Category Archives: music

prints, jazz and community practice?

Remember that A snot-addled, animated wander through San Francisco I wrote a little while ago? Well the Riverwalk Jazz people read it and thought it was so great they did their own show on San Francisco jazz.

You know that’s a joke, right? Good, just checking.

Anyways, it’s an interesting episode, and the highlight is of course the live material by Jim Cullum’s band.

Above image is from the RWJ page linked above, and they credit it with “Handbill for Turk Murphy Band at Earthquake McGoon’s, San Francisco. Image courtesy oldhandbills.com”. Here’s the direct link they forgot to add. I think this handbill is actually the most interesting part of this story, mostly because I’m a nut for promotional ephemera, particularly the sort that involves some sort of creative work. I’m very interested in Redback Graphix, an Australian printing cooperative business with radical political roots that I remember from the 80s in Queensland, and I’m also a big fan of 1920s art prints as well. And then I do have a passion for 70s, 80s and 90s music PR posters and print making. Here is where I’m tempted to insert a sad little whinge about digital media sucking the life out of print media and art, but that would be ridiculous, because digital media has brought me things like that Old Handbills website, digital archives of Australian prints, and of course lots of new ideas and information about printing.

NB While I’m crapping on about RWJ, I have to say, again, how very disappointed I was by their bullshit work on women in jazz history for Women’s History Month this year (and last year). Just one story, out of a month’s worth, on the topic, and the same boring old musicians. Even I managed more, and I’m hardly a jazz historian, and certainly don’t have their resources to draw on.

small group time

I love small swing groups, and Riverwalk Jazz are doing a show on them this week called Goodman, Shaw & Dorsey: Big Band Leaders and Their Small Combos. It features a few of my favourite small groups, most of which make for good (though fairly precise, and dare I say it, uptight) dancing.

That Riverwalk Jazz show reminded me of an 8tracks I did a while ago, which is mostly small groups. I’m really a fool for a small group, I think mostly because I dance to small groups more often IRL. But also because I like the way you can hear every instrument in a small band, and the smaller format lets musicians work together in a team, yet still as individuals:

songs by singers with small bands from dogpossum on 8tracks.

The Riverwalk Jazz discussion of small groups has also made me think about the Ozcats, who’re a very good Bob Crosby and the Bob Cats tribute band in Sydney. I’ve only seen them play twice, and not for over a year, but they were the best Australian band I’ve ever danced to. A heap of older blokes staring at their scores from seats on the stage, rocking out. I’d love to have them at a dance event again. They play this sort of music:

(linky)