mr bernie mcgann - he the man
have seen him and this quartet a number of times in sydney
always in a small-ish i.e. intimate venue with usually 30-40 others
so today was an opportunity to see him perform to a much larger crowd
he's on the main stage at the wangaratta jazz festival early saturday evening
my rough estimate would be that there may be 8-900 in the audience
good to see the rhythm section back in their familiar roles
having played part in the opening fiasco of the spare parts orchestra
my opinion entirely and also something way out of their control
ditto with mr warwick alder who was 1 of the 4 trumpet players there
putting the music aside this quartet have a great on-stage comraderie
every other performance i have seen has included plenty of in-jokes
which i think then directly imbibes the music they make together
a sense of the joy of making great music oozes from the stage
today the on-stage chatter was not so discernible
possibly due to the importance and physical size of the stage itself
but that did not have any effect on the quality of the performance
to these ears there is no sweeter sound than their harmonies
bernie mcgann and warwick alder so connected they sound as one
alto sax and trumpet perfectly in sync in timing, key and notes
some quite complex melodies being played but making it look easy
ditto for the rhythm section at the back of stage
while not needing to be so tightly bound they are also very solid
i'm sure bernie mcgann would command the very best performers
andrew dickenson sounds and looks the part for this quartet
nothing at all flashy or even adventurous but delivering the goods
complete with a unique upright seated position, smile and head rotation
making regular eye contact with brendan clarke on double bass
mostly absorbed and concentrating on doing the very best he can
there is no letup for the whole set for this excellent rhythm section
warwick alder and bernie mcgann in some tunes taking turns at solos
allowing the other to be seated or side stage and enjoying the music
bernie mcgann has recorded a heap of albums so lots of material to draw from
though i sense the live performance has been honed down to a regular set
names of tunes recognised as they are announced by the leader
in particular the regular and memorable closing number titled d day
i'm not sure how many appearances bernie mcgann has put in here
probably more than any other single musician or group i suspect
he deserves the accolades as a respected contributor to australian jazz
for me i'm glad i finally hooked into his music in the past year or 2
from here on it's a case of being in attendance at every opportunity
hopefully that means many more shows with this quartet
tonights show being one that brought respectful applause
tick - anything else seen at this festival now a bonus
