Not forgetting Noel Crow.

Republished from Butterboxmedia.com

Noel Crows All Stars: Queen Victoria Building. Sunday 15 August, 2004

Post also contains an interview with Mr. Crow

Last weekend, the plush backdrop of Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building set the stage for several inspired performances by some of the most prominent names in the Australian jazz scene.

The magnificent accoustics of the cathedral-like QVB greatly enhanced the distinctive, Chicagoan-style improvisations floating beautifully from Noel Crow’s clarinet. His stellar line-up of Allstars featured ex-Don Burrows pianist Ken Crawford, bassist Ed Gasson - from an earlier Bob Bernard quartet, Drummer Tony Hicks, trombonist Jim Elliot and trumpeter Dave Ferrier. The crowd of onlookers were visibly stirred as Noel & his band executed moving renditions of several timeless standards including “Basin St. Blues,” “Ain’t Misbehavin” and “St Louis Blues.” Twinkly-eyed Jim Elliot’s honeyed vocals on “Ain’t Misbehavin” had a few of the nearby ladies practically swooning with happiness.

Over two days the Jazz In The City programme featured such celebrated artists as James Morrison & Emma Pask, Galapagos Duck, Grace Knight and The Bakelight Boys and several other renowned musicians.

+++++++++++++

This writer briefly interviewed Mr Crow on Tuesday August 17th 2004.
A portion of the transcript from that evening’s very relaxed discussion follows.

PT: What’s your first memory of hearing jazz?

Noel Crow: It was about 1955 and I was growing up in a small country town in the north east of Victoria called Wangaratta. I went to a movie called The Glen Miller Story. In fact, I was so enthralled with the movie that I finished up watching it nine times! Following that, a few months later, I went down to the Palais Theatre in St Kilda to a dance and also to hear The Louis Armstrong Allstars. Louis, just blew me right out of the earth… From then on, I was a devoted jazz fan.

PT: What was the one thing that you liked most about jazz?

Noel Crow: I think the fact that it was freewheeling, and also the expressions that were found in each guys talents. You know, for example, if you were locked into a concert orchestra, or something like that, you’ve just gotta play the notes. But in jazz I found the improvisation just locked me in. I was so impressed by it.

PT: How did you learn to improvise?

Noel Crow: I was mainly influenced by my mother who was a piano teacher on the farm south of Wangaratta. At fifteen years of age i’d be in the lounge room with her as she was playing the piano. She’d be vamping the chords while i’d improvise around them. She was most influential to me.

PT: You’ve played in many different places all over the world, what are some of your more memorable gigs?

Noel Crow: Well, with my band I played for six years at Sacramento, which is the capital city of California. Probably that festival - (Jubilee Jazz Festival - PT) is the world’s largest jazz festival. Attendance-wise, it outrates anything that even New Orleans puts on. Sacramento would be the most exciting. However, i’ve also appeared at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival in Scotland to great success. And i’ve been very, very fond of appearing at Vancouver and Chilliwack in Brittish Columbia, Canada. Also, having said that, on Vancouver Island there’s this marvellous town called Victoria where i’ve played as well, many, many times.

PT: Do you have a favourite style of jazz that you would rather listen to or play?

Noel Crow: Yes, my favourite style is what they call Chicago style. I know we’ve got New Orleans style with a lot of those wonderful New Orleans people that grew up out of there, but many of them gravitated up into Chicago. Chicago-style sort of began to gradually mean more to me than anything else. There’s a term called mainstream that hems these two together. I’ve become more of a Chicagoan. It’s that style of mainstreaming music I prefer.

PT: Where does jazz look to be heading?

Noel Crow: Graham Bell, father of Australian jazz and the most famous Australian jazz man has been quoted as saying: “jazz, might be a twentieth century phenomenon.” Which he also qualified by saying: “I hope i’m wrong.”

PT: It looks like he was…

PT: You’ve devoted a life to music Noel, and you have a real love of it. Do you have any regrets about that?

Noel Crow: No, not at all. It’s the wonderful fulfillment of the whole thing.

PT: It’s something that money can’t buy I guess isn’t it?

Noel Crow: Correct.

At this stage of the interview I poured Mr Crow the final glass of his ‘fee.’

+++++++++++++

Noel Crow hosts a weekly jazz radio programme on 2NSBFM 99.3 Wednesday 5pm.
He also writes a weekly jazz column appearing in the Friday edition of The North Shore Times.

- Peter Thornton August, 2004