2007 Etype Wrap-Up

This blog has been left largely unattended for the last few months, but if you’re like me and still have a couple of stockings you need to stuff, allow me to point you towards a great Christmas CD by a band I’ve grown very near and dear to this year.

Ho Ho, Vol 2 is the very successful follow up to etypejazz’s amazingly popular and remarkably appropriately titled Ho Ho, Vol 1. I could tell you how swinging it is, how great it’d be to have playing while you stand around drinking cocktails on Christmas Eve, how much I wished I played on it so I could be rewarded for the amazing number of sales it has received…but instead I’ll copy a review I found of the cd.

“This album of 12 Christmas songs could be up there with the best of them all (Phil Spector’s Christmas Album from 1963). Its just chock full of the sheer joy that is the Festive Season, with elements of praise combined with snowbells, gifts under the tree and happy children.
Santa Baby has echoes of Eartha Kitt, while Oh,Holy Night is pure Katrina with a glorious arrangement by Ritsuko. A touch of Sergio Mendez on Oh,Little Town of Bethlehem, followed by Away in a Manger with an entriely fitting backing that includes Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Cellist; Chris Handley. Damien does a funky arrangement that adds a new dimension to the inherent pathos of Little Drummer Boy, with Ritsuko adding the right Hammond B3 effect before the song moves into the Casbah. Mike pushes We Three Kings along as it collects momentum into a fenetic finale that will have the audience on their feet in live performances.
Throughout all of these songs, Beth adds touches of elegance behind the vocals and injects some great jazz solos; Damien is supreme on the cymbals; Ritsuko swings mightily; Mike is by turns subtle and strong; and Katrina treats the lyrics with respect.
Ok, I like this band; so will you. Oh, com all ye faithful…..and buy the CD.”
Ron Spain; JazzScene December 2006

The CD is available in many cd stores in Adelaide, including Borders and The Muses in the city, and Dillons at Burnside and Norwood. Alternatively you can download it straight to your computer/iPod from iTunes by following this link.

Ho Ho, Vol 2 was recorded early in 2006 – featuring the piano and arranging talents of the marvellous Ritsuko. Ritsuko spent a lot of that year bravely battling with the cancer that sadly took her from us in May 2007. I was humbled and honoured to be invited to take over the piano role within the band. My first performances with etype happened late in 06 when Ritsuko was not able to perform with the band and my first major engagement with them was at the G’Day USA event in January 07.

We didn’t think it would happen, which made us all the more excited when the band was invited to return to the USA in January 2008 for the New York component of G’Day USA. This year’s events will feature performances at Jazz at the Lincoln Center and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. We’ll be stopping off in Los Angeles en route to play at a SA Trade dinner which pitches a number of Australian wines to the US market.

We finished 2007 with a day in the recording studio with producer Paul Wiltshire in pre-production for etype’s upcoming album for 08. The album will be of original tunes that we’ve been developing for the past few months. Bass player Mike Haynes, saxophonist Beth Lyon and vocalist Katrina Ryan have all contributed great songs that we’ve enjoyed playing throughout the year. As they’ve evolved and we’ve evolved as a band – especially with the fresh lineup which also saw drummer Barnabas Smith join this year – the songs have matured and we felt that the time was right to record them. We were put in touch with a producer who we already knew through his work, although not personally. Paul has produced tracks for many commercial Australian artists as well as having worked with international acts. He brings an experience and sensibility that is new for the band and promises to lead us down some new and exciting paths in the next few months as he helps develop a new sound and maybe opens etype up to an even wider audience in 2008.

Tags: , Barnabas Smith, Beth Lyon, etypejazz, G'Day USA, Ho Ho Vol 2, Katrina Ryan, Mike Haynes, Paul Wiltshire, Ritsuko