NEWS

TUESADAY, 17/10.09

I have been a little lax with updates of late, but with good reason, as there have been a number of gigs recently. One being a performance of my Thomas Tallis project "Bearing The Bell" at this year's Wangaratta Jazz Festival. I will write more on this soon on my blog but in the meantime, here is what Peter Wockner had to say about the performance.

"If there was just one performance that will be remembered of the 2009 Wangaratta Jazz Festival, it will be that of Andrew Robson’s Thomas Tallis Quartet.  Standing ovations are few and far between for Wangaratta, but this was certainly one which was worthy and rightfully received.  Robson formed the quartet to record the ABC Classics album ‘Bearing the Bell – The Hymns of Thomas Tallis’, but amazingly this was only the second time that the group had performed the works to a live audience.  The Tudor composer is said to have written the hymns in the 1560’s and while Robson’s arrangements respect the heritage of the original composition, he breathed new life into the hymns and chose Sandy Evans, James Greening and Steve Elphick as his co-improvisers.  Evans’s high register tenor flutters were like butterflies drawn to the colour, light and wonder of the Holy Trinity cathedral’s stained glass windows.  The flexibility of Greening on pocket trumpet and both Evans and Robson doubling on soprano in addition to their usual tenor and alto provided a variety of unique spiritual settings to each piece.  And just as these harmonies lingered in the vaults of the cathedral ribs, the memories of this performance will live in our hearts and minds for festivals to come."

You can read Peter's full Wangaratta review HERE

FRiDAY, 30/10/09

Of course, this post should have gone up a little earlier, but....

tomorrow there will be a preview concert of my Thomas Tallis suite. We will be performing it again the following day at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival.

So, If you are in Sydney and can't make it down the road to catch us in Wangaratta on Sunday, the Saturday performance is for you! Here are the details.

ONE SYDNEY PERFORMANCE ONLY OF...

BEARING THE BELL

A new suite of arrangements by Andrew Robson

based on the Hymns of Thomas Tallis

12 noon, Saturday 31st Oct 2009

“Kammadhenu”

12 Waters Lane, Neutral Bay

(Opposite Woolworths)Wheelchair access 12 Waters St

Tickets $20/$15 available at the door

for more details email: info@lamplightrecords.com

SATURDAY, 17/10/09

A short update as there have been some great gigs with the World According to James lately. We have been busy spreading the word about the new CD Lingua Franca and the reviews have been great. Always nice to know that we are not the only ones who like it!

We officially launched Lingua Franca last Saturday at the Sound Lounge, Sydney University to a full house. Lloyd Swanton was filling in for Steve Elphick as Steve was returning from a couple of weeks on the road. We also performed a set on Thursday as part of the 2SER FM 30th birthday celebrations.

Tonight was a particularly special gig as I was filling in for Sandy Evans in the catholics.Led by bassist Lloyd Swanton, this is a band that I have been a fan of for many years. I can remember very clearly going to gigs in the early 1990s in Paddington and at the Strawberry Hills Hotel. In fact a tune I wrote for my trio "Children in the Aisle" was inspired by a catholics gig. The band is still going strong with it's unique mix of world rhythms and grooves and improvisation.

Tonight's gig also rates a special mention as it was my first outing on the baritone - I like to think of it as big alto! See the evidence captured mid flight by James Greening!

A couple more performances coming up with James' quartet and then off to Wangaratta where I will be performing my Thomas Tallis suite "Bearing the Bell" for the first time.

TUESDAY, 22/09/09

If you have found your way here, you will have noticed the links on the front page to my new blog and twitter sites.

It seems that a lot of updating may be required so I will do my best to keep posts frequent.

There are a lot of things happening here in Sydney and so many great players!

We were all very lucky to have just had a visit from George Garzone. I heard him at the Sound Lounge with the Mike Nock trio - a great gig, with everyone really rising to the occasion.

Last year I did an interview with music writer Peter Jordan for the web site Jazz Australia. We talked about the attraction and challenges of playing in a trio setting as well a few other things. you can read the interview HERE

While I'm at it, Here is a link to an interview I did with Miriam Zolin for All about Jazz.com back in 2003. You can read that interview HERE

MONDAY, 18/05/09

NEW CD FROM

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JAMES

LINGUA FRANCA

AVAILABLE FROM SEPTEMBER

I am pleased to announce that a new recording by the World According to James will be available through Lamplight Records in September. It will be the band's first offering for a few years and will feature 8 new compositions.

Titled Lingua Franca, we will be celebrating the launch of the CD with a gig at the Sound Lounge in Sydney on Saturday 10th October 2009 (detail are listed on the left hand side of the Home tab),

James and I have been busy during the last couple of weeks with the final stages of mixing and mastering and are really excited with the results.

TUESDAY, 11/11/08

Last Saturday saw the World According to James perform at the Sound Lounge in Sydney. With all of our numerous commitments, this group has not been playing together as often as we would like.

There are some plans afoot to rectify this next year. We are also hoping to have a new recording available on Lamplight Records (stay tuned for more news on this over the next couple of months)

Below are some photos from our Sound Lounge gig. Many thanks to Thomas Pokorny for the use of these shots

L-R James Greening, Steve Elphick, Toby Hall, Andrew Robson

L-R Toby Hall, Andrew Robson

James Greening

MONDAY, 26/5/08

During the last week of April I was invited by Dr. Michael Webb, Lecturer in Music Education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, to conduct four days of workshops culminating with two concerts on the fourth day.

Along with fellow musicians bassist Steve Elphick, multi-instrumentalist Paul Cutlan and drummer Toby Hall, these workshops were designed to investigate some alternative approaches to improvisation and composition.

In short, the students were some of the most inspiring I have ever had the pleasure of working with and right from the first session it was clear that all of the participants (students from a range of courses) were going to get as involved as possible.

My thanks go to Dr. Michael Webb and Dr. James Renwick for the invitation to work with their students and also for their ongoing commitment to the highest quality of music education

,ABOVE - The second concert, featuring new works created during the workshops.

ABOVE -Staff and students from the the 2008 workshop series.

FRIDAY, 8/2/08

On Sunday Morning, February 3, 2008 Jackie Orszaczky passed away. I had the great good fortune to be a member of Jack's bands since 1993. He was a bandleader of the highest order, he was a teacher, a mentor and a friend. His passing is a profound loss to all who knew and loved him. He truly was the musician's musician and a beautiful man. He gave me so much - and I will miss him.

Jackie Miklos Orszaczky

08/05/1948 - 03/02/2008

Sunday 29/07/07

I have just returned from a weekend in Queensland, performing at the Mackay Jazz Festival with The World According to James. This was our first performance for some months as all of us have been involved with a number of other projects, but what a treat to play with this band. This line up has remained unchanged for over a decade and as always, it felt very easy to play with these great musicians. I wrote one new piece for the concerts and it was good to play something new as well as regular material (most of which feel like standards now!)

I also had pleasure of hearing Alan Browne's Australian Jazz Band. Featuring Eugene Ball on trumpet and Steven Grant on Alto. The whole band played with great dynamic contrast and originality in a style all of their own - a very inspiring set!

Last Sunday ABC Radio National aired a one hour special about the legendary Sydney based (Hungarian born) Jackie Orszaczky. The programme, produced by Cathy Peters, gives a fantastic overview of Jack's musical life since arriving in Australia in the Early 1970s. It features interviews with many of the musicians he has worked with including Marcia Hines,Chris Abrahams, Hamish Stuart, Dave Symes, James Greening and myself. Click HERE to hear this programme

Thursday26/07/07

Apart from the work involved in completing SIMATICO, there are a number of other projects that are currently underway. These include a recording for the ABC featuring myself with Steve Elphick, James Greening and Sandy Evans. I hope to write more about this soon as it has been mixed and is about to enter the final stages of preparation before manufacture.

Two weeks ago I spent a wonderful day recording a number of duets with the legendary drummer and band leader John Pochee. This was for Radio National and at the invitation of programme producer Cathy Peters. I composed a number of new pieces for the occasion and we also played some spontaneous things. This project is so recent I am yet to pick up the tapes! Again I hope to have more to report about this soon.