Luke was one of the three finalists for this years Friedman Jazz Fellowship.
The Grey Wing Trio was Forged in Sydney's suburban hustle and bustle, the musicians realised their distinct musical rapport and hyper-lyrical zeal when they first played together in 2011.
Luke Sweeting (piano), Ken Allars (trumpet) and Finn Ryan's (drums) improvising plays off compositions that are often delicate and texturally versatile. Described as intriguing and impulsive and, yes, epic, Grey Wing Trio playfully explore alternate forms and endings, discovering in-the-moment colours.
Luke Sweeting is an incredible pianist and composer, having toured with Swedish-Australian ensemble Svelia, the Antipodes Sextet and various projects. His previous releases include "People and Lightbulbs" (Luke Sweeting Sextet) and duo album "The Great Unknown" with vocalist Rachael Thoms. He has also recorded and arranged with the Australian 2012 Generations in Jazz vocal winner Liam Budge.
Ken Allars has already the ears of the nation, performing on the Australian ARIA award winning album Hear and Know by Mike Nock and also winning the James Morrison Generations in Jazz scholarship in 2011.
Finn Ryan is distinctly remarkable for his improvising with the electro-acoustic trio 3ofmillions, the free style African Dance ensemble Prophets and his strong connection with Sydney/European improvising legends Jim Denley and Tony Buck.
Grey Wing Trio draw their music from diverse influences; certainly jazz with heavy interests from twentieth century and early classical music, folk traditions and texture-based improvisational music. The band's name pays homage to a peaceful and now rare Australian budgerigar: the Greywing.
Bonnie plays drums and percussion and writes and sings. Peter plays strange ethereal noises through the saxophone. Luke plays beautiful wandering passages on the piano.
They have great song ideas like "When you think somethings in D and its not in D but it has a D and you did pilates in the morning" and "Dark Slow Scary One".
Together they are Crossover. Soft, lyrical, complex songs that take you across landscapes and into strange lands.
She has some beautiful new songs on her soundcloud site., some recorded at Colbourne Ave Listen to them one rainy afternoon : https://soundcloud.com/bonniedrums
Bonnie Stewart is an Irish jazz drummer, composer, and singer-songwriter. It's pretty much the perfect combination - she plays drums like a singer, she composes like a drummer, she leads her band with the song as the focus. She likes Monk and Bebop, she's studied jazz in Dublin and New York, she has some of Sydney's most creative improvisers in her band. Also she's an excellent human being.
Here's a video shot from under the piano at a jazzgroove gig. you can't even see bonnie - most of the video is Peter Farrar standing still. But the music is great.
Peter Farrar - alto saxophone
Luke Sweeting - piano
Bonnie Stewart - drums & percussion
Antipodes was formed after Baxendale met Sweeting at a jam session in Berlin in 2013. Their musical connection became immediately apparent and they began writing and performing original compositions together. Sweeting from Sydney is a pianist known for his indelible work with jazz-improv group the Grey Wing Trio. Saxophonist Baxendale a key force behind the burgeoning Kiwi band The Jac and is one of the most energetic forces coming from the underground Wellington jazz scene.
After returning from their time overseas they set to work touring NZ and Australia with an expanded group in early 2014, producing several live recordings and garnering positive reviews from critics. Motueka born guitarist Callum Allardice, a frequent collaborator of Jake’s, joined them in NZ and contributed a number of his own compositions. The new sextet also features Sydney musicians Simon Ferenci (trumpet) of Mothership Orchestra fame, one of Sydney’s hardest working double bassists Max Alduca and Harry Day of electro-pop band Beaten Bodies.
Featuring:
Jake Baxendale (saxophone)
Luke Sweeting (piano)
Callum Allardice (guitar)
Simon Ferenci (trumpet)
Max Alduca (bass)
Harry Day (drums)
Rachel Lole is a Sydney based Jazz Vocalist and Composer. Rachel spent three years under the tuition of leading Australian jazz artists Vince Jones and Kristin Berardi where she completed a Bachelor of Music at the ANU School of Music. Rachel is an experienced performer, with performances at the Lodge, Canberra for Julia Gillard (2013), Parliament House for Prime minister Tony Abbott (2014), Floriade Rhythm and Blooms Festival, Capital Jazz Project and jazz festivals in Melbourne, Sydney and the south coast of NSW. Rachel is a versatile performer and is one of Australia's up and coming Jazz Vocalists. Rachel has produced a body of original compositions that feature emotion filled lyrics and reflect her musical influences.
The most promising young jazz vocalist I've heard
Vince Jones
Gripping and imaginative, the Sydney-Melbourne collaboration Toska is led by alto saxophonist, Josh Kelly and pianist, Luke Sweeting. Exploring elements of free improvisation and contemporary jazz the band are performing music inspired by their recent escapades through Europe. The music explores a sense of movement and the effect that a place has on one.
Josh is one of the most musically energetic young saxophone players to emerge from the Melbourne scene. An incredible composer and improviser, Josh's unique approach to music is influenced by his experience growing up in three countries. Born in South Africa amongst street buskers and township jazz, soaking up reggae and experimental rock in New Zealand, and obsessing about modern creative jazz in Australia, Josh’s signature sound is hard to categorise. After performing alongside Australian luminaries, including Julien Wilson, Vince Jones, Paul Grabowsky and Chris Hale, Josh has decided to promote his own work, influenced by his life stories and literature. His willingness to take risks and purely improvise in the moment is central to his conception. This mindset is perfectly matched to Sweeting’s adventurous approach to the piano.
Sweeting is an incredible pianist and composer, having released two albums: 'People and Lightbulbs' with his jazz sextet outfit, and 'The Great Unknown' with soprano virtuoso Rachael Thoms, as well recording with 2012 Generations in Jazz vocal winner Liam Budge. He has performed alongside many of Australia's legendary jazz musicians, and has recently toured with Swedish-Australian band Svelia, improv band The Grey Wing Trio and Antipodes 6tet.
Toska includes some of the most proficient musicians from both Melbourne and Sydney. These impeccable young musicians make thrilling journeys through compositions, and like a good traveller, take adventurous risks. A distinctive contemporary jazz ensemble.
Josh Kelly (VIC) - Sax
Luke Sweeting (NSW) - Piano
Reuben Lewis (VIC/NSW) - Trumpet
Matt Hayes (VIC) - Bass
Harry Day (NSW) - Drums
listen and learn more at joshkellymusic.com
Bonnie Stewart has always been drawn to the innovative style of angular melodies, unusual forms and jagged rhythms of Thelonious Monk's music. In her project, "Criss Cross", Bonnie uses these aspects to inspire original compositions as well as new arrangements of Thelonious Monk's tunes. Bonnie infuses Monk’s quirky bebop compositions with her own melodic and rock influenced free-improvisation style, creating a new contemporary dimension to Monk's music.
Since completing her BA(Hons) in Jazz Performance in Ireland, composer and drummer Bonnie Stewart furthered her studies at the School of Improvised Music in New York.
Originally formed in her home town of Dublin, Bonnie is excited to bring “Criss Cross” to life in Sydney with a fantastic local line up.
Simon Ferenci - Trumpet
Peter Farrar – Alto Sax
Luke Sweeting – Piano
Thomas Botting – Double Bass
Bonnie Stewart – Drums
To listen, here are some clips from a live performance at Bohemian Grove!
https://soundcloud.com/bonniedrums/promo-crisscross
Three of our favourite young improvisers - trumpet, piano and drums explore music that delves between beautiful songlike forms and free and expressive improvisations
Listen here : soundcloud.com/luke-sweeting-music/sets/live-at-the-paris-cat-feb-2013
Casey Moir – Voice (AUS/SWE)
Reuben Lewis – Trumpet (AUS)
Luke Sweeting – Piano (AUS)
Johan Moir – Double Bass (SWE)
Aidan Lowe – Drums (AUS)
From north to south the members of this band have gathered to form this collaboration of five Swedish & Australian musicians. Together they fuse the spontaneous with the unconventional, composition with open interpretation and allow their intuitive joint expression to intricately weave it all together in some form of coherent chaos.
While on tour in Sweden, Germany and Poland, SVELIA surprised their audiences as they “frame the liberating madness of free expression within the form of song”. In Krakow, Poland it was quoted that “Svelia's music happens on fringes of a variety of styles - radical improvisation is countered by tricky and disciplined compositions, bursting energy by heartbreaking lyricism, hard-edged harmonies by melodies that will haunt your mind in sleep”
LIsten here: www.soundcloud.com/svelia
Luke moved down from Canberra a couple of years ago, and is now an integral member of half a dozen bands, with two original albums under his own name. He's toured Asia and Europe and blah blah blah you know. What's great is that he is actively exploring the sounds and the culture of Australian jazz, composing and improvising with everyone he can, bringing together themes and styles and (as with so many players of his generation) forging a new local style to take to the global stage. And he's good at it.
They'll be playing tunes from Luke's recent album People and Lightbulbs and a bunch of new material.
Luke Sweeting - piano
Ken Allars - trumpet
Matt Keegan - tenor sax
Luke Sweeting - piano
James Heazlewood-Dale - double bass
Finn Ryan - drums
ADDRESS
cnr Colbourne Ave and St Johns Road, Glebe ( google map )
WHEN
Thursdays from 8pm
BYO
anything you like - dinner, snacks, beverages, friends (glasses provided).
COST
$20 / $10 concession for all concerts
STYLE
Comfortable lounges, candlelight, all ages welcome.
THE LIST
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