Marc is a 29 year-old improvising pianist living in Melbourne. He was twice nominated for the Music Council of Australia’s Freedman Fellowship, received second place at the 2006 National Jazz Awards, was nominated at the 2011 ARIA awards and received at ‘Bell’ Award in 2010. He has learnt from Australian improvising musicians Scott Tinkler, Ken Edie, John Rodgers, Elliott Dalgleish, Matt McMahon, Miroslav Bukovsky and Paul MacNamara, as well as studying repertoire with Donna Coleman, Colin Forbes and John Luxton.
He currently leads his own trio, and plays regularly with Allan Browne, Scott Tinkler, and in a solo setting.
An interview with Marc Hannaford.
By Joanne Kee
JK: Marc, what motivates you to create music?
MH: I’m an improvising pianist, living in Melbourne, Australia. I’m interested in finding interesting points of intersection between artists like Elliott Carter, Thelonious Monk, The Roots, J.S. Bach, Duke Ellington and Scott Tinkler. In doing so I hope to make music that contains some social component; that is, it reflects the society in which I live.
JK:Why have you moved away from the CD format?
MH: Simply put, it means I have more control over all aspects of the release, albums become more financially viable, and because I believe that the CD format is moving towards being obsolete.
JK:Why is it important for you to release music?
MH: Documenting my projects is important in that, if I don’t, it’s like it never happened. Even though music is temporal, it’s abstract nature makes re-listening desirable for those interested.
JK:What has your experience been in the past?
MH: Regarding releases, I’ve learnt that people who are into the music will get it no matter how it’s released; their loyalty exists side-by-side with the genre as niche. I’ve also learnt that the traditional pathway of CD release is becoming less and less viable, if artists are interesting in having there music exposed, they need to change.
JK:What you think the future is for sale of music.
MH: I think the onus is on artists to figure out how they are going to adapt and accept the changes of music production and consumption. The “death of music” has been a recurring theme for musicians and writers for longer that we may think; almost every technological development has necessitated evolution in the way artists create and expose their music to the public.
More info on Marc
“Ordinary Madness” and “Sarcophile” will be released through marchannaford.com. Download stickers will also be available at shows.
“Ordinary Madness” features Tim Berne, Scott Tinkler, Philip Rex and Simon Barker, and will be launched on Feburary 16th at Uptown jazz Café, Melbourne. (uptownjazzcafe.com)
“Sarcophile” features James McLean and Sam Pankhurst and will be launched at Bennetts Lane Jazz Club on March 18th (bennettslane.com.au)
