyrical playing, but quickly descended to screams and extravagant speed and feverish tonalities. He’d leave space at times, and bassist Phil would fill these gaps with his own deliciously precise intonation, long intervals, equally jagged but accurate lines. There was a bop-like conception of triplet fills early on, and straighter 8s and rocky feels later in the night, but all precise in groove and melodically purposeful. Perhaps a bass solo would ensue, or perhaps Zac would re-enter his solo. Evan would engage with the others, especially Phil, in conversation, and make a solo statement of his own. His was an open feel, wooden rather than metallic, with busy, loud but creamily-thudding kick drum. Even the swapping of blues choruses with drums was not obvious in this context, although plenty correct (except for a heel used to damp the snare at one stage: an unconventional technique!). Where Zac and Phil were jagged and unexpected in conception, it seemed to me that Evan was inclusive in melding this surrounding whirlwind of passion. Whatever, the band sat well despite high levels of intensity and rawness.

On a lighter note, I got to thinking that jazz can be a very economically efficient music! Lordy, jazz players sure can play lots of notes. Maybe we should take that to government for more grants. They like performance measures and evaluations: number of notes per player per gig; low CPD (cost per dot) = high efficiency. Economic man hits the yartz; passion satisfies the bean counter. But I jest! After all, Coltrane had it pretty right with Naima, and his CPD would be pretty low there, although he’d make it up on Giant Steps.

But more seriously, Zac Hurren led a seriously challenging and very capable band which impressed immensely. More proof, if needed, of the vivacity and quality of jazz in Australia’s present cultural quilt.

More folks at Folkus

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:18 GMT

The latest of the monthly Jazz@Folkus sessions was held last Saturday, and it was a cracker. There was a solid attendance by a range of listeners and members of the Canberra Jazz Club. And it was well deserved, with interesting original music from Dan McLean and his cohort and a visit by some bluesicians. There was more, but I had to leave early.

Jazz@Folkus seems to be developing as a meeting place for all manner of musically-interested people. There were at least 3 attempts to record the session: James Luke with a laptop taking a feed off the PA, another guy with a stereo pair of ribbon mics into a Zoom H4, and me with my new Rode NT4 into my own trusty H4. There was also a Jazz Club raffle (which I was lucky enough to win!). Folkus founder Bill has pronounced a dictat that everyone should introduce themselves to someone new. It gives an excuse to chat widely, so there’s chance of developing a real community. Good luck to it.

Dan McLean appeared with his new quartet, featuring Greg Stott, James Luke and Chris Thwaite. The music was all original, mostly (perhaps all?) by Dan. Dan seems to me to play with a broad range of styles which encompass the history of jazz trumpet: older style growls and strained notes and traditional arpeggios through to audacious boppy scalar and pentatonic runs. His tunes were similarly varied including several odd times. Unexpected was a version of Summertime with alternating acid 4/4 and swing 3/4 and with some way out timing ending the head (half-time 6/4?). Looking forward was mostly 11/4 (6-5) in straight 8s then swing, but with a bridge of repeated 5-5-6-5 (I think!). There was latin, blues swing, ballads, funky Herbie Hancock riffs, postbop and a Monkish tune to finish the set. James set some solid riffs down and busily swapped between double bass and his fretless electric. His solos are relaxed in presentation but melodically strong and technically varied, and the sound of the fretless Fender is like a bouncing ball. Greg can be a rocket: furious and fast, and conceptually complex. He plays gentle and intervallically interesting lines, but can drop into double or even quadruple speed runs with precision at call. His sound sits way back in the mix with what seems like wet reverb. Chris is a great listener - you can feel his concentration - so his playing was clear and accurate, and he takes tasty solos too. It was a first outing for this band: there were some rough edges and some chuckles within the band when they encountered the odd times, but it bodes well.

The second band was a bit incongruous, but capable in their blues style. They were a trio from the Chris Harland Blues Band, presumably led by Chris himself on guitar and vocals. They played the harmonically simple but emotionally charged style that is Chicago (guitar-based) blues: a solid rhythm section supporting a feature guitarist/vocalist. There were sustained, distorted guitar solos on blues scales and lyrics like “pray, lord have mercy” and paens for lost lovers. Standard stuff, nicely played; great for a night out, a chat and a few beers. If you want to hear more, there’s a strong blues scene in Canberra. See URLs below.

I had to leave early, but as I was walking out I heard the first bars of a band featuring four trumpets up front. It had the sound of composed harmonies and was sounding great, so I dreaded having to leave. Presumably, there would have been a short jam at the end, too. Feel free to add comments below, especially if you were there to the end.

The previous J@F had a very poor showing, but this month’s was eminently successful. Support these sessions with your attendance, and congrats especially to Cam and Dan for a great afternoon.

Canberra Blues Society website

A quickie at Rydges

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:14 GMT

I’ve written recently about Aron Lyons playing with Bill Williams and Ed Rodrigues at the Belgian Beer Cellar, so just a pic. Fridays at the Rydges Manuka are one of their standards nights. I heard All the things you are, a latin, a blues; I particularly liked You don’t know what love is and Solar. Nice and comfortable, but capably played. Lots of solos all round, and sweet instrumental clarity at low volumes. Nice stuff.

There are a growing number of bands playing out these days, with bars and hotels getting in gear for the Christmas season. It’s early in the season so the night was quiet, but the location is comfortable and drinks are not outrageous. CJCalendar is expanding with bands playing around town.

Out of electronica

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:52 GMT

The Austin Benjamin Trio performed from the ArtSound studio last Friday as part of ArtSound’s Friday Night Live series. I had to drop in, so I got a few pics. Otherwise, I listened from home, and the sound was crisp and clear. Well done, ArtSound. They had some teething problems in the opening concerts, but now all is well, and the sound is strong and clear.

The Trio was equally impressive. They talked in the break of listening to electronica and teenage years of heavy metal. Metal? Well, jazz school students often have broad interests. There’s at least one rap outfit with ANU jazz students and students fill in around town for all manner of styles. In this case, I could hear influences of drum’n’bass grooves in the music, with a lovely grand piano strewn over the top giving linear movement. There were a few walking stretches with more bop-like, but harmonically malleable, piano lines and swing, but it was mostly straight 8s and grooves, as is more common in modern outings. That’s not to say it doesn’t have a jazz sensibility, but it’s much more implied than blatant. There were screeches, finger damping on the piano, open drum parts, some free playing, several riff-based tunes, hints of Bad Plus and Debussy. Very nicely played and apparently a group effort. The basic tunes are penned by Austin, but they are massaged and developed by Chris and Evan before finalisation, and even then they seem pretty malleable.

ABT will be launching their CD at the Band Room on 31 July, along with James LeFevre Quintet and their own CD launch. These are two interesting but very different bands, so the night is recommended.

The Austin Benjamin Trio are Austin Benjamin (piano), Chris Pound (bass) and Evan Dorrian (drums).

Blissful textures

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:45 GMT

I’m a sucker for the textures and richness of a large ensemble, and so it was bliss when the Mace Francis Orchestra played last night at the Folkus Room. It’s a group of 13 players with Mace himself out the front conducting. They are from Perth and are currently touring the Eastern states. The frequent performances show in the sharpness and intonation of the ensemble. And the mateship shows in the good natured banter, particularly impressive given the time spent travelling in a bus up and down the Eastern seaboard.

The orchestra presented two lengthy sets of mostly original charts. The originals were written by Mace, tenor player Dan Thorne, and bass trombonist Tilman Robinson (hope I haven’t missed anyone). The first and second sets started with swing tunes, mostly penned or arranged by Bill Holman in the 50s. Holman seems to be a major influence on the band, and presumably Mace. These were hard, swinging numbers in the big band tradition. They showcased some capable solos and warmed up each set for the more complex, considered works to follow. First impressions were of a steady swing, and some satisfying drum fills, sharp comping by the horns and capable soloing.

As the sets continued, we got into richer, more complex territory. Colourful and moving harmonies, consonant or otherwise. Shifting tonal textures and layered horn lines echoing amongst the various parts of the band. Large dynamic shifts with sudden hits or gradual de/crescendos. The whole resonantly greater than the sum of the parts. Tight, well intoned; more modern, more composed; orchestral. The solos became part of the texture, rather than individualist expressions. They were capable and often very well played; more a conversation between the backing horns and soloist. I sat back at times in wonder. Wonder lust. Some tunes displayed fairly simple underpinnings, perhaps descending scalar lines or edgy dissonance or baroque turbulence. I heard chamber music and Sketches of Spain. Then it all finished with an unplanned encore of Moanin’ and Mingus’ blast furnace emotions. Overwhelming.

What’s more to say? The players were consistently good, but I noticed especially guitarist Tim Jago (a finalist in the recent National Jazz Awards), Callum G’Froerer (winner of a Stan Getz/Clifford Brown scholarship), baritone saxist Mark Sprogowski who blew a storm on Moanin’, and drummer Greg Brenton who just seemed to fit the tunes so neatly. But the whole band played wonderfully, so perhaps I shouldn't highlight names within such a collaborative activity. Mace was selling CDs, but also thumb drives containing pics, links and two live concert recordings in mp3. Not something I‘d seen before, but small and neat, quick to burn and popular.

The Folkus Room did a great job, too. Host Bill introduced the band; he was obviously out of his native folk world and learning the jazz mores. Soundman Kevin ran a quality PA, and his mixing and processing suited the style: not washed out; not loud. I like a PA when you forget it’s there. That’s how it should be, at least for jazz. And I heard band members commenting on $4 pints, so the reasonable prices went down well too. Finally, thanks to a good sized audience that braved a strangely unpleasant Canberra winter night.

In summary, an excellent and inspiring night of improvised and composed music at a high quality level. Catch them if you can.

The Mace Francis Orchestra varies slightly on different CDs and tours, but for this tour it was: Mace Francis (composer, conductor), Ben Collins, Dan Thorne, Alistair McEvoy, Mark Sprogowski (saxophones), Ricki Malet, Callum G'Froerer, Brendan Baker (trumpets), Percy Landers, Robin Murray, Tilman Robinson (trombones), Tim Jago (guitar), Wayne Slater (bass), Greg Brenton (drums)

Bronte gumbo

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:24 GMT

By Daniel Wild

As soon as the music started, the patrons at the Hippo arrayed their square and circular stools to face the band. The avid listeners remained like this for the night, some nodding their heads, others with head on fist in contemplation. Couples whispered asides about a particular musical moment that had struck a personal chord.

The Miroslav Bukovsky Quintet opened the night with a high energy piece called Shuffle. Like many of the compositions on display tonight, this one opened with guitar, electric bass and drums setting a groove.

In his first solo Bukovsky announced himself like a bugler leading an infantry cohort. He then retreated behind a series of nuanced propositions, like a Greek philosopher enlightening his elect following with some seemingly matter-of-fact thoughts. Then he changed to more regular eight and quarter note lines, before building up the tension by combining regular rhythms with the freedom that had opened his solo. Bukovsky is an adventurous player. He’s not afraid to make occasional adjustments to his tuning valve in order to reach quarter tones and blues notes.

Bukovsky warmed up on his Harmon mute before the first piece began, but hardly used it for the rest of the evening. Not that he needed to. He has a full dynamic range, can play soft, assertive and sharp, wistful or robust. He also spends a lot of time playing the mellower flugelhorn.

Nor does Bukovksy limit himself to his two horns. Spurred on by Evan Dorrian’s gutsy drumming, Bukovsky keeps two percussion instruments on hand. One is a cowbell and the other some type of large maraca covered in beads. If anyone knows their exact names then please post as comments at the end of the article. Bukovsky doesn’t grab these instruments to have a bit of fun between solos – he gives the rhythm section that extra bit more vitality and encourages cross-rhythmic dialogues with Dorrian. With Bukovsky keeping a steady beat, Dorrian has extra space to extrapolate some slightly ‘out’ drum motifs.

The second piece offered a complete contrast to the high octane performance of the first. It was a slow ballad by Greg Stott. Bukovsky said it proves Stott to be a sensitive type. In other pieces Stott certainly shows that he has the chops of Charlie Christian or Tal Farlow, but he is more than just a semi-quaver machine. His produces a large range of tonal effects on his semi-acoustic guitar, along with quartal harmonies and rhythmic devices. This piece demonstrated that he can play ballads and craft convincing compositions.

John Mackey’s solo in the ballad was particularly refined. His use of space and choice of notes ensure his lines are melodic without being sentimental. The sixteenth-notes are not overdone, but rather ripple the waters. Dorrian’s astute interjections on the crash cymbal emphasise and heighten, rather than intrude. His tremolo on the ride at the end of Mackey’s solo signalled the end of a journey and the awakening of new planes of consciousness.

Only when this new level of awareness was reached did Dorrian break out into ecstatic cross-rhythms in a pseudo-drum solo, beneath the reiterated head played by sax and flugelhorn. We were returned to Earth by a ritardando when Dorrian struck the thicker ends of the drum-sticks on the rims of the toms and cymbals.

The ante was upped again with Dorrian opening the next number with African inspired drumming. The guitarists joined him, Jason Varlet on bass creating a steady ostinato which provided the foundation on which the horns built vast edifices. John Mackey’s solo exemplified hard bop tenor playing and really sparked the audience. Fresh from his Coltrane tribute last year, comparing him to the master is stating the obvious. The rich sound he achieves and his ability to conjure rapid runs at will has to be listened to and cannot be described. Sydney saxophonist David Theak has similar versatility. Mackey’s solo was fast and vigorous and went out like a candle burning to the end of its taper.

The settings on Varlet’s guitar and amp were just right – a hard, round lower tone with softness in the upper registers. His ability to sit on a single chord and imbue it with variety, quick passing notes and dramatic modulations inserted at the right moment makes him ideal bass player for hard modal jazz. It was late in the first set when he got his first solo and it had panache. Varlet communicates well with Dorrian and when either of them sense they’ve gone too for out, a nod and a smile reassures.

Greg Stott’s modal sliding doesn’t change the implied chord but alters the colour and can lend different slants and angles to the solo lines. Dorrian always provides a steady beat at the beginning, but as the tune progresses his underlying rhythms almost become compositions themselves. Great use of texture was made in the openings of these songs. The way Bukovsky’s group can enliven a progression based on a single chord or familiar blues progression should give bands an idea of how to compose simply yet effectively.

Although these were original compositions, executed with precision and vibrancy and played effortlessly, this is easier said than done. The second set displayed similar styling to the first, with added intensity. Compositions by Bukovsky, Stott and Mackey included Bronte Café, Maybe Tomorrow and Mambo Gumbo. There were forays into free jazz during the openings of tunes, rhythmic influences from electronic music, guitar comping reminiscent of seventies fusion. Whether Stott is comping or soloing, his playing is harmonically rich and without boundaries.

At one stage it appeared as if John Mackey had had a haircut and grown shorter, but it was Niels Rosendahl stepping in as guest. When Mackey returned from the shadows the tenors navigated a complex head in unison, note for note. Miroslav Bukovsky has assembled a fine entourage. If and when they tour Melbourne, Sydney (or the world) Canberra’s reputation for producing accomplished jazz musicians is in good hands.