Stormy Weather felled Autumn
Leaves. Hatches battened, this was Key Largo writ large but
Gumshoe Bebop was determined to spend some shoe leather in pursuit of
Improvisational Enlightenment.
In Toon, t-shirts and mini skirts
defied stair rods, seeking shelter in the next nearest gin joint, then the
next. Up ahead, on the corner of Collingwood and Westgate, the Lit & Phil’s
lamplight looked so inviting (in the Gallery of Imaginary Bebop Art there is a
little known Edward Hopper streetscape depicting the façade of this inner-city
seat of learning and self-improvement. If you haven’t seen it, it’s the one
with oddball characters entering and exiting the building: the steam train buff,
the U3A student, the über-cool chanteuse).
Inside, a coffee pot struck up conversation with life-long friends and made new acquaintance. Pianist and educator Paul Edis chatted with the keen and the curious and the drenched ahead of his Improvisation & Ear Training workshop. Dr Edis had prepared well. Laptop, notes, hand-outs – all were at hand. A piano made for the elephant in the room. The workshop didn’t start on time. Or maybe it did. It depends who counts it in. Edis did (he is a jazz musician).
Inside, a coffee pot struck up conversation with life-long friends and made new acquaintance. Pianist and educator Paul Edis chatted with the keen and the curious and the drenched ahead of his Improvisation & Ear Training workshop. Dr Edis had prepared well. Laptop, notes, hand-outs – all were at hand. A piano made for the elephant in the room. The workshop didn’t start on time. Or maybe it did. It depends who counts it in. Edis did (he is a jazz musician).
Improvisers, would-be improvisers
and the curious (Gumshoe Bebop) assembled in numbers many a promoter would be
delighted to see at a gig - classical musicians (there were admissions of
bafflement about the Misterioso world
of improvisation), folkies and rockers. The jazz scene was represented – Debra
and Gabi, Mike and Ruairidh. Edis said he would like to begin by talking about
intervals. Gumshoe Bebop thought to himself: We’ve only just started. Much talk of extensions and triads,
flattened fifths. Edis said: Improvisation
is making decisions. Gumshoe Bebop decided to listen, listen hard.
Dr Edis sat at the piano. He
demonstrated the ascending melodic minor. The assembled hummed in unison.
Gumshoe Bebop took notes. The Lydian scale, quarter notes, semi tones. His head
began to hurt – it felt like he’d fallen over a Down Beat paving stone
and had an argument with terra firma. Regaining his senses he heard a familiar
sound..So What brought him round.
The interval – the kind
understood by Gumshoe Bebop – offered the welcome prospect of a refill and a
chat. The assembled assumed Gumshoe Bebop played an instrument. He found this
amusing. Dr Edis resumed his deliberations. More talk of modes and scales. More
notes. More music from Edis, Miles and Trane. In no time it was over. Time to
step out into the night. Gumshoe Bebop decided to aquaplane home. Riding the
rapids at Gallowgate, deep in thought, a discarded, shredded umbrella almost
brought him down as he was preoccupied with the thought that perhaps he should
take up the challenge and
buy a banjo.
The Paul Edis Trio can be heard
on Thursday night (27 September) playing the music of Bill Evans at the Queen’s
Hall in Hexham. The second installment of Dr Edis’ workshop series continues at
the Lit & Phil on Monday 8 October. The confirmed starting time is 7:15 pm for 7:30 pm . It is free to attend. Seek it out and
you may find Improvisational Enlightenment.
Russell (AKA Gunshoe Bebop).
No comments :
Post a Comment