Review: Jazz Supreme at Lyric’s Unground

Jazz Supreme at Lyric’s Underground
Friday, July 28, 2023

A wet winter’s night last Friday saw RTRFM present Jazz Supreme, a five band bill of Perth jazz artists at Lyric’s Underground. In a diverse and balanced program, each ensemble bought something different to the stage, complementing each other in their range of jazz specialties and common commitment to high quality music.

The night began with Umbra Trio—Holli Scott (vocals), Pete Evans (drums), Dom Barrett (electric guitar)—presenting two long and haunting atmospheric soundscapes. Electronic and esoteric, improvised and organic, it was an arresting start to the show. 

Each musician explored the abstract boundaries of their musicality, the point at which the formal structures blur into pure sound. Utilising loops, reverb and echo, Barrett built a stylish harmonic base around which his ensemble-mates circled. Evans played an array of small percussion instruments as well as the kit—toms on cymbals featuring prominently. 

But it was Scott’s vocalisations that bought the music together. She swooped and soared in a non-verbal but highly emotional way, creating a sonic language, the voice as pure instrument. She broke the first piece with some spoken word poetry, an ode to our changing and troubled times. ‘Things are not as they were.’ The contrast between the two was stark and effecting. In the second piece she resorted at times to a vocal harmoniser to add a ghostly electronic edge. It was a brilliant set.

They were followed by the young, all-male ensemble, The Ambrosia Sextet. Led dexterously by saxophonist Aaron Caldwell, with Lindsay Bush on trombone, Eli Metcalf on keys, Bryn Larkin on guitar, Ben Anderson on bass and William Wallace on drums, they wound their way through four eclectic covers. 

Warm, rich and melodic, though not afraid to occasionally venture into cacophony, their tight playing was underpinned by a good natured sense of fun. Metcalf’s keys provided a solid grounding that was enhanced by the strong rhythm section. Larkin’s guitar solos bought a flash of virtuosity while the devilishly harmonising horns added a warm and mellow texture. 

The standouts were Metcalf’s keys on Green Park and Larkin’s lead on Capricorn Lady. The Ambrosia’s enthusiastic stage presence was delightful but had a slightly dishevelled edge that will no doubt wear off with more stage time.

The Kristian Borring Trio, featuring Borring (guitar), Nick Abbey (double bass) and a returning Pete Evans (drums), were more solemn and seasoned. A hard core guitar trio with a twist of jazz fusion, they played four of Borring’s highly sophisticated originals. Mature performers, each musician stuck to their strict jazz form in a very tight and virtuoso set. 

Borring is a diverse guitarist, his composition style ranges from the lyrical, almost classical-guitar chord style of First Summer to spidery runs and chord progressions that lap up and down the fretboard. Abbey and Evans each soloed brilliantly, proving themselves not only a powerful rhythm section but worthy foils to Borring’s guitar.

In keeping with the ever permutating nature of Perth jazz community, Borring remained on stage for the rest of the night, providing versatile and varied electric guitar for the final two acts.

In a timely change of style, Georgia Aué next took to the stage to perform six original songs selected from her three albums. Her vox and keys were enriched, along with Borring, by Nick Abbey again on bass, Alex Reid on drums and, for three features mid-set, Jessica Carlton on trumpet. Aué (pronounced ‘Way’) has a deep love of Brazilian music, and it's the form that most inspires her.

In this vein she opened the set with the predominantly scat-style Come to Brazil. In strict syncopated tandem, Borring played the same lines that Aué sang. It was impressive, sharp and textured. She returned twice to the general Brazilian style—Winter Sun and Mayo ja Capo—but broke them up with three gorgeous, slow ballads: Tonight, Little Bird and Little Me. 

A relaxed performer, Aué commanded the stage with her calm presence, rich honeyed voice and fluid fingers. After the run of predominantly male artists, her feminine grace was refreshing. This was further enhanced by Carlton’s three superb trumpet features.

To close the show, Jessica Carlton returned to the stage with her Quintet. In another shuffle of the pack, Reid and Borring were joined by Alistair Peel (bass) and Jonah Padmanabham (keys). They played four Carlton originals: Maybe, Without Words, Birth of a Mother and Eugenie. Carlton eschews dramatic flourishes in favour of sultry, sustained trumpet lines broken by precise trills. Although not apparently complex, this measured, effective and lyrical style is unique among Perth’s jazz horn players.

But the wonder of her music lies in the tension between this smooth surface and the frenetic currents underneath. Each piece contained at least one moment of frantic energy where the bass, guitar, keys and drums were running full tilt at odds with each other. It was arresting, and in a weird way very delicate. 

The yellow guernsey goes to Josiah Padmanabham. Hunched over his keyboard, tripping off into an intense polyrhythmic meditation, the ghost of Thelonious Monk seemed to hover over him. But these more fractious moments were balanced by gentle melodic passages that, in a different fashion, took the show back to the atmospheric soundscapes with which it began. It was a complex and fitting way to bring us all gently back to earth.

A long night’s playing, 7 to 11:30, at its peak the room was packed but only the hard core remained for this gorgeous final set. It was a pity as the climax was well worth the wait. Chris Wheeldon at RTR is to be complimented for organising and programming such an excellent gig. Hopefully he and RTR will do it again soon.

IAN LILBURNE

Photos by Alan Holbrook