saxophone trios

Hot Foot @ Creative Jazz Club

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Happenstance is the midwife to surprise and in the musical universe, random events occur often. They appear unheralded, bringing chaos or joy and for seasoned improvisers, they are welcome visitors. So it was with Hot Foot, a band cobbled together in haste; a sonic singularity, a concentration of energy. The advertised gig was an organ trio, but at the last minute, that event was rescheduled, so with hours to spare, Roger Manins revived Hot Foot and how fortuitous that turned out to be. 

There is provenance to Hot Foot, but the details remain sketchy. Leader Manins hinted that they had once played at a village market but a long time ago. He introduced the trio with a story about a Sydney band of similar configuration. A saxophone trio he’d played in as a much younger man. For him, that had been a formative experience, a chance to play without the safety net of a chordal instrument. A chance to cut his musical teeth alongside more experienced players and to road test the Sonny Rollins Way Out West trio thing. 

On Wednesday, the spirit of Rollins hung over the proceedings, the way Manins gnawed away at a tune and tugged at its fabric without losing the form. We were treated to long intros where a familiar melody was hinted at, then abandoned to a flurry of arpeggios. It was riveting to watch and to hear. There were clear signals and subtle hints as the intros unfolded; sometimes accompanied by verbal exclamations or questions directed at the audience or to Jazz School students. The solos were extracted from the tunes by paring them back and then exposing the naked ideas; sometimes stopping at the brink of freedom. If this sounds chaotic it was not. It was a masterclass for Jazz lovers and it was realised in a spirit of joy and levity.

A saxophone trio reveals the melodic lines unadorned, but in doing so there are specific responses required from a bass player and a drummer. Cameron McArthur’s bass gave us some pared-back harmonic references and more importantly, he centred the trio. In this instrumental configuration, it is important that a bass player holds the form, and McArthur did so admirably. This not only gave the saxophonist the room he needed but opened up opportunities for the drummer.

Drummer Ron Samsom made the most of his space and his musical intelligence came to the fore. His was a modulated voice as there was nothing that intruded or jarred, there was a pulse but it was mainly implied. He explored the kits melodic possibilities and added flashes of colour. Improvisers function best in a high trust environment and that was what we saw last week. It is here where experience counts and where a band manifests personality. 

The gig also unleashed Manins alter ego, Comedian Roger. There are often flashes of humour in his musical performances and it is especially evident when he introduces tunes. He never takes himself too seriously and this balances his serious commitment to his art form. His humour is unplanned and you never know what is coming next. The CJC audiences love to see this side of him. The clip I have posted is a Monk tune titled ‘Ask Me Now’. This is a favourite of mine and judging by the whoops of delight when the coda morphed into the tune, it is an audience favourite also. The bravura, the exploration, the verbal interactions; Among the tunes played were songbook standards like favourite ‘Sunny Side of the Street’ (Dorothy Fields/ Jimmy McHugh), Strode Rode (Rollins) and an Australasian Jazz standard, the blistering rendition of Bernie McGann’s ‘Latitude’. Ask Me Now is a question I am happy to answer. Yes, this was a very good night.   

Hot Foot Saxophone Trio: Roger Manins (tenor saxophone), Cameron McArthur (upright bass), Ron Samsom (drums)

The gig took place at Anthology, CJC (Creative Jazz Club), Auckland. March 2021

James Ryan – Jazz without a parachute

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James Ryan is a Sydney based tenor player and he has appeared at the CJC before.  On Wednesday nights gig he fronted a trio of saxophone, drums and bass.   In configurations like this where chordal instruments are absent, a band is taking a more adventurous route.   Guitars, pianos, horn-sections and jazz orchestras provide a safety net for horn soloists and in addition they tend to fill in much of the soundscape with colour and a variety of textures.  Without this underpinning, clean open spaces can be revealed and the bones of melodies can be unraveled or looked at afresh in their raw beauty.    This is jazz without a parachute.

The precedent for such trios goes back a long way.   Gerry Mulligan came close with his famous piano-less quartet of the 1950’s, but the addition of another horn (Chet Baker or Bobby Brookmeyer) allowed for chords and complex counterpoint.  The most notable historic piano-less trios were Sonny Rollins ‘Way Out West‘, Lee Konitz, ‘Motion’ and the drummer led Elvin Jones ‘Ultimate’.    There are many others and I should also mention the Max Roach–Dizzy Gillespie duos with just trumpet and drums.  Our own Roger Manins has also explored saxophone trios and his well received album ‘Hip Flask’ is a notable example.

I did not hear James the last time he appeared, but I was soon to be impressed by what was on offer.  His choice of band-mates proved to be fortuitous as Tom Botting (bass) and Ron Samsom (drums) rose to the challenge with enthusiasm.   In this blue-sky environment each artist knew what needed to be done and more importantly what must be avoided.  The was no overplaying and the flow of musical ideas was engaging.

James introduced the first set by playing solo for a number of bars and we could hear immediately that he was brim full of interesting ideas.  This was a good way to open because when the bass and drums came in, their addition filled the space with possibilities.  The fourth tune of the night ‘Micky B’ (Ryan) was a good example of this interplay.   In this case the tune had been set up by the bass and it soon developed into a hard-driving bluesy exploration of the theme.   James drove deeper and deeper into the changes and freed of the need to avoid piano or guitar, he took the music where he wanted it to go.   While James took care of business Tom Botting found just the right responses and Ron Samsom showed us again why he is a master of the drum kit.

After a number of interesting originals had been performed the band switched seamlessly to the well-known standard ‘You and The Night And The Music”.    James explained afterward that this had not been on the set list, but because Tom had quoted from it during an earlier bass solo he added it on impulse.   It is when we hear a standard that  we can form the strongest views and make comparisons.    The audience will know where the tune has gone before and be interested to see just where this band is taking it.   This particular exploration was inventive without being disrespectful.   It had an element of surprise in the familiar and that is what the best Jazz is about.

As is so often the case when Ron Samsom is on the bandstand, the percussion work was extraordinary.   His use of mallets and his inventiveness riveted the audience again and again.   He can play tightly in the pocket or with an understated but completely engaging looseness.  We saw him as more than a drummer in this set up.  He was an instrumentalist capable of filling any space.

There was one free number during the night and it was a riot.    James announced that he would play a tune of his titled ‘Rocket No 7’.    This was an homage to Sun Ra and his much admired composition ‘Rocket No 9’.   A few bars in James just let rip and the band quickly followed him into what were obviously unchartered waters.  This decoupling from the changes was soon evident and the organic freedom took us on a wild and delightful ride.   While the music was as free as a skylark it was never directionless.    Both band and audience were smiling at the end and everyone in the room knew that they had experienced something special.

After the number James wiped the sweat from his brow and pulled the mike towards him.   “That was nothing like ‘Rocket No 7” he said to our delight.

As with many of the Australian visitors we look forward to his return.