He was a wonderful composer, arranger and bandleader in his own right as well as being a great teacher.
In this great ‘home video’ from the collection of drummer Barry Woods, Joe ‘BeBop’ Lane lets rip with his inimitable raw and wild vocal improvisations on ‘Body and Soul’ . Playing with him are Alan Turnbull on drums, Evan Lonhing on the keyboard, Rolf Stuube on bass, Freddie Hill on trumpet, Ken James on tenor sax and Freddy Wilson on baritone sax.
I snuck this CD on one night when friends were sitting in the backyard. No fanfare, no announcement. I was curious to see what effect, if any, the music might have on the listeners, a couple of friends with great ears and a love of fine music.
Gest8 perform Tony Gorman’s piece ‘The Emperor’s Old Clothes’, at the SIMA Sound Lounge in Sydney in 2008. Featuring Sandy Evans on soprano saxophone, Phil Slater on trumpet, Carl Dewhurst on guitar, Steve Elphick on bass, Paul Cutlan on bass clarinet, Satsuki Odamura on koto, and Greg White on computers and electronics.
Entries are now open for Australia’s most prestigious jazz instrumental competition – the National Jazz Awards, to be judged by Mike Nock, Vince Jones and Michelle Nicolle (1998 winner)
“Australia is very far away from the parts of the world most noticed by the jazz press. And yet in the hothouse of the southern hemisphere, a group of extraordinary musicians and ensembles have developed who could hold their own against any in the world.”
by Phil Sandford | Mike Gibbs has integrated jazz, classical and popular influences in his composing and arranging into a distinctive sound that is fresh and interesting. Now living in Spain he continues to compose and explore new ways of expressing his musical ideas.
Archie Roach joins the Australian Art Orchestra for Passion at the Melbourne Recital Centre, March 2009. Soloists: Piano – Paul Grabowsky, Voice – Archie Roach
Review by Peter Kenneally: “It’s all driven along by and part of the rhythmic net around it: when this happens, and it does often, the album draws you in and entrances you.”
We may not be used to seeing Tortoni ‘front and centre’ at the MIJF but he’s played a role consistently for over a decade now. At the festival launch, he revealed what drives him, saying (twice) that he’s interested in the ‘pairing of jazz royalty with the voices of a rising generation’.