Melanie Charles: ‘I can take nothing and turn it into something’

A vocalist whose singing is like a warm embrace, a flutist weaving long, winding pathways of sound, and a groove champion who uses sampling as if it’s a jazz instrument on its own merit, Melanie Charles looks up at the star map of jazz and black music, identifies planets and galaxies, and travels from one place to another, her trajectory connecting the dots spread over 6-7 decades of music and culture — all through the lens of what she calls her ‘personal diaspora’.

Night Cat fundraiser: Everything I love about Melbourne music and more

The ‘Soundproof the Future’ fundraiser gig at The Night Cat was everything I love about Melbourne music and more. A veritable melting pot of musical culture and style; multi-cultural, multi-age and cumulative decades upon decades, of honed skill and talent.

Bob Lanzetti: ‘In Snarky Puppy we’re almost always game for the same thing’

“Most of the time, if something doesn’t feel right, most of us – if not everyone in Snarky Puppy – can feel it; and when something is right, almost everybody can feel it as well. So it’s pretty rare that people would be split on their opinion.”

Chelsea Lee: ‘I have this deep compulsion to re-create sounds and moods I hyper-fixate on’

“The creativity and exploration harmonically and rhythmically is so special within those relationships [of the Miles and Coltrane bands of the ’60s], and I wanted to emulate that same feeling with my own group.”

Jazz at The Lounge returns to Chatswood [ADVERTORIAL]

Whether you’re a die-hard jazzophile or looking for a night of world-class entertainment, this is live music at its finest — up close and personal. From timeless standards to modern jazz brilliance, don’t miss out on the best of live jazz in the intimate, welcoming atmosphere of The Lounge.

Q: Mary Ancheta, who are you?

“I have a great band, I feel very supported, but with that support I can also take some musical chances, it’s kind of like jumping off the edge of a cliff and knowing that someone will catch you, something will break your fall.”

Q: Lucy Clifford, what’s the story behind your debut album, Between Spaces of Knowing?

“The album is dedicated to this idea of finding presence, and listening to one’s honest self, a process that exists most powerfully between all the motion and all the thoughts.”

Erica Tucceri, what are you going to present at the Melbourne Jazz Festival?

“The flute isn’t the most common instrument in improvised music, so as much as I have always had a strong love and interest in jazz and improvisation, it took me a while to figure out how I could fit in. You are always drawn to what you love, so one way or the other — if you stick at it and follow your instincts, it will find you!”