Tastefully typical
Canberra Jazz blog - Mon 30 Jun 2025
Sally Whitwell is a Canberra resident and it was she who designed a deliciously effective description on her day.  She earlier spoke of being in a rut with choirs and finding this enlivening as a musical interpretation of our true lives: three coffees a day, breakfast, cat, veggies for lunch... ... More...

Joy of the dance
Canberra Jazz blog - Sun 29 Jun 2025
It was a pleasure to take in Musica da Camera with 2 basses from the audience.  This was such an interesting and inviting program and well presented.  The MD was Robert Harris and the title dances and suites and there were plenty of them, nicely bouncy and rhythmic for dance.  But ... ... More...

Reminiscent of improv
Canberra Jazz blog - Wed 25 Jun 2025
An impromptu is a classical piece that's "reminiscent of improvisation".   Today I heard four impromptus on piano.  It's probably not easy to think of an orchestra improvising, but I've described the piano as "an orchestra in a box" but that's probably because I'm a bassist and we ... ... More...

CJ's 20th
Canberra Jazz blog - Mon 23 Jun 2025
It was just a week or so ago when I published CJ's 3,000th blog post.  Today I/we celebrate CJ's 20th birthday.  20 years!  Tons of time and energy and a decent record of my musical journey over those years and how it crossed with Canberra and the Jazz School and travels and my lat... ... More...

Degrees of separation
Canberra Jazz blog - Tue 10 Jun 2025
It's said that you are only 6 degrees of separation from anyone.  Maybe.   An old friend had shared a lift with George W Bush in the White House; 1 degree of separation: check.  I played a gig once at Rupert Murdoch's house out of Canberra and RM himself came up to the band, a... ... More...

Kamasi 3000
Canberra Jazz blog - Mon 9 Jun 2025
This is CJ Blog post no. 3,000.  Blogspot keeps the count, not me, but it's opportune that a big international touring artist should get this post and also that it's someone who is making jazz as it is.  I like big bands and swing and bop and modern and the rest, but jazz must remain a ... ... More...

Doing the rounds
Canberra Jazz blog - Thu 5 Jun 2025
The Wesley Scholars are a changing group and they perform several times each year and this Wednesday lunchtime concert was one.  And it was a doozy, very good and plenty varied.  First up was virtuoso piano from Joyu Yuen playing a Saint-Saens Toccata from memory.  This one was fas... ... More...

Touring to the big smoke
Canberra Jazz blog - Sat 31 May 2025
Later in the night, after the book launch, is not so late for jazz these days.  We must be an ageing cohort.  Whatever, Ben Lerner was playing at Smiths at 7pm with his quartet on tour before recording an album with ABC and they were something pretty special.  The others were Steve... ... More...

When much new is old
Canberra Jazz blog - Fri 30 May 2025
It's a while since I attended my last book launch, although I hear plenty of similar discussions on ABCRN, but this one caught my eye.  Alan Answorth, barrister and part-time academic at UCan, was speaking on his latest publication, The Role of Rhetoric in Politics and the Media, in conversa... ... More...

Choose one if you wish
Canberra Jazz blog - Thu 29 May 2025
Just 2 pieces, Snow angel and The snow.  It had been cold overnight in Canberra.  I was not sure quite what to expect.  This was the Canberra Community Chorale directed by Olivia Swift.  Olivia does good work.  I spoke to her after the concert about the compositions. ... ... More...