reviews
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Meet Roaring Lion — My Reggae Family
“Jo, have a listen to Ambush In The Night and Top Rankin’. They’re the next on our list of new songs. Plenty of horns in the intros.” That’s Maui, our lead guitarist, giving me a heads-up on what to prepare for our next rehearsal. In Roaring Lion, you got to practise BEFORE you come to practice There are nine of us and… Continue reading
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Roaring Lion at Burleigh Heads BBQ Bazaar Sept 3 2021
I’m in the car with Mike and we’re on our way to the 5.00pm Roaring Lion sound check at BBQ Bazaar in Burleigh Heads. Google Maps says Kooralbyn to Burleigh Heads is an hour and forty. So say two hours with local road works and the school run later… iPad. IPad stand. Keyboard. Keyboard stand.… Continue reading
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Creatures of the Half Sleep – John Reeves Trio
Step into the world of jazz pianist John Reeves, who is releasing his first CD ‘Creatures of the Half Sleep’, a collection of original compositions arranged for accordion! Here, we geek out over his beautiful instrument, and his journey with it so far. The John Reeves Trio has Helen Svoboda on double bass and Aaron… Continue reading
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Chong Ali at the Flamin’ Galah
Photography 📷 @le_akira Last year I reviewed Chong Ali at The Flamin’ Galah for Scenestr, but I never put it on my blog. In these Covid lock-down times I thought it would be good to relive some of that. I’ve reshaped it and have included more photos. Akira Le took all the photos, and it… Continue reading
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Andre Bonetti
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… Continue reading
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The SCHEMA Collective
SCHEMA Festival 2019 was in November and I went there to write a review for Scenestr. Some of the SCHEMA Collective took time out to chat, so here’s more about them. Rashid Alkamraikhi is a co-founder of the Collective, and bass player in bands Massic and Doctor Parallax. His amazing name is Welsh translated into… Continue reading
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‘Going Home’, Haystack Mountain Hermits CD review
Country music is new to me, but the Haystack Mountain Hermits put me right in the picture: tell me a story, let your instruments sing out, and fill my space with your glorious harmonies. This is Australian country music at its finest. If you, or someone you know, loves country, this is a perfect present.… Continue reading
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Review: Laughing Buddha by Chong Ali
Laughing Buddha is a new single by Vietnamese Australian emcee Chong Ali, who hails from Brisbane. It premiered on Australian music portal Tone Deaf on July 23 2019. I love this. Chong Ali is a poet. With a big heart and a fighting spirit, he is an inspirational voice for his community. More about him… Continue reading
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Estampa @ Brisbane Jazz Club
This review was first published in Scenestr and the Brisbane Jazz Club website. Fancy some wine at a Parisian brasserie, or sharing tapas at a café in Rio? We packed suitcases, headed for the Brisbane Jazz Club on Thursday July 11, and got on a plane with Estampa for a musical sojourn of samba, gypsy… Continue reading
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Blues Arcadia EP review
Blues Arcadia’s debut EP by the same name is seven original songs running the gamut of the blues. These musicians are the real thing with nothing to hide. Recording live to tape meant absolute commitment to every moment of the songs. Blues Arcadia Songwriters Alan Boyle (vocals) and Chris Harvey (guitar) make our world a… Continue reading
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Iron Maiden Voyage, Valtozash EP review
In the late eighties, my mind was shot to pieces by the maniacal brilliance of a group of London jazz musicians called Loose Tubes, under the mirthful goading of their band leader, enfant terrible Django Bates. Today, I am listening to Iron Maiden Voyage, the new EP by metal jazz big band Valtozash, and am… Continue reading
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Blues Arcadia at Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall
Originally published in Scenestr. Blues Arcadia guitarist Chris Harvey said before the gig, “At Lefty’s, they’re there to party, and we’re there to help them. So that’s what we do. Bang bang, it’s quite electrifying. We’re there to work the audience. Get them to that bar, get them on to the dance floor. So it’s… Continue reading
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Chris Poulsen Trio at Brisbane Jazz Club
[Originally published in Scenestr] How sweet it was to be blown away by the sheer exuberance of the Chris Poulsen Trio on Friday (June 17) at the Brisbane Jazz Club. With Poulsen on keyboards/synth, Jeremy O’Connor on electric bass and ukulele bass, and Dan Smith on drums, these musicians delivered a stellar night to a… Continue reading
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Joe Fritz and his All Stars at BJC
Hungarian clarinettist Joe Fritz’s tone is the cream on an Irish coffee in winter. He plays melodies which weave in-and-out and break your heart with their unpredictable prettiness. He was at the Brisbane Jazz Club playing the music of Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, and plenty of driving, straight-ahead jazz. His sidemen were sublime. A tight… Continue reading
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Heart and Spirit: Orchestra Corda Spiritus
What do you call a bunch of guys who play with heart and spirit? Director Stephen Wu said the orchestra’s name came about in the mid ’90’s. “I was the head string teacher at Haileybury in Melbourne, while Joanna (Fairs-Wu, violinist) was teaching at Sophia Mundi. We used to get a bunch of freelancers to… Continue reading
About Joanna
Joanna is British Australian. She worked mainly in financial news in London. In her forties she moved to her parents’ birthplace, Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, where she became a pianist in a hotel and wrote a blog about musicians. The blog became a book before Joanna came to Australia in 2012. In this blog she writes mostly about music, gardening, and trips to Sabah. Oh, and Wookie the Havanese.
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