Adrian Galante

Adrian Galante is a jazz clarionetist and pianist who played three gigs at the Fremantle Workers Club before going to live in New York. What follows is the publicity for the last gig, after which are reviews of the three performances, 22 July 2022, and 21 January and 3 March 2023, by Ken Westgate.

===== Saturday 3 March 2023
Fremantle Park Centre 8pm =====

Adrian Galante & Friends

Adrian Galante is a multifaceted, exciting young jazz clarinetist and pianist with a remarkable command of both instruments far beyond his youth. His concert at our club on 21 January sold out two weeks in advance. Over 140 members and guests filled the room and the concert was fantastic. We have booked Adrian and friends for another concert on Friday March 3rd at 8pm just a few days before he goes back to New York to live. We won’t see him again for at least 10 months so book now and you won’t miss out.
Tickets are $30 FPSCC members and $35 guests: https://www.trybooking.com/CFQHF

SIMPLY SUBLIME: THE ADRIAN GALANTE QUINTET AT FREMANTLE WORKERS CLUB

FRIDAY 22nd JULY, 2022

I have often thought that Adrian Galante was world class but then I am not a musician so what do I know. I have tended not to trust my opinion entirely although I am always sure that I am listening to someone and something special when I hear Adrian. So I was gratified to learn on Friday night that this was not just my opinion. In an after-show discussion with Danny Moss Jr., the group’s bassist, he repeated my claim, although in his view it is not just Adrian who is world class but the entire band, and as this view is coming from a prominent and well-established jazz musician, who am I to demur? In the latest edition of the Australian jazz journal “Dingo”, Jake May asks, “Is jazz dead? Well…it depends. At its current state of evolution, Australian jazz seems to have surpassed all expectations and definitions.” The Friday night concert surely confirmed this, and as if any reinforcement was needed, on another page in the journal is a full-page advertisement for WAAPA, the West Australian Academy for the Performing Arts, surely one of the reasons why, particularly in this part of the world, the jazz scene is so buoyant.

At the outset I suggested that, for many people, jazz music was outmoded, was yesterday’s music. On the stage this night were three young men, two of them 25 and 21 respectively, and two men who were young at heart. So the music is still vital for the young and the previous reference to WAAPA and its flourishing jazz scene is the signal. The audience were blown away. The excitement was palpable. It only took a few minutes to recognise that the evening would be memorable and it was memorable from start to finish. The programme, for the most part, covered tried and trusted themes. Adrian began on clarinet with the jaunty “Just In Time” and then a slow languid intro took us into the introspective “Comes Love”, written by the unlikely Sam H. Stept. Adrian was again on clarinet and was accompanied by the hand drumming Bronton Ainsworth. The band moved into piano trio format with “If I Had You” which featured some lovely changes of tempo, and romped through a fast-paced “Oh Lady Be Good”, one of those Gershwin tunes that epitomised the 1920s. Bronton was front and centre on “That Ole Devil Moon”, demonstrating what a skilful and mature drummer he is. The evergreen Ray Walker was featured on the beautiful ballad “I’m Glad There Was You” written by Tommy Dorsey’s brother Jimmy and turned into a hit by Julie London. Ray’s thoughtful solo was full of beautiful runs and was crafted from all the accumulated experience of a long career. Ray stepped off the stage to allow Lachlan Glover to caress Cole Porter’s “Dream Dancin’”, a thing of beauty from a tenor saxophonist with extraordinary talent and feeling. Adrian closed the first set on solo piano with a heart-wrenching version of “I’ll Be Seeing You”, written by Sammy Fain and inserted into the ill-fated musical “Right This Way” in 1938.

There was a golden wedding anniversary in the house and Adrian duly obliged with a version of the Woody Herman hit of the same name featuring Adrian on clarinet accompanied only by Bronton on drums. Duke Ellington’s “In a Mellow Tone” featured all the protagonists in fine solo interventions but the outstanding moment was a solo from Bronton. Using brushes, he surpassed all expectations, producing a lengthy and exemplary masterclass, the like of which I have not heard before.

“After You’ve Gone” is one of those good old good ones from way back in 1918. Written by Turner Layton with lyrics by Henry Creamer, the number was taken along at a good lick by the band with strong extended soloing from Adrian and Lachlan. The piano trio took on the music from the stage musical and film “Finian’s Rainbow” with “How Are Things In Glocca Morra?”, squeezing every languorous last drop of sentiment from the sugary ballad. The band came back to Duke Ellington with “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be”, except that the song was actually written by Duke’s son Mercer. There were exceptional solos all round as the band were thoroughly relaxed by now and could have played on into the night. The session was completed with Adrian’s long and creative celebration of Michel Legrand’s “I Will Wait For You” from the movie “Umbrellas of Cherbourg”. He has played this many times now – it is his party piece – but it never ceases to amaze as he moves through different tempi and time signatures to a resounding climax.

And that was it. People were on their feet as they were frequently throughout and the applause was prolonged and heartfelt. This had been magnificent music by anyone’s standards. It is the first time that anyone could remember there being jazz at the Workers’ Club and anyone who might have been doubting the good sense and efficacy of putting on a jazz session at the Club, surely had no regrets by the end. But then if you start with the best that is what you can expect. The talents of the five musicians allow a discussion of “world class” with no hint of doubt or embarrassment. The performance was simply phenomenal. And for those of us who lingered after the show, we were treated to an impromptu recital by Adrian, accompanied by Danny on the bass. Neither of them wanted to leave. It had been that kind of evening.

Ken Westgate

North Coogee, Western Australia

There aren't enough superlatives: Adrian Galante and friends

Fremantle Workers Club, Saturday 21 January 2023

Fresh from New York, troubadour Adrian Galante was back in our midst for another Fremantle Workers Club session of enthralling quality and passion. Rumour had it that he had gone to the United States to seek his fame and fortune but whatever the truth is, his sojourn seemed to work and he brought his breathtaking talent to entertain us once more. Sadly, further rumour suggests that he will return to the United States more permanently in a short while, discussions of a shoebox apartment overlooking Central Park in New York indicating a more enduring residency. Whatever the case, it is important that we make the most of his presence with us and enjoy his music to the full for it may be some time before we hear him again in person. One piece of good news, though, is that he did record his first album in Los Angeles recently at Universal studios with a group of some of the best jazz musicians available so we have that to look forward to. The recording studio was used by one of Adrian’s idols, the composer and arranger Gordon Jenkins, during the recording of albums by some of the great crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.

Adrian was surrounded by trusty colleagues once more – there is a chemistry and understanding between them as a result of a lot of work together in the past and their own skills and artistry are considerably enhanced by contact with Adrian’s brilliance. I defy anyone to find a greater jazz guitarist in the region (if I may be so bold, in the country) than Ray Walker. Some of his solo work this evening was of a very high quality and his reliability as an accompanist is as solid as ever. Adrian’s great friend Danny Moss Jr. was on bass once more and their relationship is so good that the empathy between them is very apparent leading to seamless ensemble work. They are able to second-guess each other so easily and the result is the kind of synergy that those great bassists Ray Brown and Neils Henning Orsted-Pedersen both had with pianist Oscar Peterson. Chris Tarr was on drums. Although new to many in the audience, Chris has been around for some time and he was well known to the musicians in the band. His contribution was solid and balanced. He did everything you would expect from a small-group drummer.

The programme was primarily standards and favourites, seasoned tunes and some that may not have been so familiar. The opener, Juan Tizol’s upbeat “Caravan” will certainly be known to many and Adrian led off on blistering clarinet leaving the others to play catch-up. “With Every Breath I Take” (not to be confused with the Police’s big hit), a haunting ballad from the musical “City Of Angels”, was written by Cy Coleman with lyrics by David Zippel and beautifully caressed by Adrian on clarinet with some wonderful guitar from Ray. “Comes Love”, written by the alliterative Sam Stept in 1939, saw Adrian begin on clarinet and finish on piano. Some problems arose throughout the session owing largely to Adrian’s strong, percussive keyboard delivery. Two piano keys appeared to break – indeed Adrian produced them to show us - meaning that he was without (I think) Ab and G throughout the remainder of the evening. Not that this was a concern, for Adrian was able to adjust and carry on, shifting the key or altering the programme as necessary. A particular favourite of his is Gordon Jenkins’ “This Is All I Ask”, a lovely ballad which Adrian delivered beautifully on piano. Jenkins himself reckoned this was the finest of all the songs he wrote. The Gershwins’ up-tempo “Oh Lady Be Good” followed, with Adrian pulling out all the stops on piano and the first set concluded with Cole Porter’s “Dream Dancing” on clarinet which was first sung by one John McAfee as the vocal refrain in the version by Tony Pastor and his orchestra in 1941.

The second set began with bandleader Jimmy Dorsey’s 1941 tune “I’m Glad There Is You” with the vocal taken by Bob Eberly on the original recording. Adrian played this sensitively on clarinet and followed with “The Gentle Rain”, a bossa nova hit for composer Luiz Bonfa which featured initially as part of the soundtrack to the film of the same name. Adrian returned to the piano for a commanding version of George Gershwin’s “The Man I Love” and he was going to continue with Kurt Weill’s “It Never Was You” but the absent keys made this difficult so he gave us that heart-wrenching ballad about a missing loved one “I’ll Be Seeing You” instead, written by one Sammy Fain and published in 1938. The ballad “Under Paris Skies” is unsurprisingly French and was a hit for Edith Piaf although her French lyrics did not translate very well into the English version of Andy Williams. Picking up the clarinet for the final time for the evening Adrian played “All My Tomorrows”, described by one critic as “lush and aching”. It was written for Frank Sinatra in 1959 by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn. The second set concluded with another storming version of several variations on Michel Legrand’s “I Will Wait for You” which has become Adrian’s departing party piece. Of course, after that, the audience were not prepared to let Adrian go and he returned to the piano to play a sentimental but sensational version of the 1935 song by Rodgers and Hart, “Little Girl Blue”, full of pathos and emotion, which provided a glorious end to a great evening of jazz.

We have often thought to ourselves and probably said to others that this is as good as it gets. Adrian’s consummate musicianship cannot be matched, we’ve most likely said. But my belief is that contact with the United States has taken Adrian’s music to another level. After all, the United States is the spiritual home of jazz and for all the great music we have in WA, it exists on a higher plane there. And despite the loss of a couple of piano keys (what are a couple of keys between friends?) Adrian’s expanded technique and burgeoning talent transfers magically to his colleagues whose own performance level also rises to new heights symbiotically. The result was an extraordinary evening of peerless music.

The pinnacle: Adrian Galante and friends

Fremantle Workers Club Friday 3 March, 2023

There are moments that are difficult to describe and interpret, either because you cannot find the appropriate words, or the occasion is just so emotionally immense that sentiment obscures the path to its expression. But what you feel is incredibly moving, a juxtaposition of passion and euphoria and a sadness that attaches to something that you will not necessarily witness again, at least for a while. Many supporters of jazz in the area have borne witness to a string of illustrious performances from pianist and clarinettist Adrian Galante over recent weeks at various venues across the region. Adrian went to the United States, recorded an album, put down some tentative roots and then returned to Western Australia for a short time before a longer sojourn (or maybe a more permanent stay) back in the Big Apple and elsewhere. This session of music from Adrian and his friends was significant because we simply do not know when we will see and hear him again in WA. We hear that he will return in nine months, in time for Christmas and the New Year, but it is likely that many of us will need to see him to believe it. So we needed to make the most of this evening, to savour every last lingering note, with a lump in our throats and maybe the odd tear or two in the corners of our eyes. Because make no mistake, what we have seen and heard during the short time since Adrian’s return to WA and his departure back to the USA, has been nothing short of miraculous, a constant stream of inventiveness and craftmanship that has taken our appreciation to new heights and led us to simply say, “Where do we go from here?”. And to have been there and to have witnessed this magic will have to suffice until the hoped-for next time and many of us will try to ensure, with as much clarity as our memories can muster, that we retain much of what we saw and heard as a constant reminder of the brilliance on show.

There were moments too, when the entertainer’s mask slipped a little to reveal a tenderness and an introspection not normally seen. Adrian was at his busy best, exploring the musical friendships with his colleagues and ensuring that the banter at which he is so good and which engages the audience so well, was well represented throughout his performance. But then a small cloud would pass, would blot out the sun and bring a realisation that this will end, even for the performer, and what has been savoured over these past weeks will slip from reality into memory. It was palpable as Adrian sat at the piano and produced a beautiful medley of sentimental ballads reflecting, as he said, his mood and for a while he was bent over the piano, seemingly elsewhere, alone with his thoughts in a crowded room. It was palpable also as we reached the end and he played an encore which maybe gave a semblance of the ambience as, with suitcase packed and departure imminent, he played, alone with his friend of the past five years, Danny Moss Jr., “Stranger In Paradise”, that haunting melody borrowed from Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” whose English lyric contains the line “And I ascended out of the common place into the rarest, somewhere in space I stand suspended”. And maybe his introspection took him across the formative years to all that made him what he is today and which somehow culminated in this consummate idyll on this night in Fremantle.

And the friends who surrounded him let him take flight. They did not impose and badger. They were happy to support, to provide the musical cape around his shoulders, to give of their best but in homage almost, and in thanks to the masterful artist that he is and all that his music has meant to them by association. None more so than Danny Moss Jr., rock solid in the background, contemplating an intensely creative partnership and friendship covering the past five years. They have often been in each other’s pockets, enhancing the other’s capabilities, providing a reference point for the music’s growth and playing counterpoint to the hum-drum. The words that Danny spoke into the mike in celebration of his friend were heartfelt, more so because of the growth that each has made in the presence of the other. It is not known who leads who astray – it is probably both – but they have an extraordinary time to look back on in reflection and to build on for the future. Lachlan Glover is the pupil who is rapidly creating his own adventurous and creative space, increasingly confident, content to stand beside his mentor and friend and give an astonishingly mature musical performance on tenor saxophone. With Adrian gone, he remains and we can only wonder whether the heights he reaches will be similar in magnitude to those scaled by Adrian. And then there were the new boys, the young Sam Newman on drums who demonstrated all the ability that is going to be necessary to succeed in his field. He was confident, brash at times, but delighted to be there in the presence of such highly regarded colleagues. And finally, there was Jackson Van Ballegooyen, the pianist with the hardest job on the night, standing in on the piano while Adrian serenaded on the clarinet. Thankfully Jackson is not Adrian. He is assured and assertive but has his own style and self-belief. His playing is sparer than Adrian’s but highly inventive and he produced a number of fine solos during the evening that fitted with the overall timbre.

The music, as always, was eclectic. There were lesser known tunes, there were old favourites and there were standards all treated with reverence and with a panache that we have come to expect from this band of musicians. Events began with the trio, piano, bass and drums, with Adrian taking on the music of Alec Wilder, who wrote “While We’re Young” with Morty Palitz, with lyrics by Bill Engvick. Adrian caressed this song beautifully. We did not hear the lyrics but humourist James Thurber said that they were “the finest piece of English writing he knew”. The song was from 1943 and the next, “Amapola” took us all the way back to 1920. With it’s Latin feel, it was written by the Spanish American composer Jose Maria Lacalle Garcia and was first recorded by a Cuban orchestra in 1923. Adrian picked up the clarinet for the old warhorse “Just In Time” which was taken at a fast pace with Lachie chasing Adrian all over the stage. “Just In Time” is from the pen of Jule Styne with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and was first introduced into the musical “The Bells Are Ringing” in 1956. We then returned to the songbook of Alec Wilder for the little heard “Blackberry Winter” which he wrote with Loonis McGlohon which again featured Adrian on clarinet. The song title refers to that brief cold spell in some parts of the USA when the blackberry bushes bloom. The last two songs in the first set were from the Duke Ellington songbook. The first is not heard much these days. “La Plus Belle Africaine” started life as “African Flower” and appeared first on Ellington’s 1962 album “Money Jungle”. Ellington composed it for the Negro Arts Festival in Dakar, Senegal. The cascading sequences of the song, meant to represent Ellington’s “imaginery vision of a beautiful flower blooming ‘Only For God’ in the heart” (Janna Tull Steed, Duke Ellington: a Spiritual Biography, 1999), were exquisitely played by the band with Adrian playing both clarinet and piano. Some fine drumming here too by Sam Newman. The first set concluded with “In a Mellow Tone”, which Duke Ellington composed in 1939, with some fine piano from Jackson.

“Takin’ a Chance On Love” led off the second set with Adrian on clarinet and Jackson on piano. This popular song from 1940 was written by Vernon Duke and featured in the Broadway musical “Cabin In the Sky”. And then we were into the medley of ballads that had Adrian drifting away into such sublime phrasing and sumptuous melody with bass and drums accompanying. I heard “What’d I Do”, “You Made Me Love You” and “All the Way” and there may have been one other but to tell the truth I was not really thinking about titles. I was thinking about how Adrian translates some fairly mundane popular songs into such wondrous musical journeys. The introspection over, we moved into the up-tempo “Oh Lady Be Good” by George Gershwin which had some intricate and pacey tenor saxophone from Lachie and equally mesmerising piano from Adrian. “I Hadn’t Anyone Till You” was written by English bandleader Ray Noble in 1938 who, ironically, moved to the United States in 1934. It is a beautiful, languorous ballad and was given sensitive treatment by Lachie on tenor saxophone and Adrian on piano. We were coming to the end of the evening and it was fitting that Adrian performed Michel Legrand’s “I Will Wait For You” which has become a speciality for him and is so appreciated by audiences wherever he plays. It was on point, gorgeous in execution, the different time signatures and rhythms as exploratory as ever. As the ovation was dying away after that, the band launched into “Caravan” with some searing clarinet from Adrian in the higher register of the instrument and good contributions from everyone including an explosive drum solo from Sam. The audience were on their feet and Adrian was walking away but, of course, he was not allowed to leave without giving us an encore and this came in the form of the beautiful piano and bass duet, “Stranger In Paradise”, with Adrian and Danny acknowledging each other’s prowess on their respective instruments. They might have been in the backroom of a pub somewhere, kicking back after a long day.

I have been listening to and watching jazz performances and recordings for a long time, too long to recall. I truly believe that during the past few weeks I have experienced some of the finest improvised music I have ever heard, anywhere. It sometimes happens that a musician has a good day and there have been some memorable performances from some that have been very special while other performances, while still very good, are more ordinary. But the consistency and quality that we have seen and heard from Adrian Galante and his colleagues over the past few weeks is to me unsurpassed. It is extraordinary that such elemental performances can maintain this level of ability and competence time after time. I do not regret Adrian’s move to the USA. In fact, I applaud it. A musician of his undoubted powers must constantly look to raise the bar. And I wish him every success. But I will miss him. He has brought me such joy and a belief in the constancy of a well-formed talent and I will forever look forward to future contact. In fact Adrian, I will wait for you ...

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 11 March, 2023 and hosted at freotopia.org/clubs/freoworkers/galanteadrian.html (it was last updated on 4 April, 2023). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.

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