Jazz:NOW – the perfect sampler of today’s vanguard and tomorrow’s brightest stars
Sydney Opera House presents Jazz:NOW
10 – 13 September, The Studio
Presented in association with Jazzgroove and SIMA
“Hearing Marilyn Crispell play solo piano is like monitoring an active volcano. She is one of a very few pianists who rise to the challenge of free jazz.” NY Times
Discover just how far this genre has travelled when The Studio’s annual snapshot of the best in contemporary jazz returns in September for its fifth year. Like a crash course in the coolest sounds around, Jazz:NOW is what it says – the perfect sampler of today’s vanguard and tomorrow’s brightest stars.
Jazz:NOW is a fresh take on a classic sound. A hand-picked selection of Australia’s finest will be joined by special guest, acclaimed US piano genius and ECM recording artist, Marilyn Crispell, in her highly anticipated first tour of Australia.
ARIA Award and Freedman Fellowship winners, this year’s stellar line-up of performers restlessly search for new musical horizons, drawing from the richness of jazz’s past to create contemporary music. They will perform the music they are most passionate about and original works that cross genres and bridge divides.
The festival opens on Wednesday night with a triple bill featuring the Sam Keevers Quintet, a solo set from pianist Mark Isaacs and the Andy Fiddes Trio. The Jackson Harrison Trio will open Thursday night before international guest pianist Marilyn Crispell performs solo.
Another triple bill on Friday night will showcase the talents of the Stu Hunter Experiment, Andrew Robson and John Pochee Duo and the Alcohotlicks. The festival wraps up on Saturday night with Informal Troupe and the Marilyn Crispell Trio.
Melbourne based pianist Sam Keevers is a Freedman Fellowship finalist, ARIA nominee and founder of the Latin Jazz group Los Cabrones. His quintet brings together Jamie Oehlers on saxophone, bass player Brett Hirst, the legendary Bernie McGann on alto sax and drummer Simon Baker.
Mark Isaacs is an extremely versatile musician who is also widely known for his work as a concert composer and classical pianist. He has collaborated with some of the most esteemed figures in international jazz including drummer Roy Haynes, bassist Dave Holland, trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and drummer Adam Nussbaum. Jazz:NOW sees him perform a rare solo set.
Regaled as one of the most highly regarded pianists at the sharp end of contemporary jazz for the past two decades, Marilyn Crispell discovered jazz through the music of John Coltrane and Cecil Taylor. She has worked with such legendary names as bassists Reggie Workman, Gary Peacock and Peter Kowald, drummer Paul Motian, violinist Billy Bang and clarinettist Don Byron. In Sydney Crispell will be joined by Australians Lloyd Swanton on bass and Simon Barker on drums.
Trumpeter Andy Fiddes is a master of the piano-less format, with interaction and conversation the crux of his compositions. Known for his AC/DC inspired quartet Livewire, here he will be joined by drummer Dave Goodman and bass player Ben Waples. This trio provides a dynamic platform for the group to breathe, bite and soothe.
Winner of the 2006 National Jazz Award, pianist Jackson Harrison will be joined by brothers James Waples on drums and his brother Ben. A startling talent for someone so young, Harrison recently recorded his debut album Land Tides in New York, with Dan Weiss and Thomas Morgan, which has been released as on the Swiss label Hat Hut Records.
Masterful pianist and composer Stu Hunter has a career spanning 15 years and is currently touring and recording with acclaimed hip hop producer Katalyst and the sublime vocalist Katie Noonan. For Jazz:NOW Hunter will be joined by five of Australia’s most respected jazz musicians to perform new compositions that follow on from his debut 2007 album, The Muse. The result is a three-piece horn section of rare intensity, force and beauty, unleashed across a landscape of cascading harmony and simmering grooves.
Freedman Fellowship and ARIA Award winner, Andrew Robson has performed internationally with numerous jazz and world music groups at the Berlin and Chicago Jazz Festivals, Greenwich and Docklands Festival (London), WOMAD (Reading, UK), Bim Haus (Amsterdam), and prestigious jazz clubs in Germany such as Unterfaht (Munich) and Stadtgarten (Cologne).
Jazz Hall of Fame inductee, John Pochee, has an immediately recognisable style that is solid in the great jazz tradition but that is nevertheless warmly Australian. He has influenced the sound of Australian contemporary jazz by leading and playing in some of our most important groups including Ten Part Invention, The Last Straw, The Engine Room as well as playing in Bernie McGann’s Trio and Quartets.
The clouds of dense and extraordinarily heavy sound always part to make way for breathtaking moments of textural beauty, not to mention the virtuosic individuality of all three members of the Sydney based power trio, The Alcohotlicks.
Since forming in 2002 their rowdy and loyal following have seen the indie releases of Live In Shanghai and The Alcohotlicks Unplugged. The joyful spirit of their music excites, confronts and ultimately uplifts.
Informal Troupe’s debut album Urban Parkland (2007) paid tribute to their neighbourhood, Sydney’s inner west. Saxophonist Matthew Ottignon, bassist Dave Symes and drummer Hamish Stuart recorded the album across two days, creating a soundtrack to the area’s hidden and abandoned reservoirs, bridges and industrial sites.
The trio formed their strong musical bond having worked with the likes of Missy Higgins, Ian Moss and the late Jackie Orszaczky. Their music is as much cinematic as it is ecstatic, with strong electronic and rock overtones that has audiences raving about their live performances.
Jazz:Now continues to give Australian audiences the unique opportunity to experience the latest in contemporary jazz and improvised music. This boutique festival is run in partnership with SIMA and Jazzgroove who represent the breadth of established and emerging jazz artists in Sydney.
Wednesday 10 Sep: Sam Keevers Quintet, Mark Isaacs and Andy Fiddes Trio
Thursday 11 Sep: Marilyn Crispell and Jackson Harrison Trio
Friday 12 Sep: Stu Hunter Experiment, Andrew Robson and John Pochee, Alcohotlicks
Saturday 13 Sep: Marilyn Crispell Trio and Informal Troupe
SEASON DETAILS
Dates/Times: Wednesday 10 to Saturday 13 September at 8.15pm.
Venue: The Studio
Tickets: Individual tickets $39 or $29 concession.
Bookings: (02) 9250 7777 or online at sydneyoperahouse.com Duration: 120 minutes
NOTE: Marilyn Crispell will tour to Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane.