gest8

a clever name for this 8 piece ensemble lead by sandy evans

she is one who always enthralls with any outfit she plays in

here she takes the role of sax/clarinet player, leader and composer

her partner tony gorman on the sidelines as co-composer

gathered around her are a bunch of eclectic musicians

including stage left greg white on imac contributing electronica

stage right is satsuki odamura on the more traditional koto

sandy is centre stage and flanked by her fellow brass players

phil slater on trumpet and paul cutlan on bass clarinet

back of stage is ring-in cameron deyell on electric guitar

the imposing steve elphick ready to lock it down on double bass

the prolific and versatile simon barker on drums and percussion

that's me down the centre front ready to be overwhelmed

a gentle start with cameron deyell doing some solo noise-making

providing a pointer to what is likely to follow from the band

then into the first tune proper and some glorious brass sounds

a rich, harmonious, melodic combination from the 3 players
the whole band quickly into the groove and the moment

plenty to look at and listen to from this large ensemble

a quick dismissal of prior expectations of 10 part invention-ness

with instead a recognition of wanderlust styled adventure seeking

sandy herself stating their desire to explore and integrate

demonstrated here with the amazing sounds of the koto

a strong harp like sound with the obvious asian twang added

worked beautifully into the mix of all the other instruments

and so providing a unique and absorbing aural experience

in both sets the band worked through tunes from their cd

each piece offering a different mood, sound, arrangement, feel

all complex pieces played with precision and obvious enjoyment

sandy counting in movements and directing her fellow musicians

and informing her audience with pride about the tunes
there's also a great on-stage comraderie that informs the music
so that each musician seems to want to do their absolute best
such is the respect for the music and their fellow musicians
totally unfair to single out one member of the band
so best summarised as a sum of the parts experience
in this case the sum exceeding the excellence of the individuals
and tonight the experience matching the publicity -
seeing and hearing them live is a sensory delight
absolutely, totally, unquestionably so
my feeling is gest8 are in a unique place
a compelling mix of originality, diversity and skillset
they totally deserve a much larger audience
may their sound travel far and wide