Upcoming events

Tomasz Stanko Quintet

Tomasz Stanko is at the forefront of international contemporary jazz trumpetism, and holds a status in international jazz circles similar to where Miles Davis was in the seventies.

He is one of ECM's leading jazz recording artists, drawing large concert audiences in Europe, Australia and the USA. At the age of 67 the Polish trumpet player hits, once again, a new peak with his new Scandinavian quintet. The New Yorker recently described him as "one of the world's most original and innovative jazz trumpet players", while The Times said of the new 'Dark Eyes' album (ECM 2009): "Stanko has again made an album, where every note - and the spaces around it - are full of impact." .Thrilled by Ornette, Coltrane and Miles, the young Stanko studied at the Krakow Music Academy and played the Polish underground scene with his own band, when the film composer Krzystof Komeda invited him to his quintet. Tomasz considers his five years in that band as crucial to his own style: "My lyricism and playing only the essential, my way of approaching the structures asymmetrically and many harmonic nuances are all influenced by Komeda." Stanko made 11 albums and a stack of soundtracks with his mentor. Later he has recorded many albums as the leader of various bands and collaborated with Krzystof Penderecki, Don Cherry, Arild Andersen, Bobo Stenson and especially the late great Finnish drummer Edward Vesala, to name a few. For his new quintet he hand-picked the hottest young talents on the Scandinavian jazz scene: pianist Alexi Tuomarila and drummer Olavi Louhivuori from Finland, bassist Anders Christensen and guitarist Jacob Bro from Denmark.

http://www.tomaszstanko.com

Members:
Stanko Tomasz, trumpet
Tuomarila Alexi, piano
Bro Jakob , guitar
Christensen Anders, bass
Louhivuori Olavi, drums

Stanko’s melodies and parts of his solos could cruise melodically, and then suddenly, like the sun breaking through clouds, he would unleash a molten stream of dazzling silver lines, as penetrating as only a trumpet can be…- arguably one of the most important jazz musicians alive..’
John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald

‘Now in his 60s Stanko remans a fascinating, mysterious, sometimes rather severe pioneer of a kind of east Euopean jazz independence..’
John Fordham – The Guardian

"Stanko evokes the spirits of the finest trumpeters dead and living while creating a mood and a voice uniquely his own. Yes, you can hear the influences of Miles Davis and Chet Baker at their most introspective and profound, as well as hotter, more rasping traces of Lee Morgan and Clifford Brown... 'Soul of Things' stands shoulder to hiply-slumped shoulder with 'Kind of Blue', and has an even better sound."
Stereophile, Record to Die For

"Tomasz Stanko's newest release, "Suspended Night," is a masterpiece of minimalist beauty. A suite of interconnected compositions, "Suspended Night" simply numbers its "Variations" I to X. The unaffected simplicity and flexible modal structures strip down chords and melody lines to allow each of the quartet members to enter the flow with calm force or lay out with delicate understatement. At times, the melody line rests on just repeated pairs of notes -- the right ones.

The quartet has worked together regularly since last year's equally intricate release, "The Soul of Things." They let the rhythm drift into comfortable stillness, but aren't shy to drive ahead either, letting individual notes resonate freely. Still based in Poland, Stanko and quartet outcool the coolest of the late '50s jazz groups and make it easy to see why he was awarded the first European Prize in jazz last year." [2002]
The Japan Times 2004.

Dark Eyes CD

Dark Eyes CD Review

Article from Jazzwise UK

Article from The Guardian UK

Diana Clark Trio - featuring Doug de Vries

Diana Clark Trio - vocals, guitar, piano-accordion

Diana Clark's rich and mellifluous alto voice & songs reflect the cosmopolitan scene of music making in Melbourne and her background growing up in the Northern Territory, while embracing the powerful rhythms of Brazil, the intensity and subtle beauty of Rio. Diana's collaborations with master guitarist Doug de Vries have established her as a persuasive interpreter of Brazilian Popular Song - and the pair have immersed themselves in the traditions of the bossa, samba, and choro revealing an emotive power and sophistication that is given full flight in the company of her sublime accompanists - Doug de Vries, and all round musical virtuoso, accordionist Stephen Grant.

www.dianaclark.com.au - www.dougdevries.com

YouTube Videos

YouTube: Corcovado

YouTube: Cry No More (Canto de Ossanha)

YouTube: 3 shadows of Blue

"Singing in alternating English & Portuguese, Diana's light, melifluous voice perfectly compliments de Vries' virtuosity on the 7 string guitar. Marrying old and new sounds, they manage to remain faithful to the 'musica brasileira' genre while retaining a strong Australian sensibility." - Lily Bragg, The Age [Melbourne]

“De Vries and Clark feel the music of Brazil down to their bones. His guitar is full of romance and her voice is so intimate it could make you blush. Australia may be halfway around the world from Brazil but you’d never know it from listening to their CDs.” - Cadence Magazine [USA]

“Diana’s voice…seductive & engaging…with de Vries improvising, using an impressive finger-style technique on 7 string guitar…also complementing Di’s voice by singing counterpoint melodies while Grant uplifted the music further still with his transcendental accompanying…truly a night of splendour from three of this country’s finest musicians.” - President Albury-Wodonga Jazz Society

“…Buoyed by gently vibrant Afro-Brazilian rhythms, Clark’s warm vocals can soften the melancholy of a yearning lyric, or coax the vibrant rhythms around her into a dance of celebration.” - The Age

Current Biography

Paavali Jumppanen

(photo: Petri Puromies)

Virtuosity in classical pianism from Finland

After his debut Australian tour in April 2004 performing with the Melbourne and Western Australian Symphonies and his solo recital program visit in October 2006, Paavali Jumppanen will be back in Australia and Singapore with his Beethoven recital, lecture and masterclass program in October/November 2010. Paavali Jumppanen has made big impressions in his homeland Finland, Scandinavia, Europe and the US with a range of distinguished symphony orchestras and in solo recitals. Paavali studied with Krystian Zimerman at the Music Academy of Basel in Switzerland. - See below the links to Paavali's bio, recent reviews - and to get a taste of Mr. Jumppanen’s grasp of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas visit: http://www.gardnermuseum.org/music/artist/jumppanen.asp

Australian/Singapore touring program

- Mozart Sonata in B-Flat Major K 281;
- Beethoven Sonata in d-minor op 31 no 3 "Tempest"
- Four Preludes by Jouni Kaipainen;
- Beethoven Sonata in f-minor op 57 "Appassionata"

The lecture title and topic:

"Shakespearean influence in Beethoven's music",
The basic idea of the lecture is built on the much discussed and doubted comment "Read Shakespeare's Tempest", Beethoven allegedly gave his friend and assistant Anton Schindler regarding the musical meaning of the Tempest-Sonata. Paavali will present though some of the early response as well as some more recent ways to approach the matter. To connect the recital with the lecture, Paavali will include in his recital the "Shakespearean" Sonatas by Beethoven (The Tempest, Appassionata).

"...his playing is fresh and exciting..."
The New York Times

" At the Kennedy Center Jumppanen left no doubt that he has the dexterity of a Paganini and the strength of a Titan"
The Washington Post

"...his playing is fresh and bracing, like a cool Artic breeze…"
The Adelaide Advertiser

"...he played this very difficult piece (Boulez Sonata No.1) with mastery of idiom and an impressive communication of structure..."
The Melbourne Age

"...he added more glory from his concerts in Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth to his glowing overseas reviews, and his Brisbane performance showed they were no idle claims. He is everything the critics say of him and more..."
Brisbane Courier Mail

Read another review here: Boston Globe, March 2010

Current Biography

Nat Bartsch Trio

(photo: Petri Puromies)

Nat Bartsch - piano, Josh Holt - bass, Leigh Fisher - drums

www.natbartsch.com - www.youtube.com/natbartsch

Young Australian pianist/composer Nat Bartsch is fast gaining a reputation for playing touching music with beauty, soul and clarity. Joined by the young talents of Josh Holt (bass) and Leigh Fisher (drums), their focus lies in creating unique improvised music with melodic and harmonic beauty and vibrant rhythmic motives. Her trio draws influence not only from the modern jazz piano trios of today, but also from indie, ambient and minimalist music, such as Sigur Ros, Elbow and Radiohead. The trio showcases Nat's original compositions, and the trio's own arrangements of contemporary popular Australian music. They have performed extensively around the Melbourne jazz scene and in May 2009 Nat Bartsch made her debut performance in Tokyo and  Fukuoka in Japan, receiving standing ovations. On 30 November the Trio will perform for the first time in Germany at the Kongresshall of the Saarbrucken Jazz Festival. At that time the Nat Bartsch Trio will also release their new CD recorded in December 2009 in Melbourne for ABC Jazztrack.

"Her approach unites lyrical beauty with unsentimental abstraction in a fascinating way." - Tord Gustavsen

Current Biography

Iiro Rantala in duo with Youn Sun Nah

Iiro Rantala (1970) – piano – Finland

check: Haiti Concert

After touring the world for 18 years with Trio Töykeät, Finnish jazz piano virtuoso Iiro Rantala is refreshingly still at the forefront of international pianism. The energetic keyboard lion crosses musical genres and styles with ease and excitement, playing at his exhilarating and adventurous best. Definitely entertaining, zany,unconventional and occasionally wicked, yet always uncompromising. Iiro Rantala is among the most internationally visible Finnish jazz musicians, and is second to none when it comes to unsurpassable keyboard technique and flaring showmanship. The pianist first became infected by music in the children's choir Cantores Minores at the age of seven and soon afterwards was already taking piano lessons. Iiro Rantala is best known as the founder and pianist of Trio Töykeät, Finland's most famous jazz group, which became one of the biggest success stories in Finnish jazz. Töykeät gave over 2,500 performances in 60 countries between 1988 and 2006, and released 8 albums - a formidable achievement. The development of Iiro Rantala as a creative pianistic improvisor has been one of the most astonishing phenomena in the Finnish music world, and he has been the winner of all major jazz awards in Finland during his 22 year career.

www.iirorantala.com

In Duo with vocalist YOUN SUN NAH (Korea)

(photos: Maarit Kytöharju)

"....romantic-classical strivings in which his famed, composing country man Sibelius was so good, and with that shakes his head above the keys as a keyboard lion of the Horowitz type...."
Jacob Haagsma - Leeuwarder Courant - Holland

"...His playing to put it mildly is virtuoso. One must perhaps go all the way back to Franz Liszt to find the same kind of virtuosity. At least there is lots of romanticism in Rantala."
Kjeld Fransden, Berlingske Tidene, Copenhagen

"Pianist Iiro Rantala is a real keyboard lion. That he sees the grand piano particularly also as a toy, appears in the many jokes in compositions lie 'Another Ragtime, 'Unfinnish Tango' and 'Hömppa Humppa'"
Frans van Leeuwen - NCR Handelsblad - Holland

"Iiro Rantala is a pianistic sensation who makes the strongest case I know to believe in reincarnation because his pianistic technique and musical sensitivity speak of depths which appear impossible to have been achieved in this lifetime alone...."
Gil Goldstein, pianist and arranger, New York City.

"When I first heard the Trio Toykeat play I was totally bowled over...knocked out. I immediately recommended them for work...and also started hiring them... then they started hiring me!  Iiro Rantala is one of the best musicians I have ever known. A RARE talent!"
Lew Soloff, trumpeter, New York City

Current Biography

PEKKA KUUSISTO & IIRO RANTALA

(photo: Tanja Ahola)

(photo: Maarit Kytöharju)

Out of Finland and coming to you! The Classical violin and Jazz piano Duo of our decade: Pekka Kuusisto and Iiro Rantala. Meet these two internationally renowned virtuosi and let them with their cunning charm and cheek put the Tango fire in your heart! Pekka and Iiro have individually toured Australia many times – Pekka with the Symphony Orchestras – Iiro with Trio Töykeät and solo - rank among the highest rated musicians in musical Finland and indeed the world, and they do so because of two reasons: They are both top-notch instrumentalists but are not afraid to constantly seek new grounds for expression. Their duo collaboration submerges into the world of Tango by means familiar from the hay days of jazz.

www.nme.com/artists/pekka-kuusisto

www.iirorantala.com

YouTube: Pekka Kuusisto: Sibelius Violin Concerto

YouTube: Iiro Rantana: Haiti Concert

“He’s a huge, charismatic talent. Let’s see more of him.” 
Richard Morrison, The Times, February 2007

“Lending his wayward genius to all this was the guest solo violinist, Pekka Kuusisto. What an extraordinary sound he makes, tremulous as a reed, often folk-like in its flatness, and yet so expressive.”
The Telegraph, February 2010

“Other highlights are the gorgeous romancing of the Cantabile, the effortlessly sweet-singing Sonata in A and the heroic Tarantella, originally for violin and orchestra: here Kuusisto really shows his violinistic mettle with some impeccable double-stopped spiccato and frenzied, stratospheric twirling.”
The Strad, February 2010

“The brilliant 31-year-old, playing with seemingly effortless élan and brilliance, brings a breath of fresh air into the concert hall… [He] is an artist of huge enthusiasm, energy and imagination, qualities that he transmits to those around him and the result, at this concert, was an evening of magical, vibrant music-making, given by players who were loving what they were doing – and showing it... The drama and brilliance of Kuusisto’s playing was breathtaking”
Irish Examiner, March 2007

Iiro Rantala

"....romantic-classical strivings in which his famed, composing country man Sibelius was so good, and with that shakes his head above the keys as a keyboard lion of the Horowitz type...."
Jacob Haagsma - Leeuwarder Courant - Holland

"...His playing to put it mildly is virtuoso. One must perhaps go all the way back to Franz Liszt to find the same kind of virtuosity. At least there is lots of romanticism in Rantala."
Kjeld Fransden, Berlingske Tidene, Copenhagen

"Pianist Iiro Rantala is a real keyboard lion. That he sees the grand piano particularly also as a toy, appears in the many jokes in compositions lie 'Another Ragtime, 'Unfinnish Tango' and 'Hömppa Humppa'"
Frans van Leeuwen - NCR Handelsblad - Holland

"Iiro Rantala is a pianistic sensation who makes the strongest case I know to believe in reincarnation because his pianistic technique and musical sensitivity speak of depths which appear impossible to have been achieved in this lifetime alone...."
Gil Goldstein, pianist and arranger, New York City.

Pekka Kuusisto Bio

Iiro Rantala Bio

Duo Bio

(photo: Lauri Salo)