Bronwyn Fullerton

KINETIC 2014 JAZZ FESTIVAL

Trubute to Wes Montgomery. Photo Saha Jones

The KINETIC JAZZ FESTIVAL is in full swing again this year featuring the cream of Australia’s jazz musicians playing over six nights.

Now in its fifth year, co-directors of Kinetic Energy Theatre Company, Graham Jones and Jepke Goudsmit, have transformed their performance space at St Luke’s Hall in Enmore, into a warm and intimate jazz concert venue.

With the audience seated a mere six feet from the musicians, this high quality acoustic listening environment is well worth visiting. The beauty of this informal setting is that you can watch these formidable musicians create their magic, hearing every nuance up close and personal.

Opening the festival on Tuesday April 22nd were Ben Hauptmann’s ‘Wes Montgomery project’ and James Greening’s ‘Greening from Ear to Ear’.

Ben Hauptmann’s superb chords and ‘Wes Montgomery influenced’ techniques on his beautiful Gibson 175 guitar was enhanced by the talented Bill Risby on piano, Jonathan Zwartz rocking on upright fretless bass and Ben’s brother James Hauptmann, who is a truly great and inventive jazz drummer. Ben’s favourite Wes tunes played were “Cariba” and the George Benson interpretation of “Willow Weep For Me”.

The second act, ‘Greening from Ear to Ear’, was equally brilliant, but different in its extraordinary horn arrangements. A trombone teacher at the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, who has played for over 40 years from the age of seven, James Greening composed all of the songs. Firstly “Parallel Lines, then the mischievous family tribute, “Lumpy”, “I’m No Monk” in reference to Thelonius, then the middle eastern themed song “Hazara”, inspired by the book Kite Runner and Kim Sanders, and lastly the tribute to his wife, “Sleeping Beauty”.

Apart from Greening’s wonderful trombone, sousaphone and pocket trumpet, we were taken to another level by his superb fellow musicians; Gary Daley on accordion/piano, Brett Hirst on double bass, Hamish Stuart on drums, Fabian Hevia on percussion, Andrew Robson on alto and soprano sax and Paul Cutlan on bass clarinet and tenor sax. Cutlan’s middle eastern styled solo on “Hazara” with his clarinet was incredible, as indeed were all the solos.

Finishing the jazz inspired evening this week is a piece by Jones and Goudsmit, “Ruby and Frankie”, re-invented from their original 80s movement piece, and set to the Thelonius Monk arrangement of “Sweet and Lovely”. It is truly charming and their daughter Saha Jones has compiled some original 80s footage of their jitterbug duet screened in the background. They finish with “The Nazz”, a crazy 50s tongue-in-cheek Jive-Talk, made famous by the inimitable Lord Buckley. Their young team of actors help them out.

There is so much great jazz playing until Sunday 27th April, including guest international slack key guitarist Jeff Peterson from Maui, Hawaii.

Check out the website for the Jazz Festival program: http://www.kineticjazz.com or email info@kineticjazz.com or phone 96656489.

The Kinetic Jazz Festival plays 22nd – 26th of April at 7.30pm and Sunday the 27th at 5pm, at St Luke’s Church, 11 Stanmore Road, Enmore.

Published by Bronwyn Fullerton

Bronwyn Fullerton worked as an actress and singer for over 20 years after training with Hayes Gordon at The Ensemble Theatre Studios in Sydney in the 70s. She has worked for The Ensemble Theatre, Stables Theatre, Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Festival, Theatre-in-Education touring, Rocks Theatre at The Sailor’s Home, Balmain Loft, North Coast Theatre Co., Giniby Theatre Co., Bondi Pavilion Theatre and two years with the Marionette Theatre of Australia, including a tour from Alice Springs to Arnhem Land. As well as Film and Television (Chopper Squad) and Voice Overs, Bronwyn worked for the Gate Theatre Club in London and studied mime in Paris. She now teaches ESL English to foreign students and completed a Post-Grad in Film & Video at UTS in 2009/10.