There’s a reason Alexander Beets has been nicknamed ‘The Hurricane’; yes, the nickname refers to his tempestuous playing and his big sound, but if you talk to him, you can understand how the sound is a natural byproduct of a big personality.
Category: Festivals
An adventurous guitarist, a daring performer, an inventive composer, a dedicated educator, and a champion of equity and inclusion in music and academia, Jess Green has made a name for herself, chasing that creative spark that happens when music takes a turn you didn’t see coming. Now she’s bringing that same fearless energy to her new role, as program director of the Sydney Women’s International Jazz Festival.
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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’.
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Few musicians in Naarm/ Melbourne are as unpredictable as Solune. Now she’s back with Mad Vantage, a mind-blowing, take-no-prisoners blend of groove-centric nu-jazz and prog metal.
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Halfway into this interview, Allana Goldsmith stopped talking; she welled up, and had to take a breath. She was talking about her effort to reclaim her language, being the first one in her family after generations to learn Maori. A magnificent vocalist, she is using her powerful instrument as a form of activism. Along with pianist Mark Baynes, they have created a hauntingly beautiful collection of songs, exploring the ways jazz — in all its iterations — can blend with Maori culture.
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Samara Joy is that ray of sunshine, crowned Best New Artist at the 2023 Grammys, armed with nothing but her natural talent, a voice that flows like honey, a repertoire championing the legacy of the Great American Songbook, a work ethic that puts many to shame, a team of great musicians who see her as their peer, and what is certainly and unmistakably an old soul. (Okay, all that is certainly not ‘nothing’.)
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“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.”
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“An annual jazz festival is an important opportunity to showcase the incredible musical talent here in South Australia,” says AJF Producer and Artistic Director, Kaya Blum. “This year’s program stretches across an exciting range of jazz styles.”
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“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.”
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“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.”
