'Take Your Mind Uptown'

Jason Bruer Band

The Basement, Sydney

Tuesday Sept 21

Whether you’re feeling upbeat or a lounge lizard, get a clue! Put on your sharpest shoes and let Jason Bruer’s music take your mind uptown.

Wild weather alerts might have kept some jazz cats curled up at home, but Sydney’s storm didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of Jason Bruer, his band, or his audience.

With his sharp shoes, sax, and samples, it’s refreshing that Bruer’s music doesn’t fit any easy categories.

Instead the Bruer Band’s music offers food for thought, as well as soul food. A big sax sound alternates with gentler musings, while the delicious voice of Briana Cowlishaw weaves through it.

I began to wonder if ‘Salon Jazz’ is a valid genre? If it is, then the Jason Bruer Band can step up and claim it.

The Basement was set up – seemingly in salon mode – with tables sprinkled across the dance floor, perfect for night-time.

But why restrict things? I’d also like to see the Jason Bruer Band perform live outdoors with space to dance – perhaps in a sunny restaurant courtyard or at a winery?

You can let Bruer’s music lazily wash over you, but it’s also music to interact with. The more familiar I become with Bruer’s music, the more I want to move with it.

But back to The Basement: Jason and his band are tight – both in harmony and complexity – but with enough breathing space for Mark Johns (guitar), Fabian Hevia (drums), Alister Spence (keyboards), Brendan Clarke (bass), to each flex and strut their individual style and talents.

It was cold outside, but things were warming up indoors. Bruer dedicated the first song of the night, Alfie’s Tree, to his wife.

Bruer’s sax danced like a butterfly through the next song, Little Orb – named after his son’s initials, O.R.B. I like this song a lot – it’s a hypnotic track that stays in your head.

I was treated to more of Briana Cowlishaw’s luscious vocals – and that’s highly recommended. The interplay between her voice and Jason’s swelling sax sound is irresistible – alternating hot, salty, and sweet.

I wanted to sip more of that sweet, salty, musical margarita, and later in the evening I did.

Spring Bossa blew away thoughts of the storm outside. It was nicely timed, with the Southern Hemisphere’s Spring Equinox on the following day.

Vocalist Cowlishaw writes songs as well as sings them. The Little Things was an opportunity to hear both a young lyricist and a young voice, and glimpse her potential for both. Her inclusion with the Bruer Band is both exciting and promising.

Equally exciting is Bruer’s eclectic use of audio samples. While he is restrained with the use of samples on his debut solo cd, onstage he ramped up the volume and the energy on The Truth of The Lie.

I really enjoyed hearing this song come alive. To me, the song evokes the atmosphere of a thriving outdoor marketplace or bazaar – with its clashing pots and pans, the shake of belly dancers’ coin belts, and the jangle of jewellery.

With my appetite for food and music, and my mind now wandering through a Moroccon souk, the tang of preserved lemons came to mind.

Preserved lemons impart a huge flavour that resonates throughout a meal – use too little and the flavour remains hidden, use too much and it’s too salty. Throw in a feisty handful, and the meal is lifted to another dimension.

I’m really curious about Jason Bruer’s ongoing musical journey, his intriguing use of audio samples, and his future ideas and collaborations.

The Jason Bruer Band holds a diverse and eclectic musical passport – a combination of Bruer’s hypnotic compositions, sparing-yet-daring use of audio sampling, excellence and passion in the band’s musicianship, and the epizootic vocals of Briana Cowlishaw. It makes me want to book a plane ticket to the next destination on their musical journey.

-- Kerry Awia Markey, October 2009