pictured left: JB, Sun Bae Choi and Alfred Harth,..Just did a nice duo performance at 'Bulgasari' with Alfred (thanks to Lee HanJu) Here we are standing on the rooftop of 'Banjul' Teahouse and performance space near Insadong, Seoul. Looking forward to doing a trio gig here in July.

Also looking forward to doing more gigs with Youn Wu Park, a lovely jazz guitarist/ composer in Seoul. I've added him to my 'links' page

Going to play some of Kurt Donald's original songs in Gwangyang next week at 'string bar' Kurt's originally from South Africa, he's been teaching English and singing songs here for nearly 12 years.

The  Spoilers of Utopia (formerly  Spoilers of Utopia) is a nonet led by vibist, tenor horn player and musical explorer John Bell.   His vision has been the guiding force for this extraordinary grouping of musicians and it is respect for him that spurs them on.  I have known John for less than a year and I find him an immensely likeable and down to earth person.  Beneath that matter of fact exterior lurks a keen mind, teaming with profound musical insights.  I have read and re-read his exegesis on the Albert Ayler legacy and his views on alternative music are well-developed and worthy of examination.   Like all musicians he has many facets to his character.   When I asked him recently how long he had been a musician he casually replied, “quite a long while, but at one point I abandoned music for motorcycle racing”.   “Do you still race motorbikes” I asked incredulously.  ”Definitely not he said”.  I wanted to probe him further on this fascinating topic but the conversation turned back to music.   On reflection I cannot think of a better career path for an avant-garde musician than motor cycle racing.  Both are high-wire acts.   I am wondering now if I imagined the whole exchange. Time will tell.


I’ve been aware of the ‘Spoilers’ for a year or more and have seen them play on a number of occasions.  The collective began as a vehicle to explore Albert Ayler’s legacy and for a while you could hear brassy interpretations of the ‘The Truth Goes Marching In’ or other compositions by Ayler.  There is however no such thing as a cover band of free Jazz offerings and band was always centred around John’s own compositions or his interpretations of Salvation Army and various evangelical hymns.  In more recent times the repertoire has evolved to include compositions by band members.  With John on hand to arrange, contribute his own charts and encourage, the project has finally been shaped into the ‘Spoilers of Utopia’  album.  There are so many good compositions and vignettes in this music that singling out the individual musicians for praise would be a Herculean task.  I can only congratulate them all and hope that there is more to come.

I have seen the band described as the purveyors of ‘apocalyptic’ sounds or ‘tongue in cheek’.  I am not so sure about that, as there is is both structure andchaos in their music.  The familiar sits comfortably with the unruly and the sweet with the sour.  That sounds more like modern life than doom and gloom.   Out of the completely free you will hear snatches of raw beauty and just as quickly the beauty dissolves into dissonance.   I would call that a Zen koan – Life is a deadly serious stupidly happy joke.

There is no crying  declamatory saxophone voice on this album (as there would be with an Ayler recording).   This is a brassy sound closer to the military bands and to the street bands of the church militant.  Any analysis of New Zealand’s colonial history will reveal a proliferation of such bands.  Add in a Moog, squeeze horns and a skittering electric guitar and you have arrived at the Spoilers doorstep, Jazz April 2013.  This is a manifestation of avant-garde New Zealand.