Gigs
My Goodness McGuiness - The Basement
My Goodness McGuiness + the Tom O'Halloran Trio @ The Basement
Bunbury International Jazz Festival
Bunbury International Jazz Festival
Adrian Sherriff Band at the Sound Lounge
Adrian Sherriff Band
The Sylvia Mitchell Trio In concert at The Gods Cafe
Sylvia Mitchell Trio
Jazz:Now
Jazz Now
Toby Wren
Toby Wren
Willow Nielson Quartet / Jackson Harrison
Willow Nielson Quartet / Jackson Harrison
Frock
Frock
Dale Barlow Band
Dale Barlow Band
We Don't Dance For No Reason
We Don't Dance For No Reason
Jazz Meets the Symphony
Jazz Meets the Symphony
James Muller Trio
James Muller
Lisa Young
Lisa Young
Freedman Jazz '07
Freedman Jazz '07
Mark Isaacs
Mark Isaacs
Darling Harbour Jazz and Blues Festival
Darling Harbour Jazz and Blues Festival
Monique Di Mattina
Monique Di Mattina
Tal Wilkenfeld
Tal Wilkenfeld
Chick Corea and Gary Burton
Chick Corea and Gary Burton
Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Melbourne International Jazz Festival
McGann / McMahon / Swanton / Barker
McGann/McMahon/Swanton/Barker
Grand Union Orchestra
Grand Union Orchestra
Andy Fiddes – Survival of the Fiddes
Andy Fiddes – Survival of the Fiddes
Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra
Mothership Orchestra with Florian Ross
Mike Nock Trio
Mike Nock Trio
2006 Freedman Jazz Fellowship
Freedman Jazz
Steve Hunter Quartet
Steve Hunter Quartet
The Jazzgroove Association CD Launch and Fundraiser
Jazzgroove Association Launch of Jazzgroove 2 Compilation
Barney McCall
SIMA - Barney McCall : MODAS (Mother Of Dreams And Secrets)
Melbourne / Adelaide Creative Music Project
THE MELBOURNE/ADELAIDE CREATIVE MUSIC PROJECT
Freedman Jazz, The Studio
Wilson, Grant, Magnusson
Jamie Oehlers and Sam Keevers - Sunday 19 June 2005
Jamie Oehlers and Sam Keevers
Recordings
Bruce Cale Quartet - On Fire – The Sydney Concert (1980)
On Fire – The Sydney Concert (1980)
Darren Heinrich Trio - New Vintage Tunes for Hammond Organ
New Vintage Tunes for Hammond Organ
James Ryan Trio - Bitter Sweet
Bitter Sweet
Barney McAll - Flashbacks
Flashbacks
Greg Coffin Trio - It’s Neither Either Or. It’s Both And.
Greg Coffin Trio - It’s Neither Either Or. It’s Both And.
Gerard Masters Trio - Pendulum
Pendulum
Murphy’s Law - Tanuki’s Revenge
Tanuki's Revenge
West End Composers Collective - Driving Hat
Driving Hat
Kidney
Kidney
James Le Fevre Quintet - Point A
Point A
Tina Harrod - Worksongs
Worksongs
Sally Ford - Births, Deaths & Marriages
Births, Deaths and Marriages
Logic? - Native Strut
Native Strut
Andrew Robson Trio - Radiola
Radiola
Wanderlust - When in Rome
When in Rome
Richard Maegraith Band - Free Running
Free Running
Oehlers, Grabowsky and Beck - Lost And Found
Lost and Found
Tim Stevens Trio - Mickets
Mickerts
Joe Chindamo - Duende: The Romantic Project
Duende - The Romantic Project
The Vampires - South Coasting
South Coasting
Matt Keegan Trio - Tone Imagination
Matt Keegan Trio - Tone Imagination
Bennett's Lane Big Band
The Snip
Nicki Parrott - Moon River
Moon River
Mike Nock Project - Meeting of the Waters
Mike Nock Project - Meeting of the Waters
Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra - Dream Wheel
Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra - Dream Wheel
Steve Hunter Band - Dig My Garden
Steve Hunter Band - Dig My Garden
Jo Fabro - Save My Soul
Jo Fabro - Save My Soul
Gest8 - Kaleidoscope
Gest8 - Kaleidoscope
Garden of Forking Paths
Garden of Forking Paths
The Thousands
The Thousands
Little Claps
Little Claps
Zoe and the Buttercups
Zoe and the Buttercups
Way Out West - Old Grooves for New Streets
Old Grooves for New Streets
Andrea Keller Quartet - Little Claps
Andrea Keller Quartet - Little Claps
Marc Hannaford - The Garden of Forking Paths
Marc Hannaford - The Garden of Forking Paths
Misinterprotato - Variations
Misinterprotato - Variations
Tony Gorman and Bobby Singh - As Wide as the Sky
Tony Gorman and Bobby Singh - As Wide as the Sky
Stephen Magnusson - 14 Little Creatures
Stephen Magnusson - 14 Little Creatures
Mark Isaacs Quintet - Resurgence
Resurgence
Andy Fiddes - Livewire
Andy Fiddes - Livewire
Andrew Robson & Paul Cutlan - Simpatico
Andrew Robson & Paul Cutlan - Simpatico
Chris Cody Coalition - Conscript
Chris Cody Coalition - Conscript
Ben Winkelman Trio - The Spanish Tinge
The Spanish Tinge
Zac Hurren Trio - Exordium
Zac Hurren Trio - Exordium
Jackson Harrison Trio - Land Tides
Jackson Harrison Trio - Land Tides
High Tide - Volume 1: Live at the Brisbane Jazz Club
High Tide - Volume 1, Live At The Brisbane Jazz Club
Ingrid James & Louise Denson - Portrait
Ingrid James & Louise Denson - Portrait
Blow - Blue Sun, Red Moon
Blow - Blue Sun, Red Moon
Allan Browne Quintet - The Drunken Boat
Alan Browne Quintet - The Drunken Boat
Allan Browne Quintet - The Drunken Boat
Alan Browne Quintet - The Drunken Boat
Tal Wilkenfeld - Transformation
Tal Wilkenfeld - Transformation
Phil Slater Quartet - The Thousands
The Thousands
Informal Troupe - Urban Parkland
Urban Parkland
Zoe and the Buttercups
Zoe and the Buttercups
Stu Hunter - The Muse
The Muse
Scott Tinkler - Backwards
Backwards
Jazztrack Sessions - Home Grown & Rare
Jazztrack Sessions - Home Grown & Rare
Jamie Oehlers Double Drummer Group - You R Here
Matt McMahon Trio - Ellipsis
Matt McMahon Trio - Ellipsis
Matt McMahon Trio - Ellipsis
Adrian Cunningham Quartet - In Motion
In Motion
Trio Apoplectic
Trio Apoplectic
Theak-tet - Old School
Theak-tet - Old School
Void
Void
Megan Washington - Nightlight
Megan Washington - Nightlight
Squall
Squall
Introducing the Mace Francis Orchestra
Introducing the Mace Francis Orchestra
Void
Void
Bonnie J Jensen - The Sapphire Tree
The Sapphire Tree
Rodric White - The Sea of Tranquility
The Sea of Tranquility
Tom O’Halloran Trio - Green Hills and White Clouds
Green Hills and White Clouds
Roger Manins - Hip Flask
Hip Flask
The Necks - Chemist
The Necks - Chemist
AustraLYSIS Electroband - Sonic Stones
Sonic Stones
Alister Spence Trio - Mercury
Mercury
Roger Manins - Hip Flask
Hip Flask
James Ryan Trio - Long Way Home
Long Way Home
The Necks - Chemist
The Necks - Chemist
Matt McMahon - Paths and Streams
Matt McMahon - Paths and Streams
James Muller - Kaboom
James Muller - Kaboom
Band of Five Names - Empty Gardens
Empty Gardens
The Toby Wren Trio - umlaut
Umlaut
Mark Isaacs - Visions
Mark Isaacs - Visions
The Conglomerate - The Conglomerate Go To The Beach
The Conglomerate Go To The Beach
McGann : Live at Side On
Live at Side On
Sexion
Sexion
Jerusalem - Leonie Cohen Plus
Jerusalem
Jerusalem - Leonie Cohen Plus
Jerusalem
Glyn MacDonald Trio Review
Glyn MacDonald Trio
James Sherlock - Watermark
Glyn MacDonald Trio
My Goodness McGuiness - The Basement
31st July, 2009
Review by Greg Levine
My Goodness McGuiness
The Basement – 13 July 2009
By Greg Levine
The Argentinian theorist, Nestor Garcia Canclini, asked the question, “How can we understand the presence of indigenous crafts and vanguard art catalogues on the same coffee table?” The answer may be that we make no attempt to understand, we simply accept it and move on. The cultural landscape through which we now travel has become a coffee table: we pick things up and browse through them without giving them our full attention, then put them down on the table surface so we can flick through them again next time we have an un-filled minute.
By contrast, David Bowie wrote:
"What are we coming to
No room for me, no fun for you
I think about a world to come
Where the books were found by the golden ones
Written in pain, written in awe
By a puzzled man who questioned
What we were here for
All the strangers came today
And it looks as though they're here to stay"
which seems to indicate a more conventional attitude to the divisions between the traditional and the modern, the cultured and the popular. But that was 1971 and things must have seemed different then. Now we accept the “hybridization” of cultural life and we don't always know what to do with it.
The Basement - Monday 13 July: My Goodness McGuiness seemed to propose an answer to Garcia Canclini's question. Embrace the hybrid and re-arrange it, as has been done many times, but without the postmodern irony. While the group is clearly founded in the jazz tradition, their eclectic choice of material is a more honest reflection of the cultural coffee table. Aside from two McGuiness originals (stylistically eclectic in their own right), they moved from Bartók's “Lakodalmas” through the old jazz standard “Ghost of a Chance” to Crowded House and Leonard Cohen, ending with David Bowie's “Oh, You Pretty Things” (see above): a cultural mélange typical of our times.
Yet they played these tunes without the Damien Hirst/Madonna/et al-style sly wink. Eschewing postmodern tricks and shallowness, they came closer to what Garcia Canclini calls the “economic and symbolic 'reconversion' with which migrant farm workers adapt their knowledge to live in the city, and their crafts to interest urban consumers”. They are connected to an older tradition, of which Bartók himself was enthusiastically a part, and which was best expressed in the jazz idiom by Gil Evans. It is the artist as ethnographer, equipped with education and knowledge but wanting to learn something new, opening their ears to the world and letting it sing to them. The McGuiness arrangements live up to this attitude in every way, from their openness and light melodic touch to the chosen instrumentation.
Using Fabian Hevia's simple percussion (one conga, a cajon and a shaker) instead of the more bombastic sounds of the full kit allowed more room for the soloists to develop their ideas and play with the full dynamic range. Boneham and Flower, rhythm section, responded likewise. It was most evident on the McGuiness original “Pigis” which has a long, flowing melody, a little reminiscent of Rachmaninov's long, stretched out tunes, as well as “Nefertiti”. Dynamic and chiaroscuro. Both horn players, in particular, used the extra space to great effect. Dan Junor's alto always has a heavy dose of tension and release as he builds his solos but it was nice to hear every sonority of the instrument. And McGuiness trombone solos are such models of lyricism and balance that it sounded like the drum kit had never been invented; the human race had skipped hitting and gone straight to sliding. That's obviously hyperbole, but you know what I mean. He has his own voice on his instrument.
How did they manage to play this eclectic range of tunes in a stronghold of the postmodern – a venue that trades on its jazz heritage but purveys the dullest pop rubbish most days of the year – without getting sucked into irony and lip service? Easy; McGuiness positioned these tunes as something that he grew up with – the raw material out of which he built his craft. It's not an empty, clever appropriation; it's something essential within his musicianship. This band, in its first gig no less, achieved “reconversion” by putting something essentially humanistic into Garcia Canclini's cultural confusion: like having sex on the coffee table. They are a band to watch.










