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Ready To Listen by Jackie Orszaczky
Sunday, February 08, 2009
”Hope you’ll enjoy the disc,” writes Orszaczky as his closing note. I do not think there is any doubt that you certainly will enjoy this month's feature album. By Brian Wise.
JACKIE ORSZACZKY
READY TO LISTEN
VITAMIN
When Jackie Orszaczky passed away in Sydney on February 3 last year, Australia lost one of its most talented musicians. I suppose we can claim him as our own, after all he moved here from his native Hungary back in 1974 after a successful career with jazz fusion group Syrius.
Yet even while he put down his roots here and had two daughters with partner Tina Harrod, he was still able to return to his homeland and draw large crowds for his shows – a tribute to his musicianship and standing.
On settling in Australia Orszaczky joined the experimental group Bakery and went on to establish a formidable career, including later work as an arranger, session player or producer for The Whitlams, Tim Finn, Savage Garden, You Am I, Hoodoo Gurus and, even Grinspoon.
While he had been trained in classical piano and violin, Orszaczky was best known here for playing bass, and specifically the piccolo bass. He also put together The Grandmasters (which included Harrod) and a variety of other eclectic or funky ensembles.
I saw Orszaczky in performance too few times. Gigs at Byron Bay were memorable and I declared that with the Grandmasters he had the best funk band outside New Orleans. I am sure his long-time friend Jon Cleary would agree. More recently he appeared, along with Harrod, in a Charlie Parker tribute show for the Melbourne International Festival that underlined his prodigious talent. Sydneysiders were far luckier in getting to see him on a regular basis.
Over the past five years of his life, Orszaczky and long-time collaborators, drummer Hamish Stuart and bassist Dave Symes, recorded some of their favourite numbers - covers and Orszaczky originals – resulting in this posthumous release. (Apparently, there is another album we can look forward to some time this year).
One of the major trademarks of Orszaczky’s talent is his ability to get inside the groove of the song. It is something you often hear New Orleans musicians do but it is not a skill that seems to come easily. On last year’s Little Feat & Friends album, Join The Band, few of the guest musicians were able to imbue the songs with anything new and for the most part you wish most of them had never tried in the first place. It is sad when some of your favourite songs are murdered, even if they are killed with kindness.
Compare that with Orszaczky’s versions of some classic songs on this wonderful album. James Taylor’s ‘Fire Rain’, a pop hit from the ‘70s, is probably not a song you would want to readily hear again in its original incarnation, having been flogged on gold format radio. However, Orszaczky takes it and transforms it into a jazzy-infused romp.
Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong’s ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ is given a similarly jazzy feel as Orszaczky’s voice pops along behind the beat.
Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Manic Depression’ obviously cannot be as frenetic as the original but
Orszaczky changes the timing, makes his bass the feature instrument and has his expressive voice riding along on top of the instruments, and again just a tad behind the beat.
Hoagy Carmichael's ‘The Nearness of You’ is given a bluesier arrangement, with an accompanying bass solo accompanying a vocal that is tinged with a Ray Charles cadence.
Appropriately enough, given the funkiness of some of the original material, Orszaczky adds Dr John’s ‘Me Minus You Equals Loneliness’ in a delightful rendition of which I am sure that the good Doctor would highly approve.
“I first started getting into the piccolo bass about fifteen years ago, and I love it,” wrote Orszaczky in the liner notes for the album. “It allows you to expand into the harmonic registers that are not available on the normal bass. I guess, as there are no courses or literature for the instrument, every player has to work out their personal approach to it. My approach is mainly harmonic, as it comes very handy with backing myself up with vocals. You put the groove where the tune needs it to be.”
Of course, the fact that Orszaczky has also provided a batch of really strong original songs should not be overlooked. The title track starts with a strident drum beat and a husky vocal as Orszaczky almost raps the words. ‘Lights Off,’ ‘Sweet Song’ and ‘Holiday From Yourself’ are stripped back ballads on which we are given a sense of what a fine voice Orszaczky possessed, with the last song featuring some superbly tasteful harmony and backing vocals.
‘Look Up’ is a funky workout that seems inspired perhaps by Jon Cleary’s work. In this case, Orszaczky and crew (including Tina Harrod) on backing vocals) match the funkiness of Cleary’s Absolute Monster Gentlemen. ‘Stew’ is a gentler funk stroll.
“The tunes on this CD are some of our favourites that we have been playing over the last years,” continues Orszaczky, “and the way we make it interesting for both ourselves and the audience is by freeing up the arrangements to suit the particular gig. Each live performance is slightly different from the others. The same applies to this recording; they are all live, one off takes, in various studios around town.”
”Hope you’ll enjoy the disc,” writes Orszaczky as his closing note. I do not think there is any doubt that you certainly will.
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