John Clare was born at Maroubra Bay in 1940. He has written on diverse topics for most major Australian publications, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian, The National Times and Nation Review, as well as Town and Queen magazines in England. His poetry has appeared in Poetry Australia and New Poetry and has been read on the ABC’s old Quality Street programme. He has published three books: Bodgie Dada: Australian Jazz Since 1945 (UNSW Press), Low Rent (Text) and Why Wangaratta?: Ten Years Of The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz (Victorian Tourist Bureau). John currently reviews books for The Sun-Herald and writes essays and reviews for SIMA.org.au
John Hardaker is a Sydney musician, graphic designer and writer. He writes on music in order to peer deeper into its mysteries. His blog is at wordsaboutmusic.wordpress.com
Steve was born in 1960 and has had his own band in one form or another since 1978. A renowned virtuoso of the electric bass, he is also a prolific composer and song writer, with over 90 of his tunes / songs released on albums.
Along the way, he’s played and / or recorded with many greats in all sorts of musical idoms… jazz and electric jazz particulalry.
Steve’s newest releases are: If Blue Was Orange on Newmarket Records and Condition Human – a new album of vocal songs featuring seven different singers, now released on ABC Records.
Always active, Steve has various activities happening as a bass player, composer and side-man in the months ahead.
Barney is a special piano player with that certain heart and touch, so he has great possibilities.
He’s a genuine musician, not just a skilled artist. There’s a certain touch that I’m talking about.
It’s hard to explain, but he has that
-BILLY HARPER
Pianist, keyboardist, composer and arranger Barney McAll moved to New York City in 1997 after being invited to join the Gary Bartz Quartet . He continues to tour internationally with Bartz as well as with Fred Wesley and The JB’s, Josh Roseman, The Groove Collective and recently vocalists Daniel Merriweather and Sia Furler.
Barney leads numerous ensembles including; Sylent Running and M.O.D.A.S and his new ensemble Graft which features 16 piece Invenio Choir, two pianos , Vibraphone and laptop.
Barney has scored some award winning films including ;
Pushing The Elephant (PBS) Liberia: An Uncivil War (DISCOVERY/ NY TIMES) Motherland Afghanistan (PBS)
We All Fall Down: The American Mortgage Crisis (PBS)
He was nominated for a Grammy award in 2007 and also awarded the prestigious fellowship from the Australian Council for the Arts for 2007-2008 . He has performed or toured with ; Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dewey Redman, Maceo Parker, Doug Devries, Vince Jones, Kenny Garrett, Vernel Fornier, Badal Roy, Stefon Harris, Jimmy Cobb, Eddie Henderson, Gary Costello, Ben Monder, Mark Turner, Peter Apfelbaum, Bernie Worrell, Alan Browne, Billy Harper, Jim Black, Steve Turre and Roy Ayers.
COMPOSING AND ARRANGING
-Gospel Choir piece “Vanishing Point” collaboration with video artist Janet Biggs for Claire Oliver Gallery NYC
-New compostions for Guitar, Vibraphone and Piano and Voice premiered at The Stone NYC June 2008
-Sturgio Leone for Three Trombones and piano / Josh Roseman’s Water Surgeons
-New Works for Tabla, Cello and Kaval “Motherland Afghanistan”
-Various arrangements for The CNR Gospel Choir
-Overture for the Opera; ‘Two Lives In Flux and Vice Versa’ with Slave Pianos Collective
-Vincent Herring’s “Lady Liberty Big Band” performance Carnegie Hall
Featuring; Seamus Blake, Tom Harrell, Richie Goods, Steve Turre, Greg Hutcherson, Pamela Luss
-Renee Geyer and Octet Melbourne International Festival
-Slave Piano Collaboration with artists Danius Kesminas and Michael Stevenson for Lombard Freid Gallery Soho New York
Here are some excerpts from a great review on of The
Necks’ double album “Mosquito/See Through”:
_”here’s some more writing on the wall for short attention span/instant
gratification culture, as the Time Lords from Oz touch down with an even
more uncompromising release. This double CD features two supra-minimalist, breathtakingly audacious, hour-long sound and texture nano explorations, each of them hugely compelling and therapeutic listening…it’s like some giant MRI scanner has sliced a nanosecond of time and space and placed it under a molecular microscope for The Necks to investigate and fine
tune…It’s awesome, if awesome can be applied to something so miniature and
so finely calibrated…Totally immersive and astonishing music which will take you out of yourself, and bring you back one or two hours later
refreshed and re-energised.”_
