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Touring opportunities for artists in a range of minority genres, including jazz and improvised music, will be increased if an innovative new project proves successful.

Sound Travellers is an initiative of three bodies – the Australia Council, Performing Lines and Ceres Solutions – and assists artists in the areas of sound art/electronica, jazz and contemporary classical music organise national tours.

In addition to providing grants and other support to individual artists, Sound Travellers also aims to strengthen the national touring infrastructure more generally, making multi-state tours more viable.

Western Australian composer and band leader Mace Francis has recently completed a successful national tour with his large ensemble – the Mace Francis Orchestra – with support from Sound Travellers and says he has greatly increased the group’s profile as a result.

In addition to leading the MFO, Mace is also Musical Director of the Western Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra Composers Ensemble and a well known figure on the Perth jazz scene.

He spoke to Jazz Australia about his experience on the road where he takes the MFO next.

Jazz Australia: Let’s start with the tour. Where did you go and how many gigs did you play?

Mace Francis: We launched the tour in Perth, playing for Jazz Fremantle and the Perth Jazz Society.  We then flew to Brisbane and drove the rest of the way. Within the two weeks from when we arrived in Brisbane we played nine gigs in Brisbane, Lismore, Byron Bay, Canberra, Albury/Wodonga, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.
After Adelaide we flew back to Perth and reality.

JA: It must be a difficult job organizing a tour for such a large band. What were the particular challenges?

MF: It took a long time in the planning stages to move all 14 musicians around the country but not impossible, it just takes time, enthusiasm and patience. The difficult thing was raising the money to make it happen.  We were very lucky to be supported by a few funding organisations and individuals. Sound Travellers, WA Department of Culture and the Arts and The Contemporary Music Touring Program are to thank for making it possible.  I also raised money from donations from individuals that support MFO.

JA: How was the Orchestra received?
MF: We were received really well all over the country.  Some gigs were attended better than others but we never had any negative feedback from any of the venues or audience members.  Actually, there was one guy at the Brisbane Jazz Club but he was wanting music that was played by very white American musicians about 80 years ago.

JA: What were the highlights for you and why were they memorable?

MF: Performance highlights were Byron Bay – we packed the Liquid nightclub where they hold The Blue Birdy and the vibe was intense.  The audience was yelling and screaming – they were really with us.  It is great to play to such a vocal and involved audience.
Bennetts Lane was another highlight – great audience, packed room, but not so vocal.  It is also great to play to a listening audience.

Other highlights were travelling in our “Rock-Star” bus for about five days when we needed to cover some pretty serious amounts of land.  The bus had two plasma TVs, Xbox, beds for everyone, a coffee machine.  It was awesome.  The bus came with a driver so for the 15-hour drive from Byron Bay to Canberra we were able to sleep on the bus while the driver drove all night.

The same happened when we finished playing in Sydney on a Saturday night and then were due to play in Melbourne on Sunday arvo at 3pm.

JA: Are there any ongoing benefits from the tour in terms of raised profile and the creation of new opportunities?
MF: The tour was great to spread the word about the band.  I know we have a pretty good band here in the West and it was great to let people know and grow our audience nationally.

We recorded a live CD in Sydney at the Seymour Centre [Sound Lounge] and it turned out great.  We will be releasing it that very soon.  We got some great national coverage in the press, radio, reviews and on national TV.  Things are looking very exciting at the moment; it is just a matter of steering the momentum in the right direction.

JA: I saw that the Orchestra performed on ABC TV’s Sunday Arts programme. How did that come about?

MF: As part of the Sound Travellers grant support we were put into the very capable hands of a publicist, Clare McGregor.  She made the ABC aware that we were going to be in Melbourne and luckily it all worked out. The window of opportunity was very small but we made it happen and it was a great experience for everyone in the band and another highlight.
JA: What are your musical aims with the orchestra? How would you describe the band’s sound?

MF: The vision of the band is to present, promote and perform original music.  I have done most of the writing but there are two great composers in the band who wrote a lot of the music for the last tour.  The recording that we did in Sydney will feature new music from me, Daniel Thorne and Tilman Robinson.  MFO has also commissioned many new works through our Chinese Whispers project – a collaborative composition game that results in a new body of work. We have done this three times so far, involving composers from around the globe.

We have been invited to present the next Chinese Whispers project as part of the American website – ArtistShare, which was started by big band composer Maria Schneider. Very exciting.

We also aim to educate the wider audience about what a big band can do – not just play Glen Miller hits.  There is nothing wrong with that but a big band can do so much more.  We have done some funk nights playing classic funk and soul tunes arranged for big band as well as collaborating with an Aboriginal rock band called Djiva. I arranged their tunes for them to sing with the MFO.

MFO takes it’s sound from both the American and European big band traditions.  We focus on a clean and tight ensemble sound but it must feel good.  Many European bands are taking big band music into the future, experimenting with classical forms and compositional techniques whereas many American bands focus of the past and swing hard.  MFO is striving for a balance of the two traditions and hopefully creating something uniquely Australian.

JA: What or who are your inspirations or starting points in terms of writing for a large ensemble?

MF: I draw my inspiration from the whole big band tradition, from Ellington, Basie, Bill Holman, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton and Thad Jones etc.  Nothing beats the feeling of those bands – they get me very excited about the big band sound and time concept. However, I cannot write music in that style – they have done it way better than anyone can now – no one can write like Frank Foster or Ellington or Bill Holman or Sammy Nestico or Thad Jones.

Compositionally I draw my inspiration from techniques and concepts used by modern big band composers like Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely and Ed Partyka.  They are moving the big band sound forward, experimenting with form, texture and structure.  This excites me as much as a swinging Basie recording.

The guys in band also inspire my writing. It has been a blessing to have pretty much the same group of musicians for almost 4 years.  This is a dream come true.  I know it won’t last forever so I need to write as much as possible while I have that luxury.  You get to know your musicians’ strengths and so you are able to create a musical environment where they will feel comfortable and play to the best of their ability.

JA: You are also the musical director of the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra Composers Orchestra. Are you seeing many talented players and composers coming through?

MF: Of course, WAYJO is an amazing training ground for ensemble players.  We play a lot of the big band tradition, but include modern composers and emerging composers’ music.  I met all the guys in MFO at WAYJO.  We all got too old to play in a youth orchestra so they jumped at the chance of playing in a big band situation that wasn’t just a community orchestra.

JA: Who should we look out for in particular?

MF: There is a trumpet player Callum G’Froerer who played in WAYJO last year and is in MFO.  He will be (already is) a serious musician.  He can play modern jazz, trad and classical trumpet equally as well.  Daniel Thorne and Tilman Robinson are two great players and composers who are still in WAYJO as well as MFO, and they will take over the world soon.  WAYJO’s bass player, Nick Abbey is establishing himself as a professional bass player around Perth.  Sean Little and Brett Smith are WAYJO’s tenor players – watch this space.  Piano player Sarah McKenzie is a sought after musician and vocalist.  Every year they keep popping up and it is very exciting to be a part of.

JA: Perth has a lively music scene but it is nonetheless isolated. Have you thought about relocating elsewhere in Australia or overseas?

MF: I often think about relocating but then I am so busy writing music for new recording and touring project or teaching at the Con that I realise that I am doing what I want to do here in Perth.  The world is becoming a smaller place and, I believe, if you want to make something happen then you will make it happen: all you have to do is, do it.  Plus if I did move then I would not have the same band and at the moment I am really happy with how the band is sounding and working together. It is a dream come true.

JA: What’s next for the MFO?

MF: We have lots of projects coming up.  The next big one is a commissioned piece that I am in the middle of at the moment called PLONK!  JazzWA with the help of the Australia Council have commissioned me to write a 45-minute piece tracing the history of wine from Ancient Persia, through Greece, Rome and making its way to WA.  It will be for MFO plus classical percussion, French horn and woodwinds.  That will be performed on Oct 24th.

I am also in the process of mixing a mastering the MFO recording we did in Sydney while on tour in July.

I also hope to release the Chinese Whispers III project that was recorded by the ABC last November. I hope to get this ready before we perform Chinese Whispers IV at the start of next year.  It will only be available through the ArtistShare website.  The idea is that you can become a participant of the Chinese Whipsers project and can witness how the project unfolds by accessing the creative process through the website in the form of interviews, audio of rehearsals, composition sketches and photos. It is so exciting for us because it is the same website that Maria Schneider, Bob Brookmeyer, Jim Hall and Ron Carter are on. Pretty serious company.

Find out more

Applications for the second round of Sound Travellers close on Monday, 22 September 2008.

Sound Travellers

Mace Francis

WA Youth Jazz Orchestra

ArtistShare

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