Pianist and composer Chris Cody has performed and recorded internationally for the last 25 years while based in Paris. He has headlined at many international festivals including Paris Quartiers d’Eté, London, Rome, Brussels Jazz Marathon, Marciac, Nantes, Ascona and Algiers and at a vast array of concert venues throughout the USA, Europe and Africa. He has worked with many outstanding international musicians including Rick Margitza, Roy Hargrove, Glenn Ferris, Carla Bruni, Annie Whitehead, Tina Arena, Michel Jonaz, Rhoda Scott and Herb Geller.
With eleven CDs of his music released on international labels he has received glowing reviews and featured on radio and television around the world, and has collaborated on over thirty other albums.
His compositions have been commissioned for the inauguration of the Australian Music Centre Paris, as well as for the Sydney Theatre Company, American Academy of Dance, Pillow Book Dance Company Pittsburg, and other French and American theatre companies, and he has composed the music for eight films, and several TV and Radio documentaries.
He was a member of the judging panel for the 2014 Freedman Fellowship, Australia.
“Magical!” Piano Magazine, France
“Exhilarating … a feast of melody… an inspiration never at fault” JazzHot, France
“Full of music and future!” Le Monde, France
“A marvellous climate, between subtle arrangements and vast spaces of improvisation…” Jazz Magazine, France
“Very luminous jazz!” Télérama, France
“This is jazz that takes off for the heights” Figaroscope, France
“A European sensibility with a nod to Debussy” Rolling Stone
“Splendidly rich and varied” Jazzwise, U.K
“A performance full of colour, humour and rhythmic movement.” Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
“A fine mix of superior technical talent and youthful inventiveness” Variety USA
AWARDS :
2010 US Department of State Federal Award, Tour of Algeria
1999 Finalist Australian National Jazz Awards
1995 Finalist Tremplin Jazz Val d’Oise
1989 Best Jazz Composition, Australian Jazz Action Society
1989 Jack Chrotowsky Prize for Jazz Piano
1979 Finalist, Roger Woodward Classical Piano Scholarship
SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY :
Chris Cody Octet: Astrolabe, CCM
Chris Cody, Not My Lover, Wave Music
Jon Handelsman, Spirit House
– Bremner Duthrie: Kabarett 33 (pianist, arranger, producer)
– Paddy Sherlock, Electric Chop Shop (pianist, arranger)
– Tuesday Warren Luminescence Quartet: One Drop of Water
– Tuesday Warren Luminescence Quartet: Si Seulement
– Jocelyn Moen, La Rouge Qui Bouge, (pianist, arranger, producer),(Roadsign)
– Wendy Lee Taylor, Compilation, Jewel, (Smoove Records, Japan)
– Chris Cody Coalition, Conscript (CHC001, Nocturne, France)
– Wendy Taylor: Lets Do It , pianist, arranger (Crystal CDM 16)
– Freyja: This Girl (pianist, arranger, producer), FR626
– Chris Cody Coalition with Glenn Ferris: Midnight Tide (Cristal/Harmonia Mundi)
– On The Corner: Four (Amrap)
– Chris Cody Coalition: Music for Don Juan (STC 501)
– Elisabeth Green, Biodiversity, (UWS BD02)
– Chris Cody Coalition: Oasis (Naxos 86018-2)
(APRA nomination for best jazz album 1998)
– The Many Faces of Naxos Jazz (Naxos 86040)
– Chris Cody Coalition (Quoi de Neuf Docteur 032)
– Skander Guetari : Alwan (Bynzart, SG06131928)
– Gervais Koffe: The African Diaspora (Forest)
– Caroline Lynn: The Shaman’s Kiss (Newmarket 3113.2)
– Paddy Sherlock and the Jump Jive Five: The Louis Jordan Show
– Paddy Sherlock and the Swingin Lovers
– Jeff Hoffman: Good Thing (MDM 101)
– Beigel Daisy Toasts (Virgin France)
– Stefan Hugye: Sympathisers (Xopf 020)
Concerts
with Carla Bruni, Michel Jonasz, Tina Arena, Roy Hargrove, Antonio Hart, Rick Margitza, Rhoda Scott, Herb Geller, Glenn Ferris, Stephano di Battista, Yves Robert, Sonny Murray, Jason Marsalis, Marcel Azzola, Enrico Macias, Stéphane Belmondo, James Morrison, Barry Altschul, Frank Lacy, Annie Whitehead, Ari Brown, Graham Haynes, Sarah Lazarus, Steve Lehman, Dave O’Higgins, Joe Lee Wilson, Daniel Yvinec, François Théberge, Paris Jazz Orchestra, Lisa Simone, Caneiro Edmundo, Alfredo Rodriguez, Brice Wassy, Rasul Siddik, Wayne Dockery, George Brown, Fabio Morgera, Sangoma Everett, Peter Gritz, Prakash Sharwal, Amar Sundy, Carl Schlosser, Larry Gillespie, Jean-Loup Lognon, Jean-Jacques Avenel, Vic Pitts, Gordon Brisker, Don Burrows, Sandy Evans, Adrian Mears, Tim Hopkins, Miroslav Bukovsky, James Greening, Phil Slater, Julien Wilson etc.
Selected Festivals
Festivals of London, Paris, Rome, Brussels, Marciac, Derry, Dars Es Salaam, Festival de Francophonie, Stockholm, Europe Youth Festival, Antwerp,, Marseille, Fête de la Fraternité, Les Rendez-Vous de L’Erdre, Ascona, Nantes, Le Havre, Quartiers d’Ete, Musiques à Bagatelle, Jazz Balade, L’Art 2000 Paris, Xopf New Music Basle, St. Tropez, Mégeves, Viasse, Man Ray Festival, Deauville, Martin Luther King, UNESCO Charlie Parker, Marcoussis, St. Cergues, St. Gilles Croix de Vie, Pau, New Music Festival Paris, Arts et Mouvants, France, Sydney Festival, Wangaratta, Newcastle, Manly, South American Music Festival of Sydney, Australian Music Festival, Australian Music Convention, Bach and Beyond, Australian International Music Show, etc.
Jazz Journalist/Writer
Samuel Cottell is freelance jazz journalist and writer based in Sydney. He currently writes for several jazz publications and is completing a PhD researching the music of Tommy Tycho, at Sydney University. When he is not writing about jazz he plays piano and writes music arrangements.
BPC Lawyers is a leading compensation law firm in Sydney with specialist Personal Injury Lawyers. The firm has its origins as a legal practice started by Barry Beilby in 1975. The business expanded significantly in 1993 when the practice merged with that of Flannery Mura & Costello. We are providing legal services including compensation law, personal injury lawyers, worker’s compensation claims, motor accident claims, public liability, product liability, and professional and medical negligence claims in the NSW region
Alister is recognized as one of Australia’s most original, distinctive pianists/composers. With a performing and composing career spanning more than 25 years, his wide-ranging talents have led him to perform with and compose for some of the world’s most respected artists in the areas of contemporary music, improvisation, film and theatre.
In recent years he has devoted his energy to writing and performing with his trio, The Alister Spence Trio with Lloyd Swanton (the Necks) on double bass and Toby Hall (formerly with pianist, Mike Nock) drums and glockenspiel. This celebrated group has recorded five CDs (Rufus Records) and has a growing international reputation.
Their most recent CD, Far Flung (Rufus Records 2012) received a 4 star review in Jazz Journal (June 2013) and was listed in Critics Poll 2013 (January 2014). It was also listed in The WIRE 2013 Rewind – Critics’ reflections by Andy Hamilton as Album of the year. fit (Rufus Records 2009) was voted in the top 15 jazz/improv releases worldwide for 2009 by The Wire, UK. Both Mercury (Rufus Records 2006) and Flux (Rufus Records 2003) received ARIA nominations (Australian Record Industry Awards) for 2004, 2007. The trio toured in U.K and Canada in 2006 and Japan in 2008.
Since performing at The Vilnius Jazz Festival 2009, with bassist, Joseph Williamson (Tobias Delius Quartet, Alex Ward) and drummer, Chris Cantillo (Nils Berg Cinemascope, Lena Nyberg), Alister has returned to Europe and the UK on a regular basis to tour with this lineup. Also performing as a Quartet with saxophonist Raymond MacDonald (Marilyn Crispell, Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra).
Festival performances for the Trio include: Vilnius Jazz Festival 2009, Luminous Festival, Sydney Opera House curated by Brian Eno 2009, Tokyo Jazz Festival 2008, International Festival de Jazz de Montreal and Vancouver Jazz Festival 2006.
Alister is a founding member of Wanderlust and a long-standing member of The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO). Alister was also co-leader/composer with the internationally acclaimed group Clarion Fracture Zone for 15 years from 1990 – 2005.
His playing is featured on more than 30 CDs, many of which have either won or been nominated for Australian Record Industry (ARIA) Awards.
Over the years he has played with many of the finest musicians in Australia including Bernie McGann, Sandy Evans, Chris Abrahams, Don Burrows, Dale Barlow, Peter O’Mara, Tony Buck, Phillip Slater, Paul Capsis, Archie Roach and Ed Kuepper (The Laughing Clowns).
Alister has also performed with Satoko Fujii (Japan), Michiyo Yagi (Japan), Barre Phillips (US), Myra Melford (US), Mark Helias (US), Andy Sheppard (UK), Joe Williamson (SWE), Jim O’Rourke (Japan), Raymond MacDonald (Glasgow), Mark Helias (US), Karraikudi Mani (IND).
Over the last 20 years, Alister has toured extensively in Europe, Asia and Canada with The Alister Spence Trio, Clarion Fracture Zone, Wanderlust and AAO, and has performed radio broadcasts for ABC (Australia), BBC (UK), and WDR (Germany).
His talents as a composer are well known in Australia. As well as his own trio and Clarion Fracture Zone, Alister composes for Wanderlust and has been commissioned several times to write for The Australian Art Orchestra and Ten Part Invention.
The Necks are an experimental jazz trio from Sydney, comprising Chris Abrahams on piano and Hammond organ, Tony Buck on drums, percussion and electric guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar and double bass. The band play improvisational pieces of up to an hour in length that explore the development and demise of repeating musical figures. The band’s 17th album Open was released in late 2013.
Their soundtrack for The Boys (1998) was nominated for ARIA Best Soundtrack Album, AFI Best Musical Score and Australian Guild of Screen Composers Award. They have also recorded soundtracks for What’s The Deal? (1997) and In the Mind of the Architect (three one-hour ABC-TV documentaries, 2000).
Awards
The band won two ARIA awards for the albums Drive By (2003) and Chemist (2006).
One of Australia’s most accomplished and internationally recognised jazz artists, Dale was a member of legendary American groups The Cedar Walton Quartet, and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, two of the greatest training grounds for young musicians in jazz history.
Widely recognised as an inspiring, virtuosic and original Tenor saxophonist/ composer, he is also an accomplished flautist/bass clarinettist/ arranger and pianist. As a composer he has written for large and small ensemble, film, theatre and television, and recorded extensively.
His credits include touring and recording with some of the all-time greats: Sonny Stitt, Chet Baker, Gil Evans, Jackie McLean, Billy Cobham, Curtis Fuller, Eddie Palmieri, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Golson, Lee Konitz, Sonny Stitt, Helen Merryl, Mulgrew Miller, Cindy Blackman, Ernie Watts, Eddie Henderson, Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, Billy Higgins, Cedar Walton and, of course the original Jazz Messenger, Art Blakey.
After completing his musical studies at the NSW conservatorium, Dale moved to New York to further hone his musical skills and be part of the greatest Jazz scene in the world. He studied saxophone with George Coleman and Dave Liebman, piano with Barry Harris and Hal Galper, and won a scholarship to study at the “Jazz composers workshop” with Bob Brookmeyer and Manny Album. During this time he worked the New York Scene and toured the world constantly, performing regularly at major jazz festivals throughout the USA., Canada, Europe, Japan, Asia and the Soviet Union, and recording with many of the great Jazz Artists.
Since returning to Australia, Dale has received numerous awards and accolades including: Album of the Year/ Jazz performer of the year/ International Artist of the Year/ Bicentennial Artist of the Year, four Mo Awards and numerous grants and credits for his for his achievements and contribution to the arts In Australia. Dale is a Master of Music (Canberra University), appears regularly on television and enjoys excellent media attention.
George Golla AM (born 10 May 1935 in Chorzów, Poland) is an Australian jazz guitarist who commenced a long-term working musical partnership with clarinetist/flautist/saxophonist Don Burrows in 1959 that continued for almost forty years.
On 10 June 1985, Golla was made a Member of the Order of Australia, For service to music. In 1987, The George Golla Orchestra won the inaugural ARIA Fine Arts Award category of ‘Best Jazz Album’ for Lush Life.
He toured frequently throughout Australia and at times with international guest support artists such as vibraphonist Gary Burton in the early 1970s. He has had a long association with Brazilian musicians including Luis Bonfa and extensive performance of and many recordings of Latin American-/Brazilian- influenced jazz, including the acclaimed Bonfa Burrows Brazil (The Orchard).
He appeared at both the Montreux Jazz Festival and Newport Jazz Festival in 1972, and has performed at many Australian festivals. He is a frequent contributor at the annual Frankston International Guitar Festival.
Golla continues to perform in and around Sydney where he resides, touring interstate and internationally and recording. He has appeared at many workshops locally, nationally and overseas
The Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra (JMO) is Australia’s leading jazz orchestra and has gained a reputation as one of the world’s most respected independent Jazz Orchestra’s since its inception in 2003. The JMO has strived to re-define excellence with our position at the zenith of Jazz orchestral composition and improvisation in Australia, through the presentation of two concert seasons per year featuring leading international/domestic artists, sublime guest soloists plus the running of our annual Jazz orchestral composition Competition and the release of world class recordings of original music.
The Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra was nominated as Australian Jazz Ensemble of the Year 2006, 2007 & 2009. Via commissions and a semi-annual composition competition, the Orchestra has fostered and furthered jazz orchestra writing in Australia, recording and premiering works by Australians such as vocalist-songwriter Kristin Berardi, and composers Steve Newcomb, Sean Wayland, David Panichi, Mace Francis, Ross Irwin, Andy Fiddes and more. In recent years, with the assistance of the Australia Council and the support of Australia’s major jazz festivals, the Orchestra has collaborated with international artists Maria Schneider (USA), Darcy James Argue (USA), Chris Potter (USA), Jim McNeely (USA), Dave Lisik (USA/NZ), Bob Sheppard & Alex Sipiagin (USA), Bert Joris (BE), Charles Tolliver (USA) and John Hollenbeck & Theo Bleckmann (USA).
Musically this ensemble represents many of the finest young improvisers Australia has to offer, and features original music from Australia’s most dynamic and creative large ensemble composers all packaged into one exciting super-ensemble. The Mothership’s members have dominated Australia’s top prizes over the last decade including 10 x National Jazz Award Finalists (including 3 winners), 4 x Freedman Fellows (including 2 winners), 2 x Australian Jazz Artist’s of the Year (Bell awards), James Morrison Scholarship Winners, a finalist in the International Thelonius Monk Trumpet Competition plus a finalist at the Hoolieart International Jazz Competition (Belgium).
The music of the mothership can best be defined as exciting, dynamic and highly original with most of its youthful members (average age 29) being drawn from one of the world’s most innovative musician’s collective’s, Sydney’s Jazzgroove Association. The Orchestra has released four critically acclaimed CD’s ‘The Mothership plays the music of Mike Nock’ (2006) ‘Dream Wheel’ (2007) The Mothership meets Kristin Berardi (2010) and Walkabout (2012) featuring Bob Sheppard and Alex Sipiagin.
It is undeniable that the Mothership Orchestra is the most consolidated assemblage of highly respected jazz talent in Australia. The Mothership’s 17 members include 10 National Jazz Award Finalists (including 5 winners), 4 Freedman Fellows (including 2 winners), a James Morrison Scholarship Winner, a finalist in the International Thelonius Monk Trumpet Competition and a finalist at the Hoolieart International Jazz Competition. Together the Mothership holds 5 Masters Degrees and 20 undergraduate degrees in Music and other disciplines from the Australian National University and University of Sydney. The musicians of the Mothership have released over 20 CDs as bandleaders.
Artists
Danny Carmichael
Matt Keegan
Scott Langley
Simon Ferenci
Jeremy Borthwick
Evan Mannell
Brendan Clarke
Nick Bowd
Simon Sweeney
James Muller
Matt McMahon
David Theak
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The AB Hotel has been transformed into a veritable feast for all senses. The venue is comprised of seven different areas, each with its own theme. Opulent décor, designer furniture and seductive lighting feature throughout.
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