the first act for me on the main stage on sunday at the wang jazz festival
2 legends of the australian jazz scene fronting a very appealing lineup
james 'pug' waples on drums again demonstrating the regard in which he is held
favourite-of-mine brother ben waples in charge of the double bass department
and an almost famous chap named bobby gebert tickling the ivories
dale barlow as leader, composer and instigator of this quintet on tenor sax
his old mate bernie mcgann sparring and harmonising on alto sax
so it's a old guard / new guard kind of combination on stage
barlow and mcgann having been strutting their stuff for many years
the waples brothers part of a bunch of young and talented musicians
and thus always good to see them being encouraged by their mentors
not that this is any kind of lip service (groan) that they are being paid
for they are supremely talented and can certainly hold their own
james waples is always a pleasure to watch at work on his kit
a quite hunched posture and unique grasp of his sticks
clearly absorbed and totally focused in the task at hand
always displaying exquisite timing and in the choice of flourishes
ben waples seems to be constantly looking everywhere except downwards
indicating a confident grasp (double groan) on the use of his instrument
bobby gebert - well - brilliant i am sure but kind of side-lined in this outfit
alto saxophonist bernie mcgann is just too solid for words - he delivers
and the man himself always seems to have a great time playing
dale barlow neither a young whippersnapper nor an old pro
not seen much on the circuit but always gives a great show
anecdotes, jokes, retorts, one-liners also rolled out
today he made great use of having an equal on stage with him
these two made it look all too easy as they jammed it up
some superb harmonies in many various tunes with solos to match
a rich, up-tempo, swinging, melodic, comforting sound filling the room (marquee)
which had me with my foot tapping thoughout and head hooked in
though running off on a tangent comparing this to other acts seen so far
there's been some very insistent noise-making improvisors
and an equal number of fresh and experimental combinations
but this kind of outfit sits squarely in the mainstream of australian jazz
mainstream in the sense of centred and totally essential
from which all else kind of hangs off as long as possible
and drawing in elements that can be further enriched
but putting all that aside they are just so easy to watch and enjoy
coming mid sunday afternoon and setting things up nicely
happy now to take whatever else comes my way
