jazzpiano.co.nz

http://www.elsewhere.co.nz/music/4149/standard-funk-ensemble-happenstance-jazzpianoconz/

Vocalist Georgia Woods here — who may have been the prime mover behind this project — has been an actress and stage performer for a number of years (Gilbert and Sullivan in Australia, member of the Auckland Theatre Company) and performed the highly successful Highlights — Blondes and Their Songs.

She is something of a trooper too and sings in restaurants, bars and in cabaret.

But for this project she puts on her soul-funk clothes for an interesting collection of songs which neatly (and mostly) sidestep the expected and offer instead Sting’s Englishman in New York, Bill Withers’ Use Me, Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together given a smart Latin shuffle, Aretha‘s Since You’ve Been Gone, Rainy Night in Georgia and Prince’s Purple Rain.

Yes, You Are the Sunshine of My Life is here too and, curiously in this company, My Funny Valentine.

What impresses as much as her sassy or sensitive delivery is the roll call of young New Zealand jazz talent on display, and which is given plenty of room to move: Chris Mason-Battley is the musical arranger for the large rhythm section, Chris Neilson arranged the horns on a few tracks, guitarist Dixon Nacey guests on the Prince song, percussion player Miguel Fuentes is here for three songs . . .

The vocals were produced by Steve Garden (best known for his work for the Rattle andRattle Jazz imprints) and the album is wrapped in a period-funk cover designed by Mardo El-Noor which is very attractive.

Keyboard player Mark Baynes plays excellent solos or is discreet in support (his organ part on Save Your Love For Me manages to be both) and delivers a fine arrangement for You Are The Sunshine, the horns shine, the rhythm section brings the funk (the bubbling Use Me) and out front Woods can get inside a ballad lyric (Save Your Love, the steamy Evenin’ with a subtle echo adding a suggestion of an illicit encounter in a back alley, Funny Valentine which comes with sinuous saxophone).

Not everything works quite so well — the Aretha comes off more of a show tune than a soul belter, that echo outstays its welcome for the Prince by placing it too close to the original — but taken all of a piece this is some pretty sprightly and/or sensitive collection, and actually errs more towards the sensual than the soul strut the group’s name might suggest.

As part of my doctoral studies I have almost finished transcribing several FULL solos as played by Brad Mehldau.  I am happy to email these to anyone who is interested if you drop me an email, maybe we could do a swap?

Knives Out – Day Is Done, 2005
River Man – Art Of The Trio 5, 2001
Sky Turning Grey – Highway Rider, 2010
How Long Has This Been Going On? – Art Of The Trio 5, 2001
Anything Goes – Anything Goes, 2004
Someone To Watch Over Me – Live In Tokyo, 2006
Tres Palabras – Anything Goes, 2004
I’ll Be Seeing You, Art Of The Trio 4, 1999
Exit Music For a Film (full solo) - Art Of The Trio 4, 1999

PRESS RELEASE

King Kapisi Release Party

Thursday 24th November 2011

Cosh Bar, 153 Ponsonby Road, Auckland

Doors Open 8pm (arrive at 7pm to register for the PS3 Tekken Hybrid Battles)

Band 10pm

Entry Free

You are cordially invited to join King Kapisi and his seven piece band The Overstayers celebrate the release of two music videos and brand new magazine Overdue created by his clothing label, Overstayer. Supporting this momentous event, RedBull will be entertaining people with the Hummer Soundsystem on the street pre-performance and Playstation 3 will be running Tekken Hybrid Battles with the winner taking home a PS3 Console. While in the Cook Islands earlier this year, Kapisi shot two music videos. Ecoconscious Hip-Hop reggae track Salvation was released in February. The second clip shot on the beautiful island of Rarotonga was Clap Your Hands featuring the infectious warmth of the locals and visitors to the island as well as Miss South Pacific 2010-11, Joyana Meyer.

The second video clip to be released on the night is the anthemic Won’t Stop, Can’t Stop’ featuring Teremoana Rapley with the beat produced by the Beat collective known as B.A.S (Better Ask Somebody) consisting of the talents of David Atai (Nesian Mystik beatmaker), Tenei Kesha (beatmaker for Scribe’s last album) and Mase Mihinnick (MTC beatmaker). Rapley’s vocals have featured on a number on Kapisi’s tracks over the rappers career, however this is the first time she has appeared on a music video with Kapisi in over 12 years. Also being launched on the night is Overdue Magazine. Initially the idea was to create a look book for Overstayer Clothing. However, the end product of hundreds of hours of labour is a magazine featuring creative heads from around the world that either Kapisi, Rapley or one of the writers who are also their friends are familiar with or related to. Not your usual magazine, content reigns over advertisers. This will be the fourth time King Kapisi and The Overstayers have played together in New Zealand since making the trek to the UK earlier this year to play at one of the country’s largest outdoor events, The Glastonbury Festival. The Overstayers is made up of standalone artists. Covering drums and vocals is Dee Letoa (Cydel), guitar and vocals Te Whainoa Te Wiata (Cornerstone Roots), on the keys is Mark Baynes (Ironic Trio) and Phil Crown (Ardijah), Pos Mavaega (ex Christchurch based Pacific Underground Arts Company) and Teremoana Rapley on turntables and vocals. All of this goodness is happening at The Cosh Bar on Thursday night from 8pm onwards with the band hitting the stage at 10pm. Do come on down and celebrate with us, we would love to see you there!

Paradox of Opposites – Mark Baynes

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw

Studying paradoxes is important to the development of a creative mind. A true paradox presents a perceptual enigma, what seems to be real cannot be, and yet it is. To study paradoxes allows us to reach beyond what appears to be obvious. Reaching beyond the obvious is the essence of creativity. – Enchanted Mind

This piece entitled ‘Paradox of Opposites’ is a concept that juxtaposes the rational, subservient, organic and intuitive musical minds, with opposing forces of defiance, chaos and audacity. This contrarian interplay and sustenance of conflicting ideas is paramount to the significance of this work, and hopefully its performance will exemplify a true dichotomy found in the human spirit.

Mark Baynes

Performance 6pm at KMC, Shortland Street, 18th November 2011 as part of the inaugural iiii festival hosted by Vitamin S.

Performance Guide

Sustained Contrarian Ideas
Repetition and Development
Rationale and Intuition
Loud and Soft
High and Low
Dense and Sparse
Musical Polar Opposites
All and None of the Above

Vitamin S presents
‘EXTRA DIGITS’
…as part of the iiii festival…

prepare for music for prepared and unprepared pianos!

Hermione Johnson
Glenda Keam
Mark Baynes
Jeff Henderson
Jim Gardner
Chris O’Connor
&
special guest Cor Fuhler from Amsterdam

Featuring collaborations from some of NZ’s finest alongside special overseas guest artists including Cor Fuhler and others from the iiii festival.

An early evening (6pm) performance featuring multiple pianists and guests playing simultaneously on multiple pianos.

The programme consists of a number of pieces devised, composed and improvised including a new work by Andrew McMillan specially written for this group which involves the use and abuse of a decrepit, old, dysfunctional upright piano.

Coming this week to Auckland! The inaugural iiii Festival in association with Vitamin S.

http://www.iiiimusic.blogspot.com/

See the link below for details of all local and visiting artists, dates, venues and times…

Artists are coming from as far as Europe, Australia, and all over NZ.  Venues include the wine cellar, audio foundation hub, creative jazz club, and the Kenneth Myers Centre.

This news article was broadcast on the 3rd November after two full days of shooting King Kapisi’s new music video ‘Crush’.  Cameos included Che Fu, Rakaa (Dilated Peoples USA) and special guest ‘all black’ Jerome Kaino! It was an amazing experience, check out my hip hop moves .

MORAG ATCHISON | MARK BAYNES

Postgraduate Seminars

VENUE: Room 611, Level 6, Fisher International Building, 18 Waterloo Quadrant, Auckland

Tuesday 18 October, 11.30am
Morag Atchison

Vibrato – Friend or Foe to the Singer?

Mark Baynes

Brad Mehldau’s Stylistic Innovations and Their Implications for Jazz Piano Performance

This talk will consist of an introduction to Brad Mehldau and his music, exemplify some idiosyncrasies found within his improvisational approach and demonstrate the beginnings of a research methodology with an emphasis on artistic self-development.

POSTGRADUATE SEMINARS: Admission is free. Bookings not required.

New Zealand roots and reggae and hip hop artists Tahuna Breaks, Cornerstone Roots and King Kapisi will perform live on the Main Stage at Auckland’s Queens Wharf ahead of the the big match of the day.

Music on the Main Stage features some great Kiwi music leading into the big matches of the day on Auckland’s Queens Wharf.  Make Auckland’s Queens Wharf the centre of your plans for Rugby World Cup 2011. It’s New Zealand’s largest official Fanzone, right on the city’s waterfront, and will screen all 48 matches live on big screens. The Cloud at Queens Wharf will showcase the best of New Zealand business and industry ingenuity with a series of engaging events. RWC 2011 Fanzone – Shed 10 is the heart and soul of the Fanzone, with the focus on Rugby but plenty of entertainment, food, drink and festival activity.