The realm of sweet pop nostalgia is a fervent pursuit for Belle & Sebastian front-man Stuart Murdoch. This is his pet project, a musical of sorts; a story about a common girl wrangling the throes of modern love set to music only possible in the dreams of Murdoch’s nutrasweet pop brain. Vocalists Brittany Stollings and Dina Bankole treat Murdoch’s female anti-heroes with a knowing lilt, akin to the territory Holly Golightly has traversed, but glossed over with suburban mundanity bred into his sharply obvious lyrics, a trademark of the Belle & Sebastian sound. Murdoch himself careens through the odd song here and there, his pompous quaint waverings most instantly familiar in the Eleanor Rigby-esque Pretty Eve in the Tub. Funny Little Frog, with lead vocals by Stollings, is perhaps the pinnacle of the catchiness of this record – a testament to Murdoch’s skill with a felt-tip marker, the arrangements are highly sophisticated, horns strings and pitter-patter pop drumming decorating the album like a Christmas tree. The whole thing is solidly worked, and clearly thought out to appeal to the fans of vintage pop – however there’s just not enough grit to make the Spector fans happy, and not enough heartstopping tunes to feed the Bacharach set. So it all sits somewhere in the middle of almost-greatness, and the tone of the material is so safe and sugary that after a while it tends to turn saccharine, then sour on the palette. Eerily devoid of real emotional connection, instead of taking the listener on a dreamy trip, this record somehow feels a little odd and cold.
For the eleventh year, SIMA will gather the finest female musicians and singers from around the globe to celebrate the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival.
The stellar line-up this year includes Chilean saxophonist, Melissa Aldana, Finnish pianist/harpist Iro Haarla, Guguyelandji and Woppaburra woman Marlene Cummins, and world-renowned pianist Andrea Keller from Melbourne/Naarm as highlights.
Venues around Sydney will host various artists, with the headliners all performing at the festival hub in the Seymour Centre. The foyer of the Seymour will be transformed into a late-night jazz club with live music and plenty of atmosphere. Meanwhile, headline acts will perform in the spacious York Theatre.
Marlene Cummins. Photo: Shane Rozario Photography
Chilean virtuoso, Melissa Aldana, started playing the saxophone at age 6 under the tutelage of her father, a professional saxophonist. She showed promise early and by her teens was performing in jazz clubs in Santiago. After being invited to appear at the Panama Jazz Festival, she gained entree the the prestigious Berklee College of Music in the US, graduated, then moved to jazz central, New York.
From there her career sky-rocketed with appearances at the world’s leading jazz festivals, popular recordings, and prestigious awards. In 2012, she formed Melissa Aldana and Crash Trio, winning awards and acclaim.
The Melissa Aldana Quartet formed in 2017. They signed a deal with Blue Note Records in 2019, releasing the album, 12 Stars. Described as pensive and emotional, the music from 12 Stars will be performed by the quartet in their York Theatre show.
Andrea Keller. Photo: Jamil Nawaz
Marlene Cummins is a jazz blues musician, songwriter, singer, artist, activist, broadcaster, dancer, and very proud Guguyelandji, and Woppaburra woman. She hosts Marloo’s Blues on Koori Radio, where she shares her incredible knowledge of jazz and blues music and Indigenous culture.
Born in Queensland into a politically active family, Cummins joined the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in her mid-teens and has been a pivotal figure in Indigenous activism for several decades. Her music and creative practice reflect this.
Iro Haarla. Image: supplied
The show she’ll debut at this festival, Marloo’s Blues, will tell the musical story of Australia’s first nations jazz and blues artists of the ‘50s and ‘60s.
Classically trained Finnish pianist and harpist, Iro Haarla, converted to jazz music after meeting jazz drummer, Edward Vesala, who became her husband. Her instinctive talent for arranging and composing was funnelled entirely into her husband’s career until his death in 1999. She then emerged as if from a cocoon, winning wide acclaim for her own music and performances.
Claire Edwardes. Image: supplied
For her show, Haarla will play Suite Suomi, a specially commissioned work by Australian composer, Johnathan Zwartz.
Internationally acclaimed percussionist Claire Edwardes will open the night with her solo performance, Rhythms of Change.
Australian pianist and composer, Andrea Keller, will unite her Trio (including saxophonist John Mackey and trumpeter Miroslav Bukovsky) with a string sextet to present a selection of new compositions.
Keller is an imaginative composer and highly regarded musician whose music is evocative, stirring, and exciting.
This is merely a sample of the offering at the 2022 Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival. Visit the website for the full program.
October 27 – November 5
Festival Hub: Seymour Centre, Cnr City Rd and Cleveland St, Chippendale
