Blair
Latham
Jazz
Saxophone
Bass Clarinet
& More
Projects taking it slow
A quick overview of various past groups which are taking a break at the mo'
The Noveltones
On returning from Mexico in the mid 2010's Blair was asked by jasmine Lovell-Smith to be part of what became one of NZ's most interesting chamber jazz ensembles. Made up of violin, bass, soprano sax and bass clarinet (with no traditional harmonic or rhythmic instruments in sight), it explored sounds similar to one of Blair's favourite groups, the Jimmy Guiffre led trios with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow of the 60's found on the Fusion and Thesis albums.
The band eventually headlined the 2020 Wgtn Jazz Festival with a 20min commissioned work by Blair and toured NZ as part of Chamber Music NZ's outreach program amongst many other dates. With Jasmine focusing on her doctorate thesis and then moving to Mexico the group has taken an indefinite hiatus.
Jasmine Lovell-Smith ~ Soprano Saxophone & Compositions
Tristan Carter ~ Violin
Tom Callwood ~ Acoustic Bass
Rolling Eye
2008 was a momentous year for Blair. With his ex-wife and daughter he moved to Mexico and he also began playing in this duo with the incomparable Misha Marks, an utterly phenomenal guitarist. Their music encompasses compositions and improvisations, and gives the opportunity for the bass clarinet to perhaps shine it's brightest. The journey from then until now has taken many turns, including gigs throughout Mexico City, NZ and the Yucatan Peninsula and even adding for a time the wonderful drummer Darío Bernal. A 16 hour plane ride now seperates Misha and Blair, but it doesn't take long when they can be in the same room for them to create something special. Free flowing but super interconnected.
Misha Marks ~ Guitars
Dario Bernal ~ Percussion
Arc Trio
Blair has been playing music with Tom and Joe Callwood since he was 14. Jazz, improvisation, group interplay and being a professional musician were concepts that they learnt off one another, and all that time together culminated in this recording. The group had a very definite focus of being drummerless, only utilising the clarinet as it's principle horn, and intently focusing on developing one improvised idea at a time. The resulting set of songs is one of Blair's favourites.
Joe Callwood ~ Guitar
Tom Callwood ~ Acoustic Bass
La Idea Electrica
During the time that Blair spent in Mexico City he was lucky enough to meet, play with and then form a group with guitarist Tom Kessler and drummer Gustavo Nandayapa. All three are jazz trained but also lovers of open improvisation, and the recordings made and concerts performed reflect this. Blair was lucky enough to be asked by Tom to play bass clarinet on his octet album that he'd received government funding for, and ended up playing a bunch of duo and trio jazz gigs with him. Tom now lives both in Germany and Mexico. Gustavo hails from the famous Chiapan musical family the Nandayapas, and plys his trade as an all around genius of drums and jazz in Mexico city.
Playing without bass certainly had it's challenges, but it also opened up the sound of the group, and left more space for the bass clarinet to shine.
Tom Kessler ~ Guitar/Effects
Gustavo Nandayapa ~ Drums
Vibrant Tongues
Blair like many jazz saxophonists has a great affinity for the saxophone trio, and was particularly fond of the album Triplicate (Dave Holland trio with Jack Dejonette and Steve Coleman) while at jazz school. After experimenting with the format in various configurations he formed this group with the wonderful Wellington drummer and composer Reuben Bradley, now based in Australia, around 2004. They invited two bass players to be part of the group so that there was always one available for a gig, and concentrated on playing originals. They recorded an album and were also featured at the 2008 Wellington Jazz Festival, where they were recorded live by RNZ. They're definitely taking it very slow though as they haven't played this material for about 15 years.
Reuben Bradley ~ Drums/Compositions
Tom Callwood ~ Acoustic Bass
Paul Dyne ~ Acoustic Bass
