Joanna Funk

Above: Andre Bonetti in Greshka at SCHEMA Festival 2019. Photo by SCHEMA Collective

I write about Andre Bonetti every year. I’m mad about his 17-piece metal jazz big band Valtozash Bigband, and have likened him to enfant terrible Django Bates who unleashed a deliciously cacophonous British jazz orchestra called Loose Tubes upon an unsuspecting world in the 1980s. 

Recently Valtozash played at the SCHEMA Festival 2019. Under the blistering Queensland sun, they walked on stage in their Gregorian monk capes. Freaking insane.

We had thirty minutes of very loud, seemingly uncontained lunacy as bassist Zac Sakrewski shuddered horror and Ben Shannon drummed impending doom, and Andre directed his horns and guitarist to just go berserk. I loved it. (Valtozash Spotify playlist is below.)

On the second day of the festival, Andre’s other band played. He described it as a “kind of gypsy band” called Greshka. 

Kinda… that’s Andre all over. Have a listen to Greshka.

Thanks for the music Andre. Catch you in 2020.