Weekend
August 30th 2004 -
Triosk
Anna and I went with Alistair & co. to the Opera House to watch some improvisational Jazz on Friday night. There were three acts: Freedivers, Band of Five, and Triosk, the latter being the headline act and a favorite of Alistair’s. And Triosk were great. One thing that occasionally shits me about improvisational jazz is that the flow of the music becomes very predictable. All three bands had tunes that started quiet, gradually built up to a cacaphony, and then died down again, all without recognisable melodies. These pieces, especially in the quieter moments, can be very evocative and interesting despite that, but after an hour, I found myself wishing for a surprise – something sudden and different to happen. Improvisation is more suited to slow changes in mood: I prefer improvisation to have a bit of choreography here and there, to fade between improvisation and prepared material. And Triosk did that, and they did it very smoothly. It didn’t hurt that they had a bit of melody, too.