Jazz is definitely an under-represented genre in the local music scene, but there’s one composer kicking around Melbourne keeping it relevant in pretty interesting ways.
Lachlan Mitchell is a Melbourne-based artist and the leader of Uncomfortable Science, a unique project which involves him composing chord progressions on a whiteboard, which are then interpreted by a cadre of talented jazz musicians.
Having piqued our interest with a pretty original style of off-the-cuff composition, we asked Lachlan for his thoughts on his own three favourite composers.
“I could mention a whole bunch of sweet nothings about a great deal of bloody legends and waste way more of your time than I already have, but for now that is my pick of a couple of great composer type guys.”
You can catch Uncomfortable Science tonight at Boney, and they’ll be wrapping up their experimental residency next week, so definitely check it out if you’re keen for some jazz with a twist. Or, as Lachlan puts it, “Come down to Boney on the next few Tuesday nights to see if I learnt anything at all of these dudes.”
Frank Zappa
As Zappa (was one of the many people to be credited to have) said, writing about music is like dancing about architecture. But I’ll give it a shot.
For reasons obvious to some and not so obvious to others, Zappa was a dead set genius that composed some very complex and entertaining music. Beautiful, confusing and silly songs that jump from catchy hooks to dense mathematical fusion melodies to face melting solos. Some songs would have complex melodies that would journey on and on, never repeating itself, proving that Zappa was not short of ideas, nor shy to use them.
The first album I got was overnight sensation and that has some corkers on it. Camarillo Brillo from that album is currently haunting my mind and distracting me as I try to write this. But one of the first songs I ever heard when I was a teenage wolf was village of the sun and that’s a down right beautiful composition in my opinion.
Charles Mingus
He’s mainly only up here on my list because of the album ah um, which I’ve been cranking a lot recently. Not cranking as in crying and wanking, cranking as in turning up loud, get your mind out of the gutter. The horn melodies make me wonder how the hell it was written and the “huh? factor” is a big part of what makes me like music.
The album has great energy, with unbridled and unpretentious horns that at times seem to be floating around autonomously while fitting perfectly together at the same time, Mingus occasionally hollering in the background like a mentally deranged hobo, and Charlie’s main boy, Danny Richmond, nailing the time changes with taste and gusto.
Two of my favourite songs of mingus’ that are not on this album are the beautifully haunting “meditations on integration” which includes Eric Dolphy, another incredible composer, and “ecclusiastics”, featuring my all time favourite jazz guy, (why the hell aren’t I writing about him. I’m terrible at this) Roland Kirk.
Stevie Wonder
I don’t really know what to say about Steveland. I just love his songs. Good song make Lach feel good. Not many people can write an outro so good he can repeat it a million times without making you sick. Every album in the 70’s is a keeper. Talking book is particularly special to me because it’s the only one I had for a long time.
The first tune on the album, you are the sunshine of my life, apparently got him his first Grammy (Wikipediered it just then, thank me later). Speaking of first songs, the first song on fullfillingness’ first finale, smile please, is a song that makes me feel real nice and makes me smile just as Steve kindly asked me to.
That’s when you say “if he made a song called “jump off a bridge please?” would you do it?” and I would say “yes, yes I would”. He makes any lyric sound good. Have you heard some of the ridiculous words he sings?
