Bob Murphy

[cweeds]

One of the benefits of owning your own jazz club is hearing incredible music day after day after day. Last night Bob Murphy graced the Hammond Organ again. All I can say is HOLY SHIT. This guy continues to impress me more and more. It was so heavy. It just floored me. We all know what I great piano player he is but now with the house B3 at the Cellar, so many of us are realizing that he is an incredible talent on organ. Get down and here him with Ross Taggarts band in May. Thanks BOB!

[cweeds]

You know sometimes how when your at a live performance and it happens to be recorded and you listen to it later and say to yourself "hmm it seemed alot better when I was there" Well I'm listening the recording of that night that I made and it was just as good as being there. These guys are flying. They do this version of My Favorite Things and man does Pat Coleman tear it up. They then go into a classic blues with a bridge at a brisk tempo and Murphy absolutely burns up the organ. This guy needs to be heard more on organ. Hmmmmm, live at The Cellar.

[Barc]

I go to hear Bob play at O'Doul's most Wednesday evenings. There's no cover, there's booze if you do and coffee if you don't, the food's great (although pricey for the full dinners - appetizers are half of that) and the chance to hear Bob solo is not to be missed.
However, most of the time, there are only a couple of people listening - so where's the Vancouver jazz community? One of the major "groans" I've heard is that there's no public support for jazz here - maybe some of that is because even the players don't take advantage of the opportunities to support their own. Sure, there are some (usually the same ones) that drop in, but not many, and not often.
When I've gone to other venues, it appears to be the same - where is everybody? Got your own gig? That's doubtful - so why not go listen to some great music - the calendar on this site gives the gigs, and there are opportunities to support jazz every night of the week.

[Allan Johnston]

Bob had a trio with Al Wiertz and Torben Oxbol back in the late 70's that used to play some heavy shit. Torben had this upright electric that he made himself. They had a house gig in Gastown that they tore the roof off (not at the Joint - the name started with 'G', and it was around the corner. I never had a chance to see them, but Al used to play me some tapes he had. It sure is sad there isn't an extensive recorded history of jazz in this city.

Al www.jazztumbao.com (http://www.jazztumbao.com)

[Skunk]

They played for 90 minutes straight?? These days, you're lucky if they play for 45 minutes, then it's another 45 minute break. Good union the musicians have, that's for sure.

[LAZZ]

Skunk, you're talking strange.
What the hell has the union to do with this set of circumstances?

[This message has been edited by LAZZ (edited June 11, 2002).]

[Skunk]

"What the hell has the union to do with this set of circumstances?"

Just a silly joke, LAZZ. Don't worry. I hate to explain a joke, but I'll try. You see, unions, rightly or wrongly, are generally considered to provide certain benefits to workers, such as break times. Since jazz musicians in Vancouver take such long breaks, I was therefore trying to make the silly link between the union and their break habits. Obviously the union has rules about breaks, but probably not as lax as what the musicians generally get at most clubs.

Geez, a harmless little joke and everyone gets all uptight.

[Guy]

I love O'Doul's, too, but here's one reason why perhaps it doesn't draw a lot of people: It's a lousy place to listen to music. The musicians they get are great, but unless you're one of the lucky ones to get a seat at one end of the bar, the music is just a rumour. It's given background status, competing with the diners at one end and socializers and TV sports watchers at the other. And even if everyone were to be there just for the music, you can't see the band anywhere but from at the end of the bar.

That being said, let me reiterate that I love going there for the reasons Brian states above.

[Allan Johnston]

Brian wrote:

<<I heard that band many times - heavy shit is right! Was it at Le Chat Noir? I'm not sure.>>

Nah - it was "Gamboli's" or something like that...

[Coat Cooke]

The place at 55A Powell St. was called Gambado. It was a loft space primarily started by bassist Ken Capon. Also involved at the outset were writer Gail Buente, drummer James McRae, and me. Keyboardist Kathy Kidd, guitarist Steve Nikleva, bassist Ross Lund too.
Lots of great music there. Rent parties at the end of every month. Karl Hans Berger's second improvisation workshop was presented there by New Orchestra Workshop in 1979. Al, Bob and Torben played there several times and tore the roof of the place. I still have a poster that I made for one of their shows. They played to ten or fifteen people. Things haven't changed much. The place was finally closed by the cops because a band called the Young Canadians played too late one night. A little more Vancouver musical history. Wish we had more documentation of this place, beyond a few photos.

------------------
CC

[kirk]

The jazz fest promoters think some of their presentations are cutting edge but it's all Mantovani compared to what these guys were doing 25 years ago

Brian, this doesn't make any sense. What does Mantovani have to do with anything and why the swipes at the jazz festival?

[Barc]

Ok!
So it's decided then -

1. some of us will go to O'Doul's and the Cellar and places that still exist to hear and support Vancouver's great players and,

2. some of us will go to Gambado.