No Skips: John Coltrane

Hi everyone,

So looking forward to seeing those of you coming along to No Skips tonight at the Highnote in Northcote. We're welcoming guest selector, and local musician, Nkechi Anele, in September. Nkechi, who is also the lead vocalist for Melbourne-based band Owelu Dreamhouse, has selected Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti's 1973 afrobeat album, Gentleman, for us to listen to together. For bookings, follow this link. You can also purchase tickets at the door.

I asked Nkechi why she'd selected this record for us to listen to together and this was her response:

I chose this song because when I first heard Fela Kuti’s ‘Gentleman’ I was at a place of deep research and reflection, carving out a sense of understanding for my own identity. Fela’s sentiment towards colonial attire and conformity was synonymous with the restlessness I felt, and the mental bindings I was navigating and attempting to untangle. 

‘Gentleman’ has a deep indigenous calling, a protest song, laughing in the face of colonialism. For how else do you defeat fear?

It’s like Fela is reminding us of who we are, and the power and distinction of an ‘African original,’ how to hold one’s dignity in the face of oppression and dehumanisation. 

Growing up, and still to this day, dislocated from my own land, I was also drawn to the strong sense of arrival and place. ‘Gentleman’ explodes into life and vibrancy. Across instruments and vocals you hear motifs bounce from one place to the next, a constant flow of distinction and familiarity. 

Gentleman gives you a sense that there is life living here.

Next Tuesday, September 22nd, we're hosting a very special No Skips party at Aster (the old Ferdy Durke) in the city, celebrating the centenary of jazz great, John Coltrane.

We’ll be listening to a rare LP: a live recording from John Coltrane’s 1966 tour of Japan, his first and only visit to the country before his death the following year. The band is stacked with heavy hitters, including his wife, Alice Coltrane, on keys; Jimmy Garrison on bass; Pharoah Sanders on tenor sax; and Rashied Ali on drums. We’ll also listen to some well-known compositions because, why not? 

For tickets, follow this link.

And if you’re after a little Trane fix, here’s an excerpt from a piece he wrote in 1960 about the jazz influences in his music. There are many things to love about Saint John, but what I love most is that he was a student, and stayed a student until the very end. 

I’ve been devoting quite a bit of my time to harmonic studies on my own, in libraries and places like that. I’ve found you’ve got to look back at the old things and see them in a new light. I’m not finished with these studies because I haven’t assimilated everything into my playing. I want to progress, but I don’t want to go so far out that I can’t see what others are doing.

I want to broaden my outlook in order to come out with a fuller means of expression. I want to be more flexible where rhythm is concerned. I feel I have to study rhythm some more. I haven’t experimented too much with time; most of my experimenting has been in a harmonic form. I put time and rhythms to one side, in the past.

But I’ve got to keep experimenting. I feel that I’m just beginning. I have part of what I’m looking for in my grasp but not all.

I’m very happy devoting all my time to music, and I’m glad to be one of the many who are striving for fuller development as musicians. Considering the great heritage in music that we have, the work of giants of the past, the present, and the promise of those who are to come, I feel that we have every reason to face the future optimistically

Come celebrate 100 years of John Coltrane. 🎈

Over at First Chapter, we're delighted to welcome our September guest curator, Erik Jensen. 

Erik Jensen is the founding editor of The Saturday Paper and editor-in-chief and chief executive of Schwartz Media. He is the author of five books, most recently the poetry collection A Lick of Fireweed. Erik has selected Jamaica Kincaid’s 1985 novel Annie John for us to read together! 

As ever, the event runs from 6:30 pm on the last Monday of the month at Hope St Radio. Tickets are available via this link — use the discount code FIRSTCHAPTER10. 

We can't wait to read it together!

See you soon, 

Santilla