Topology frontman and double bassist Robert Davidson comfortably chats between songs, involving the small audience in the performance. The tunes are met with applause growing louder with each song, as though the audience is gradually realising how good the performance is. Standout tunes are the punchy cover of Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out, which makes jazz accessible for people like me who know little about it, and You May Laugh, a playful piece which begins with a Ladysmith Black Mamboza + Paul Simon feel to it. Several of the songs are inspired by landscape, and I can see vistas and geographical features in my mind’s eye as they play.
If I have one negative thing to say about this Topology gig, it’d be where the bloody hell are all the Byron jazz fans? The turnout is small, but vocal. I heard that Topology performed in Lismore the night before to a packed audience. Yes Byron, Lismore did better than us. Anyhoo… Following is the set list for the night, with links to mp3's of what you missed out on:
John Babbage: Tourbillon
John Babbage: Anguish Ain’t in it (7/8 version of A Night in Tunisia)
Robert Davidson: Landscape
Robert Davidson: Round Roads
Michael Nyman: And Do They Do
John Adams: Pat’s Aria from Nixon in China
The Shepherd - (Balkan wedding music, courtesy of guest viola player, Mike Patterson from the excellent Doch Gypsy Orchestra)
Franz Ferdinand: Take Me Out
John Babbage: You May Laugh
Visit Topologymusic.com for more information.
Topology image by Chris Osbourne, taken without permission from the Topology Myspace page.
If you prefer your music to be a soundtrack to getting shitfaced and ogling drunk backpackers, Blue Birdy nights are not for you. The regular Wednesday jazz club at the Buddha Bar provides a welcome alternative to the clubs and pubs along the main strip of Byron. It's an intimate venue where the focus is on the music - think Sydney's "The Basement" but more low key.
It's not unusual for some of the musicians to play a teaser in the courtyard of the backpacker bar outside. When I travelled Europe I was followed everywhere by Mambo No. 5. Then in South America / Asia I was hounded by The Gasolina. Any opportunity to get away from the backpacker party scene and hear something real was welcome. I noticed a lot of appreciative nodding going on in the audience as the five piece flowed through Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, and Charles Mingus. The drum solo in the finale, a rendition of a Joe Zawinaul piece, deserves special mention... as it was very long and very good. This week, The East Coast Jazz Collective featured Al Hicks (The Strides) on drums, Nick Garbett (The Strides, Watussi) on trumpet, Thierry Fossemalle on double bass, Matt Smith on guitar and Mitch Carey (Lisa Hunt) on tenor sax.
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