Spike Mason on sax, Matt McMahon on piano.  Two great musicians with a long history of playing together and a deep love of improvised music.  Matt and Spike can both draw from a huge catalogue of standards and each has a long list of original compositions.  It is an important day for me, and I know it will be a perfect night of music.

John and Brendan, both steeped in the jazz tradition, great improvisers who have worked together for years, will perform this very rare duet show.  2 sets of Jazz and Bebop compositions, mixed with Standards from the Great American Songbook.

Everybody loves Matt, and the synergy he has developed with Jono Brown and Simon Barker over a decady is astounding.  They will play pieces from their 13 year history and some brand new ones too.
Of their cd "Ellipsis" John Shand said in the Sydney Morning Herald:
"McMahon's playing is ravishing ... The recording quality is excellent and the music is as good as any current piano-trio jazz"

"... a seemingly telepathic ability to begin and end each other's phrases."  John Shand reckons their CD is"among the finest recorded work of sinewy bassist Cameron Undy." I reckon i'm going to like it.  Reviews and stuff on the Jazzgroove site

Barney Wakeford plays the piano.  With Pete Kolhoff on bass (he's been all around town with James Valentine lately), and Mike Quigley on Drums.

John Harkins is Sydney's favourite Chicago blues man (or ours at least), playing a tribute to Hank Jones - the jazz legend who died last month at the age of 91.  In his 20s Hank worked with Hot Lips Page, and he played through the whole history of bop, bebop, and popular jazz working with Colman Hawkins, Ella Fitzgerald, Mailyn Munroe, Benny Goodman...  But it's not a tribute to any of them.

The best young piano trio money can't buy.  But you're welcome to make a bid...

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)

Exploring different textural combos with piano in duo, trio, quartet & quintet formations, Gavin will exercise his formidable improvisational ability.

"Ahearn is every bit the beautiful, lyrical pianist he's touted to be" [ lloyd bradford (brad) syke, Australian Stage]

Page 2 of 5