bentenlaughing

  Jan: my first memory of you Judy is playing in sessions; you were with Tommy Tycho right? What were those years like for you? Were they predominantly you playing, doing a lot of session work and doing your own gigs as well? Judy: I spent something like eight years pretty well non-stop in the Television Studios and the amount of actual night time playing say jazz work I used to have average 1 2 nights a week.  That was all though. Most of my work, was studio work and I didn’t go near a club until I was expecting my daughter and I had my first foray into the clubs with Barry Crocker.  (Interruption of sexy voice French waiter and friend of Judy’s on tape) Jan: So those years were really like you were into that studio thing.  Judy: Great learning, great learning years, because I'd never ever done anything like that, that was the first time in my life and then when I was expecting Lisette. I was playing and went with Barry Crocker, I was his MD musical director aro...

  Jan:  What about development of craft? Judy:  Do you mean that whole business of combining awareness of technique, awareness of phrasing, awareness of...the musical ways to move throughout a progression, rather than the clever ways, the overall architecture of the piece.  To me that's a very important ingredient. I think it's vital to be aware of and have your students become aware of the importance of looking at the overall structure rather than going along beat by beat, bar by bar, till you get to the end. To try and develop a way of looking at a piece in its entirety, so that when you're improvising for instance, you can retain what you've already played, it's as 'though you've recorded it.  You've got you've got your little tape recorder in the back of your head and you can retain a memory of what you've played, what you're playing now and where you're going to so that you're building from what you've started with and you br...

Em wanted to be able to play outside the changes, but the music was becoming a mathematical jigsaw, and so the pieces she kept gave her a clue to some of the meanings she was looking for. She was full of limitations. She witnessed several musicians who seemed to be free of the chains she wore. They were not only steeped in history but were creating it. Their purpose was clear. They were into making music and were also big on communication and making themselves available for you to get involved at whatever level they required. Em gravitated towards those who had a sense of humour, who made theory fun to do. There was no wasting breath or time. The changes became a shorthand of Roman numerals, like 2, 5, 1. So you could begin to hear clearly the root movements and then get through the scales. Playing the scales or arpeggios, jazz was a busy place to be and Em did her daily workouts diligently. With it came loneliness. The incisive mark Jeanne Lee had left was the opposite. It said inclus...

Fare-welling the gracious and gifted 'Blocko', Ian Boxsom. Ian contributed to two of my first soundscapes 'llenoil' (MD the late and great Tony Ansell) and later Ian added his wizardry to my collaboration with installation artist Sue Callanan for ABC/Fm's The Listening Room, 'Red Rover Crossover'. Thank you Ian for never placing a doubt before me of where we could take those pieces. Forever grateful for your friendship and support. Travel well on the wings of love....my deepest condolences to your family and friends near and far, we all love you and will hold you close to our hearts always.....om mani padma hum om mani padma hum om mani padma hum Janice Slater, December, 2019, Blue Mountains, Australia. If you don't know of Ian's formidable contribution to Australian music, some of the following links will provide you with music to enjoy. Crossfire live @ The Montreux Jazz Festival, the complete set Jim Kelly, Mark Riley, Greg Lyon,...

L to R Wil Sargisson piano, Willy Qua Drums Sax Flute, Maggie, Col Atkinson Bass and Arranger, Al Cesario Drums.  Janice:  Maggie, you're new band is sounding hot, not to mention looking very cool. How did this lineup come about Maggie? Maggie:  About 3 years ago I heard Wil Sargisson and Willy Qua playing with Galapagus Duck and met them after the performance. Col Atkinson I got to know when he was playing at our local jazz club so next time I was offered a gig I contacted them and we have been working together and having a great time ever since. Janice: You have a new album coming out. Where did you record your new CD? Maggie: Lovestreet Studios on the Gold Coast, great studio and an exceptional engineer Scott French. Janice: Hey Maggie, that's great. What's next on the agenda for you and the band? Maggie: Making a video clip for the first single Indigo Eyes, promoting the album ‘Live at Lovestreet’ because we made it to share and we will b...

Jan.s: Peter, can you tell me what the driving force is behind your playing? Peter: One of my motivations was to make a living without doing a boring 40-hour a week day job all my life Jan. Of course, always there is the love of music. I didn't actually start playing till I was 20, but for years before that I was endlessly at the radio listening to any music I could find, Sixties Rock, Jazz, Latin you name it. When I started learning guitar the driving force was to play with others, get into a band. When that happened it was a joy. Jan.s: Who were you learning from Peter? Peter: At first I taught myself, but being into jazz I soon realised I'd taken on a huge task & decided that some tuition would speed things up. My first teacher was Jack Richards at Guitar City. I owe him a lot, great player, great teacher. Later I would take a few lessons from Don Andrews, George Golla and from Antonio Losada for classical guitar. However in jazz, once you hav...

Jan.s: Peter I noticed a post recently of yours on one of your sites mentioning Frank Zappa and my response to you was 'Oh I love Frank...in fact it's so funny you should put this up as I have a reference to one of his songs in a script I'm writing'!!! Peter: One day Jan I'll tell you my Frank Zappa story. I spent some time with him and also played with the guys in his band (including Jean Luc Ponty) in Sydney mid 70s. Frank invited me to his rehearsal the next day....that was a real eye opener!! A musical genius, absolutely no doubt about it...unbelievable talent. Jan.s: Thus begins a journey with the delightful and soulful Peter Boothman...and how he met up with Frank Zappa... Peter, I believe we met in the late '70's when I was working with either Tony Ansell in 'Three's a Crowd' or with Dave Fennell in 'Power Point'...The 1970s and 80s were a great time for jazz in Sydney. Would that be about the time th...

Jan.s: Evie, we go back a long time, back to the 1960s but I want to begin at a later period, in 1980 when you invited me to visit you in Paris. I've an image in mind of both you and I on the Champs Elysees and then squeezing backstage into a tiny dressing room where you were preparing to go on stage...tell us about this place and what you were doing in Paris? Why Paris? Evie: The club you mentioned was called La Villa D'Este.   In 1968 I visited my sister living in Paris to pursue a modelling career and auditioned for a radio/television show called, ‘La Petite Conservatoire’ which had at its healm a formidable Madame Mireille. She invited me to perform on her show regularly and to tour France. These were my first professional singing jobs and the experience and exposure lead me to a woman, Brigitte Bertholier who was a French music publisher. She gave me original songs to sing and almost a decade later when I returned she signed me to CBS Epic label to record ...