“Well, I do want to keep Refraction as a concept going, even if that means we don’t get to perform together. It may mean I find a new trio over here in the US, or it may mean that we do something conceptually very different, for example creating some sort of recording separately – me in Nashville, Jordan in Melbourne and Brenton in Adelaide. It could work, although the music would likely be very different. It’s something that I would be keen to give a shot.”
“Natalie Cole was one of my musical influences and after her passing last year, I started working on a tribute to keep her music alive. Through this project, I hope to create a deep appreciation for Natalie’s creativity and artistry.”
“I was literally skipping down a stretch of second avenue in New York for about 30 minutes with George Benson’s ‘Breezin’ on repeat in 2012.”
“Musically, I like the idea of keeping music borderless and open to all kinds of influences. It really excites me when I hear new music that is difficult to categorise into a specific box.”
Hannah James: “All the Sidney Womens Jazz Collective members are actively pursuing individual careers in a tough industry, and it’s awesome that there are enough of us to form a band of this size with zero compromises.”
“Melbourne has been incredibly welcoming as a musical community. There’s a lot of life in the scene here. People go out to see music. Musicians are more open and wanting to see others succeed. It really did blow our minds when we first moved down here!P”
“We’ve made a conscious decision to compose freely in this band, not feeling restricted by genre, just bringing whatever we feel like to the table. You can hear influences of Jazz, 20th Century Classical music, North India Classical music, South American music. With the instrumentation of the music and the mixed influences, you could very much describe it as a contemporary jazz band.”
“I didn’t set out to have a band with two basses. It was funny that it didn’t occur to me until a while in, that I’d run the Andrea Keller Quartet for 13 years as a bass-less ensemble and now my next major ongoing adventure as a bandleader involves an ensemble with two bass players!”
“If we didn’t sound and swing like The Count Basie Orchestra has since 1935 and continues to do to this very day in 2018, then I would feel the term ‘ghost band’ would be warranted, but this orchestra has not lost one beat since Basie passed in 1984. In many respects, it may even be stronger.”
– Which song reminds you of your most important rite of passage?
Ingrid James: One of the many rites of passage was Spain – both Chick Coreas and Al Jarreaus version. In my twenties, I hopped up on stage with a jazz band in West Berlin and sang it cold with them. That was a brave moment for me.’ Spain ‘wasnt just a normal standard at the time.
