A full house at Hanover Hall heard guest jazz trumpeter Michael Costeloe, of Wellington, play his compositions with Dunedin Jazz Club stalwarts Nick Cornish (alto saxophone), Bill Martin (piano and keys), and Carl Woodward (drums) with Wellingtonian Simon Eastwood (double bass).
Costeloe has an enviable pedigree in performance and composing augmented by sojourns overseas.
His performance stamina and credibility are phenomenal.
Wonderful attention to rapidly woven rhythms, baroque-like melodic intricacies, overlapping harmonies and clever, energetic ensemble writing propel the music.
The opening number, Zeno’s Arrow, though overly repetitive, is the epitome of his frame of mind and ability to glean ideas from everyday sounds.
The variety of his style ranges from the lazy bluesy triplets in The Coven and in the delightfully sinuous Amorphous which neatly evokes Greek zephyrs and enervating heat; the bass openings in To the Ninth Degree and the speed of Loose Unit.
His melodic sensitivity is revealed in the smooth poignancy of Fall from Grace.
All musicians gave exemplary ensemble and solo performances.
All have finely tuned rhythmic understanding and ability to lean into the harmonic nuances and sometimes brutish energy.
All are a delight to watch.
Cornish has an extraordinary ability to draw out a dissonance.
Martin has a crisp touch and seminal ability to add vocal complexity to solo section harmonies.
Eastwood is able to improvise over a diverse range of genres and Woodward is a revered Dunedinite with deep overseas experience.
Costeloe’s appreciation of what Dunedin’s jazz fraternity has to offer should inspire his return.
