I first met Mina Yu at a Fem Belling performance; I was instantly blown away by her playing, her crisp sound, and the way that […] Read More
Category: The Scene
The Jazz community of Australia and New Zealand
Everything Bob played was a melody of its own. The way he would weave the notes through the harmonics of a song somehow keeping the integrity of both melody relevance and the critically important harmonic notes, was something to marvel at.
As a matter or fact, all the ballads in the album have a high charged emotional density, without ever turning into melodrama — this is probably due to Libor Smoldas’ earthy lyricism, Jakub Zomer’s ability to create haunting sonic undercurrents, and Sacha Kloostra’s carefully timed explosions, not to mention Ingrid James’ masterful control of her instrument.
The words ‘ethno-jazz’ and ‘folk-jazz’ often come up, when people try to describe Zela Margossian‘s music, but make no mistake: this is not a sub-genre, […] Read More
“Hilary Geddes is equally comfortable using her guitar to evoke ambient spacious soundscapes as she is weaving single note melodies through complex chord changes, generating raucous energy through angular lines and overdriven rock solos.”
Apparently, today is ‘Batman Day’ — the annual event started in celebration of the iconic comic book character’s 80th Anniversary, and it is evolving into […] Read More
With these two recent albums, one solo piano, another an ensemble project, Keyna Wilkins shows something of her style and musical imagination.
For an album filled with gems of the Great American Songbook, it is telling that the songs that mostly stand out are Tamara Kuldin’s original compositions. ‘Maisie’s song’ in particular, has all it takes to become a modern classic – a sweet, catchy melody; simple, honest lyrics; a warm, compelling delivery by a vocalist at the top of her game.
“The best part of being in Koi Kingdom is how open and free each member is with each other’s compositions. The foundations lie in the players that we are, so you hear heaps of Marcos’ signature whammy sound and b9 chords, Cheryl’s rhythmic and sometimes atonal blowing and Stephen’s songlike phrasing and free-blowing grooves.”
“All songs have to do with Tides and emotions rolling in and out and finding our balance and equilibrium in the face of all the waves that keep crashing on our shores.”