“While we are both very different players, I think we both are similar in the fact the we like to approach improvisation with honesty and aim to be ourselves at all times. We are also both drawn to the same kind of repertoire and inspired by similar artists.”
Chris McNulty is delighted to present the first series of An Evening of Vocal Jazz Artistry in Melbourne, Australia. Twelve stunning vocal musicians paired together to present a set each over six incredible nights/weeks
We don’t really have a pressing feminist agenda or anything. To be honest, we are just flat out actively rehearsing the music, putting the gigs and promotion all together and dealing with the week-to-week practicalities of coordinating a 16 piece organisation, and haven’t had much time for any meaningful discussions!
Genius pianist Barney McAll dominates the shortlist, being featured in four categories with his visceral masterpiece, ‘Hearing the Blood’, while brilliant newcomer saxophonist Evan Harris follows with three nominations, each representing a different generation of Australian jazz.
James Muller’s tone across the entire album is immaculate: rich yet biting when it needs to be, with piano-like chords or brittle percussive comping. The minimal comping and lack of piano lends all of the performances an open, contrapuntal transparency that lend it an astringent economy, letting the music breath organically. Exciting stuff.
The Creative Music Intensive residency, established in 2014, is a groundbreaking cross-cultural residency created by the Australian Art Orchestra, aiming to provide a unique professional development program for musicians from across Australia and Asia, fostering collaboration and dialogue in a meeting of cultures and practice
“Festivals are great opportunities to create different kind of experiences,” Chelsea Wilson explains. “A lot of jazz venues in town do not have the stages or infrastructure to be able to do something like that, so were very fortunate to have Chapel Off Chapel as a festival hub this year; it has lots of space for the bands to explore.”
