Chelsea Lee is easily the MVP of the 2025 Adelaide Jazz Festival.
After an epic performance of Lynchean (as in David) – adjacent music with her jazz-rock outfit, Djawbreaker, the extremely creative vocalist and songwriter has another show scheduled, playing her original post-bop songs, with her other band, Pulpland, featuring a few of Adelaide jazz champions: saxophonist Giovanni Clemente, pianist Dave McEvoy, bassist Lyndon Gray, and drummer Stephen Neville. If you are in Adelaide, you really don’t want to miss out on this.
First things first: what’s the aftertaste of Saturday’s Djawbreaker gig?
The Djawbreaker Lynchian Art-Jazz show was such a special moment in our musical life as a band. To collaborate with Ryan Sahb at The Lab, which is such an incredible venue, was effortless and perfectly matched. We performed around 50 percent written material and themes, while the rest was pure improvisation with a couple of sound cues — for example playing with a pulse, or up tempo swing feel with some reverse pedal effects. It was a beautiful feeling to know the audience enjoyed such a niche project.
According to the AJF promo, Pulpland is inspired by Miles Smiles; what in particular did you find inspirational about this album?
With Miles Smiles, I was immediately absorbed into the musical communication and explosive, confident delivery of the rhythm section. It’s one of my favourite rhythm sections in jazz, similar to Coltrane’s quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones. The creativity and exploration harmonically and rhythmically is so special within those relationships, and I wanted to emulate that same feeling with my own group.
You’ve lived in New York for a while: what is your most cherished memory from those days?
I have so many wonderful memories from my time spent in New York, and I believe the best times were spent listening to jazz heavies perform. I spent a lot of time at the Village Vanguard, especially when Bill Frisell was billed, and the 55 Bar, which unfortunately is no longer. I loved seeing Lage Lund play in various manners, and spending time learning from the greats.
How did you discover your own voice as an artist?
I still don’t know if I have found my voice as an artist. I just have this deep compulsion to try and re-create sounds and moods that I hyper-fixate on.
I have so many phases of musical obsessions going on at one time, that I find I have to be playing and writing songs of all these different influences all at the same time, otherwise I feel unfulfilled.
I love writing music that sounds like ’60s post-bop at the moment (which is the reason for Pulpland’s creation), as well as music Bill Frisell would write, or something that Deftones would write, and of course all things Angelo Badalamenti, which is what the Djawbreaker gig was based around.
Is it easy for you to write songs?
I believe overall songwriting comes naturally to me. I’ve always done it and have such a drive to keep on writing songs that make me feel excited to bring to the bands. I write with each member’s playing in mind. For example, when I write for Djawbreaker, I can hear how Steve [Neville] will play over Django [Rowe]’s wild distortion, and Dylan [Paul]’s giant groove. When I write for projects like Pulpland, I can hear Lyndon’s bass lines and approach over Dave’s comping and voicings. I do go through massive stages of writer’s block, however, which is frustrating; however, one day it just clicks and the ideas start to flow without caution.
I love to analyse already existing songs, and how they work both academically and emotionally. It helps me to understand why I feel the way I feel when listening to them.
For example, Angelo Badalamenti uses a lot of minor 9 chords, which evokes a very strong and intense feeling of existence within, and I want to hear that all the time.
How did you get into jazz?
After school, I wanted to continue to study music, and jazz seemed like a very fun pathway. Through lessons, and spending time with musical friends, I slowly started to find what I loved about it. I loved listening to Sarah Vaughan, and eventually Nancy Wilson, because the way they carried a melody was such a balance of strength and vulnerability. I think their vocal tone also felt more relatable to mine, therefore I wanted to enhance what I believed I had. My taste then transitioned into more instrumental influences, like John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter, and eventually the modern greats like Brad Mehldau and Kurt Rosenwinkel. I feel like I really grew up as a person while studying, because I was piecing together this puzzle of what made me tick.
Jazz for me is such an interesting way of exploring quick moving ideas. You are constantly making decisions and hearing different outcomes before they occur, and sometimes as they occur, which makes it so rewarding when the band are in that same moment with you.
To explore ideas is a very freeing experience, and it can feel like a spiritual cleansing sometimes, which Coltrane always sought.
