Rodrigues keeps B-3 groovin'
Cam Fuller

When they hit the road, most musicians worry about hotels and transportation. Oh, please. "That stuff takes care of itself,'' says Montreal's Vanessa Rodrigues. "What I want to know is if there's a freight elevator, or if (the gig) is on the ground floor."

Rodrigues has bigger concerns, literally. As one of only a handful of Hammond B-3 jazz musicians in the country, there are logistics involved that would make a clarinetist faint. The big, vintage organs are hard to move and they have their quirks, much like antique cars, says Rodrigues. For touring, she has to rely on clubs that have their own B-3, like the Yardbird Suite in Edmonton and the Cellar in Vancouver, or rent in each city. (A recent snafu was the lack of pedals for the Regina show.)

Then you have to hope the things will actually work. "They're old and some of them have been gigged to death," Rodrigues says.

But it's worth it in the end, when the sound starts working its wiles. Rodrigues is touring Canada as part of the Gale/Rodrigues Group with Chris Gale on saxophones, Mike Rud on guitar and Davide Direnzo on drums. Note the absence of a bass. That's what Rodrigues's feet are for -- hence the urgency of finding pedals. She plays barefoot, by the way.

"It's just a comfort thing. Playing with shoes on feels like playing keyboards with gloves on." The group dedicates itself to contemporary takes on a brand of music that was a staple in clubs in the '60s, when Hammonds were ubiquitous -- in part because they made enough sound to save the owner from hiring big bands.

"It is very feel-good, energetic, grooving jazz,'' says Rodrigues. Growing up in Edmonton, she always loved the sound of pipe organs. In university, the Tower of Power song "Squib Cakes" caught her ear, especially the B-3 solo by Chester Thompson. That was it.

"Hey, that's what I want to do,'' Rodrigues thought.

She started in gospel and funk before turning to jazz. But even today, she plays church organs when she can -- and doesn't turn off her groove switch, either.

"Sometimes I would beef up the bass. I'd definitely add a little spice here and there."

Another of Rodrigues's interests is in food production and consumption, controversies like genetic modification and so on. She mixed her music with the issue to create the 2009 album Soul Food for Thought. It features songs like "Chompy" (inspired in part by Blinky, the three-eyed fish on the Simpsons) and "Ode to Monsanto," which has a sound that's about as un-organic as you can get.

"People don't really like preachy activists with clipboards. As an artist, that's my avenue to getting the word out." Playing jazz organ, in itself, calls attention to itself. Rodrigues is the first and only B-3 player to study at the Banff Centre, for instance. She's in a niche of a niche, she says. That's kind of nice. But with jazz clubs dwindling, the playing possibilities are limited -- remember those freight elevators.

"I'm really small. I'm not built for hauling these things,'' Rodrigues laughs.

Canadian tour dates include:

Regina, April 16
Saskatoon, April 17
Brandon, April 18
Edmonton, April 23
Calgary, April 24
Medicine Hat, April 25
Vancouver, April 30 and May 1

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service


http://www.thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/celebrity/Rodrigues+keeps+groovin/2916685/story.html

This story also appeared Canada-wide in the following Canwest publications:
The Vancouver Sun
The Leader Post
The Edmonton Journal

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