lost and found

part 3 of a 4 part continual string of performances
each starting on the hour at alternate venues
these venues being a good 5 minute sprint-walk apart
so again a walk into a performance (just) underway
in this case there are 3 performers on the large stage
jamie oehlers centre stage and in command of a tenor saxophone
dave beck stage right in charge of drums and percussion
paul grabowsky stage left belting it out on the grand piano
the festival program promised another improvised performance
which in the right hands can be quite exhilarating
mr oehlers is no slouch on his chosen instrument
proof - winner of the world saxophone competition (2003)
the immediate prior performance saw scott tinkler hard at it
my first impression of this show was that of equivalence
a brass player center stage with the ultimate musical freedom
musical colleagues providing support on compatible instruments
but otherwise free to make whatever noise was possible
and in a similar way jamie oehlers gave it everything he had
an unbelievably generous physical performance to say the least
he's a tall and seemingly very fit and athletic chap
his position of choice is knees slightly bent and a straight back
eyes closed and vein-popping exertion of air into his instrument
it's a fairly random sample of sounds he lets rip with
though at times he hooks into an almost-melody that gets repeat play
it's a very commanding performance which dominates proceedings
easy to forget there are a couple of exceptional musos also on stage
paul grabowsky i sensed almost out of his comfort zone
i've only ever seen him performing set pieces for other performers
or presenting seriously complex works of his own composition
his job tonight was mainly to provide relief for the main man
and so as though inspired he gave his keyboards a real bashing
trying and mostly succeeding to be the total free improvisor
dave beck is one of those drummers with an amazing instinctive skillset
not too much indulgence but more a job of sound-filling
adding complementary noises to whatever else was going on
and very much succeeding in filling and not drowning the sound out
a very impressive set by any standard - mental note to get the cd
and as soon as it was over - high tail out of there
the next performance due to start immediately
part 3 - extraordinary - part 4 - coming up