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

TQM4F1 premiered at the 2016 Tectonics Festival in Adelaide in March. The quintet's members have been collaborating as part of Splinter Orchestra for many years.  Whilst the influence of their beloved larger band of improvisers is obvious, TQM4F1 have forged something new in the smaller format that sets their music apart,  

Cor Fuhler’s preparations on piano often melding with Tony Osborne’s electronic and natural voice sounds whilst Bonnie Stewart introduces percussive textures.  At the forefront of prepared saxophone in Australia are Jim Denley and Peter Farrar, extraordinary then that they are also both at the core of this formulation.  

TQM4F1 are an unpredictable bunch, creating sounds that alternately wash over the audience in great waves of kinetic energy and then diminish to almost imperceptible and fragile articulations.  Don’t miss this great concert when the group will play 2 sets of their unique sounds for the Colbourne Ave. audience. 

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

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

Formed in 2010 by seven like-minded individuals from the Sydney jazz and improvised music scene, The A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Orchestra’s unusual sound stems from its unconventional line-up (two saxophones, trumpet, guitar, piano/organ, sousaphone, drums) and the unique musical experiences and interests of its members.  Part improvisation ensemble, part chamber group, each of the members contribute compositions, allowing for an intriguing array of musical styles and approaches to reveal themselves within one performance.

The “Orchestra” also commissions and plays the compositions of external composers, all locally sourced and ethically treated, who find themselves inspired to write or adapt for its instrumentation.  From meticulously through-composed pieces to works that allow exhilarating explorations by some of Sydney’s finest young improvisers, a set from the A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Orchestra is constantly shifting and bringing about sounds and colours you’ve never heard, but always wished you had.

Jo Derrick trumpet
Peter Farrar alto
James Loughnan tenor
Dave De Vries guitar
Grant Arthur sousaphone
James Waples drums
Harry Sutherland piano and keyboards

facebook.com/acronymorchestra