I don’t have much of an intro for Zodiac. Great band. Young ones. Amazing players. High energy. Deep feeling. Fresh sound. Impressive jazz sensitivity. Seamless blend of different styles. Chill, yet intense. Definitely one to watch. This is Jordan Chung, the band’s pianist. He has more to say.
What would you say to a total stranger to make them come to the Jazz Lab on Saturday?
I would say listening to our band is a truly immersive and unique listening experience. Our music really has wide breadth of feelings and emotions, with all four members of the band bringing their compositional voices to the frame.
Each song reflects different experiences that we have gone through, and thus a lot of our music is often described in having quite a cinematic feel, whilst still rooted in the jazz tradition.
This is our last gig of our tour with our music growing each and every show. We can’t wait to go out with a BANG!
Why did you invite Thien Pham to sit in with you? What will he bring to your sound?
I’ve been such an admirer of Thien’s playing for a long time, and the beautiful musical voice he has. Being based in different cities, whilst I have never met Thien, I came to know of him through fellow jazz musicians who played with him as part of the Australian National Youth Jazz Orchestra.
I think meeting and playing with new people is one of the best things about music and jazz in particular, and we are so thrilled to have Thien onboard for this gig. Having two horns will really be special and I’m sure the music will take a new life of its own.
What’s the Zodiac story?
Collectively, we are all connected through our studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. I think being young musicians studying at The Con, really produced an environment where you’d play lots of music together and form groups to whatever music you were into.
All of us are proud to be of Asian-Australian backgrounds, but we didn’t form the band around that notion, we just wanted to make music with our mates. However, as a group we have learned to embrace this multi-cultural facet and I think it’s really awesome how an all Asian band has a voice in the Australian jazz scene. It’s a reflection of what modern Australia is.
How would you describe your sound?
I would say our sound is extremely diverse across the two albums we have released, all unified by our collective playing. We delve into many influences from genres such as gospel, rock, film score, modern jazz and many contemporary forms of music.
Our music whilst in the jazz realm, holds quite an accessibility to all audiences, with many instances of child-like playfulness, cinematic storytelling and lyrical melodies.
Having four composers for this group, produces and exciting dynamic where the content of the music is very much varied but our personal and ensemble sound kind of glues everything together to create a familiar common thread.
What has changed between The Wild Wild East and From?
To be honest, between our first and second albums, nothing drastic has changed, but we are proud to have continued to develop our compositional voice. Looking back on From we are stoked how we were able to follow up our first album with another body of music that represents us authentically whilst also being a clear evolution of our sound as a band.
Where does Zodiac sit in the Sydney jazz ecosystem?
Sydney’s jazz scene has really been blooming with so many incredible bands and music being made. We are lucky to be a small part of what is such a wonderful community and hope to continue to grow as the scene does as well.
Where do you see Zodiac in ten years’ time?
In ten years’ time I’d love to still be making music with this group. With everything that we’ve done over the past couple years, I’d never really had any expectation for the group or big vision per say, but we’ve been blessed to be a part of some really cool opportunities and meet so many wonderful people.
Who are your heroes?
We’ve had so many incredible musical role models here in Sydney which we’ve had the privilege of learning off. People like Judy Bailey, Kevin Hunt, Simon Barker amongst many more, have all shaped and inspired our musical journey.
How did you get into jazz?
I got into jazz for two main reasons. Firstly, the social and group nature that jazz promotes really appealed to me. I think doing anything with your friends makes things so much more enjoyable and I believe this band is reflection of that, and also why I got into jazz in the first place.
Secondly, I know it’s often a cliche said about jazz, but the freedom of improvisation really gave me ways of expressing myself that words can’t. Lots of life’s joys and challenges, I find hard to write or put into concrete words, and have found music as the most natural way of communicating these things.
Which tune best describes your current state of mind?
Coming towards the end of our Australian tour, as a band we’ve spent lots of time together. One thing we all agree on, is that one of life’s greatest joys is eating yummy food with your friends, and we’ve been able to do that in plenty over this tour. So I would say the tune ‘To Eat With Your Friends’ is very much relevant to our current state of mind, and we are very grateful to have shared many of these simple moments across this tour!
Zodiac are playing at the Jazz Lab in Melbourne, on Saturday 11 October
- Jordan Chung | piano
- Hinano Fujisaki | tenor saxophone
- Sabine Tapia | double bass
- Manson Luk | drums
LISTEN / PURCHASE
