the Chapel of Sound the Basement tapes

As mentioned on the Past Work header page, my motivation for making these recordings of some of the live shows I worked on at the Basement jazz club in Sydney during the 1980s was to capture some of the music that would otherwise have gone undocumented; music that I felt had intrinsic value. I have kept these to myself until now, because while the recordings may be mine, the music is not. Music, however, is meant to be shared; both between those that create it, and by extension with the audiences that enjoy listening to it. So it is in this spirit that I offer many of these – from the 200 hours in total – to be listened to here. There is no financial intent to this exercise, just an attempt to share some music and understanding about a vital and vibrant period of Sydney’s improvised music scene that has now passed.

Just as there is an oral tradition in story-telling, for music there is aural tradition – the passing on of how it is expressed and sounds – and the bonus with live recordings is that we not only get to hear unaltered performances by specific artists, but get glimpses of their personalities as well through their conversation with us, impressions that are all the more personal due to the intimacy of the club setting.

Please realise that on these nights, the live sound was my main concern, and recording was usually a best-guess situation that happened in the background. Early recordings consisted of the stereo room mic feed only because I had no way of setting up an alternative recording mix, and this means that presence from the PA mix is missing which is especially noticeable on vocals. The balances improved as I developed my system and approach, but it all took time. Still, flawed though they are, without these recordings we would have nothing.

While the recordings are ropey at times, they have a raw and unaffected honesty I find refreshing – and as a whole, the collection not only demonstrates the diversity of music that was programmed at the club, but in retrospect gives broad context to this microcosm of the musical world. On a specific level they surprise with minor gems in the detail. For example, between the music you get to hear some of these musicians speak and joke, whether on mic or off – something you never get from studio recordings – and from our present viewpoint, we now realise how precious this can be. By mid 1988, the club’s closure was imminent, and one of the last touring artists to play there was Johnny Griffin. In acknowledging what would have been a traumatic situation facing those affected, he gave this well-travelled perspective.

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While I have sought permission from those recorded musicians that I still have some contact with, if anyone affected has a problem with any of the music offered here, please let me know and it can be taken down. Otherwise, I hope it generates renewed interest and enjoyment as it is listened to again. My intention here, as always, is to respect the musicians and the music, and celebrate it as well. I certainly don’t want to upset anyone. Although the system was fairly basic, the recordings are offered at the original recording resolution of 44.1kHz, 16bit.

Also, these recordings were captured largely on the fly – even the gigs often had no sound check – so there will be inevitable mistakes and omissions in my hasty note taking at the time. Corrections are welcome in the hope we eventually get the record straight and complete.…

See how the Basement tapes were recorded

Take a closer look at the Basement itself

Roll over artists (listed alphabetically) for links to available playlists. Those active will blink.

Please note that some playlist pages are offline as I seek artist approval, and will be added as I can. While not all may end up being available online, the list at least documents their existence.

Andy Atwill’s Big City Big Band Nov.18 ’87

Andy Atwill: acoustic and electric bass, Carl Orr: guitar, Graeme Norris, Tim Otto, Martin Anderson, Brett Spilsbury & Ken Dean: saxophones, Steve Luke, James Greening & Colin Philpott: trombones, Evan Lohning, Greg Carger & Robbie Blackman: trumpets, Danny Saul: drums, Ron Barry & Toni Allayialiss: vocals.

01.

The Benders May 26 ’86

Chris Abrahams: piano, Lloyd Swanton: acoustic bass, Dale Barlow: soprano and tenor saxophones, Andrew Gander: drums.

02.

The Benders May 27 ’86

Chris Abrahams: piano, Lloyd Swanton: acoustic bass, Dale Barlow: soprano and tenor saxophones, Andrew Gander: drums.

03.

Jerry Bergonzi’s ‘Gonz’ April 7 ’88

Jerry Bergonzi: tenor sax, Salvatore Bonafede: piano, Bob Gullotti: drums, Bruce Gertz: acoustic bass.

04.

Elvin Bishop Band Sep.16 ’86

Elvin Bishop: guitar & vocal, Terry Hanks: sax & vocal, Wayne Goodwin: violin, Jimmy Doyle: guitar, Victor Rounds: bass, Russell Dunlop: drums.

05.

Elvin Bishop Band Sep.17 ’86

Elvin Bishop: guitar & vocal, Terry Hanks: sax & vocal, Wayne Goodwin: violin, Jimmy Doyle: guitar, Victor Rounds: bass, Russell Dunlop: drums.

06.

Elvin Bishop Band Sep.19 ’86

Elvin Bishop: guitar & vocal, Terry Hanks: sax & vocal, Wayne Goodwin: violin, Jimmy Doyle: guitar, Victor Rounds: bass, Russell Dunlop: drums.

07.

Bruce Cale Orchestra + Ernie Watts Jun.4 ’87

Mike Haughton: soprano & alto saxophones & flute, Graham Jesse: soprano & tenor saxophones & flute, Miroslav Bukovsky: trumpet & flugelhorn, Warwick Alder: trumpet & flugelhorn, Alison Campbell: French horn, Jerry Ramage: bass & tenor trombones, Guy Strazzullo: guitar, Roger Frampton: piano, Steve Elphick: acoustic bass, Bruce Cale: leader & acoustic bass, Tony Buck: drums, with guests Dale Barlow and Ernie Watts: saxophones.

08.

Count Me In May 27 ’87

Jim Kelly: guitar, Ara Narcessian: keyboards, Wayne Goodwin, violin, Geoff Oakes: tenor sax, Victor Rounds: bass, Peter Figures: drums, Sunil De Silva: percussion.

09.

Count Me In Aug.31 ’87

Jim Kelly: guitar, Ara Narcessian: keyboards, Wayne Goodwin, violin, Geoff Oakes: tenor sax, Victor Rounds: bass, Peter Figures: drums, Sunil De Silva: percussion.

10.

Count Me In Sep.1 ’87

Jim Kelly: guitar, Ara Narcessian: keyboards, Wayne Goodwin, violin, Geoff Oakes: tenor sax, Victor Rounds: bass, Peter Figures: drums, Sunil De Silva: percussion.

11.

Dan Crary Jan.23 ’85

(with Chris Duffy, Mick Reid & Dave Ellis)

Dan Crary: guitar & voice, Mick Reid: guitar, Chris Duffy: banjo, Dave Ellis: acoustic bass.

12.

Crossfire May 11 ’83

(with the John Hoffman Big Band horns)

Crossfire: Jim Kelly: guitar, Mick Kenny: keyboards, Ian Bloxsom: percussion, Tony Buchanan: saxophones, Mark Riley: drums, Paul Pooley: bass.

John Hoffman Big Band horns: John Hoffman, Paul Panichi, Dick Montz, Steve Williams: trumpets, Bob Bertles, Col Loughnan, Lee Hutchings, Brent Stanton: saxophones, George Brodbeck, Bob McIvor, Bob Johnson: trombones.

13.

Crossfire Mar.15 ’83

Jim Kelly: guitar, Mick Kenny: keyboards, Ian Bloxsom: percussion, Tony Buchanan: saxophones, Mark Riley: drums, Paul Pooley: bass. These are studio mixes of (probably) an 8 track recording.

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