Elvis Costello Live @ The Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC.

ELVIS COSTELLO & THE SUGARCANES LIVE @ THE MALKIN BOWL, AUG. 24^TH, 2009.

Sometimes you feel lucky to call Vancouver home – this was clearly the sentiment when Elvis Costello bound onto the stage at the Malkin Bowl greeted by rapturous applause. The setting could not have been more pristine, as the sun set over the city’s most enchanting alfresco venue, surrounded by the lush greenery of Stanley Park. It also provided the perfect ambiance for the ‘down-home’ acoustic groove featured on Costello’s recent album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane.

This isn’t the first time that Costello has used the tradition of Americana for inspiration. His 1981 release Almost Blue embraced Country roots and the T Bone Burnett-produced King Of America in 1986 built on the novelty, but never before has Costello seemed so at home playing this music. Major credit goes to the star-studded string band that appeared with him on stage. Jerry Douglas is a Grammy-winning virtuoso on Dobro and Lapsteel, Jim Lauderdale a celebrated singer and songwriter in his own right, and the remaining lineup – Mike Compton on Mandolin, Stuart Duncan on Fiddle, Dennis Crouch on Double-Bass and Jeff Taylor on Accordion – all deserve special accolades.

Elvis Costello & The Sugarcanes (L-R - Mike Compton, Declan Patrick MacManus, Dennis Crouch, Jim Lauderdale & Jeff Taylor

Customarily bespectacled and donning a blue-striped suit and striking purple fedora, Costello and the Sugarcanes set the tempo with a lively rendition of Junior Parker’s classic “Mystery Train” which sparked an enthusiastic response from the crowd.  The singer replied, “It’s good to be home!” acknowledging the city that he’s called home since his marriage to Jazz chanteuse and BC-native Diana Krall.

Propelled by Costello’s all-star string band, the eclectic batch of songs that make up the recent Secret, Profane & Sugarcane provided highlights throughout the evening. “Down Among The Wines And Spirits” tells the tale of a broken down former-champion prize fighter and showcased Costello’s skills as a songwriter. As did, “Complicated Shadows”, a song he wrote for Johnny Cash. Some of the new material that Costello originally composed for the Royal Danish Opera, celebrating author Hans Christian Anderson, could have sounded cryptic, but Costello illuminated the subject matter by setting the scene for each song making “She Handed Me A Mirror” and “Red Cotton” memorable performances.

On the eve of his 55^th birthday, Costello chose to celebrate his youth by revisiting and reimagining some of the early classics. This satisfied the diehard fans who have followed the singer ever since he exploded onto the British new wave scene in the late 1970s. Highlights included “Blame It On Cain”, “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes” and a countrified version of “Everyday I Write The Book”, complete with soaring five-part harmony by his bandmates. Reflecting on his birthday, Costello joked that sharing his birthdate with Ivan the Terrible, Sean Connery and Billy Ray Cyrus was “conclusive proof that astrology is bulls–t.”

Keeping with the Americana theme and what his talented band does best, Costello interspersed covers of several choice Country standards that showed off the close harmony provided by talented singer Jim Lauderdale. Merle Haggard’s “Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down” was given a straight-ahead reading and George Jones’ “The Race Is On” received a revved up Bluegrass accompaniment. Most intriguing of all was a rousing take on the Grateful Dead’s “Friend Of The Devil” which delighted the crowd.

Elvis Costello revelled in his homecoming treating the crowd to an inspired set that eclipsed two hours and a couple dozen songs. When he returned to the stage for a series of encores, the real fun started when the band turned Costello’s “Alison” and “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, And Understanding” into an inspired back-porch jamboree.

The Monterey Quartet

This is the kind of intriguing ‘super-group’ of musicians that tickles your ear long before the first notes kiss the air – a crescendo of anticipation counted down the days until their performance at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Eric Harland form the quintessential modern jazz quartet – a group of profound musicians sharing highly individual voices, unlimited expressiveness and all highly talented improvisers and composers. Only one fascinating question begged to be heard – just how these musicians would sound together sharing the stage.

This was a special opportunity to see the Monterey Quartet, since these prolific players are busy leading their own groups with full schedules. Potter is touring concurrently with his explosive Underground quartet featuring Adam Rogers, Craig Taborn and Nate Smith in support of their new release Ultrahang. Holland plays in constantly varied settings including his own quintet and big band (Chris Potter is alumni of both). Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s 2008 release Avatar explores the “new tendencies” of a quintet of dynamic young musicians after focusing on his trio for most of the prior decade. Eric Harland is one of the most in-demand percussionists around today, having recently recorded with Charles Lloyd, the SF Jazz Collective, Joshua Redman and on Holland’s own 2007 Sextet recording Pass It On.

In September, 2007, the Monterey Quartet convened on the summer festival circuit, rehearsed four times at a hotel and made their unforgettable debut at the 50^th Anniversary on the Monterey Jazz Festival (available on the Monterey Jazz Festival label and highly recommended). When they took the stage at the Centre in Vancouver, Holland revealed this was only the quartet’s fifth gig together and they appeared primed for the evening’s festivities – the charged audience that filled the room responded with an enthusiastic greeting.

What became resoundingly clear before the quartet was halfway through its first number, Eric Harland’s “Treachery”, was that this group was not interested in restraint; but were fully committed to improvising an onslaught of rhythmically stunning music and exploring some adventurous compositions by all its members. The quartet blazed out of the starting blocks with Harland’s progressive modal funk tune – perfect for digging in. Rubalcaba’s solo becoming increasingly animated, driven by a rhythm section falling instantly into a searing groove. Chris Potter’s bludgeoning staccato phrases raised the intensity level, while Harland sounded like a fusion of Tony Williams and Elvin Jones.

Chris Potter’s “Minotaur” began with a drum solo by Harland building rhythmic suspense alternating between his floor toms and crisp rim shots. The tune suddenly shifted down tempo segueing into an almost dub-like section with a hypnotic bass line by Holland and Potter improvising the theme. Potter generated an endless flow of ideas in his solo accompanied by Rubalcaba’s increasingly complex voicings underneath. The pianist was instrumental to the quartet, adding broad strokes of colourful harmony, ornate figures and sometimes a Cuban touch to his creative comping.

Dave Holland began his own “Step To It” with an extended bass intro highlighting his melodic nature before taking full flight. Potter’s searing solo climaxed with a series of blistering arpeggios driving the rhythm section with it. Eric Harland stepped hard, his epic polyrhythmic assault driven by scintillating rolls on his snare and toms reaching a magnitude that challenged the hardest rock solo (maybe John Paul Jones’ in “Moby Dick”). With the crowd worked into a frenzy of applause, Holland added: “What about Harland on Drums!” If any one member stole the show, it may have been Eric Harland with a couple masterful solos displaying his deft rhythmic skills throughout the evening.

The next two tunes showcased the compositional skills of pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. In the sublime bolero “Otra Mirada”, Chris Potter introduced the haunting melody, but the spotlight fell squarely on the pianist’s nostes. Rubalcaba’s playing always has an air of sophistication and his solo was refined, yet soulful, gradually exploring the fringes of the song’s harmonic structure. This tune definitely reflected the pianist’s compositional stylings.

In contrast, “50” was a funky excursion that sounded more reminiscent of Herbie Hancock’s Blue Note recordings. Rubalcaba again shined in this piece, pushing the tonality yet anchored in the groove driven by Harland’s relentless pulse. He dazzled with Cuban panache and percussive, dissonant two-handed block chords. Potter thrives in these grooves and his solo built steam until his churning sax wailed and screeched until the final bars.

The song that raised the roof at the Centre was Chris Potter’s “Ask Me Why” – a cryptic song title answered by some explosive playing by the Quartet. Potter’s edgy staccato in the opening vamp set the tone, driven by Harland’s propulsive attack. It’s hard to think of a horn player in more total command of his instrument than Potter these days. His muscular solo reached feverish heights. Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s own exhilarating foray driven hard by the rhythm section with Holland pushing each beat to the fore. The punches in the closing vamp verged on combustible, ignited by Eric Harland’s final knockout solo.

After an extended standing ovation by the exuberant crowd, the Quartet returned for an encore with Dave Holland introducing his own “Veil Of Tears.” The exotic ballad began with a bass solo coloured with Middle Eastern hues with Holland exploring the upper register of the bass, mixing in some strummed chords and Harland adding shimmering brushed cymbals. Potter added the mysterious melody with a seductive tone with Rubalcaba’s dark flourishes lurking in the shadows. This song was another example of Holland’s exemplary songwriting.

In an NPR interview, Chris Potter commented that these are “some of my favourite musicians to listen to” and spoke of the “special chemistry” between the members even though they have not performed extensively together. Undoubtedly, the Monterey Quartet’s musical alchemy conjured an unforgettable highlight at this year’s Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

Fans that turned up at Tom Lee music store on Granville St. were treated to a rare experience Saturday afternoon, when pianist Hiromi Uehara attended a free workshop to discuss her musical evolution, her band Sonicbloom and to entertain a range of questions from the enthusiastic audience that jammed the intimate theatre to capacity (a prelude to her sold out performance at the Vancouver Jazz Festival on Saturday evening).

In concert, Hiromi has a growing reputation as an animated improviser whose physical style and commitment to the moment, can leave audiences both delirious and energized by a whirlwind of music. So this was a special opportunity to hear and learn a little more about the artist behind the keyboard. In person, Hiromi proved to be utterly charming, generous and engaging with a quirky sense of humour – all qualities that are translated poetically in her music.

Hiromi

She set the tone with an extended joyous improvisation that spanned the keys, filled with dazzling runs, stride anecdotes and percussive jabs before plunging hands-first into the baby grand and beating out some catchy bass figures from inside the piano’s inner sanctum. She later revealed the tune was called “Pâte a Choux” (French for Cream Puff) – a tasty musical offering that will hopefully land on an upcoming album soon.

Although her music is often fuelled by elements of fusion and rock, she is equally rooted in the Jazz tradition – conjuring the spirit of Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson with impressive displays of nimble-fingered melodic invention and a muscular rhythmic attack. When asked to describe some of her influences, Hiromi offered a diverse list ranging from ambient dance music to progressive rock, musicians from Jeff Back to King Crimson. When the house lights mysteriously flickered, she quickly added Michael Jackson to her list, getting a good laugh from the crowd.

When it comes to musical boundaries there are none for Hiromi – an audience question she decided to answer by performing another piece. “Pachelbel’s Canon” began with the universal melody we all recognize, but was first gently teased by a sharp or flat which pricked the ears. Then the rhythm subtly lagged, staggered and was nudged forward again, progressively more displaced from the original meter. Increasingly complex rhythmic patterns stacked one on top of another and the melody now whirled in harmonic flux until Pachelbel’s masterpiece became a Hiromi invention, yet the original melody always remained within earshot.

Asked about her musical roots, Hiromi explained that no one in her family had a musical background – her father is notary, mother a housewife, while her grandparents are green tea farmers. When she was seventeen, she raced home to excitedly tell her parents she had met and played with Jazz legend Chick Corea. Her parents did not have the faintest clue who he was – but after a little research and careful listening they were duly impressed.

Hiromi’s first piano teacher had a profound early influence on her development and although lessons began with classical technique, they frequently ended by swinging a little Handel (which Hiromi happily demonstrated for a minute or two).

Then, as Hiromi describes, she began jamming with Ray Brown and Herb Ellis, or with drummer Roy Haynes, or a host of other Jazz luminaries. But she quickly concedes that these memorable jam sessions were accomplished by adjusting the channels of her stereo, so she could dig in, and play along with her idols while gradually mastering the jazz vocabulary that she displays so effortlessly today.

After a period studying law in Japan, Hiromi decided to follow her muse, venturing to America where she attended Berkeley School of Music. Once again the stars were aligned for Hiromi, when an assignment she handed in to her Jazz arranging professor begged him to ask ‘who’ was playing piano on the recording. When Hiromi revealed that it was she, the professor insisted on passing it along to a good friend named Ahmad Jamal, the legendary pianist, who became another ardent fan and mentor for the young musician. Hiromi feels entirely blessed that her chosen path has fatefully led to friendships with both Chick Corea and Ahmad Jamal – two venerable jazz musicians.

When it comes to the repertoire featured on her recent album Beyond Standard, Hiromi explains that these are all songs that she has ‘lived’ with for some time. An audience member asks specifically about her arrangement for the standard “Caravan” and Hiromi likens her approach to redecorating an apartment or living room. You are intimately familiar with each piece of furniture and sometimes it’s fun to find new ways to redesign your living space. An ear-bending groove that runs through her take on the Jeff Beck classic “Led Boots” comes from a divot on her well-worn vinyl copy of the song that skips at a certain spot –  Hiromi ingenuously includes the rhythmic ‘skip’ in her version. The crack band Sonicbloom also features the immense talents of David Fiuczynski on guitar, Tony Grey on bass and Martin Valihora on drums.

In person, Hiromi is brimming with life and ideas; just like her music; in the early stages of a career that is already engaging listeners of all ages, many new to the diverse sounds of Jazz in the 21^st century. Poised at the keyboard, Hiromi is an animated, creative and vigorous player, with flawless technique, but never one to exploit it at the expense of exploring new ideas. For an encore, someone asks if she’ll play “The Tom And Jerry Show” (her fiendish take on the theme from the original cartoon classic) and she generously obliges. Listening to Hiromi’s version is like watching the cartoon on fast-forward – reanimating the cat and mouse antics with new twists and turns, bouncing from ragtime romps to stride escapades and exhilarating chromatic chase scenes up and down the breadth of the piano.

Hiromi’s philosophy shines through her words and music: “I try to play every show, every day, like it’s my first and last.”