Bringing the jazz

23 Jan

By Chris Marshall

Leading the horn section for chart topping reggae band L.A.B is all in a day’s work for Taupō-raised musician Louisa Williamson.

Quite literally – prior to a gig like Saturday’s L.A.B, Stan Walker and Friends concert at the Taupō Amphitheatre - Louisa says she will do a few remote rehearsals, listening to recordings to work on solos, then the final soundcheck on the day is the first in-person run through.

This is the fifth year the saxophonist has been appearing with the popular band for one of their summer tours.

“It used to just be me coming on to do solos but now there’s a horn section, a trumpet and trombone, that they have asked me to organise. It’s my responsibility to get the horn parts for the songs together.”

The band also trusts her to draw in the other musicians from Wellington, where she is based.

Composition and arranging are definite areas of interest for Louisa, who completed a Bachelor of Music with Honours (jazz performance) at Victoria University in 2019 and then a Master’s in Jazz Composition the following year.

“I’ve started actually calling myself a composer. A composer and saxophonist. If you study jazz, composing goes hand in hand with it but I’m now trying to actually call myself a composer and arranger.”

Working with other people’s music was a big part of her work, she said.

“But if I’m not doing that. I’m doing my own original music.”

While commissioned work like arranging horn parts and solos for L.A.B or going into the studio to record solos for them was guaranteed income, she admitted her own music was a bit more speculative.

“Some of my own music I’m not making any money on. In fact, I’m spending on making my own album at the moment.”

She laughed, but also quickly got in a plug for its upcoming release – likely to be titled ‘Ground Work’. It is her second album following ‘What Dreams May Come’, recorded in 2022.

“It’s mostly instrumental, a jazz quintet, but with a vocal track a friend is singing on that I will probably release first as a single, hopefully this month.”

Big jazz commissions do occasionally come her way though – such as one last year to write a piece for October’s Wellington Jazz Festival, the only real significant commission in New Zealand for jazz.

“It was quite cool to write a new piece. It felt really nice to actually be paid to write music.”

Steady income is from her day job teaching ensemble class, saxophone and improvisation at the New Zealand School of Music.

“But while that’s not on over summer, these L.A.B shows and other gigs keep me going. It’s good for students to see I’m not just a tutor.”

Nor is she a music promoter – quick plugs for album releases aside – but she is having to take on this role as well for a reprise of last year’s jazz festival commission.

“The Fringe Festival has asked me to put it on for March 7, but I have to do everything myself, sell all the tickets… I’ve sold about five so far out of 300 but it’s still a couple of months away. Since Covid people tend not to buy tickets too far in advance.”

It’s all grist to the mill for a jobbing musician, and there may be a trip to Wales coming up with a musician friend and possibly a local May/June tour with Brett McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords, the Black Seeds and Wellington International Ukelele Orchestra fame.

And while she has introduced L.A.B’s reggae fans to the not-so-common sound of a flute solo on one of their tunes, she has to admit her poor old clarinet – the woodwind instrument she started on first – rarely gets an outing.

Though an invitation from Brett McKenzie who records remotely for Hollywood, for the likes of The Simpsons and the Muppets, proved even a little can be too much.

“He asked me to come over and bring my clarinet. I said ‘sure’ but was freaking out because my clarinet had been under my bed for three years. Then he said ‘I’m just writing some songs for the new SpongeBob movie and I need a little bit of music for Squidward’s clarinet. I need it to sound as bad as possible.

“I thought ‘perfect, I can do that.’ Then a few weeks later he actually said: ‘Oh I had to take out some of the clarinet because it wasn’t bad enough.’

“It was the only time I’d wished I’d practised less.”

EventsSummer ConcertMusic

Kim Manunui

Hi, I’m Kim and I work with a great team to help individuals, as well as small and not so small businesses get their message, product and services to the world using digital media and creating wonderful websites that don’t cost the earth.

I was born in Canada, and grew up around Vancouver and the mountains of British Columbia. My love of pristine environments led me to New Zealand and eventually to the mountains, lakes and rivers of the central North Island which is home. My family’s heritage is here, and it’s from here that Korio traverses the planet.

The digital world is never static and neither are we.

And I say ‘we’ because I work with an awesome group of talented people who I gather together as required to complete a project. Whatever your business, not-for-profit or individual needs are we gather the best team to get the job done.

Collaboratively we are creative, share sustainable values and work hard for great outcomes because that’s the buzz of satisfaction that drives us.

If you have an audience and market to reach, we can make that happen. Creative design, words that work and smart behind the scenes stuff that cuts through the online noise. We’ll design your website and then build it. We’ll manage the content as well as all your hosting needs. We can handle your online advertising so you get noticed,
and we’ll manage your social media presence so you get the clicks, likes and engagement to grow your business. All within the budget you set, because none of this needs to cost the earth. And the job doesn’t stop when your website goes live. We are your virtual business partner.

https://www.korio.co.nz