Band cooks a tasty musical stew
GEOFF
CHAPMAN
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Dapp
Theory sounds likes an exotic branch of chaos theory in
physics, but in jazzy hip-hop literature it has come to mean
seeking balance in love and on life's journey.
That's likely not very helpful in trying to come to
terms with Hamilton-born, ex-Hogtowner and York U graduate
Andy Milne, who started this band with its improbable name six
years ago. All a listener needs to know is that it produces
on-the-precipice sounds heavy on groove, driven by emphatic
work by Milne on piano and keys, whirlwind drummer Sean
Rickman and electric bassist Anthony Tidd.
Dapp's free concert yesterday on the Toronto Star stage
at Toronto City Hall showed how jazz, hip hop and a host of
contemporaneous influences come together.
There national tour is in support of the unit's latest
CD, which featured anti-establishment songs penned by
art-rocker Bruce Cockburn. However, there was little of that
in evidence yesterday, for the band was trying out new
material and new band members — saxophonist Loren Stillman and
John Moon, who describes himself as a percussion poet. That
means his fierce staccato delivery fits well with the band's
fierce, stuttering rhythms, although it wasn't always possible
to make out the words in his raging rap mostly about despair
in the world.
Yet, all slotted together, Stillman's off-centre alto
and soprano lines are a good match for the tense dialogues
hurtling between Milne and Rickman and each piece, such as
"April 2004" and "Blackout," maintained a tumultuous life of
their own.
This is the sort of show that festival artistic
director Jim Galloway and executive producer Patrick Taylor
have been trying to fit into a mainstage schedule replete with
big names who'll almost always fill that big marquee outside
City Hall, international figures like the Rite Of Spring
(Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke and Al DiMeola) and Wynton
Marsalis.
"We've had seven sold-out shows and we're approaching
the good years of 2001 and 2002 in attendance. But with SARS
last year and tourism not fully back this year, we're not sure
about attendance, although the box office is much better and
set a record for the first weekend," Taylor said in an
interview.
Galloway noted the popular Youth Stage series involving
students and staff from U of T, York U and Humber College.
"We're going to build on its success in the future, working
with colleges and high schools, and we programmed Canada Day
so that acts could appeal to the 14 to 20 age group.
"There's been a good buzz about the festival and a
number of artists have indicated how pleased they are with
facilities here, especially the French National Orchestra,
whose members agreed they'd had a really good listening
audience."
Audiences at the small National Film Board auditorium
for the New Wave series grew steadily, with Saturday's Ken
Vandemark concert sold out. Organizers expect to use it again
next year.
Taylor envisions making the entire square more like a
street festival in 2005, with more licensed premises and
strolling musicians, and noted that the Senator, Montreal and
Rex venues attracted big audiences.
Bloopers were rare, although mislaid equipment affected
the timing of bassman Alain Caron's band, while Montreal
festival chiefs may not be too cosy with Toronto since Wynton
Marsalis blew so hard at Tuesday's concert, and later at the
after-hours jam in Trader's Bar that his lips swelled — and he
was forced to cancel the next night's show at Montreal.
One bizarre problem, not yet verified, is that a huge
convention of 65,000 members of Alcoholics Anonymous has
booked every downtown hotel room in Toronto around the
projected dates for next year's festival, June 24 to July 3.
"We'll have to wait and see, and possibly move our dates
further into July," muttered Taylor.
Eight concerts were recorded with the help of the Ken
Page Memorial Trust for subsequent broadcast on JAZZFM91. The
artists are: pianist D.D. Jackson's trio; pianist Laila
Biali's octet; the Mike Murley/David Braid quartet; singer
Carol Sloane's quartet; two-piano sessions at the Montreal
Bistro involving Joanne Brackeen and George Cables; Fred
Hersch and Don Thompson; and Jay McShann with Junior Mance,
plus the jazz party at Trader's Bar featuring pianomen John
Arpin and Butch Thompson.
Additional
articles by Geoff Chapman
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