Mea culpa

I was chided last evening for not having posted anything in a long time. Guilty as charged.

Times have been busy indeed, and blogging slipped down the priority list. Then as significant events came and went, I felt things were just getting a bit too backlogged to write about them all. In the end, entropy won out.

I'll try to remedy that with a not-so-brief catchup and a resolution to be a bit more regular with my posting.

The NOW workshops that I have been hosting held a couple of surprises in the weeks just prior to the release of the ion Zoo cd.

Hugh Fraser crossed the great waters to do a workshop, using some themes that I was familiar with, but as usual he put a new twist on things. It was very interesting how quickly I recaptured that feeling of being at Banff with Hugh, and how deeply I was affected by recalling many of the experiences that I had up there. I felt very much in the flow of life for the following couple of weeks. I believe that Hugh is a carrier of that vibe and it recharged my creative batteries just spending a bit of time with him.

The following week, the workshop featured Christine Duncan, another longtime collaborator of Hugh's. Last summer, I had the idea of doing conduction just with singers, using the same techniques as I have done with instrumentalists, but I never developed that concept. Meanwhile, Christine was exploring the same concept in Toronto, and has come up with a system far better than I could ever have done. (If I'd only registered the idea, like "eco-density", I could have made a mint from her. Another opportunity lost...) Her workshop was fantastic, and the seven singers who have been regular participants were pretty stoked afterwards.

That evening, she was the featured performer at The Cellar, and working with db Boyko, another great singer, their performance was without a doubt one of the most moving of any of the Monday nights since their conception. There was a vocal duet between Christine (playing theremin) and db (on tuned wine glasses) that was pure magic, improvisation at its absolute finest. Christine also asked a number of people to sit in, most of them very significant in the history of the improvised music scene in this city, Gregg Simpson, Ralph Eppel, Paul Plimley, Brad Muirhead, to name just a few. I was totally honoured to be asked to sit in for a couple of pieces.

Later that week the NOW Orchestra playing their 30th anniversary concert with guest artist Amina Claudine Meyers. It was one of their best shows in recent years, with the standout piece being composed by Ron Samworth.

The following Monday saw the cd release party for ion Zoo at The Cellar. All in all, it was quite successful. I wish all of the people who said they were going to go actually made the effort to do so, but that is life. Nonetheless, the performance actually answered a question that I had as to the future direction of the group. After having listened endlessly to the cd through the production process, I was wondering how the group would continue to evolve. And we certainly did, with the cd symbolically giving us even more confidence to boldly dive into the improvisatory abyss.

Damn, that last sentence is pretty clunky. I'll try to explain. Although we really don't have to prove anything to anybody (other than ourselves), having released a cd in the way we have lends a sense of legitimency to our efforts. We are getting good unsolicited feedback on the disc and it reinforces that we are on the right track as a group, still staying true to the original concept behind the formation of the group, exploring song form in an improvised setting. So the feeling at the cd release was similar to being Sally Field at the Oscars. Musicians want to be liked for their efforts. And thanks to Femke van Delft for the photos that night!

I also felt much more confident playing percussion for the group, to the point where I may leave my horns at home for a gig in the coming year. It was also an insight for me to hear how seamlessly Clyde or Lisa or even Carol will switch to a percussive style of improvising when I picked up a horn, instinctively picking up on that element of the music.

Next up were three performances by Bugs Black Blood, at The Cellar, 1067 and The Western Front. The large ensemble's playing far exceeded my original expectations. In particular, I thought Carol Sawyer and the drummer in ion Zoo's original lineup, Joel Lower, gave consistent standout performances. I was also priveleged to lead the group through two of my compositions: Axes, my first ever large ensemble composition for the Hugh Fraser Jazz Orchestra Workshop in 2003, and Out of the Box, which I wrote for VCMI in 2005. I had not been able to perform Axes in Vancouver previous to this, so it was a treat to have some time to let the piece develop through several performances. It was also great to see Coat Cooke, who pulled this project together, having fun leading the group and taking us through some wild conductions.

What else? Early in December, we had the performance that culminates the fall improv workshop series. This was the first year that I hosted virtually all of the workshops and we had a consistent core of fifteen musicians who did the final show. The particpants are asked to create the pieces for the performance, and they did a fine job in the dress rehearsal workshop, pulling everything together as smoothly as I have ever seen in the dozen years that I've been associated with these workshops.

From year to year you never know what sort of musicians will attend the workshops, and what instruments will be there. This year we were distinguished by having a fairly experienced group (as opposed to the majority being rank beginners), a really strong vocal contingent of seven female singers, and the near total absence of a rhythm section. We had two guitarists, and a guy who got the most out of a single floor tom. One of the sax players also doubled on percussion. So groove was out, with no drum kit, bass or piano, but they chose other improvisatory paths. The concert was a very good one, again the group exceeded my expectations. A multimedia piece written by Margot Butler was particularly effective, but I was happy with everyone's efforts.

I had a number of other gigs along the way, like another skronkfest at The Cobalt and a few nice ones with Wanda and the boys. So typical of what's going on here in Vancouver, but not unique to this city, there seems to be a dearth of straight up jazz gigs available right now. (Disclaimer: I know that there are lots of players who continue to keep busy, but quite a number of first-call guys are telling me that things are unusually slow.) It's been tough for someone like Wanda, who doesn't have many performing opportunities outside of her group. And it's a shame that group isn't busier now. I think that during this past year we have developed into a band that really entertains and can get a crowd into the music. Wanda has always had a knack for that and the rest of us are just catching up to her.

Here's to more great gigs for everyone in the new year.