``~````~````~``Auckland Serendipity``~````~````~``

'Red Dog' - a very Aussie film

2011-12-12T16:23:00.002+13:00

This week it's movies. I was meant to go to some miserable WW2 death camp thing last week but fortunately manage to bungle my instructions about meeting my friend so we plumped for 'Red Dog'. Not a bad yarn, based on a true story. It's set in West Australia, where the soil is very red and the distances between towns are long. The dog played a great part - They used the same dog for the whole movie, which is quite a feat. Usually there are several interchangeable animals. This dog was amazing. If I wasn't a confirmed cat lover, I'd have found myself at the SPCA uttering words like "I want one just like Red Dog". The bit-part cat was pretty good too - in fact, the dog vs cat fight was the best scene in the movie. Set to 'The Fight' by Cezary Skubiszewski, it was both dramatic and very funny. .

The lead guy a bit too cute and the over-all sentimentality of the film was a tad over the top but it's still a pretty good film. New Zealand films are often fairly heavy handed in the 'this is the emotion you should feel' department. I hope Aussie film makers haven't caught this bug.
(or maybe they've just found out that Aussies need to be told how to feel?)

The music is good, though I'm a bit tired of the ubiquitous Eagle Rock. It fitted the scene but so would alot of other tunes.

Here's the soundtrack list:
Red Dog Intro
Evie - Let Your Hair Hang Down (Part 1) by Stevie Wright
Do The Stomp by The Snowdroppers
Red Dog Road Music by Cezary Skubiszewski
Bom Bom by Daddy Cool
Many Nations by Cezary Skubiszewski
Eagle Rock by Daddy Cool
Jump Into The Fire by Harry Nilsson
Stumblin’ In by Chris Norman & Suzi Quatro
Run You Down by Frankie Mann and Joe Ramirez and his Jumping Jacks
Shadow Boxer by The Angels
Bellissimo by Cezary Skubiszewski and Jimmy Christo
Wooly Bully by Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
Move Over Rover by Billy Hall and his Rhythm Boys
Nancy and John by Cezary Skubiszewski
We Can’t Be Beaten by Rose Tattoo
The Fight by Cezary Skubiszewski
Way Out West by The Dingoes
Let My Love Open the Door by Pete Townshend

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. Maybe next week I'll balance it with 'Puss in Boots', otherwise my 3 felines may never forgive me.

Go see "Red Dog" - take tissues.

Ray Woolf at the Auckland Jazz & Blues club, 23 Nov 2011

2011-11-26T13:58:00.000+13:00

After last week's Fiery Organ at CJC, I decided on something tried and true so took myself off to the Auckland Jazz & Blues Club at the Pt Chevalier RSA. This is a large venue which comfortably holds a couple of hundred bods seated at tables. The stage area is spacious, and even after this, there is room for a dancing. Regrettably, I had a power cut at home all day and I didn't get the camera battery charged so couldn't get pix - Sorry 'bout that, folks.
This evening's entertainment got underway with The Mike Walker Trio
Mike Walker - keyboard,
Pete McGregor - bass/ bass guitar
Bruce King on drums.
This trio picked up the 'Best Band' at The Variety Artists Club November awards night, and I could hear why. Their performance throughout the evening was flawless, very smooth - not a jarring note to be heard. This band has been together for a long, long time. Their introductory numbers were gentle jazz. Later, Bruce swapped his bass for a bass guitar to back Ray Woolf. Now these things both have 4 strings but that's about the only similarity - you need to play differently fingered on the guitar as it has frets but the bass does not. He made it all look so easy.

The band was bathed in coloured light - the strings and drums had warm pinkish hues while the keys were greenish. I'll leave you to imagine that.

Barbie Davidson opened. She is obviously beloved of the patrons and is making a return to the stage parting with 3 fingers. She wore a stylish lacy top with a specially tailored long lacy glove to match - it looked great. Very feminine. Barbie's first number was 'I'm Walking', followed by 'On a Clear Day', a tune made popular by Cleo Laine.

Then a piped light jazz hiatus allowed raffle selling, drinks/food purchasing and general chat. You've seen those TV shows where club patrons sit at their tables with drinks etc while the entertainment proceeds at the front. Well, this was like that. Having tried several tables and being told the seats were saved, I concluded that this was the sort of gig where you need to bring your own cronies.to sit with. I don't give up easily and a pleasant couple let me sit with them. Maybe folks lose that spirit of meeting new people and making new friends as you get older and just want to be with their own friends for a pleasant evening out. Fair enough. This was a mostly 50s+ audience. I was half expecting Winston Peters to pop up!

After quite some time, Ray Woolf appeared and introduced his first number 'You Make Me Feel So Young', launching into it with great gusto.

Full volume and right on tone from the first note - nothing feeble about this 67 year old! He has been on location filming a movie hence his new short-back-and-sides haircut. (Even shorter than in this picture). It suits him - just think Martin Shaw as Judge John Deed with even shorter hair and a slightly thinner face and you'll get a pretty similar image in your head. If you can't, click the link!

Ray gave us 2 30 minute sets, with much reference to singers who had previously sung the numbers and mention of Auckland's past jazz scenes which brought back fond memories. Places I hadn't thought of for years, like 'Montmartre' and 'The Embers', where one smuggled in many an alcoholic beverage concealed in a paper bag, surreptitiously pouring it into purchased soft drinks. Post baby Boomer New Zealanders would never understand the liquor laws of the 60s. I enjoyed my trip down memory lane, and I suspect it would have brought back similar images for a large part of the mostly seniors audience.

Ray gave us a selection of swing numbers, from 'The Sunny Side of the Street' to 'On the Street Where you Live'. Being a bit of a novice when it comes to the proper terms for things, I'd call this Light Jazz. In other words, pleasant songs that everyone senior most most of the words, just slightly jazzed up. Easy listening. Ray is a seasoned performer still at the top of his craft. His voice is robust. He makes good use of all the stage area, delighting the ladies with a foray into the audience with 'The Very Thought of You'. I hope I move as well when I'm 67.

There was much finger and toe tapping and body swaying in the audience. Half a dozen dozen pairs even got up to dance during the 2nd set - those drinks breaks having loosened things up and done a power of good. Some pretty lythe movers amongst them too, with one or two of the pairs even remembering how to rock and roll properly. The ladies loved it all, and the blokes looked like they were pretty pleased with the evening too.

This was an evening where everyone had a good time. Ray had plenty of quips. He wore a dark blue shirt with a tie in the first set, changing to a red open-necked shirt for the second half. His tongue-in-cheek remark was that he was being even-handed, given that it is election week and he wanted to be fair.

If you get the chance, go see Ray Woolf and the Mike Walker trio. I promise you'll have a feel-good time. It might be billed as jazz, but it's at the end of the scale where you will know the tunes, most of the words, and will be without flights of fancy into unknown discords that can make jazz a terrifying challenge.

MICHEL BENEBIG AND SHEM AT CJC AUCKLAND 16 Nov 2011

2011-11-18T10:49:00.005+13:00

They say people change every 7 years. I'm not really due for transmogrification for another 5 months but I like to get a head start sometimes.

Just about everyone who knows me and is into jazz can tell you I am a total jazz Philistine.They shake their heads in sorrow and exchange simultaneously superior and pitying looks.

Have I got a shock for them!

I went to a JAZZ CLUB !!!

I had a wonderful time !!!

I'm going to go again !!!

I decided to take public transport . Train and bus both left at the same time but it's further to walk to the train. Having looked in the mirror (a rare occurence) and being totally shocked, I stopped to apply enhancements, thus missing the train. I took the bus - this would merit a blog all of it's own but suffice it to say there is a good reason why Aucklanders prefer cars. Buses are ghastly! Never again - well not until I am 65 and get my free bus pass! (If the pollies change the retirement age to 67, will this mean those poor sods will have to wait till then to get free local travel?).

I forgot CJC was in a basement so wandered about vaguely until a charming bloke pointed me in the right direction. I've found that if you aren't young and nubile, the best strategy for getting help with all sorts of things is to stop dying your hair and develop a slightly bemused expression. It really works - you should try it. It's just as well I had looked on the internet for the street address or I might not have found the venue at all! There is no big sign on the wall announcing CJC Jazz Club. You go through a pub (1885) filled with lovely young things, then down some stairs at the rear (there is a lift so don't worry if you can't do stairs).

The room was atmospherically lit. Somehow jazz clubs and bright lighting don't go together. Thank God for smoke-free legistlation...

There's a bar and bar food. The pizzas and bowls of chips ('fries' to you foreigners) that I saw folk munching looked very tempting. I'd had dinner so I regretfully passed. It was a struggle. I'm very fond of food!

The natives were friendly.

CJC has very large couches and armchairs plus some bar stools. Arrive early if you want a good seat. Or a seat at all.

After a bit (time enough to down an excellent alcoholic beverage), the gig was introduced by Roger Manins.

The featured trio (from New Caledonia)

Michel Benebig - Nord C2 Combo organ (this page is in French - you will probably need to type Michel Benebig into Google search and get it to translate the page)

Shem - vocals
Johan Cazalas - drums

plus New Zealand guests:

Ben McNicoll - baritone sax,

Pete Barwick - well- known local trumpeter but pix and links proving elusive.

Jimmy Garden - tenor sax.

Sorry folks - the pix of the kiwis were mostly too dark and fuzzy to use, a pity as they were great to watch. Cameras have hissy fits in dim venues with fast moving cats.

Roger made a few quips about French colonialism etc - all in good humour.

Yes, well. I'm not quite sure how to describe it all.

It was worth seeing for Michel's many incredible facial expressions alone. The guy was having a ball! Around half the numbers were instrumentals with Michel as the main focus. Incredibly dynamic. and very loud. It lived up to the billing of 'Fiery'.

Classically trained, Michel tired of playing that style after 18 years and got himself an organ. He taught himself a totally new method, listening to CDs and developing his own style. He has certainly achieved a unique performance style and found a way to get noticed. I asked him about his thoughts on this. His analogy goes like this. "On a trip in the country you pass alot of cows. They all look the same, then you come across a cow that gets your attention - maybe a different colour, or wearing clothes! You have to find a way to stand out from the cows that no-one really notices"'

Michel has several organs at his home in New Caledonia but finds the Nord C2 Combo organ ideal for travel - it only weighs 15kg, packs up compactly and he still achieves a darn good performance on it.

The minute I saw Michel, I was reminded of another friend, Peter Tschirky, who plays bassoon.

Most of the pieces were Michel and Shem's own compositions, some with input from other friends of theirs. Very talented compositions, and displaying many different moods.Michel and Shem have been married for 7 years. They met when Shem was the stand-in singer at a gig in New Caledonia. This can definitely be described as fortunate, both for them and us! They have great musical rapport. A seamless performance.

Shem had a range of vocal styles and some interesting pirrips and other non-word sounds (there is no doubt a proper name to describe this and no doubt someone will want to tell me what it is!)which floated effortlessly.The songs displayed Shem's versatile voice, I suspect her range is much greater than the time allowed. Her post-missionary style New Caledonian dress proved very effective as performance attire. Lots of movement, varied according to the content of the song. Shem introduced each song with an some background of the composition plus an English explanation of the lyrics. This was necessary as the lyrics were in French. My French proved sufficient to follow the gist but schoolgirl French doesn't get you far so I was glad of these explanations.

Shem sang 'Papillon' (Butterfly) at CJC.
.

The drummer, Johan, was intensely in tune with what the other players were doing and they all fed off each other brilliantly. Johan is From France, now resident in New Caledonia.

This drummer was compelling viewing. Very energetic. My brain doesn't really get drums but I'm retraining it!
If you like drum solos, but I think his performance at CJC was alot better than this...

Ben wore a pork pie hat that made you instantly think 'Blues Brothers'. He was having to transpose everything into a different key because he was using his sax as a trombone. This takes some doing on the hoof as not only do you have to change the key signature, but not all the accidentals change. He still looked like he was having a good time. I like musicians who smile and look as if they like being there. The local trio had only 3 hours to familiarise themselves with Michel's excellently clear chord charts but unless you had been told, you wouldn't have guessed. Their timing was spot on.

I didn't see much of Pete and Jimmy as a substantial pillar was obscuring my view. I had to do a contortionist act to see around it - which was well worth doing periodically and my osteopath agrees with me (probably he was imagining $ signs if I get to be a regular here). It was a bit like being in the now demolished Her Majesty's Theatre but the pillars here are alot wider.

I've had a wee think and decided I'm more a visual person than auditory one. Given the choice of listening to something or watching, I'll watch. I totally enjoyed myself and the music was fabulous, but I suspect I need visuals to make jazz work for me. Eye candy sure works at the gym. It works at the jazz club too. Visual jollies come in many forms - appearance, movement, expression etc. There was something for everyone here.

Hopefully, Michel, Shem and Johan will grace our shores again. I'd certainly go see them.

Live well and Prosper (you decide what living well actually means!)

And get out of your comfort zones - especially if you're coming up for that 7 year itch.

Spring has Sprung

2011-08-05T22:05:00.000+12:00

Here we are in the depths of winter and already the spring flowers are here - jonquils, daffodils, freisias and hyacinths.
Which is all very lovely, but what are we going to do when we are flowerless in spring?

Here's a haunting wee piece - from the BBC's "The Shadowline".

This is Emily Parker - 'Pause'.
Here's the lyrics...All very sad.

Who am I now without your love?

Who am I alone in a day that has gone?

Without your love to return upon

I'm a featherless bird in a sky so absurd

Why oh why's there so much movement

When all I long for is to lay down in love's pause

And dream I know something of truth

Oh hide me deeper in your peace further

And lose me in this greed i've found in your need.

Wittering and Twittering and Portishead

2011-07-21T12:58:00.000+12:00

When I started writing in 2005 hardly anyone was writing a blog and it was quite hard to put it all together. You had to know how to write script and how to add it. It had an intellectually satisfying feel about it.
Now it's all done for you. Every man and his dog (cats have much more sense) witters at you. And if they aren't wittering they're twittering.
Most of it is mind-numbingly awful. Who cares that if some airhead got a blow-wave or are having their toes painted as they type. Does Joe's new chainsaw move you to tears?

So far there is nothing I want to tell the world. So I'm not.

When I do think of something - you'll be the first to know.

Now I'm going for a snooze - I'm imparting this highly personal information because I just KNOW you care. Deeply. I feel your interest in my every move.. I felt I just had to tell you,knowing you'll respect this confidence and treat it with the reverence it deserves!.

Here's a clip to ease the anxiety of separation I know you'll feel while I'm away. It has nothing to do with snoozing, blogging, tweeting or anything really. It got much airplay some years ago when it was the theme for the British TV show "The Vice".

It's Portishead - "Nobody Loves Me"

I just like it.