“There’s a lot of freedom working alone, and although the same can be said for working with others, the amount of freedom hinges on whether it’s improvised alone or with a group, or if the goal is for it to be through-composed or not, and if that composition is written by myself or collaboratively”
‘Rehearsing as we did in Belgium prior to the recording was a lot more interesting and unusual than doing so in Melbourne, but the opposite may be true for Janos. Maybe we were fresher approaching our instruments, because there was no opportunity to practise immediately before the recording.’
Tim Stevens was the recipient last year of a Professional Development Award from the Australasian Performing Right Association, and an element in the prize was a day’s recording at Studios 301. Tim used this day for the present album, in a session engineered by Simon Todkill.
‘I guess maybe I can’t decide what I like, I just like it all, and although that is hard to ‘market’ to the world, it’s true to me, so I’m a mongrel.’
I was a late starter in jazz. I taught myself piano, and played by ear, and improvised and composed when I was young, but didn’t really discover Jazz until I was 14 or 15. When I heard it I knew straight away that it was for me!
