Van Morrison's Astral Weeks was the first album Vince Jones ever bought. Jones was about 18 at the time, he and his sister would pitch in their spending money and buy records together. She was a fan of Dusty Springfield, Jones, not surprisingly, even then liked rock and jazz.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"Astral Weeks was quite unique," Jones said. "It was like Van wanted to make a crossover album using jazz players, making rock, and, of course, bringing in his Irish folk roots.
"I'd never heard anything like it."
And now Jones is bringing his own interpretation to this album, and Morrison's other classic recording Moondance, in a night of homage to one of music's most endearing talents.
Van Morrison's Masterpieces: The Music of Van Morrison, presented by Vince Jones and the Astral Orchestra, is a chance for Jones to "throw the songs around a bit".
"But we're still very respectful and the listener would hear the songs very clearly," he says, knowing that Morrison would be happy with how the show pans out.
Both albums are done in full, two one-hour sets, "it's great fun, but hard work, I've never sung so much in my life," says Jones, who actually sings in Morrison's register.
When he was first asked to consider the production Jones was unsure how it would all fall into place. As one of Australia's most respected jazz musician-vocalists, he didn't want the night to be seen as anything close to a tribute show.
"But a friend of mine, who sang with Van once, said he was always saying go off and do your own thing love, make sure you improvise and find your own waJones has gathered some of Australia's finest musicians for the Astral Orchestra: Matt McMahon on piano, Ben Hauptman on guitar, Ben Robertson on bass, James Hauptman on drums, with Phil Slater (trumpet), Paul Cutlan (saxophone and flute) and Michelle O'Young and Stephanie Zarka on violins.
"I've got some great players with me, it's quite a night of performance with strings and horns and everything."
Jones said Morrison set the bar for changing up recordings by gathering musicians around him. Jones remembers seeing a jazz quartet in Sydney around the same time he bought Astral Weeks and "they had this great drummer called Connie Kay".
"When I found out he actually played on Astral Weeks it all started to make sense. Van had a great bass player from Miles Davis' band, called Richard Davis, also playing on that album.
"It took me many years to realise why Astral Weeks sounded so good, it was because of those great players he had with him."
Jones was also attracted to the idea of reflecting on the albums so many years later. Now 62, Jones is as much in love with "the crazy lyrics and melodies" as he was as a boy.
"The attraction to Astral Weeks was the sounds and the lyrical abstractness, I'd never heard such abstract lyrics," Jones said.
But as often happens as we age, Jones says they're beginning to make a bit more sense to him now.
"Like Madame George, I just loved that song but I didn't know what that meant. I'm thinking now it was about his first connection with a transvestite. The beautiful imagery of his connection, and his mate's connection, with one of their friends they called Madame George.
"I could be totally wrong, off on the wrong tangent completely, you assimilate so much information as you get older, throughout the years you've got a broader understanding, an ability to put yourself in someone else's place, maybe that's what it was about."
Jones is looking forward to returning to Canberra. He taught at the ANU School of Music from 2007 to 2015, saying teaching "felt like a calling" to him then.
"When you've got universities embracing what the conservatoriums have always embraced … opening their eyes and ears to jazz music it's a wonderful thing.
"You go in to do a degree course, you come out as an exceptional musician, so much more advanced musically then when you went in, you learn to arrange, to write, to compose, improvise, there's so much going on.
"Being taught by, being exposed to great musicians, and the ANU had some great staff there, is what brings the young students on."
Jones says it vital for music schools of all kinds to embrace alternative music such as jazz.
"Which means there'll be kids who learn how to play it, and want to play it, play it to audiences, give it way to find its way out and then venues will embrace it."
Van Morrison's Masterpieces: The Music of Van Morrison, presented by Vince Jones and the Astral Orchestra plays at The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre on Saturday March 18.
