Haden, Frisell, Iverson

Also on Friday night at the Melbourne Town Hall was the Charlie Haden, Bill Frisell and Ethan Iverson Trio. With Charlie Haden the Artist-in-Residence at the festival there's an awful (which is awfully good!) lot of him about, and he also popped up to Sydney for a concert in the meantime!

This trio was beautiful to listen to. They started right into the music and Ethan Iverson back announced the first tunes, then forward announced some more. We heard the full trio for a few songs (four?) then dues in different combinations.

An aside about Ethan Iverson... Someone (Marc? Eugene? Brett?) was telling me that he's a font of all knowledge about jazz; he knows names, dates, anecdotes... a walking encyclopaedia, really good to talk to.

Humpty Dumpty, an Ornette Coleman tune was a real highlight for me, and Charlie Haden's solo in particular.

Also Broken Shadows, with just Ethan Iverson and Charlie Haden, during the duos half of the concert, where two out of the three played together, with the other off the stage.

Bill Frisell's playing struck me throughout. I've been thinking about how I generally like a melody (and how I feel palpable dissatisfaction sometimes when I can't find it...) The way this trio played fed my unsophisticated need for a tune while also satisfying my mostly equal desire for a distraction from it! Hearing two instruments play the same tune, in unison, is as treat, and not often heard. I'm more used to situations of the instruments might play and the other one mucks around. I love that of course or I wouldn't enjoy jazz and improvised music very much! But Bill Frisell in particular tonight was playing with the others, rather than just complementing them. In unison something happens that when I tried to articulate it came out something like this: in unison, two instruments create a depth of sound that for the first time tonight I was able to separate from the concept of complexity. Depth and complexity. Noice. Thanks Ethan, Bill and Charlie!

Apologies for the illegal photo. Dodgy conditions, dodgy photographer... Good thing the music was fab!