
“Having the opportunity to spend a little time outside of ‘gigs’ with these musicians and professionals was a joy, and I’m proud to know the diversity and spirit of Australian jazz are shining brightly on the global stage.”
“Having the opportunity to spend a little time outside of ‘gigs’ with these musicians and professionals was a joy, and I’m proud to know the diversity and spirit of Australian jazz are shining brightly on the global stage.”
The ‘Soundproof the Future’ fundraiser gig at The Night Cat was everything I love about Melbourne music and more. A veritable melting pot of musical culture and style; multi-cultural, multi-age and cumulative decades upon decades, of honed skill and talent.
“This might sound silly, but as a kid my parents gave me this dumb quote on a bit of wood to go on my shelf. ‘The best way to get something done is to begin.’ This sickly phrase actually sits really well with me, and has totally been a call to action for me many times. For me creativity requires action.”
“One negative aspect of being a male jazz musician is that sometimes people will hire you just to fulfil a quota of males that they think they need to have in the group (usually 100% is the quota). I think people should be hired based on talent and merit rather than on the basis of their sex, and it kind of sucks when you realise you’re only in the group because you’re a bro.”
In this episode I’m talking to Scott Tinkler, one of the most exciting and formidable trumpet improvising musicians in the world.
“Whilst I certainly do have my share of punters coming up to me after shows and expecting me to care about whatever topic they’ve decided we are now going to talk about, it’s probably better than the common alternative that women face of that same bloke giving me a full, unprompted critique of my personal appearance. So, I guess that’s good. It’s also pretty nice having crew/tech not just assume I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“We immediately moved an initially serviceable, hired, upright piano from the cellar beneath Bill Ross’ parents’ home to the new club; but, because we managed to drop it from about halfway down the stairs to the bottom, it was then deemed no longer serviceable by its owner. “Written off” – and therefore now rent-free – the piano was actually in reasonable shape. It held its tune reliably; and it never left the Cellar until the club finally closed its doors in the early ’70s.”