Home : Plato's Words : June 2006

June 2006

May was quite the month. I eventually finished all the work I had to do on the charts for my trombone quintet. I suppose calling it a trombone quintet makes it sound as though I am playing trombone in the group too but in fact the trombone is simply the focal point within the group and shares lines with the voice and plays specific parts within some of the arrangements. Not everyone is so keen on this combination I found out as one friend recently told me that he thought it was rather weird to use a trombone as the horn within a vocal ensemble instead of using a saxophone or even a trumpet. He suggested that perhaps there was a reason that this combination is not typically used. I am always open to people’s opinions but in the end I suppose I must make my own decisions. I have had saxophone in my groups before and of course I’ve also had the trumpet with wonderful Brad Turner playing on recordings for me and in concerts too. Somehow the last two years I was quite struck by the timbre and tone of the trombone and that is why I decided to go this route one more year. Who knows what I’ll add next year.  Quite honestly I think it is going to be the cello because I have enjoyed including the cello in my jazz Christmas concert programs and that is another instrument that has been a fascination for me all my life. Here it is now June and back in December I had been determined to rent a cello and take lessons. I haven’t done that yet but do hope to do that some time this summer.

Toronto based vocalist George Evans came to town a couple of weeks ago to sing two nights at The Cellar with his Vancouver trio that included Tilden Webb, Jodi Proznick and Jesse Cahill. George is a fantastic jazz vocalist. His voice is rich and clear and he has impeccable pitch and timing. He absolutely swings with the band and has great sense of feel for all the tunes whether they are swing tunes or latin grooves or ballads. George is one of the most articulate individuals I know and he also has great wit and sense of humor and therefore his performances are more than just music. He is thoroughly entertaining and therefore the audience stays put for his entire evening knowing that they might miss something special if they leave before the evening is over. (Of course people don’t usually leave concerts mid way through but sometimes for club dates an audience might choose to leave during the intermission between the 2 sets. Not so when George is the vocalist) George’s music speaks for itself but beyond that is a connection with the audience. He is candid and often conveys a sense of humor and playfulness and he shares other aspects of himself that people can identify with, this seems to be the thing that “seals the deal” with the audience. You listen to George and you fall in love with his music and his personality at the same time.

 I know that last summer hearing pianist Chick Corea I was blown away (as was everyone else) by his majestic piano skills but besides that I was delighted with his sense of humor and in his interaction with the audience. It helped connect us to him on another level. George Evans definitely has that quality as well. First and foremost his voice moves us because he is very talented and musical and then the icing on the cake is that he makes us laugh and maintains our interest with his lovely stories. George has become a good friend over that last number of years and he had invited me in advance to sing a duet with him So…I was very happy to be able to  sing “One Note Samba” both nights with him. That was a first for us and it really was a lot of fun to hear our voices together. On one of the nights Kate Hammett-Vaughan (who has also become a good friend of George’s) sang “People Will Say We’re In Love” with George and put a smile on all our faces. Both Kate and George are very at ease on a stage and they had a lovely chemistry together.

A couple of months ago I mentioned a pianist that I had newly discovered and had since become a devoted fan of. Pianist Edward Simon is whom I am speaking of. When I met and spoke with him in New York he suggested to me that a CD that I might enjoy is a duet recording that he made with vocalist Luciana Souza. It is a disc called “Neruda” and contains the poetry of Pablo Neruda, which Luciana has translated for this recording. Upon Edward’s recommendation I did order the CD and I just cannot get enough of it. It is a real gem in my opinion. I hear something new in the recording each time I play it. Luciana is a vocalist that I first heard when I was studying in Port Townsend a few years ago. I immediately became a fan of hers as I did when I first heard Edward. Luciana and Edward have formed a wonderful partnership on the Neruda disc. This recording creates a series of aural landscapes for the listener. I heartily recommend it to everyone who appreciates good music. I always love duo recordings and this is as special to me as listening to Norma Winstone and John Taylor on their recording “Like Song Like Weather”.

So now I prepare for my little Eastern tour, which will take me to Quebec City and to Montreal. That should be a lot of fun and I am sure to meet many new people on my travels. Then after that trip comes my Vancouver Jazz Festival appearances that include me performing again with my trombone based quintet at the CBC on the opening day of the jazz festival. We have one more “preview performance” at the Cellar whereby we will be testing out some new arrangements to see if we are happy with them or not. The day after my two Vancouver festival appearances I fly to Toronto to be a part of the Real Divas concert at the Toronto Jazz Festival. The Divas will be singing with pianist Bill King’s group. Of course I am delighted to have been invited to share the stage with other vocalists; among them Heather Bambrick. Heather is an excellent jazz vocalist and she also works as a radio station host for a jazz program. She had me on her show as a guest on one of my trips to Toronto and I was really impressed with her skill and knowledge and sense of humor as the host of her program. George Evans whom I mentioned earlier has also been a radio station host in the past and both he and Heather share a quick wit and spontaneity that make for an exciting radio host. Perhaps this wit and spontaneity helps make them great jazz vocalists as well since much of what happens in jazz is “in the moment” and created on the fly and both of these Toronto vocalists have this in droves. I will be singing a duet with Heather and I really look forward to that experience. I’m sure she’ll have me in stitches in no time at all. I for one love laughing almost as much as I love singing so with Heather I’m sure I’ll get to do both. That might sound silly but did you ever stop to think about just how wonderful it feels to laugh out loud? It is a true release and it lifts your heart right up. Perhaps some of us just don’t get a chance to laugh as often as we would like. Here’s to a month of great jazz and to inspired moments of laughter and mirth.

Karin