Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival 2013

This year, the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival will take place across five venues starting in Sydney’s inner city with key performances at the Seymour Centre’s Sound Lounge as well as Sydney’s hottest new jazz club, Foundry616 in Ultimo.

As well as ticketed events, the City of Sydney is sponsoring a free performance by the Jo Fabro Quintet at Jazz Picnic in the Seymour Centre courtyard ensuring that everyone can enjoy this vibrant festival.

Opening the program, New-York based Japanese pianist Eri Yamamoto is making her first appearance in Australia. Represented on the prestigious AUM label, Eri’s beautiful and engaging post-bop style seen her perform with avant-garde luminaries such as William Parker, Hamid Drake and Whit Dickey. Her long-standing New York trio comprises of David Ambrosio and Ikuo Takeuchi.

Six time winner of the Downbeat Critic’s Poll and winner of the Jazz Journalist Association Baritone Sax of the Year category, New York baritone saxophonist Claire Daly will perform the music of jazz giant Thelonious Monk with her New York/Sydney Quintet.

While in Sydney, Claire will also share her knowledge from time spent as a member of iconic New York big band Diva Jazz Orchestra when she performs as a guest soloist for 17 piece all-female Sirens Big Band.

Direct from the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues, critically acclaimed Norwegian saxophonist Frøy Aagre has gained an international reputation for her prolific compositions, individual style and lyrical Nordic sound. Performing with award-winning Brisbane-based Trichotomy, Frøy presents her new project that fuses electronic sound into melodic groove based jazz.

Back in Australia for a string of performances, Bell Award-Winning trombonist Shannon Barnett presents a new project U.NLOCK with Australian Council fellow and improvising vocal pioneer Gian Slater. Lauded for her performance with Andrea Keller at last year’s festival, Gian’s relentless creative energy takes a very different direction when she performs with New-York based Barnett and Co.

Sydney’s own Tina Harrod sings about love, loss and pain like no other. For the festival, Tina will perform music from her new album The Revolution is Eternal across two consecutive Fridays, giving audiences the opportunity to catch her heart-felt vocals in this latest offering dubbed as gut-bucket soul.

Nat Bartsch is a Melbourne-based contemporary jazz pianist and composer who is fast gaining a reputation amongst jazz aficionados for creating beautiful original music with an distinctive touch and tone that draws on the European jazz tradition, indie rock pop and classical music.

After a string of sell-out performances in Melbourne and Sydney, Virna Sanzone presents The Italian Project in collaboration with four-time Aria award-winner Paul Grabowsky. Exploring music from her rich Sicilian heritage, audiences are treated to jazz arrangements of folk, Fellini and popular Italian music of the twentieth century.

Multi-award winning Australian R&B singer Jade McRae reveals her impressive jazz pedigree when she teams up with parents Dave McRae and Joy Yates to showcase the music of Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan and Billy Holiday.

One of the most respected pianist/composers in modern Australian jazz, Judy Bailey OAM has had an extensive performance history reaching back to the heady days of Sydney’s legendary El Rocco Jazz Cellar. Join her in a 60 minute discussion about her rich life experiences as a musician and trail-blazer before she performs with her trio. This unique format will give listeners an insight to Judy’s wealth of musical ideas, wonderful sense of dynamics and striking sound.

Co-Artistic Director Joanne Kee says “We are thrilled with the response we received to the program last year from both the critics and our audiences. There is huge array of talent and diversity not only with jazz artists from overseas but also here in Australia”
“There are so many styles and interpretations of jazz. It is a multi-dimensional music and we’re pleased to have been able to represent such a broad spectrum this year. From Claire Daly’s interpretation of the great Thelonious Monk through to Jade McRae’s rendition of Sarah Vaughan or Shannon Barnett’s joyous trombone, we’re aiming to give audiences access to jazz that is fun, intelligent and guarantees a sense of discovery which elicits a response”.

For more information visit: http://sima.org.au/SydneyInternationalWomensJazzFestival2013/917/n/3/0/0/