David Tolley's High 5

Historical article recovered from a Wayback capture dated 2018-02-24.

When Peter Wockner invited me to Artist of the Month – High 5, I proposed that I focus on 5 people of particular significance to me rather than 5 performances. I’ve chosen 5 musicians each of whom is associated with a major change in my life. Without labouring that aspect, I have placed them in an autobiographic context as an alternative to the usual CV of this column.

At different times in my life I have worked as artist, musician, composer and teacher, using various media and structures but music has been the most consistent element, focusing on improvised composition with bass violin and electronics as my instruments. This article is restricted to the music aspect but if the reader would like to look into the visual art of my life, then a visit to my blog may satisfy

http://davidtolley.net

1.TREVOR TORRENS

Trevor is remembered by few and, ironically, not to be found on any web search I’ve done.

I first got into jazz when I was about 14 and loved it immediately and completely. Like all young musicians, my friends and I checked out the local experienced ‘mature’ musicians as often as we could. Somebody mentioned the St. Kilda Life Saving Club one time and so we went down to catch Bruce Clarke, guitar, Charlie Blot, drums and Trevor Torrens, acoustic bass. I was transfixed with Trevor’s playing. He was the first bass player I came across. For me, he was super-real, mythical, the ultimate in modern jazz bass playing. Listening to him and watching his playing was the highlight of my life. He was classically trained and his technical authority well adapted to jazz but my pleasure in watching and listening to him was always marred by the nagging reminder of the limitations of my own self-taught playing. I was deeply impressed that he seemed to be able to hold the whole band together, rhythmically and melodically while at the same time making the bass really sing but I was far too nervous to ever approach him. THANK YOU Trevor. Without knowing, you contributed enormously to my music life.

2. CHUCK YATES

Chuck is one of those artists who has managed a consistency of intention and practice to which I, come from a completely opposite position, can only respond with awe. I worked my way through the 50’s with art and jazz competing for attention, being part of communities in both but not a major player in either. Having gone through a Dixi phase in my last school years, playing sousaphone and bass, I drifted into ‘modern’ jazz in the early 60’s with Ted Vining, John Doyle and Chuck Yates among others. I met Chuck at the tail end of our adolescence where our exuberance morphed into dedicated posturing .we were JAZZ musicians. I was booked for some one-night gig somewhere by someone to play somewhere and they drove me in a truck to the gig. I remember vividly, climbing into the back and there was Chuck in the truck. That gig led to a highly productive music relationship and a long close friendship. We shared the same obsessions about jazz, talking and walking the same path. We emulated everything in US jazz that we regarded as hip .style, phrasing and inflection, clothing and mannerisms. The years with Chuck and drummers Chris Karen and later Roger Sellers, were a special part of my experience of jazz in the 60’s. The scene in Melbourne was small but varied. We free-lanced around town, lobbed at (‘jam’) sessions at various places (Roger Sellers mother’s house was a favourite) and played jazz whenever we could. All this was formalized in the unique Horst Liepolt venue, the Jazz Center 44, years. 44 was the venue for cutting edge jazz in Melbourne, mainly featuring colleagues my vintage and slightly older: Ted Vining, Brian Brown, Keith Hownslow, Bary Buckley, Stuey Spears, Chuck Yates, Dave Martin, John Doyle, to name a few. The relatively hard-nosed, driving, front-line and rhythm-section, quartet or quintet was the favoured format. But it was understood that it would be in the US mould with nothing too exploratory, unexpected or dangerous. We were all copyists with a shared understanding of what we were copying. In 1963, I decided to leave music behind and devote myself to my art practice. I moved to Newcastle, NSW, to take up a teaching position at the Newcastle Institute, School of Art. Music had to wait until I moved back in Melbourne in 1965 to take up a teaching position at Prahran Institute, School of Art. This lasted a year after which I moved into a hectic life of making sculpture by day and working 6 nights-a-week as a professional by night. I resumed contact with my Melbourne jazz colleagues, including Chuck who inspired me to finally seek a teacher and study the bass with classic intent. He had dedicated himself to the study of the piano and harmony and it was a great pleasure to witness his slow but methodical development from uninformed inept youth to musically articulate and authoritative practitioner. We spent hours analyzing and transcribing Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown material and later, unravelling some of the genius of Bill Evans and his various bass players. We shared a huge learning experience and a great love for the music and each other’s playing over many years but my other creative needs drew me away from THE PATH towards art consciousness and concepts. The breakdown of our intense focused communication grew into an irreparable separation. In spite of anything and everything, I THANK YOU Chuck for many unforgettable music making experiences.

3. BRIAN BROWN

Most readers will know that, in the late 60’s and 70’s, Brian Brown became a jazz luminary forging a unique path in Australian, mainly Melbourne, jazz history. My attraction to Brian’s playing in the late 60’s was his intense energy and conviction, delivered through a veil of offhandedness. I liked his approach to the act of playing and performing and responded to the raw and heartfelt sound that came from the body not the head. Ironically, his overall pitch always seemed to me to be flat. This was an issue of intonation, not tuning and it must have been his choice because it was consistent across the range of each of his instruments. I’ll always remember one particular time I heard him at The Fat Black Pussy Cat. I knew of no other tenor player who could blow the instrument with the feeling and power Brian seemed to manage with ease. He had a disarmingly mature understanding of what he was after; it was no accident; it came from him and from the way he interlocked it with an individualistic sense of notation and interval. My first experience of playing with Brian was with Tony Gould, piano and Ted Vining, drums. Though in the US mould it was a free flowing band and less hierarchical than others. Most importantly, we liberated the bass and drums from the role of rhythm section into the melodic and textural realms of the horn and piano. The conventional solo was dismantled in favour of democratic inter-activity. As our personal friendship developed, Brian leant more and more toward free form music. As we progressed, Ian Mausam replaced Tony and Bob Sedergreen replaced Ian. The music relationship between Brian and me was a constant creative challenge to each of us. There was much talk about ‘our own music’, ‘freeing ourselves from the tyranny of the US jazz’ and so on. My response to these exchanges was the development of a collaborative relationship with Brian, incorporating Ted, Bob and various ‘visiting’ performers in exploratory investigations. Brian saw the development of the quartet under his continued leadership collaboration was not an option. The quartet’s successful Australia Council grant application in 1974 was a case in point. I proposed that we apply as a collaborative unit for a music development grant and prepared a first draft of the application accordingly. We talked it through, Brian agreed, took it away and redrafted it naming the Brian Brown Quartet as the applicant, with Ted’s and Bob’s tacit agreement. They saw it as an opportunity to reinforce the jazz aspect of the quartet and its existing form as an historic entity. I aquiesced, we were awarded $12,000, a substantial amount in those days, had enormous fun over the following year and made the seminal LP “Carlton Streets”. But all of it barely nudged the boundaries of jazz in this country.

In order to alleviate pressure on Brian and the Quintet and to accommodate my interest in totally improvised composition, I began CONNECTIONS - Dur-é Dara, Brian Brown, David Tolley. We recorded this trio during the Carlton Streets sessions, I arranged a couple of interesting gigs and Brian took part agreeably. But before long he wanted out. Ironically, as I write (Nov 27, 2 pm), Brian’s wife Ros MacMillan and Tony Gould will be setting up for a concert they have had planned to celebrate Brian’s music. When Dur-é informed me that the event was to incorporate all the musicians Brian had in his various ensembles, I was perplexed that I was not invited. I take this opportunity to THANK YOU Brian for many, many pleasurable events of vigorous and stimulating music.

4A. PHIL TRELOAR, 1st period (refer below for 2nd period)

Phil has always seen music in terms I understand, terms which can never countenance disagreement, terms that are founded in unencumbered feeling and spiritual consciousness.

At the height of the BB Quintet’s modest notoriety, we did a joint-bill performance at The Basement in Sydney with Sydney band the Jazz Co-op – top Melbourne meets top Sydney. It was an extraordinary night of highly energy packed jazz. As soon as I heard Phil Treloar playing with the Jazz Co-op I recognized a kindred spirit. Dur-é agreed with me. At that gig Phil’s playing struck me immediately as a combination of acute awareness of the complete sonic phenomena of each of the other musicians with whom he may be playing with a single-minded application of focus. I was thrilled to hear him lift the sound out of the drums, rather than hitting them into submission. He played the intrinsic pitch and tonality of a drum as though it was a keyed instrument. Our collaboration and friendship was fed with regular visits he made to Melbourne from his home in Sydney. Each visit meant a weekend of playing, and recording, listening and discussing, an intense period of highly agreeable, sympathetic and energizing interaction. Almost inadvertently, though with logical ease, Phil Treloar had become the third member of CONNECTIONS. Our intensive sessions led to performances in Sydney and Melbourne of partially composed and partially improvised material. This period of our interaction concluded around 1979. We had no indication of the highly successful interaction we have recently experienced please refer below to PT 2nd period. 1978 – 1980 were significant years for Dur-é and me, producing and performing in performance-art and music-theatre events assisted by a number of close friends and several colleagues, among them magician Sam Angelico, film makers Peter Andrews, James Clayden and my brother Bruce Tolley. With their generous contribution of talent, support and time, I designed and directed a series of one-night and short-term events here and interstate.

• 1978, Began FALSE START, a quartet of incongruous membership morphing out of CONNECTIONS - Dur-é Dara and I were joined by James Clayden and David Brown, electric bass and guitar. Both James and David were my students and shared with me an art-based interest in the super-real. Packaged in the form of a conventional band but with content far from conventional, FALSE START provided a performance vehicle for James Clayden with film and David Brown in techniques which he still uses in a wide variety of contexts.

• 1979, FALSE START receives an Australia Council grant for Voices From A Fool’s House, a production written/composed by James Clayden and myself and presented over two weekends at the Open Stage, Melbourne State College.

• FALSE START continues with a program of concert-like performances at home and interstate with Brian Snowden, an extraordinary voice artist and harpist, replacing David Brown.

• Production of TOLLEY and DARA and DT solo performances, often quite elaborate, often incorporating film and photography by friends and my brother Bruce Tolley

• 1980/81, Released two LPs, TOLLEY and DARA, Cutheart, LP on Mirage and TOLLEY and DARA, You Know You Know, LP on Cleopatra.

• 1981, Took a year’s ‘study leave’ from teaching at PIT to prepare and perform a series of music theatre- art events at LaMAMA Theatre, Carlton, the University Gallery, Melb. University, and the Universal Workshop, Fitzroy

• 1989, Reunion with long time friend Daevid Allen – GONG, co-writing and rehearsing material for an LP and performance - David Tolley & Daevid Allen, EX - DON’T STOP, LP on Shanghai

• 1991, Reinvented my approach to the bass violin • 1992, Began THAT as a vehicle for totally improvised music with David Cahill saxophones and wind synth and Graeme Perry drums

• Coined ‘Spontaneously Performed Interactive Composition’

• Dur-é Dara, percussion, joins THAT. Her untutored, intuitive musical energy, the textural qualities and the manner of her playing had a significant influence on many improvisers, David Brown, Ren Walters, Anita Hustas. Adrian Sherriff myself immediately come to mind

• Julien Wilson, saxophones, joins THAT, replacing David Cahill

• Began organizing and recording improvisation interactions with various other improvisation composers in regular sessions in my residential studio as well as in performance on THAT PERFORMANCE PROJECT label

4B. PHIL TRELOAR, 2nd period

On Sept 3, 2010, Dur-é and I had an unexpected reunion with Phil Treloar. After a hiatus of nearly three decades we were able to call upon the vital creative energy of our past in terms totally relevant to the present. We did some improvised composing together rediscovered our deep running simpatico of the 70’s & 80’s and determined to arrange a return visit by Phil whenever possible. Our extraordinary music based relationship had resumed as though it had never been interrupted. I am referring to RRaPP, the ReUNION Retreat and Performance Project which resulted primarily from our desire to make again. But I also wanted to integrate the extraordinary talent of my Melbourne improvising composer colleagues and Phil’s very particular attitude to improvisation. I felt absolutely confident of the outcome and I sent him a bunch of CDs to familiarize him with their work. My trust was rewarded with notable success from the first to the last sound 16 days later.

• 2011, Conceived and planned RRaPP - ReUNION Retreat and Performance Project inviting Phil to take part as the guest of honour

• 64 titles of recordings on my THAT PERFORMANCE PROJECT label purchased by NMIT

• Oct 25 – Nov 11, RRaPP happened smoothly and inspirationally including my return to the bass violin.

For full descriptions, reports and comments on RRaPP, please refer to the following links:

http://feeling-to-thought.com

http://davidtolley.net

RRaPP finally incorporated Carolyn Conners, voice, Dur-é Dara, percussion, Anita Hustas, bass violin, Scott McConnachi, wind instruments, Sam Pankhurst, bass violin, Adrian Sherriff, shakahachi, bass trombone, percussion, Tony Hicks, wind instruments, Adam Simmons, wind instruments, Ren Walters, guitars, Ted Vining. drums, Phil TreLoar, percussion, marimba, David Tolley, bass violin, laptop electronics. I’m not aware of anything quite like RRaPP having been attempted in Australia, so I was enormously gratified and privileged to have enjoyed such generous involvement from all the protagonists and all who assisted in the event. An enormous bonus for me was playing the bass again. In response to the warmth of Phil’s marimba, I reached for my bass and discovering that, after not touching it for 6 years, I could still produce my own sound and that my hands could function and co-ordinate. I was actually playing even though there was much to be desired technically. This was the result of being three weeks into a revised Parkinsons medication regime which was dramatically reducing the symptoms. I know that I pleased more than myself in the spontaneous decision to play the bass in preference to my electronics in almost every session and performance. Phil was more than reserved in his encouragement and praise. THANK YOU Phil for your focused being, being there.

5. REN WALTERS

“The ever inventive Ren Walters, guardian of real cool of groove and ungroove of the hidden and unfamiliar . or not.” This is one of my descriptions of Ren Walters. Another would simply be, ‘enigmatic’. I believe his propensity for the latter is by default not intention, which makes it all the more engaging. Ren was another of my students at Phillip Institute, School of Art. We hardly communicated verbally but I know the environment and philosophy of that school nurtured his love of invention as it did for many others, David Brown, James Clayden, David Waddelton, Chris Knowles, to name a few. I remember a particular performance by Ren in the mid 80’s, for the Melbourne Improvisers’ Association, which morphed into the Make It Up Club. I think it was with Eric Gradman, the violinist, and my distinct memory of his playing being like a continuum of organic machinations. I found it really interesting and was keen to have him play with me.

• 1993, Ren Walters, guitars, joins THAT, replacing Julien Wilson.

• 1993 – 2003, A decade of focused practice in Spontaneously Performed Interactive Composition with many other composer/performers – a period of intense collaborations and the production of a spate of extraordinary performances

• Began THIS with Brigid Burke, clarinets, and Gary Costello. bass violin, presented in the form of classical trio

• Began THE OTHER, a varying personnel ensemble of at least 7 musicians that would have access to the dynamic diversity only possible with a larger gathering

• Began THE LEAGUE OF STRING MONGERS - the same concept as THE OTHER but restricted to string players

• 2004, Began ReMOVE – a quartet with Ren Walters, guitar, Tony Hicks, wind instruments, Ted Vining, drums and me playing bass violin

• 2005, Gave up the bass violin because of Parkinson’s

• 2006 – 2009, Intensive studio work with computer generated electronic sounding, discovering the idiosyncrasies of a hardware/software, laptop-based system to devise an improvisation ‘instrument’

• 2009, Resumed studio improvisation sessions with colleagues

• Accepted nominations by Anita Hustas and later Tony Hicks as an external teacher for their Masters’ Degrees

• Returned to the improvisation scene using the laptop system with a performance in MUSICA at La MAMA Theatre, Carlton, Sep. 4 My creative and personal sounding relationship with Ren has continued since 1993, unparalleled in my music life in terms of invention, consistency and mutual art consciousness. It has retained its relevance and intensity and THAT has remained my primary music vehicle. As well, Ren has contributed to almost all my ensembles and events. I am fully cognisant with the opportunities I have given Ren as his teacher and friend but he has returned my attention to his needs a thousand-fold. Hardly a month has passed in 18 years without some creative interaction which translates into a permanent place at my ‘table’ as my adopted son.. THANK YOU Ren for your loyal and creative friendship, your versatile invention and your caring.