September 2011:
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Wise Guys
By Brian Bowman
Loud, pushy, playful, inventive, intelligent and deceitful, the kind of duffus who’ll rob you blind and then, mockingly, tell you off about it. Wise guys. We all know them. And at the Mysteria Gallery until November 5th the wise guys meeting that description are crows.
It’s a unique show – six artists: Marsha Kennedy, Jesse Goddard, Ariane Nelson, Anita Rocamora, Gerri Ann Siwek, and Marlo V, working in diverse media to develop series of works around a common subject, and collectively mount an exhibition. The common subject is the common crow.
The idea originated, sort of, with Marsha Kennedy. She polled and cajoled the artists, beginning from this time last year, and, with Mysteria Gallery’s Marlo V, organized the show, which opened, on a warm night to a big crowd, on Wednesday, September 7th.
If you know Marsha, the ‘Crow Show’ concept was as likely as seasonal change. Marsha Kennedy is intimate with crows; she lives with them. (No, she’s not weird. See the Buzzcity archives for August 2010) She’s engaging, persistent, and determined. She tried, more than once, to get Heather Cline onside: “Are you sure you wouldn’t do crows?” Kennedy cajoled. “No,” said the adamant Cline. “I think I’ll do robins.”
That’s because Cline was already doing a series on robins (see side-bar: RobinCam). It turned out, whether by coincidence or synchronicity, that most of the artists who Kennedy polled were currently working with birds, while one or two of the others, independent of Kennedy’s awareness or influence, were also doing crows. Rocamora, for example, was using them as symbol in her sculptures, while Goddard was working them in bronze. Moreover, he also was talking about doing a show on crows.
Why crows?
Says Kennedy: “Crows have been known to be fun loving, important spiritual messengers, pranksters, a common nuisance, omens of death, omens of luck, a bridge between the here and after… and much more. If you take the time to investigate the important meanings that crows have had throughout time and diverse cultures, it is quite apparent that crows have captivated us in many ways.”
All of those themes are explored and represented in the show. In Ariane Nelson’s work, which combines old and new elements, they are a bridge to the past. In Goddard’s they are symbols of rebellion. For Anita Rocamora they symbolise evolution, communication and transformation. In Siwek’s work they are story tellers, in Marlo V they are messengers between worlds and in Kennedy’s series they are intelligent and practical against a background of fable and anecdote. – a diversion from the reflection of human values that figures prominently in the work of the other artists. But then, unlike the others, Kennedy knows crows. “Mine come from looking at what crows can actually do,” she says.
Somewhere, there may be other artists working in crows. There may be other crow shows. But it’s highly unlikely there is, or ever was, a show combining the interpretations of so many talented artists around that one, single theme. If you’ve ever wondered how many things a common bird can be, if you’ve ever wondered how broadly the artistic eye can see, you should visit this show. At first glance, it may look like a murder of crows, but it’s really a celebration of life.
Mysteria website: www.mysteria.ca
Crowmotion
By Brian Bowman
Crowmotion, which opened for the Crow Show at the Artesian on September 7th, is an exploration of time and motion created in collaboration with Rob King, Jackie Dzuba and video of Marsha Kennedy’s crows. The show combines several elements and media to illustrate the flight, and sorrow, of crows. (Kennedy’s crows were wounded, rescued and recovered. But they can no longer fly, making them a poignant comment on Robin Poitras’ dance performance)
Says co-producer Rob King: "Our concept was to put Robin in a space like the aviary that houses the wounded crows in the film. I had an idea that the film images could be projected through a veil onto a screen behind Robin. When we tested the concept, moving the veil back and forth from the stage, we discovered our own three-dimensional film, with a live performer trapped inside. It was the sudden and perfect result of artistic collaboration."
There will be a repeat of this performance at the Mackenzie Art Gallery’s Shumiatcher Theatre as part of New Dance Horizon’s 26th season kick-off, on Friday, September 30th from 6:30pm to 9:00pm. Called NDH Dance Documenta, this performance celebrates the moving arts of dance, film and video. It’s a great overview of NDH’s past 25 seasons. Bound to be a great show, and it’s free! Check www.newdancehorizons.ca for a complete listing and schedule of works.
Pat Steel - Regina's First Lady of Jazz
By Brian Bowman
Musical instruments, and musical genres, come and go in popular culture. Violins and pianos were popular in the early part of the 20th century, and were then replaced by electric guitars. Here on the prairies, the accordion and polka tunes declined in favour of folk and rock and roll. Now, polkas are back, and people are learning the accordion again. So too, with jazz and big band. "Big band is growing," says Pat Steel. "And I think it's because of the music systems in high-schools and universities. They're taking Bands, now. The kids are used to horns because they get it in school. And the big band affords them a place to perform, because there aren't too many solo trombone players, you know."
Pat Steel should know. She's been singing Jazz since 1961, for most of her career as vocalist with the Bob Moyer Big Band and for 12 years with the Mart Kenny Orchestra, two of the hottest big bands in western Canada. She sang at Expo '67 in Montreal, at Expo '86 in Vancouver, performed every year at the Saskatoon Jazz Festival, was a guest singer with the Calgary Pro Band at the Delta Bow Valley, the University of Regina big band, with Roy Reynolds of the Stan Kenton Orchestra in Victoria, the Arizona West College big band, and the Jazzbarrie Jam Combo. She has adjudicated the Optimist Band Festival, the Saskatchewan Express and the Bud Country Talent Show. In 2007, she received the SaskTel Jazz Festival's Special Recognition award - the first woman ever to be so honoured.
Jazz is difficult to play and challenging to sing, but Steel has the quality of voice, the power of projection and the subtlety of phrasing that a real Jazz singer requires. She's more than just good at it, and she's never had a lesson. "I sang when I was a little kid. I heard commercials on the radio and I could copy them when I was really little. I didn't take lessons. I mostly listened to singers and Jazz musicians. The first time I sang in public was at Clear Lake, Manitoba. I was 16 and sang with Johnny Berring. I was pretty young - too young to get into nightclubs. But that was at Danceland and it was open to anybody." That was in the late 1950s. By 1962, Steel had relocated to Regina. Big bands and jazz players had been touring Saskatchewan for years. Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong had played the province, and other big bands and famous jazz players had toured here several times. A lot of them, including Armstrong, sat in or jammed with local musicians. Their influence had taken root and produced bands even in small communities, not least of which was the Mart Kenny Orchestra. Jazz guitarist, Gordie Brandt, was knocking their socks off in Saskatoon, and in Regina, the Hobby Band, under the guidance of Bob Moyer, was hugely popular.
Pat Steel first heard Bob Moyer, and his jazz ensemble, playing at the small boat club on Wascana Lake's Willow Island. "I phoned Bob and asked if I could audition and he said 'yes'. He played the audition tape for the other members of the group and they said I was fairly inexperienced but I had lots of promise. So I ended up being their vocalist, for years. I can even tell you who the members were: Allan Muirhead on trumpet, Boyce Mclean on bass, Luke Vancha on drums, Bob Moyer on piano and Keith Moyer on tenor sax and sometimes clarinet. We were playing standards, jazz standards. We were trying to make it as commercial as possible, to sell it to an advanced crowd. But it was basically jazz."
"The Bob Moyer Big Band is a 14 piece big band, and when we do concert work it's a 17 piece band," says Steel. "It's four trumpets, four trombones, five saxes, a rhythm section of piano, bass, and drums, the singer and sometimes guitar. We add one more trumpet and one more trombone and sometimes guitar for concerts. Most of our members are music educators, university instructors, high-school teachers, but they're all professional musicians We've often used Jack Semple, for instance." With Pat Steel as vocalist, the Hobby Band became the Jubilee Big Band in honour of Regina's Diamond Jubilee, and subsequently the Bob Moyer Big Band by which name it is still known. Steel eventually married Bob Moyer. Retaining the name, Pat Steel, she sang with the band for decades and only gave it up this due to
health problems.
"I learned on the job", says Steel. "Jazz has always been a favourite, but I like classical music, too. I like sopranos. I like listening to the gymnastics they do that I can't. I really admire that. But I've pretty much stayed with Jazz. I was just born with it. I've played in just about every night club in Regina. I'm sure I have; six nights a week, for years and years. And I've worked in Saskatoon, well, across Canada as a vocalist with other groups. But mostly, it was with Bob, as my accompaniest. And that's what he says he did best." More recently, and for 12 years, Steel sang and toured the prairies with the Mart Kenny Orchestra, which covered music from an earlier era. For that, she had to retrain her voice to match the musical style.
"His singer was Norma Locke. He was married to her for a number of years, and she was a famous singer. They represented Coca-Cola. They had their own train, and they toured Canada for the Coca-Cola company. When Norma died, about 15 years ago, Mart chose me as his singer. I was just thrilled about that. I learned to sing in his style - the 20s or 30s. And I sang his arrangements the way that somebody of that era would sing them. My mom and dad danced to him. On the job, people would come up and say how they danced to him on their honeymoon. It was music from a very romantic era. We did Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We did do a concert at the Banff School of Fine Arts, but mainly Saskatchewan and Manitoba."
Today, the Bob Moyer Big Band is in demand and can be heard at jazz festivals and large conventions. Bob Moyer, the leader, passed a few years ago and Brent Ghiglione,trumpet player who played with them for years is now the Director. And Pat Steel is still involved, though she doesn't sing anymore. "I play maracas on any Latin tunes we do," she says. "Just to keep my hand in. Otherwise, I listen. Jazz has been my life."
