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After a short break, a quartet of jazz musicians is preparing for the next series of sessions at the Bridgehouse’s garden bar overlooking the Mahurangi River, resuming on April 4.
First launched last September, the free-admission Back Bar Jazz evenings on the first Thursday of the month quickly became a popular draw, attracting about 60 people on the debut night, and good turnouts on subsequent ones.
Providing the sounds are Latter Karma, a four-piece band that emerged out of the long-established local jazz group Latakana.
Original members are spread across NZ and the globe. The end of the 14-year-long Latakana era left Chris James, a music teacher at Warkworth Primary School who plays piano and flute, to explore new avenues.
He teamed up with experienced drummer Laurie Walker, and they later brought in guitarist Garry Bigwood and bassist Lindsay Lovegrove, both formerly of the blues band Leigh Buoys. Latter Karma was born.
With the arrival of Garry and Lindsay, Chris added the saxophone to his arsenal, giving the group a more varied soundscape.
The music includes Latin and jazz standards, jazzed-up R&B classics and jazz-influenced pop songs.
Chris hopes to bring in a guest singer on occasion, providing “a slightly different flavour”.
As Back Bar Jazz nights become a regular feature in the Warkworth nightlife, the group would love other local musicians to join them, and experience the thrill of playing for an audience.
These could even include talented college students, says Chris, who adds that it’s “pretty neat” to watch people he taught as young kids grow up and go on to perform in bands, including the Warkworth Big Band.
Chris says he’s been pleasantly surprised at the audience reaction at the sessions.
“With Latakana, we’d usually play in the background and people would go on talking and drinking – which was fine,” he recalls. “But at Back Bar Jazz, the punters go quiet and applaud after solos.
“I hadn’t really expected that. I thought we’d just be playing away in the background, adding to the mood of people enjoying the bar. But apparently not – apparently they’re listening and thinking we’re quite good!”
It’s a great venue, he says – out of the way, with no street noise, and enough room for people to spread out, rather than “some tiny little smoky bar”.
While enjoying the music, patrons are also able to order food from the Bridgehouse menu. People sometimes come out from the restaurant to listen, and there has even been some dancing, he says.
Back Bar Jazz nights are on the first Thursday of the month, 6.30pm at The Bridgehouse, Warkworth.
