CANBERRA JAZZ

MICHAEL FOSTER

Count Basie and Beyond. John Morrison’s Swing City, Canberra Southern Cross Club - Phillip, Thursday March 20.

IT IS something else when a concert lives up to its billing, but Morrison’s band indeed played “a sensational swing-style tribute to Count Basie”.

The second concert of the club’s six Big Band Bash series maintained the standard set by the RMC Big Band with a hard-driving, hard-swinging interpretation of some of Basie’s best, and some reflections on where he could have gone.

It was straight ahead from the opening numbers, Sammy Nestico’s Got To Try Harder and Moten Swing; followed by Jumping at the Woodside, and you can’t get much more Basied than that.

It was perhaps slightly modified, as it must be by musicians who never heard the man in person, but as someone who did (once in the Sydney Opera House) the thrill returned. This, it must be said, was greatly heightened by the decision of the band to play acoustically.

Many contemporary musicians and listeners do not understand, or in some cases even believe, that the first recordings of the great early bands were unamplified, through one microphone, usually suspended above the centre of the front line.

This meant that the musicians controlled the volume and the purity of the sound as they did this night. Youthful pianist Matt Baker carried a considerable responsibility. He demonstrated sympathy, understanding and strength in his readings of Basie’s lucid, unadorned, style.

Grahame Conlon reprised the relaxed style that earned guitarist Freddie Greene the sobriquet of The Lizard, and his place in the band for most of five decades until Basie’s death in 1984.

For the rest Elizabeth Carthew blew stylish trumpet and flugelhorn, and powered through vocals on This Madness Called Love and The Lady is a Tramp.

For the rest Natalie Morrison’s bass and John’s drums laid out the beat and the horns moaned, wailed and shouted wonderfully appropriately individually and in concert, including the reeds of Anita Thomas - What a night!