Preview
BENT SPOON ENSEMBLE
Friday, January 9
Big Secret Theatre
(Epcor Centre)
Improvisation has been an integral part of music since humans had the capacity to express themselves through sounds and rhythm. Improvisation, however, took a back seat to structured musical form about the time of Baroque music in the 1700s, and was only revived by the birth of jazz in the early 1900s. It’s no surprise then, that when most people hear the word "improvisation" they automatically think of jazz. This is a myth, however, that Calgary’s free form experimental jazz band, Bent Spoon Ensemble, wish to dispel with the release of their first CD none nothing, something.
Although they’ve been gigging around town the last few years, it’s taken Bent Spoon Ensemble awhile to find a musical niche. Drummer and percussionist Chris Dadge admits that the music he and fellow band members, David Laing (alto sax), Kevin Lee (guitar, accordion and vocals) and Scott Munro (upright bass, trombone), make sometimes leaves people shaking their heads. Sometimes there are not a lot of regular musical elements, such as melody, rhythm and harmony, to grab on to. But Dadge has come to terms with that.
"I’m willing to accept that fact that not everyone is going to dig this kind of music, but we have our accessible moments," says Dadge. "But we’ve also realized that not everyone is going to like it."
For a time Bent Spoon called what they did "indie jazz" – a mixture of independent rock and free jazz. Being a band made up of alto sax, upright bass and drums certainly lends itself to the jazz idiom, but throw in guitarist-accordion player Lee, with his variety of effects pedals, and you have got yourself a band defying categorization.
And then there’s the lack of structure in their improvisations. Improvisation in jazz usually involves following the structure of a composition or "head." While the idea of that may seem at odds with the idea of improvisation, most musicians thrive on some level of structure.
Not necessarily so for the members of Bent Spoon.
"We really just get up and play," says Dadge. "One person will start something and it’ll pick up. If it’s bad we stop. If it’s good we keep going. It’s pretty open ended. It’s free form in that there’s no songs per se. We have riffs that we come back to if we feel like it. The other free form aspect is that many times we’re just making sounds with our instruments. No time or melody or harmony or rhythm. It’s crazy sometimes."
Because of the nature of improvised music, Dadge admits that their performances are constantly influenced by uncontrollable variables. From having a bad day to arguing with a band member before a gig, it all comes out on stage.
"That’s one of the risks playing in a band like ours," admits Dadge. "We don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s not like we rehearse material, go onstage, play it and it’s done. Many times it’s out of our control. Anything can happen – go wrong or go right for that matter."
Their willingness to try anything is telling in their music – they have been known to try anything from swing to adding a nine-piece horn section. And though it may not always work (Dadge admits the horn section crashed and burned), their desire to experiment and play music outside the usual aural boundaries makes for an exciting listening experience.
CELEB TOP FIVE
Top Five psychic abilities Chris Dadge of the Bent Spoon Ensemble wishes he had:
1. To be able to time travel like the Ghost of Christmas Past. You can go back and watch things – like having an eternal home video.
2. The ability to manipulate people’s will.
3. To be able to speak in thought-shapes like The Chrysalids.
4. To have a built-in lie detector.
5. To have the ability to move objects with my mind. |
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