CHRIS TARRY QUARTET
Friday, January 28
Beat Niq Jazz and Social Club
In 1959, the Wurlitzer keyboard company released the Sideman, the world’s first drum machine. Today, the live drummer still reigns, except maybe in the realm of electronica. Dance music relies less on a subtle groove and more on a driving, relentless beat.
Things are changing though. If you caught Norwegian group Wibutee at the Warehouse during last year’s Calgary jazz festival, you saw how man can imitate, emulate and surpass the machine. Drummer Wetle Holte played like a frenetic computer gone haywire, while adding an organic element that only a live musician could produce.
And it’s happening everywhere. The fusion of electronic music and contemporary jazz has created some of the more interesting projects in the last few years – including Jaga Jazzist, Koop, and Jazzanova – and it seems that the Norwegians are leading the pack. But there is a strong Canadian contingent as well and there is no one better to lead them than Chris Tarry. Bassist for Metalwood, the formative electric jazz outfit, Tarry’s latest album, Project 33, combines the best of his past with the machines of the future, but don’t look for any heavy hardware onstage. His tour still utilizes a live drummer.
In fact, much like Wibutee, his drummer acts and sounds like a machine. Tarry wanted to work with master percussionist Mino Cinelu for exactly that reason. "I’ve been wanting to work with Mino ever since (Metalwood) did a record with him," says Tarry. "I asked him to work with me to program parts and lay his playing over top for the album." Cinelu’s machine-like precision and propulsive drive were the inspiration for all the drum loops heard on the album. Though Cinelu is absent for the tour, New York drummer Dan Weiss has taken his place and, according to Tarry, Weiss is more than up to the challenge.
The whole concept behind the Chris Tarry Quartet started as a simple experiment – writing things down on paper, getting the people (old Metalwood buddy Brad Turner and Toronto saxophone player Kelly Jefferson) together and running with it. What resulted can best be described as progressive, ambient jazz with a heavy dose of electronic groove.
"Everything is a stepping process," says Tarry. "We’d play and then decide if it worked or not. The great thing was that it turned out." He adds that he’s worked with Turner for more than 10 years so it was easy to pick up where they left off.
"Coming from the jazz sensibility, it’s really an interpretation of the music anyway," he says. "I figure I can put out whatever record I want and then play with whatever band I want on the road. It’s all just different interpretations of the same music."
Having that kind of artistic freedom is a reflection of Tarry’s reputation as a stellar bassist and composer. No longer just a sideman, Tarry has stepped out on his own, leading the way in progressive, provocative jazz. |
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