Jazz | Musicosity

Jazz

Jack howard

Perhaps best known as the trumpet player in iconic Australian band Hunters and Collectors, Jack Howard is also an established solo artist and band leader in his own right. His recording and stage projects such as The Long Lost Brothers, Epic Brass, Bacharach and Beyond have proven to be music lover favourites. Additionally, Jack is an in demand session/tour guy, playing with high profile acts like The Violent Femmes, Rodriguez, You Am I, The Living End and many more. In 2017, he toured the world with Midnight Oil as their multi-instrumentalist. If that’s not enough, in between teaching music at Wesley College, he also recently released a wonderful memoir “Small Moments Of Glory”.

In June this year, Jack delivered another solo album, Lightheavyweight 2, a follow up to 2018’s beat and brass-driven record, Lightheavyweight. Lightheavyweight 2 is different but similar. Written and recorded during our lockdown year of discontent 2021, it’s a local variant, drawing mostly on Jack’s St.Kilda life. Says Jack – “The tunes usually begin with a drum and bass loop or some layered horns and then proceed along very spontaneous lines. There might be a full lyric or just a handful of words. Maybe instrumental. A lot of flugel horn this time around and swirling synths; plus some fine guest appearances from Barry Palmer on guitar, Ed Bates on pedal steel, Paul Williamson on tenor sax and Fiona Leonard on backing vocals.”

Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips caught up with Jack Howard, our musician of the month for July, to chat about his career, gear and the new album Lightheavyweight 2.

Shady Nasty

Shady Nasty, comprised of Kevin Stathis, Haydn Green and Luca Watson, have backgrounds in jazz and classical music yet are more recognisably affiliated with the alt-punk genre. This association does not determine the group, the trio incorporate elements of hip-hop and electronica. With a genre-bending sound, the group are transgressing the elements of what is considered modern alt-punk.

Shady Nasty’s influences have previously been evident in tracks such as "Get Buff" featuring a monotone dialogue resembling King Krule. Yet, in "CHEST HEIGHT", there is a real feel of experimentation and uniqueness. The group have incorporated a slight distortion in the vocals and an almost disorientation whirring backing to reiterate the internal conflicts of the lyrics.

Reflecting on the track’s meaning, the group explain that it “is about our collective experiences of dating app logic. It explores the temptation to see dating as a game with fixed rules, one which can ultimately lock you and your perception of others into cheap and isolating, yet extremely powerful categories.”

The band’s modern-day commentary appears to be a recurring theme within the trio’s discography. Their 2021 EP CLUBSMOKE dissected topics such as vlogging, clubbing, and clout. Their breakdown of modern culture, alongside rock-heavy elements allows for a listener to be immersed in their analytical expressions.

"CHEST HEIGHT" suggests a new era for Shady Nasty. Previous releases demonstrated the band’s capability to instantly switch from a melancholy almost peaceful song to a ferocious roar of guitars and bellowing vocals. However, "CHEST HEIGHT" has added a new string to their already pretty full bow, the introduction of vocal distortion demonstrates the malleability of the group’s sound, yet still leaving room for the intricate lyrics to be fully taken in.

Victor Wooten and The Wooten Brothers (usa)

Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other bassists, Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller.[2][3] From 2017 to 2019 he recorded as the bassist for the metal band Nitro.

He owns Vix Records, which releases his albums.[4] He wrote the novel The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music.[5][6] He later released the book's sequel, The Spirit of Music: The Lesson Continues, on February 2, 2021.[7]

Wooten is the recipient of five Grammy Awards.[8] He won the Bass Player of the Year award from Bass Player magazine three times[2] and is the first person to win the award more than once.[8] In 2011, he was ranked No. 10 in the Top 10 Bassists of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine.[9]

In 2018–2019 Wooten was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition called focal dystonia in his hands and upper body, which had been limiting his ability to play in previous years, but has since abated somewhat.

Terry Serio

Terry Serio is an Australian actor, director, musician and singer-songwriter. He has played recurring roles in several television series, including Blue Heelers, Halifax f.p. Ocean Girl, All Saints, Young Lions, Home and Away and Janet King. He played the lead in the film Running on Empty.

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Luoda

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Luoda harnesses its members' extensive songwriting and performance experience to create songs of profound depth.

Having pledged a lifelong commitment to refining their craft, each member of Luoda brings extraordinary musicality to the band. Members have written, recorded and performed in a staggering array of styles and contexts, spanning Avant-Garde Jazz to Acoustic Folk-Pop to Heavy Metal to Symphonic Orchestral music, to audiences all over the world in jazz clubs, theatres, stadiums, and through television sets.

Luoda's songs are the product of this experience - the collective "hive mind" - where ten extraordinary musicians create and operate at full power.

Jemma Cher

Jemma Cher, a gifted Melbourne vocalist, brings maturity, sophistication, and dazzling virtuosity to each and every performance. At only 22 years old, Jemma boasts extensive stage experience which has shaped her into the artist she is today.

Her exceptional talent was recognised when she won the 'Sing Loud' competition in 2014 under the auspices of Reconciliation Australia, with judges Delta Goodrem and Gurrumul selecting her. This experience introduced Jemma to the unifying power of music and its effect on people.

Since then, Jemma has headlined over two hundred solo performances, received four Performing Arts scholarships, placed first in numerous local competitions and eisteddfods, and reached the semi-finals of the Rob Guest Endowment award at just 17 years old.

Jemma's unique vocal abilities, which include a large range, effortless tone, and exceptional control, add something special to her performances in Jazz, Gospel, and R&B genres.

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Wendy Rule

"Dark, sensual, sonic theatre...compelling stuff."- Rolling Stone Australia
"Blessed by a voice that purrs and soars" -The Age Good Weekend, Melbourne
“If twilight has a voice, that voice is Wendy Rule”New Witch Magazine, USA
“Ever the high priestess, Rule plays a role she is both beloved in, and born into.” The Music, Australia.

Persephone, the new double- album from Australian visionary songstress Wendy Rule is the culmination of over twelve years work, and although drawing on Wendy’s musical journey over the past 2 decades, is unlike anything that she has done before. This beautifully evocative retelling of the Ancient Greek myth of the Goddess Persephone’s descent into the Underworld is almost like an opera, designed to guide the listener through this ancient tale of the cycles of Nature. With subtle textures that reference her early life as a jazz singer in her home town of Melbourne, and the trademark dark, gothic soundscapes and souring vocals of her previous 7 major albums, Persephone is an ambitious and unique 24 track journey through the realms of Life, Death, and human emotion.

But then again, Wendy has always carved a unique and individual path. Since the release of her first album Zero in 1996, she has defied categorisation, always walking to the beat of her own drum. Combining elements of gothic, folk, world, ambient and cabaret music, and crossing over into Pagan and New Age catagories with her many mythological, esoteric, and ritual references, Wendy is as individual as she is prolific.

A dedicated live performer, Wendy has toured extensively since her first album’s release - starting in Australia, then branching out with her first international tour in 2001. Renowned for her extraordinary voice and live shows that blur the line between music, ritual and theatre, Wendy has gained a loyal following in Australia, the USA, Europe and the UK. From the most intimate solo house concerts, to festival gigs with her band (featuring long term musical collaborator Rachel Samuel on cello), Wendy takes her audience on an otherworldly journey of depth and passion.

With the help of her loyal fanbase Wendy continues to maintain her musical independence, unbound by the confines of the mainstream. Two hugely successful crowdfunding campaigns have helped bring both Persephone, and her previous album Black Snake(2014) to life. In the past few years she has continued to grow her audience, not only with her dedicated touring schedule, but also with her performance as ‘La Llorano’ in the 2016 feature film Boys in the Trees by director Nicholas Verso (now screening on Netflix), and with her popular monthly Full Moon Magic Iive-streamed concerts.

In 2014 Wendy relocated from Australia to the USA, and is now living in the beautiful High Desert city of Santa Fe, New Mexico - allowing her an even stronger connection to her ever growing US fanbase, and providing daily access to the wild Nature that inspires her unique and transformational work.

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James Muller

James Muller is an Australian jazz guitarist. The James Muller Trio won the 2000 ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album with the album All Out. Muller was nominated for same award in 2002 with Thrum and in 2006 with Kaboom.

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Torbreck

Torbreck is a band that composes and performs crazy tunes that blend a myriad of genres ranging from jazz to punk and everything in between. Nothing is off limits, if it sounds good they'll try it.

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Emma Jury

Born and raised in Melbourne, Emma Jury brings the sounds of warm soul, modern pop and whispy jazz to her music. A talented musician from the age of four, Emma began her music journey with classical piano studies which evolved into modern piano classics and eventually her own songwriting at the age of eleven.

Emma has been surrounded by musical influence all her life, and last year started her tertiary education at the Victorian College of the Arts, studying Jazz and Improvisation. She is a music teacher with over three years of experience teaching classical and modern piano, music theory and craft, songwriting, vocal coaching, VCE tutoring and audition preparation.

Emma Jury is an experienced wedding/event performer as a solo act, duo and a five-piece band. Her natural improvisational skills and live mash-ups of popular songs are crowd favourites. Her musicality and creativity are not to be missed.

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