Alexandrov/Burrows/Taylor

I'm playing a gig tonight at Presentation House Studio with one of my favorite groups, a trio with Bulgarian-Canadian pianist and keyboard player, Kristian Alexandrov and my old friend Stan Taylor on drums.  A little over a year ago, Kristian showed up at one of my quartet gigs and introduced himself and gave me a CD.  After hearing him play I immediately thought of how much fun it would be to play in a trio with Kristian.  He is a virtuoso keyboard player and a great composer as well.  It always amazes me when pianists, organists, and keyboard players can simultaneously improvise melodic lines and accompany themselves by playing independent bass lines.  Kristian does this extremely well and has a great groove with Stan.  He's a very versatile player who is comfortable doing rock, funk, jazz, classical, R&B; you name it and he can do it authentically with energy and passion. As I've mentioned in previous posts, Vancouver really is loaded with great players and I feel very lucky to be able to make music with so many of them.
I'm really looking forward to the gig tonight.

Here's a youtube video of a gig from last year featuring our hit version of Besame Mucho in 5/4 time.

Swinging

I played a lovely gig last night with Len Aruliah (saxes) and Lorne Kellett (piano).  I hauled out my electric bass for the first time in nearly a year.  The event was an in-class concert for my Douglas College "Intro to Music" class.  Len brought in a few standards "That Old Feeling" and Alone Together", plus a few of his tunes and a few by Kenny Wheeler and Lee Konitz.  Of particular note was Len's contrafact on the chord changes of "I Can't Get Started", a thing that he calls "Initiation".  He wrote a really beautiful and inspiring melody.  As usual, it was a lot of fun to play with Len.  Lorne was in especially fine form and the two of us really stretched the standard material; almost to the breaking point at times.  I had forgotten how much fun it is to play bass and have the ability to affect the harmony and time feel in such a fundamental way and I also enjoy the extra sustain that the electric bass gives in comparison to the guitar. I think I will be playing more bass this year. The students had a great time listening and asking questions and we had a lot of visitors from outside the class.

On the way home I was thinking about how energizing and life-affirming it can be to play swinging music with such great musicians.  Every once in a while, I have an experience like this that reminds me that it is a privilege to be a musician and to have ready access to this kind of profoundly human creative interaction. I will now coast through a peaceful weekend on that high and try to relax a bit.

Don't just stand there.....

Some local and 'ex-pat' Vancouver musicians have once again been wondering aloud in their blogs, on forums and facebook why Vancouver doesn't have more jazz venues.  It seems another round of complaining and moaning is beginning again.  I really don't get this.  Yes, there is absolutely no doubt that jazz venues are thin on the ground in this city and that the arts in general are treated with utter contempt by our provincial government.  Yes, the liquor laws are antiquated, real estate and lease rates are incredibly expensive, taxes on small business are high, most people here seem to like kayaking and skiing more than going out to hear a concert etc.  And yes, it certainly can't compare to New York or London  as a center for artistic creation (can anyplace compare?).

My response to all of these issues is, SO WHAT?  What are the complainers doing to change things, to create venues, to find innovative ways of getting the music heard?  There are plenty of people here doing positive things to keep the music happening: Ken Pickering and the Coastal Jazz and Blues folks, David Pay and Music on Main, Cory at the Cellar, the 1067 collective, Coat Cooke and NOW, Cole Schmidt's series at El Barrio, Clyde Reed and I with Presentation House.  I'm sure there are many others of whom I am unaware.  Just imagine what would happen if everyone who opened his or her mouth to complain used that energy to create an opportunity for playing music.

Vancouver is a wonderful place to live.  It is, as everyone seems ready to admit, a very, very beautiful place. For many of us that counts for a lot.  The arts here are not well supported by government or the general public but, for whatever reason, there are huge numbers of great musicians, dancers, painters, film makers and other cultural producers here making great work.  It is not London, New York, or Toronto and, for many of us who live here, that is exactly the point!

Here is my challenge for anyone who doesn't like the way things are:  Do something to improve the situation!  If every musician in this town made some small attempt to create an opportunity to play, lobbied their local MLA, MP or Arts Council for increased funding, and actively supported others who are already making things happen (asking other people for gigs doesn't count as support) just imagine the changes that would take place.

 

Odds and ends

Last night, some of my students mentioned that they are actually reading my blog.  I have been quite delinquent in my blog writing duties of late. Despite the fact that Capilano U is on reading break this week, I have been quite busy with my usual range of performing activities and other teaching jobs.  I did take a morning to buy myself some lovely new Italian shoes (on sale of course!).  That made it feel a little more like a holiday.  My wife and kids often tease me about the number of shoes that I have, but for someone who performs all the time it is actually pretty important to have some options for the stage. Shoes and chocolate are really my only serious vices.

On Wednesday I had the perfect opportunity to put those new shoes to work as I played at Presentation House Studio with Joe Poole (drums), Coat Cooke (saxes) and Clyde Reed (bass).  Joe is a fellow shoeist and he thoroughly approved of my purchase. The music was superb.  Clyde and Joe were in particularly fine form, grooving very well together and creating a kind of buoyant, joyful swing feel that such as I have rarely experienced.  Coat was really wailing as usual.  His sound is always so powerful and his ideas very original and fluidly connected.  It was a privilege to make music with them.

Last week the jazz choir I direct at Cap U, the 'Combo Choir'  (must think of a catchy name...), performed with Len Aruliah at two concerts, one at Cap and one at the West Van Community Centre.  Both gigs went very well and the students did a fine job with Len's music.  Len had a very good time as well and was impressed with the ability of the students to playing such difficult music.  I spent yesterday arranging a whole new concert worth of music for the group: five Kenny Wheeler tunes.  I think these will be great fun for the students.

I have no big plans for the coming week.  For a change there are no gigs or significant projects.  I will just enjoy my teaching and get some practicing and composing done.  Lastly, Adrian Caballero finally sent me a picture from the gig I did last month with the Australian saxophonist Jason Thornton.  Jason has now asked me to play on some tracks for his new recording.  It should be fun to send digital tracks back and forth across the world.  From left to right: Jason, Me, Joe Poole, Brent Gubbels.  

Len is Here

My good friend, Len Aruliah, has arrived from London.  As I explained in an earlier post, Len is a saxophone player that I have known for over 20 years and with whom I have played a lot of great music.  We'll be making a lot more music in the next few weeks.  Next Wednesday is a quartet gig at Presentation House with Len, Stan Taylor, and Clyde Reed.  Earlier that day Len will be a guest artist with a jazz choir at Capilano University.  I have arranged his "Full Circle Suite" for the student group and they are doing a great job with his music.  This group will also be performing on Friday at West Van Community Centre.  The following week we will try to do some recording with the aforementioned quartet. Usually Len is only here for a couple of weeks and his schedule is busy but this time he will be around for a few months so I'm looking forward to hanging out and creating some new things!

In other news, I had an amazing gig with Sound Image Net last night.  I talked about this band in an earlier post. The show went very well and Krista brought in a very fresh and interesting repertoire of new images.  Gregg Simpson, Carol Sawyer, and Clyde Reed are such excellent musicians.  They are always so responsive and empathic in their improvising.  It was a very satisfying gig in every respect and helped me clear out some musical cobwebs that have been gathering in my brain.

8th annual South Delta Jazz Festival

Preparations are once again underway for the South Delta Jazz Festival and Jazz Workshop. The Workshop is a summer jazz camp with thirty-five students, seven full-time faculty members, and two TAs.  The Festival comprises seven concerts during the week of the workshop and the concerts feature faculty musicians and guest artists.  Last year was our seventh annual event.   My friend, Stephen Robb, and I started this event back in 2003 with the idea of providing ourselves with some summer teaching work and a chance to get together and play music with our friends.  Since then it has grown to be the most significant arts event in Delta.  
The workshop takes place at Delta Community Music School which is situated in a very cool old heritage house in the Ladner Village (at left).
This year we welcome back  our usual core faculty Stan Taylor (drums) Brad Muirhead (trombone),  Stephen Robb (clarinet/piano), Rob Kohler (bass).  The very creative and cool Bill Clark (trumpet) will be joining us this year, as well as a great saxophonist, Dr. Ed Orgill.  These folks are all wonderful performers and very experienced educators.  I'm really looking forward to playing and teaching with them this summer.  The Infinitus String Trio will also be in residence both as students and as performers on some of the concerts.  We'll have our usual jam session at Petra's Arts Cafe, outdoor shows at Diefenbaker Park and Delta Hospital Grounds, lunchtime shows at Ladner Community Centre, and an evening concert at local church. 
It hardly seems possible, but this will be our 8th year for SDJF.  I am really proud of the work we have done to make this event so successful and especially happy with the way it has become integrated into the community in a kind of organic and natural way. 

   

Aeroplane Trio Gig Review

Aeroplane Trio was the featured band last night at Presentation House Studio.  The band has been around for about 10 years now and features some very fine musicians:  JP Carter (trumpet), Russell Sholberg (bass), and Skye Brooks (drums).   The music last night was very carefully and slowly constructed, mostly arising from very small, delicate and gentle sounds.  Using free improv as the basis for much of their playing, the group creates extended drone-like textures and repeated rhythmic patterns which evolve very gradually.  JP has an extraordinary range of extended techniques on the trumpet: digeridoo-like, circular-breathed pedal tones and all manner of squeals grunts, and squelches in combination with various mutes.  He seems to carefully ration his use of his remarkable sound arsenal, squeezing every possible variation out of each texture while avoiding repetition and recycling.  When he finally lets the trumpet speak in a conventional way, the sound is very fat and brassy and he diplays his gift for lyrical and poignant melody.  Russell and Skye not only have a great rhythmic 'hookup', but also have developed a common vocabulary of unique grooves and clever ways of cueing and altering these in subtle ways.  I thought Russ' new bass sounded especially great.

I have played with all of these guys in various settings and what always strikes me about them is that they are great listeners.  Of course a lot of musicians are great listeners, but these three are special in that they each seem to approach the bandstand without preconceptions and with a willingness to contribute only what naturally arises from a group's musical dynamic.  One never gets a feeling of ego or musical 'selfishness' when listening to them or playing with them.

I had a great time listening and especially liked hearing a band that plays completely together in such an organic and unified way.  It is obvious that they have played together a lot and have worked hard to create a cohesive group sound and aesthetic.  Unfortunately, the turnout was the worst we've had at the concert series for several months.  Maybe there was a hockey game?  It was a shame really as I think the music was of a very high calibre and also that the band was one of the best-suited groups we've had there in terms of the acoustics of that room.  Presentation House Studio can feel a little small when a band gets loud, but these guys had a such a great control of the dynamics that you could hear every detail with wonderful clarity.  Whether for good or ill, some of the best music in the jazz and improv traditions seems to be made for small but appreciative audiences in do-it-yourself conditions.  This has been true for many gigs that I have played and also many where I have been one of the few listeners.  I think perhaps the sense of intimacy and trust which is more natural under these conditions helps to feed the music in a different way than the energy of a big crowd. Those of us who were there had a special experience.  Thanks guys!

The band has a new CD out on Jesse Zubot's fantastic dripaudio label.  Check it out. http://www.dripaudio.com/releases.php

Gig with Dylan Van der Schyff and Clyde Reed

I'm playing Wednesday evening at Presentation House Studio with Dylan Van der Schyff (drums) and Clyde Reed (bass).  I've known Dylan for over 20 years now.  He was the drummer in a band called Sound and Fury that I co-led with Len Aruliah in the early 1990s.  We worked together in a number of other ad-hoc musical situations around that time and then, in 1997, I left Vancouver for a few years and only saw Dylan on occasional visits back home.  While I was away, Dylan kept very busy making very fine music with other great players all over Europe, the US and Canada.  He is an extremely creative and intelligent musician with a tremendous capacity for listening and intense interaction.  These are also qualities shared by Clyde Reed.  When I moved back to Vancouver, I somehow started playing a bit with Clyde and now we have become very frequent collaborators in music, academic writing, and as co-presenters of the Presentation House Series.  Clyde has been playing improvised music since before I was born and has turned out to be a very important mentor for me in many ways.  I'm looking forward to continuing my musical explorations with Clyde and reconnecting with Dylan. Music starts at 8:30pm.  Address is 333 Chesterfield St in North Vancouver.  $8 at the door.

Collaboration with Jason Thornton

I'm playing at Presentation House Studio this Wednesday evening with Dr. Jason Thornton.  Jason is a very fine saxophonist and music educator from Sidney, Australia.  He's up in these parts skiing with his family and enjoying what in Vancouver passes for a Canadian Winter.  Jason contacted me through my website and we decided to set up a gig while he's here to try making some music.  I just rehearsed yesterday with Jason and the band (Brent Gubbels on bass and Joe Poole on drums) and it looks like it will be a lot of fun.  He has a very thick and warm sound, a very direct and emotional approach to the tunes, and seems comfortable playing just about anything. Like a lot of Australians I have known, Jason is a very friendly and gregarious type and seems really to enjoy life.  On the gig we'll play a few standards, a few of my tunes, and do a little free playing as well. 

I especially enjoyed hearing Joe and Brent yesterday.  Their approach is very different from the players in my quartet, Stan Taylor and Al Johnston, but it is great to try some different sounds and grooves with such fine musicians. They are one of the best rhythm sections around and make it very easy to play music.   Brent has one of the best upright bass sounds I have ever heard and seems to be able to amplify the instrument in a very 'transparent' way.   Joe has recently acquired a bunch of cymbals that belonged to Elvin Jones and boy does Joe know how to make them sizzle.  At the rehearsal he was playing the ride cymbal that we are fairly certain was played on Coltrane's "Crescent".  For a Coltrane nut like me this was a magical sound and feeling!

Joe and Brent and I have been friends for years and they are also great guys off the bandstand.  As I said in my last post, the friendship and community feeling with other players is one of the big rewards of being a musician.  I really love the fact that the jazz tradition provides these opportunities to play with people from anywhere in the world with very little notice or rehearsal. People who have never met before can become fast friends in just one gig when the condifitons are right.  I always enjoy making these connections with visiting musicians and when I'm abroad I do my best to do some playing.  I'm looking forward to this one!

Influences

I've been thinking a lot about how I have become the musician I am and what kind of musician I'd like to be.

with Len Aruliah at the The Cross Kings, Kings Cross, London.

Last week, I started writing arrangements of some tunes by my great friend, Len Aruliah, and it was very striking to me how much I had learned by playing his music.  Though we have both had many important teachers, I  came to the realization that Len and I really taught ourselves and each other to play by writing tunes for our various collaborative bands and playing a lot of gigs together.  This was especially true when I was in my early twenties, but continues today.  A lot of musicians talk about their influences only in terms of the famous musicians to whom they listen.   This is quite right of course.  My musical direction has been deeply affected by recordings by Jim Hall, John Coltrane, Django Reinhardt, Kenny Wheeler, and a big list of others.  Nevertheless, it seems that the older I get, the more I see the influence of my friends as paramount for my musical growth.

This is quite a natural thing, I think, and very much a part of the jazz tradition.  At my quartet gig this week, I really noticed how we are starting to play certain kinds of phrases and chords in more and more unified way.  I'm not just talking about playing 'tighter' as a band, though that is part of it, but that our playing is actually influenced and developed by the music we have made together over the years.  You notice this kind of thing in some families where certain unique phrases, expressions, or ideas are shared.  I'm deeply grateful for the musical and personal influences of my musical family: Rob Kohler, Len Aruliah, Stan Taylor, Brad Muirhead, Clyde Reed,  Daniel Heila, Al Johnston, Lorne Kellett, Joe Poole, Tim Barrett, Bill Clark, Dave Robbins, Al Matheson, Dave Branter, Coat Cooke, Hari Pal, Karen Graves, Tommy Babin, Stephen Robb, Curtis Andrews, Pepe Danza, Brent Gubbels, Ed Orgill, Kevin Hoferer, Sonya Lawson, Ross Bliss and so many others.

Jared Burrows Quartet Gig

My quartet is playing tomorrow night at the Jazz at Presentation House Studio series in North Vancouver.  The band is Lorne Kellett (piano), Allan Johnston (bass), Stan Taylor (drums) along with yours truly. We'll play my tunes and a few by the other band members.

 This is an artist-run weekly series embracing the full spectrum of jazz and improvised music from trad to post-bop, free improv to world music fusions.  Clyde Reed and I founded the series and do the booking.  Presentation House Studio is an historic former church with excellent acoustics where the audience can be up close and personal with the musicians. The series has been running since April of 2009 and it is starting to become an important part of the scene here.  I have really enjoyed playing with a lot of different people on the series and, equally, have enjoyed hearing some of the great bands that have come to play.  Come on out!


333 Chesterfield Avenue (3rd St. one block west of Lonsdale) 
North Vancouver
Wednesday, January 5, at 8:30pm.
Admission $8 at the door. Free tea and cookies.