A BUZZING crowd gathered at The Street for a double bill of contemporary Australian jazz composition. The music was innovative, at times challenging and ultimately an uplifting opening of what promises to be a diverse and enjoyable winter jazz festival.
First up was Gian Slater’s “Māyā”. This piece is named after a Sanskrit word that questions the illusion that our identities are distinct from the rest of the universe.
It was performed by four singers, piano and percussion. The tightly arranged choral singing used no words but rather syllables that were evocative of many languages without being any one. The sound was accomplished, controlled and at times mesmerising, but the performance style was insular and the players acknowledged neither the audience nor each other. This lent a coldness, a lack of visual interest, and a feeling of exclusion rather than connection to the piece.
Next was trumpeter, Miroslav Bukovsky’s “Black and White”, a new work that responds to Canberra’s unique environment of birdsong. A seven-piece band and a recorded soundtrack of local magpies rendered aural homage to our seasons, parks and streets.
Some of Canberra’s finest and favourite musicians enveloped the audience in a playful, wordless conversation where the magpies tones and motifs flew from one instrument to another. The piece moved back and forth from birdsong to engaging, jazzy soundscapes of our city, giving a sense of time and seasons passing .
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