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Thursday 6th Dec 2007
The MWIJF Superband
The "Superband" is an ensemble comprised of selected secondary school female instrumentalists and tertiary students of the highest standard. This group features in gigs at both Federation Square and Bennett's Lane and plays big band music from traditional to more contemporary styles.
Morcelle
Morcelle is a newly formed Melbourne quartet whose members met whilst studying at the Victorian College of the Arts. The group performs a variety of originals and rejuvenated covers in a blend of jazz, pop, reggae, r&b, folk and gypsy styles.
Savannah Blount – tenor sax
Mezz Coleman – vocals
Michelle Whelan – bass
Ben Paddick – guitars
This performance follows an opening set by the MWIJF Superband.
Jazz pianist and composer Andrea Keller has released five albums as leader, receiving four ARIA nominations, two Aria Awards and a Bell Award. This performance marks the launch of her debut solo piano CD ‘the Wayne Shorter Project' out on ABC Jazz.
Judy Bailey Trio (SYDNEY) and double string quartet
This concert is being recorded for ABC Radio National's Music Deli.
Judy Bailey (OAM, Aria and Mo Award winner) is widely acclaimed as one of Australia’s pioneering jazz pianists. A mentor to a generation of young Australian musicians through her work as a performer, composer and educator, Judy brings her outstanding Sydney trio to perform with this group of exceptional Melbourne string musicians in a live recording for the ABC. "YOU`RE AN INSTRUMENT", written for jazz trio and two string quartets is a unique presentation that offers the discerning listener a captivating blend of jazz and classical genres with a selection of original Bailey compositions.
Judy Bailey – piano
Craig Scott – bass
Tim Firth – drums
Zoë Black – violin
Monica Curro* – violin
Sarah Curro* – violin
Matthew Tomkins* – violin
Isabel Morse – viola
Beth Hemming – viola
Sarah Morse* – cello
Josephine Vains - cello
*Appear courtesy of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Friday 7th Dec 2007
Jazz groups from Melbourne Girls College and McLeod Secondary collage perform under the direction of renowned saxophonist Tony Hicks.
Rebecca Kleinmann (L.A) and Vashti Sivell (Melbourne) -
Jazzlatina Project
Experience some of the exotic flavours of Brazil with this Latin Jazz Project as they take you on an exciting journey of percussive and hypnotic sounds. Rebecca and Vashti formed this project to share their passion for Afro-Latin cultures, music and dance, with their own diverse musical backgrounds. With an emphasis on Brazilian flavoured Jazz and touching the edges of Cuban music, this group will take you to the waters of many shores.
Rebecca Kleinmann (USA) - flute
Vashti Sivell (Melbourne)- keyboard
Carlos Ferreira (Brazil)- drums/percussion
John Guscott (London)- Guitar/ Cavaquinho/ percussion
Sam Anning (Perth)- Bass
Sunday 9th Dec 2007
These performances by young female Artplay musicians aged fifteen and under, and their tutors highlight the magical interaction that can be found between musicians of all ages. Featuring Martha Baartz, Andrea Keller, Tamara Murphy and Sonja Horbelt.
The students will be featured in a performance at 4.30, followed by the Artplay Quartet of leading Melbourne musicians performing Australian jazz originals.
Martha Baartz - alto saxophone
Andrea Keller - piano
Tamara Murphy - bass
Sonja Horbelt - drums
Ali Foster Quartet
Ali Foster drums
Kayne Jansen guitar
Hal Strewe bass
Brendan Berlach saxophones
ALI FOSTER
Winner of the Jann Rutherford Memorial Award
Ali Foster is an outstanding young jazz drummer based in Sydney, Australia. She is currently combining her degree course in Jazz Studies with a busy life as an emerging professional player and teacher. Ali has a particular interest in sparking a passion for exploring jazz styles in younger audiences in the Greater Sydney area. She and her musical collaborators engage their audiences by employing elements of progressive rock, funk and blues into their jazz tunes while also highlighting a focus on the musical interactions between them.
Zoë Frater Quintet
Premiering at this year's MWIJF, the Zoë Frater Quintet brings together some of Melbourne's finest musicians. The ensemble brings to fruition new works by electric bassist Zoë Frater.
Zoë Frater - bass
Julien Wilson - tenor saxophone
Shannon Barnett - trombone
Steve Magnusson - guitar
Ronny Ferella - drums
The Zoë Frater Quintet appear in a double bill with The Ali Foster quartet (SYD)
Monday 10th Dec 2007
This evening features a wide variety of young ensembles including Cinque with Bob Sedergreen (Ruyton Girls School), the Artplay workshop students, Melbourne Girls College, the Stonnington Youth Jazz Program and Princes Hill Secondary College.
The Festival "Superband" is an ensemble comprised of selected secondary school female instrumentalists and tertiary students of the highest standard. This group features in gigs at both Federation Square and Bennett's Lane and plays big band music from traditional to more contemporary styles.
LA MAMA
Thembi Soddell with Joe Talia
Thembi Soddell is a Melbourne sound artist who works primarily with the sampler to manipulate and abstract the external world into both a vicious and alluring sonic experience. With a focus on texture and depth, she plays with the extremes of dynamics, pushing the threshold of both silence and noise, toying with the listener’s sense of expectation. For this performance she will be joined by drummer Joe Talia.
Thembi Soddell – sound artist/sampler
Joe Talia – drums/percussion
Duré Dara Trio
Duré Dara is an inventive creative music practitioner with a unique, highly developed instrumental voice. Working with long time collaborators Ren Walters and Anita Hustas, Duré presents a unique performance of spontaneous composition at its finest.
Duré Dara – Percussion, objects
Ren Walters – Guitar
Anita Hustas – Bass
Keller/Murphy/Browne
Keller/Murphy/Browne perform mostly original compositions by all three members, along with some standards by Monk, Duke, Green, as well as free improvisations. Their focus is on achieving a collective consciousness on stage by pushing the boundaries of their musical dialogue. Debuting in 2003 at the MWIJF, this startling trio has held an intermittent residency at Bennetts Lane ever since and have recorded their first CD, "Carried by the Sun" for ABC FM.
Andrea Keller - piano
Tamara Murphy - bass
Allan Browne - drums
Tuesday 11th Dec 2007
Joanna Argyll (SYDNEY)
Solo saxophone
Joanna's compositions and improvisations alternate passages driven by fast rhythmic playing with moments of stillness and quiet contemplation. Her solo project for the MWIJF has a particular emphasis on exploring connections between the sonorities and noises of the saxophone and the human voice. Her influences include Eric Dolphy, Sandy Evans and Bjork.
Collider
Andrea Keeble - Violin
Anita Hustas - Bass
Erkki Veltheim - Viola
Adam Simmons - Saxophones
Kynan Robinson - Trombone
Ronny Ferella - Drums
Rarely do strings make it into the jazz world but even more rarely are they more than a luscious background. Collider is very much an ensemble with six strong and distinct voices that work in a forward-looking context, with new collaborations, exploring different sounds. Two of these voices, Andrea Keeble and Anita Hustas will be presenting and premiering new work especially for La Mama Musica as part of the MWIJF.
Bennetts Lane Big Band featuring the music of festival guest artist Satoko Fujii (JAPAN) and Australian composers Andrea Keller, Shannon Barnett and Jenna Cave (CANBERRA)
The Bennett's Lane Big Band is comprised of some of Australia's most celebrated improvisers and composers and, as such, is Melbourne's premiere large contemporary jazz ensemble. It was conceived as a vehicle for the performance of new works traversing the fields of improvised and composed music. In addition to contributions from its members, the BLBB has commissioned numerous works from external emerging and established composers.
International guests:
SATOKO FUJII TRIO
Satoko Fujii -Piano
Natsuki Tamura - Trumpet
Akira Horikoshi - Drums
BENNETTS LANE BIG BAND
Tim Wilson: alto saxophone
Julien Wilson: tenor saxophone
Ian Whitehurst: tenor saxophone
Gideon Brazil: baritone sax
Damien Maughan: trumpet
Eugene Ball: trumpet
Shannon Barnett: trombone
Adrian Sherriff: bass trombone
Andrea Keller: piano
Nick Haywood: bass
Rajiv Jayaweera: Drums
@ MWIJF with guests:
Phil Noy - alto
Scott Tinkler - trumpet
Jordan Murray - trombone
Wednesday 12th Dec 2007
Satoko Fujii (JAPAN) Solo piano
Critics and fans alike hail pianist and composer SATOKO FUJII as one of the most original voices in jazz. A truly global artist, she splits her time between New York City and Japan and tours internationally leading several different ensembles. Just as her career spans international borders, her music spans many genres, blending jazz, contemporary classical music, and traditional Japanese folk music into an innovative synthesis instantly recognizable as hers alone.
Tamara Murphy Strings and Electronica:
Murphy's Law with String quartet and David Shea (USA)
Tamara Murphy - bass
Julien Wilson - tenor sax
Shannon Barnett - trombone
Nashua Lee - guitar
Joe Talia - drums
Erkki Veltheim - violin
Attila Kuti - violin
Ceridwen Davies - viola
Naomi Wileman - cello
David Shea (USA) - electronics
This project features new compositions by bassist Tamara Murphy inspired by popular and electronic music and experimenting with new song forms and different stylistic directions. Murphy's Law has a collectively produced sound with an identity unique to the Melbourne jazz scene and with the addition of David Shea on samplers/electronics and string quartet, this promises to be exciting collaboration.
Thursday 13th Dec 2007
Salsista
For the second year SALLY FORD and VASHTI SIVELL bring together Melbourne's best female musicians from latin and world music genres for a repeat performance of
SALSISTA, playing Ford/Sivell originals and salsa classics. Salsista cooks and they are nowhere near a kitchen.
Sally Ford vocals/flute/alto sax
Vashti Sivell piano
Shannon Barnett trombone
Louise Cuming trombone
Nasrine Rahmani timbales
Neda Rahmani bongo/bell
Talia Browne congas
Zoe Frater electric bass
Valerie Mayora vocals/guiro
With special guest:
Rebecca Kleinmann (USA) - flute
Gemma Turvey Duo
Featuring pianist Gemma Turvey and bassist Nick Haywood, this duo will perform a mix of Gemma's compositions plus arrangements of songs as diverse as traditional Celtic tunes and post-war Leider.
Gemma Turvey - piano
Nick Haywood - bass
Michelle Nicolle and Belinda Moody
A class pairing, vocalist, Michelle Nicolle and double bassist Belinda
Moody join to wend their way through a set of their best-loved Beatle
songs.
Michelle Nicolle - voice
Belinda Moody - bass
Friday 14th Dec 2007
Louise Denson Trio Ingrid James &Adrian Cunningham (BRIS)
CD Launch
Louise Denson and Ingrid James present the fruits of their song-writing partnership. Original European - flavoured contemporary jazz compositions have been fleshed out with lyrics that reflect the lives, passions and beliefs of these two women artists of the 21st century.
Louise Denson - piano
Adrian Cunningham - reeds
Ingrid James - vocals
Helen Russell - accoustic bass
Joe Marchisella - drums
Diana Clark Quartet
Warm, pure vocals that soothe a weary soul: Original songs evoking the depth of Nina Simone, and the melodic and rhythmic delights of Brazil, served with the syrupy poise of KD Lang...Melbourne vocalist Diana Clark has earned her reputation as a persuasive interpreter of Brazilian Jazz. This year Clark released her all original solo debut EP, Breathe into Time with a national tour. This concert will feature sparkling solos from long-time collaborator Doug de Vries' guitar mastery, intertwined with Brazilian gems and Diana's beautiful songs.
Diana Clark - vocals
Doug de Vries - guitar
Will Poskitt - piano
TBC - drums and percussion
Saturday 15th Dec 2007
Yvette Johansson Quartet
Young vocalist Yvette Johansson, inspired by Barbara Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald, is Melbourne's most exciting and versatile young performer. Yvette has been wowing local and international audiences with her dynamic style and vocal excellence for many years. Yvette's career highlights include meeting and singing with Al Jarreau and performing with Lou Soloff (principle trumpet with Barbara Streisand Orchestra) at the Bennetts Lane ‘Jazz Lab'.
Yvette Johansson - vocals
Joe Ruberto - piano
Michael Tortoni - bass
Anthony Baker - drums
Catherine Lambert (ADEL) the Bennetts Lane Trio
Most recognized from her role as the jazz singer in Sofia Coppola's Oscar winning movie "Lost in Translation", Catherine Lambert is equally at home crooning a jazz ballad or belting out a show tune. An experienced performer nationally and internationally, Catherine leaves her own inimitable stamp on all her shows.
Catherine Lambert - vocals
Joe Ruberto - piano
Michael Tortoni - bass
Anthony Baker - drums
Sunday 16th Dec 2007
The MWIJF seeks each year to form a sextet of leading Australian female musicians to perform and promote their own original material. Past members have included Felicity Provan, Monique di Mattina, Anita Hustas, Sandy Evans and Fiona Burnett. This year the sextet is joined by bassist Belinda Moody, (who currently divides her time between Canberra and Asia), saxophonist Martha Baartz and exciting young violinist Xani Kolac.
Martha Baartz - alto saxophone
Shannon Barnett - trombone
Xani Kolac - violin
Andrea Keller - piano
Belinda Moody - bass
Sonja Horbelt - drums