(This opening paragraph is best read while clicking your fingers and listening to “City Walk” by John Patitucci, or similar upright-bass-heavy noir jazz background music.)
Interior: the Ellington Jazz Club, as the Thursday turns into evenin’. It’s crammed, but it’s always crammed. The clinking of glasses scatter across the room amidst laughter and whispers. I’ve never seen age so disparate in this establishment… fresh faces dressed with the ghosts of future moustaches, next to the crevassed, complex faces of those who have witnessed too much? This ain’t no coincidence… this is a WAYJO gig after all; tends to bring those of all walks of life walking right through those swingin’ doors. I take a moment and sip my water (I’m on a job after all), as I think to myself, “what a wonderful world”.
(Okay noir time is over, back to your regularly scheduled review.)
WAYJO (the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra) is an interesting sect of Perth music scene. It’s filled to the brim with young musicians making their way out of high school and through university, helmed by some of the finest names in local jazz, and is consistently a Good Jazz Time™ if you’re looking for one. The caucus of WAYJO performers and staff are split into three bands, each with a unique sound, assortment of youths, and individually-focused shows. This Thursday night at the Ellington in particular was done by their Monday Night Orchestra (MNO), focused on the traditional big-band-jazz-music, run by the exuberant Ricki Malet – a local trumpet player and excellent band leader, full of brightness and energy.
WAYJO has become large enough of an institution that it’d be rare if a show didn’t have a special guest. This night’s special guest was Ray Walker, who is notably the Dean of WA Jazz Guitarists, and you may have seen him play guitar with WASO whenever they need a guitar. At points this show felt like a kung-fu movie, with that whole “master and student” dichotomy; Walker used to be Malet’s lecturer at WAAPA, but the roles often inverted (“the student has become the master” type cliche), sometimes even falling in the hands of the young musicians in the orchestra.
Talking of the young musicians, what a refinery of talent! The sound was balanced, the energy was well-placed, the momentum flowed beautifully; sure, Malet is to thank for a lot of that, but a brush cannot create a masterpiece without its paint. The standouts included the rhythm section (Liam Scott on guitar, Liam Clement on keys, Ella Dias on bass, and George McClelland on drums) who were fantastic all night, the guest percussionist Georgia (whose last name I didn’t get, sorry!) was a lovely subtle addition to the band that really made it pop, and though the whole brass and saxophone section were great throughout, extra shoutout to Amelie van Wyk on trumpet, who had an amazing trumpet sound, and whoever that was who played baritone saxophone on Moanin’.
There are the two youngins who deserve more than a phrase or two in this show, and I’ll start with the Assistant Musical Director, Bob Tweedie. This is one of my favourite aspects of WAYJO, letting one young jazz musician take the reins in conducting and rehearsing a couple tunes, usually in MNO. Tweedie shows promise as an MD, with a confidence in leading the band, and a similar wit to Malet in-between songs. He directed two tunes – Lil Darlin’ and Almost Like Being in Love. Almost Like Being in Love was phenomenal, and being on top of all the parts in a quick tune is no easy feat. Lil Darlin’ (a slower Basie tune) felt more like a slowed down jaunt rather than meeting the slow swing where it is, causing a bit of subtle rigidity. The second youth of note was the vocalist, Ebony Ridgeway, who I was absolutely blown away by. The Ella Fitzgerald inspiration is apparent, but Ridgeway is on the way to making it her own. Her scat solo on All of Me stood out, as it was alongside a solo from Ray Walker himself, both utilising a similar lyrical phrasing despite neither using words, and felt like a lively conversation in a Wes Anderson film. Ridgeway is a bit still on stage, but if that’s my only criticism I can think of, then Ebony Ridgeway is a name you should keep in the back of your mind in the coming couple years.
The collection of music on this show was great – I’m always worried a big band is just gonna play the classics, and barely move past Charlie Parker, but to my surprise, we had some Joe Henderson (No Me Esqueca), Pat Metheny (Minuano), and femme-Australian musician Kristin Berardi (Live Rite), who I have never heard of before, which is always refreshing in a jazz space. Ray Walker also turns out to be an infrequent composer, and a smaller ensemble (including Malet on trumpet!) played his song Hole in the Wall, about an old jazz club in Perth, which was equal parts bluesy and Pat Metheny-esque, holding a reverence of what made the Perth jazz scene then, and bringing it to what makes the Perth jazz scene now.
This temporal conversation between the past, present, and future of WA jazz definitely became the overarching theme of the show, and was what stuck out in my mind both when I walked out and as I reflect on the show as I write this. Walker has been a legend in the scene for a long time, both in his performance and education. Malet I feel has entered his legend status in the past decade as one of the names to know in this WA jazz institution we find ourselves in, and if none of the young people on that stage that night become a name on the tip of our tongues in the years to follow, then I’ll eat my hat. Opening this dialogue between eras of WA jazz, free from ego and prestige, instead earnest and caring and open, may be one of WAYJO’s greatest strengths and assets, and I look forward to the ever-perpetuating cycle of past, present, and future jazz legends to come.