When I first heard about guitarist Mark Morand’s 32 Bars in 32 Bars I thought: “What a great, crazy, impossible idea!” I mean, writing 32 new songs is a huge undertaking on its own, but recording them in 32 separate venues in Melbourne? The logistics alone seemed forbidding.
That was in 2020. Fast forward five years later, and the 20th song in the series, ‘Bliss’ just came out — and surely, it’s an absolute banger, following on the steps of the previous 19 songs. Every single one of them is a brilliant, swinging sensation that sounds fresh and familiar at the same time. With the help of a roster that features some of Melbourne’s finest jazz people, playing with genuine, palpable enthusiasm, Mark Morand is building a songbook that caters to the body and soul: uplifting, comforting, and toe-tapping tunes that can melt the coldest, most cynical hearts. It is an epic project — and an indisputable success.
On Saturday 15 March, Mark and his 32 Bars troupe are taking over the Toff In Town to record their 21st tune — and they bring two great Melbourne bands with them: psychedelic jazz legends Mount Kujo and funk powerhouse Steppers. Which is a great opportunity for a chat with the mastermind himself.
What is the 32 Bars in 32 Bars backstory?
I studied jazz at University under a great Australian musician, who showed us how to create great, modern improvised music without the constraints of a score or even any prior conversation — just listen to each other, and play. Nevertheless he guided the development of our foundational skills through the medium of jazz ‘standards’, and his own development as an extraordinary modern jazz player had included playing with Frank Sinatra’s band.
This is the very fortunate place where my jazz journey began — two steps removed from Ol’ Blue Eyes, and one step removed from complete abstract musical freedom.
One legacy of that formative experience for me is an enduring inspiration from the great song writers of the 20th century who provided the music that great jazz musicians continue to re-invent to this day — Emmet Cohen being a great example of this.
I have identified a profound creative need to extract and lay out the melodies and lyrics that I constantly hear coursing through my veins, rattling in my ears, swirling through my humanity, day and night, awake or asleep. 32 Bars is my creative vehicle for doing that.
In conceiving the project I wrote down five design principles that are non-negotiables for me as a creative spirit. Those principles guide me through every significant decision I’ve need to make as the project coalesces and progresses. The common theme within those principles is the wonder, joy and power of collaboration.
The project is 32 new songs, each one recorded and filmed live in a different music venue. We will film our 21st song at our 21st venue, The Toff, this Saturday night, and Song 22 is scheduled for May.
Why 32?
The term ’32 Bars’ carries several messages within it — both public and personal. First, many jazz ‘standards’ have a thirty-two bar musical form, so it’s a signal to musicians and music lovers about the project. Second, live jazz is most commonly heard in bars — the great spaces that entrepreneurs create to allow musicians and music lovers to celebrate life together. (And of course, 32 will barely scratch the surface of the countless live music spaces Melbourne has to offer, as one of the great live music capitals of the world.)
On a personal level, this simple play on words — 32 bars, in 32 bars — gives me both a great goal-setting framework and a quiet assurance that, after 32 songs, I will have scooped out enough of the melodic, harmonic and lyrical cacophony to settle my fevered mind.
How is this songwriting process different to working on an album — or, in this case, three albums?
We had a family record store when I was a kid; and I later worked in a city record store whilst studying music; so listening to ‘albums’ is strongly ingrained in me as a model for consuming recorded music. Meanwhile, 21st century listening models seem, to me, to be less about albums and more about songs and ‘playlists’. As a 21st century project, the song-writing process for 32 Bars follows the latter model. The design principles require that no song moves from the computer screen to the musicians until I am satisfied that it is absolutely the best that I can make it. And of course the model of live recordings in 32 different venues fully embeds the notion of ‘one song at a time’.
A song begins in one of two ways — either a melodic fragment in the wind (yes, I’m that person singing into the phone in the park) or a song title or lyric scribbled down somewhere. Over time it is built into a completed song harmonically, melodically and lyrically. Then it is arranged for the four-horns, three rhythm, vocalist line-up of the band.
The band has four vocalists. At an early stage in the song-writing process it becomes clear whose vocal style will best suit the emerging music — I hear their voice singing it as the music falls out.
The biggest challenge is 4-part harmonising for the horn section — there is a lot to think about there — and the only way to overcome it is to keep plugging away until I’m happy with it.
What is the most important thing you have learned about yourself during this process?
I’m just getting started.
How did you choose the musicians involved in this project?
More than 40 musicians have participated in the project to date. Without exception they are magical, wonderful and a constant source of inspiration for me. The best word to explain how it happens is Serendipity.
How did you choose the venues?
There is a lot of Serendipity in the venue matching as well — it’s definitely not a process so much as an unfurling of possibility. What I would say to any venue owners reading this is: there are only ten bars left, so hit me up!
What would you say to a total stranger to invite them to the Toff?
The Toff is an iconic Melbourne live music mecca, with a great stage, sound, vibe and style that is completely unique and memorable. It’s a fantastic foundation for what will be a fantastic night featuring three sensational Melbourne bands playing all-original music, all with brilliant horn sections.
As part of our set 32 Bars will be filming our 21st song, so get up and dance and get your moves are in the film clip!
The song is a stylistic shift into the blues, with vocalist Yvette Hearn reaching for some truly iconic notes and the horns blistering underneath a growling guitar solo — get amongst it!
Although 32 bars sits in the swing side of the jazz spectrum, the other bands playing on Saturday represent different traditions; why did you choose these specific bands?
We’ve done two prior shows with our friends Mount Kujo, at the Night Cat and the Gasometer. Their sound is radically different to ours, which is something I really love about the tie up, and I also feel that we are on the same wavelength with their passion for creating new music.
I’m friends with a couple of the Steppers musicians so we went and caught a show of theirs a few months back. I was really blown away by what they do — great music, great energy, Reg is a brilliant singer and drummer, and best of all for me, from a musical perspective I stood there literally thinking “wow, how do they actually do this?” So I reached out, and here we are!
So I think what we have put together is a brilliant showcase of the amazing variety of music that Melbourne has to offer.
Why did you name this gig ‘Be Raucous’?
‘Raucous’ is such a great word — to me it describes the live music experience perfectly, for performers and punters alike. So it’s a simple invitation to come and be raucous with us.
Which tune best describes your current state of mind?
Feeling Good.
get tickets to Be Raucous at the Toff – with Steppers, Mount Kujo and 32 Bars recording their new tune
