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Bay Of Islands Jazz & Blues Festival - August 2006 |
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A Report From Derek.jpg)
A few words from Derek about the 2006 Bay of Islands Jazz & Blues Festival which, despite being a bit quiter than usual, was a blast. The Bay of Islands Jazz & Blues Festival is always a highlight of our year, but it was with distinctly mixed feeling that Grant, Sonia and I headed up to Paihia this year. Having planned to take up a full six-piece band (with Matt Hennessey playing drums and Mike Kirk on guitar), here we were without even Nigel’s bass and, more importantly, without Nigel. But real life intrudes sometimes and, however much we wanted to present the new album in its full glory, the family comes first and Nigel needed to be in Tauranga. It was the only time Kokomo have missed the festival since we went up 14 years ago and it felt really strange to be there without Nigel, and with half our thoughts back in Tauranga. On the other hand, Grant and I were both excited about the opportunity to dig back into some old traditional blues tunes and to present a different side to the music we play with Kokomo. And, of course, when you have a new album you want to get it out there so people can hear it, even if the music we were playing was rather different from the full band sound of Kokomo a gogo. FRIDAY Things kicked off for us at the Haruru Falls Resort, and it was lovely to start running into some old friends, always one of the best things for us about festivals like this. We caught a little of Blue Monkey Racket (from New Plymouth) before we started – sort of a jump/swing/blues outfit – and they both looked and sounded like a lot of fun. Our set went well, after a slightly shaky start. Initially Grant and I were rather missing that bass and the other instruments but, after the first couple of numbers, it settled in and we had a fine time. Sonia joined us on the last two tunes and we played: HEY HEY (Big Bill Broonzy) After we finished we caught Billy TK Jr, recently returned from playing in Japan and looking as buff and muscled as usual, with Maori TV in tow filming him (good on them! – no sign of any of the other TV stations). He’s a helluva guitar player, full-on solid electric blues, and has a crack band, but managed to make more than a few eardrums bleed by playing at nerve-shredding volume in what is – ultimately – a pretty small room. Billy was followed by the wonderful Jan Preston – boogie-woogie pianist extraordinaire - and it was great to catch up with her again. We hadn’t seen Jan since the Rotorua Last Of The Summer Wine Festival, and she was in fine form, if a little tired from three days in the recording studio, a flight from Sydney and a gig in Auckland. Grant and I hopped up and joined her for a few songs at the end of her set and had a mighty enjoyable jam.
.jpg) After catching a bit of Edwina Thorne's set (sadly, her advertised musical partner Marilyn Waring – the ex-MP! – didn’t show), we headed back to a motel with friends and were led astray till 4am before staggering back to our rooms. Some things never change… SATURDAY Blue Monkey Racket again played before us (this time at the Copthorne Resort at Waitangi) and sounded even more entertaining than on Friday. Similar sort of sound to Auckland’s The Alibis, but with more blues and a somewhat looser approach. We had a pretty good set, with some really special moments. Upon Sonia’s suggestion we added “Home Of The Blues”, though it rather broke with the plan of playing “Old Blues Only”. It was a very good idea, and again she joined us on the last two songs. We played: GOOD MORNING BLUES (Leadbelly) Had to rush off afterwards so didn’t hear any more music, but back at the Casa Bella Motel I caught up with the Blue Monkey Racket guys, who turned out to be very friendly and mad as meat axes. Most importantly, they like good wine and were happy to share. Had a lovely Aussie ’93 Shiraz amongst others – thanks guys! That night at the Paihia Pacific we had a great crowd - who, to my slight surprise, sang along with much enthusiasm - and played this set (“Diddie Wah Diddie” was an audience request): STEALIN’ (Trad) Then we heard our friends from The Mike Garner Band, sounding very good as always. A pleasure to see all those resonator guitars. I guess everyone now knows that Steve Evans (Mike’s other guitarist) makes Beltona Guitars and was once Mark Knopfler's guitar tech before moving back to NZ a few years ago. Beautiful guitars, maybe one day… Mike is in the middle of recording a new album in Rotorua - which Nigel played bass on and I added a couple of guitar parts to - and there is some sensational stuff on it. Caught a bit of Aussie guitarist Tony Martin after Mike, and he always puts on a good show, though it’s a little pub blues/rock for my tastes. Then Billy TK played another awesomely loud set, followed by a new Auckland outfit called Indigo Blue, who dressed like some cabaret band act actually played some very tasty blues and R&B. After that Grant and I headed over to The Beach House where we sang songs and swapped tall stories with our friend Dan and others until – again – about 4am. A splendid night! SUNDAY Despite fighting off multiple hangovers we were determined to make the most of Sunday, so we headed over to The Copthorne to catch Jan Preston’s lunchtime set and the three of us ended up jamming with her and Mike Garner. She also did a two-piano thing with Andrew (The Wizard from The Wizard and Oz) which was simply sensational. Probably the best thing I heard all weekend.
.jpg) DIDDIE WAH DIDDIE (Blind Blake)
.jpg) Caught a bit of Selective Sound after us, playing some very tight and impressive modern jazz/rock. Then we headed back to the mainland for our last gig, again at The Copthorne, where – to my surprise – there was quite a big crowd given the festival was rapidly winding down. We dug out a few tunes we hadn’t played so far and Mike Garner joined us playing harp – along with Sonia – for the last song: STEALIN’ (Trad)
.JPG) All in all it was a great weekend! Somewhere along the line I also sat down with the guys from Miles Ahead, at least two of whom have jammed with us on occasion. Good to see Trevor Braunias, guitarist from our friends in the Torch Songs Band, playing with them. Thank you all for coming along and listening to us. Hope you enjoy the new album! And, most importantly, a big THANK YOU to Shirley May and the other organisers for a splendid weekend – you guys rock! See you next year… |
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