An album launch for a four-piece band living on three different continents plus Tasmania.

You can support the production of the album here : https://pozible.com/project/a-moment-in-time-jazz-album 

Spike Mason will be once again visiting the North Island to play the saxophone.

At this Colbourne Ave gig you will have the chance to hear him create new melodies with the amazing New York based double bass legend - Mark Lau, who will be visiting Aus for a few brief weeks. Spike and Mark have been musical compadres for over 20 yrs so there will be great music and many stories too. Joining them both will be the always inventive and rhythmically satisfying James Waples on Drums. This will prove to be an exciting nite of new music, old music, and never heard of before or since music...

*actual band may not match photo.

Mark has an extremely minimalist website, even for a jazz musician : marklau.org

Barney Wakeford is a truly innovative pianist and improviser. Catch his trio in the intimate surrounds of Colbourne Ave. Expect the unexpected.

Nadje Noordhuis, 2007 Thelonius Monk International Jazz trumpet competition finalist, New York adoptee since 2003,    will playing with local lads Henri Peipman (piano) and Tim Firth (drums) along with Mark Lau (double bass).   Nadje's music has grace strength and beauty not disimilar to the lyrical work of Dave Douglas, whom she recently had the pleasure of working with as part of the exclusive Carnegie Hall young artists in residence programme. And as for the band you couldn't ask for a more sympathetic and tasteful accompaniment...

Mark Lau will be back from New York for a couple of weeks - and for this one night he has brought together three old friends, three of sydney's best free improvisers.

Old Standards ==> New Measures

Four improvisers who are dedicated to moving thru familiar jazz standard tunes in a fresh and unique way...

if the title isn't jazz enough for you... this will be a once-only collaboration between five great improvisers, long-time far-flung friends...
nadje noordhuis: tpt (nyc) - (she's a expat sydneysider too, monk
competition finalist etc.)
spike - sax
carl dewhurst - guitar (winner Ike Issacs International Jazz Guitar competition)
mark lau - bass (nyc)
tim firth - drums

Tim Stevens and Mark Lau, two old friends now living in new york and melbourne, only get to play together every couple of years when they meet up in Sydney.  This is it...

'Stevens is an improviser of endless melodic inventiveness and seemingly inexhaustible harmonic knowledge. He is clearly a diligent student of jazz tradition, yet he eschews imitation and cliché.' (Aaron Searle, Music Forum)

Our own Barney Wakeford, a magnanimous accompanist, adventurous composer and interpreter, and sublime improvisor, playing his favourite piano in his favourite room - with Mark Lau on double bass, home from New York for a couple of weeks.  Catch them while you can.

Tim and Mark both used to live in Sydney.  then they both left.  they've since performed together at Pori Jazz and Umbria Jazz and in Melbourne, but this will be the first time they've hunted on their old turf for the beautiful equality only an improvising duet can bring.

"even in a country so richly endowed with superior jazz pianists, Tim Stephens is one of those at the very top of the pile" john shand

with his old friends Spike Mason (sax), Richard Maegraith (sax), Tim Firth (drums)

We love it when Mark comes home for a visit.  He says his new album, Centrical, "moves freely from beautifull stripped down ballads to aggressive, distorted horn textures and loops" - they are playing different aspects of the music at Jazzgroove on Tuesday and everyone's favourite secret Jazz venue on Wednesday - on Thursday we're getting the beautiful stripped down set, see if you can get to all three!