Archived · Jazz and Beyond · Jazz · 4 min read
Todd Hardy's High Five
Todd Hardy's High Five 1. ROY HARGROVE, MICHAEL BRECKER, HERBIE HANCOCK - University of Southern California, 2001. This was one of those amazing gigs…
This date is the archive capture date; the original publication date was unavailable.
Historical article recovered from a Wayback capture dated 2018-02-24.
1. ROY HARGROVE, MICHAEL BRECKER, HERBIE HANCOCK - University of Southern California, 2001.
This was one of those amazing gigs that you chance upon when travelling overseas. In 2001 I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks in the US dedicated to studying with some great players and listening to as much music as I possibly could.
After spending a day being very inspired by Wayne Bergeron the amazing lead trumpet player I somehow navigated my rental car through the crazy streets of LA to USC to hear this phenomenal gig. Hargrove, Brecker and Hancock were joined by the fantastic John Patitucci and Brian Blade for this gig which was a tribute to Miles and Coltrane.
The musicianship of each player was unquestionable, however what blew me away was the unspoken communication and raw energy of the ensemble. This particular gig was near the end of an extensive tour the group had undertaken and the audience at USC was spoilt by hearing such amazing musicians playing so well together with unbelievable energy.
2. GERRY WELDON – Venue 505, 2011
This was one of those fantastic gigs which you hear about via the grapevine. Harry Connick Jr was in town and his “Boss” tenor player Gerry Weldon from New York was going to doing a gig at Sydney’s 505.
It was a Sunday night, 505 was packed and I was sitting right in front of the band in the front row. As far as I remember the band was Gerry, Andrew Dickeson, John Harkins and a killer NY bass player who was also out with Harry Connick.
Gerry has the fattest, most solid sound I’ve heard and he happily aimed his horn at different sections of the room to give everyone a taste of his massive swinging sound. Did I mention swinging? Because he swung his backside off at this gig – fantastic and inspiring old-school boss tenor!
3. STEVIE WONDER – Acer Arena, 2008
I hate to admit, that when I first heard that Stevie Wonder was coming to play in Sydney in 2008 I thought he may have passed his prime and hesitated on buying tickets. He played 2 gigs at the Acer Arena on a Monday and Tuesday night.
After not buying tickets, I woke up on Tuesday morning to hear and read amazing reviews of the Monday night gig – people were raving . and tickets were still available for the second show.
I quickly jumped on line to buy tickets to one of the best shows I have seen. Stevie was in fine form playing and singing all of those tunes he is known for, as well as a few that I had forgotten he had written.
There was no flashy show, no lighting effects, not rotating stages, and no smoke machines, just a fantastic band with Stevie out the front playing and singing the bejeezus out of it.
4. MINGUS BAND – Fez Bar NYC, July 1997
As soon as I finished my Jazz degree at the Sydney Con I couldn’t wait to get to New York to experience first hand what I had heard about this Jazz Mecca.
On a Thursday night in July 1997 I visited 380 Lafayette St and stepped down into the Fez bar to hear the Mingus band do its thing. It was a wild night of groove, blues, dissonance, mass improvisation and above all – energy. This band had the most amazing energy as an ensemble with extraordinary solos from Craig Handy on Tenor/Soprano and Ingrid Jensen on trumpet (sitting in that night). It was not only the fantastic music which grabbed me this night, it was the great scene of a buzzing club full of punters feeding of this amazing music.
5. TOM BAKER CHICAGO SEVEN – Strawberry Hills Hotel 1991
When I was studying music at High school I was lucky to have the most supportive parents who not only shuttled me between band rehearsals and school concerts but also took me to Sydney from Port Macquarie to see musicals, shows and gigs. When I was 16, on the recommendation of Peter Locke my parents took me along to the Strawberry Hills Hotel to see Tom Baker. I already knew of Tom and had a copy of his album “Absolutely Positively”, but to see this band swinging like crazy in this old pub was fantastic. I clearly remember Paul Furniss on Clarinet, Don Heap on Double Bass and Pat Qua on piano. I listened intently for the first 2 sets and after talking with Tom in the break I “sat in” with the band in the last set.
A vey swinging band full of great musicians, playing great tunes to an appreciative audience and the first time I met and was inspired by the legendary Tom Baker.
