Jazz Rebounds: Auckland opens

Now where were we?

The last live gig that I attended was just before the level 3 lockdown. It seems like forever ago now, but in truth, it was only in March.

I can remember every moment of the last pre lockdown gig as I savored the memories during my period of isolation. As the weeks rolled into months, I managed the interregnum well, but the absence of live music still cut deep. I missed its sweet voice in my ear, so music, please never leave me again.

Now, in the closing days of June, here I was, strolling down Karangahape Road; the home of Auckland’s indie music and the Creative Jazz Club. Now, with no community transmission of the virus in New Zealand, live improvised music was back.

By a strange coincidence, the last band I heard, the one on that March night, was the Michal Martyniuk Trio. Now, here they were, performing the very first post lockdown gig. As I dashed across K’Road to avoid the rainstorm I wondered if the weather would affect the turnout.

The restaurants and the streets were eerily empty, but huddled in the stairwell of Anthology were people shedding raincoats and talking excitedly. Long before the gig started the club had filled to capacity. Those who could not get in waited outside until someone left.

The pre-lockdown trio was now a quartet, having added 2020 Tui Jazz Award-winning guitarist Dixon Nacey to their number. It turned out to be a match made in heaven. Four highly rated and award nominated artists merged into one killer unit.

After months of being deprived of live gigs, the musicians were pumped and a similar energy flowed from the audience. When expectations are this high, what stretches ahead, is fraught with peril. Also, the piano had been idle for months, lying lonely and unloved. In truth, the instrument is a difficult beast, but Martyniuk soon found his way to its heart and he coaxed it to sing again.

Harnessing unruly forces is the anvil on which good improvisers produce their best work. Most of the tunes were Martyniuk’s and although his music is quite different from Nacey’s, the contrast worked nicely. Martyniuk’s post-bop European voicings and memorable melodies were gifted an interesting edge. Nacey’s tunes, which often feature surprising twists and rhythmic complexity, were turned in fresh directions. Out of contrast comes the best jazz, and this was truly the sound of surprise.

John Fenton blogs at JazzLocal32.com