Ariel Bart is one of the rarest species in the global jazz ecosystem: the harmonica player. Her harmonica skills aside, she is an imaginative composer, bringing together an eclectic range of musical references, from middle eastern modes to western folk, to classical music to all shades of jazz.
“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.”
” I was really working on the things that I wasn’t good at, but now I am going into another period of lots of practice over summer, when I’m not teaching and I’m going to be focusing on things that think I am good at and trying to make them better.”
The Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival and The University of Melbourne are proud to announce the inaugural LUMINA Composition Award. This award is open to […] Read More
“Morgana was a positive force in my life and gave me a lot of purpose”
“I’m very much a bassist in the sense that for a long time I’ve been in that supportive role, playing for a variety of artists of different genres. And with that I’ve had the good fortune to travel to different parts of the world, and live in The US. That exposure to different people and different sounds I think are what I consider to be some of the highlights.”
“It’s only now, 18 months on, that I’m starting to realise the impact this album has had on people. The album has been played in the delivery suite as a baby is born numerous times, and also in the final hours of a person’s life. It is so incredibly moving to know that my music has a place in these extremely personal moments. I cry just thinking about it.”
” We don’t confine ourselves to particular genres, or traditional interpretations of genres, and we don’t pre-determine too much about the music. All of us love pop, and have listened to loads in our time on the planet. And Brazilian tunes creep in because I find it hard to omit these from any setlist I’m involved in! Aside from that, Stoneflower creates a very gentle, magical sonic palette that doesn’t attempt to prove anything to listeners.”
“We’re seeing more women artists in jazz, but perhaps not at the rate we’re expecting. I think one of the biggest challenges is to encourage young players to pursue music at a tertiary level and beyond.”
“Jazz was never a career option for women and that we’re still catching up to our male counterparts, in terms of numbers, but significantly this is changing.”
