The Necks
Posted on: Sun 20 Feb 2022
Three Alchemists – spinning golden threads into shimmering minimalist jazz.
Chris Abrahams (piano), Tony Buck (drums), and Lloyd Swanton (bass) deliver The Necks anticipated signature start.
Shared silence. Who will commence the set?
Then a quiet rumble of notes from bass, a slow easy ride into a riff that rises, repeats and slowly builds power and intensity among the three musicians.
The Necks deliver an intense, smooth, moody, other-world sound. The audience absorbed, suspended, zen-like in their own hypnotic space as the music first encircles, then spins its incandescent web ever more tightly around them.
There is no need for theatrics, no need for electronics. There is only the music, and its colour. The bare stage lit with vibrant golds, reds and greens – the satin gleam of double-bass curves dipped in deep purple light.
Formed in Sydney back in 1987, The Necks play to their own rules of improvised, abstract, avant-garde jazz and have a devoted following. There was only the one Adelaide Fringe performance at the Woodville Town Hall. You might want to jump next time you have a chance to see them.
Christina Hagger
Image: Wikipedia Commons
