Melbourne Jazz Co-Op

Trio Kleine Ahnung brings together three of Australia’s finest jazz musicians who currently reside in Berlin, New York and Melbourne. The band members - Carl Morgan (guitar), Sam Anning (bass) and Raj Jayaweera (drums) - have performed in a variety of combinations and settings for over ten years at festivals and clubs around the globe.

In early 2002, Achim Kaufmann (piano), Frank Gratkowski (clarinets and alto saxophone), and Wilbert de Joode (double bass) first got together as a trio in Amsterdam. Since then, the three musicians have been touring and performing internationally on a regular basis, while constantly developing, deepening and enriching their musical rapport now documented on five CDs so far.

This special concert is the first celebration of the 80th birthday – and ongoing career - of the highly respected pianist/composer/educator Dr. Tony Gould, who retired from his fulltime position as Professor of Music at Monash University at the end of 2015, but has continued to teach (including work at the James Morrison Academy).

To belatedly mark this unassuming artist’s 50th Birthday in, Stephen has opted to perform with “Kinfolk”, his group of long term collaborators in Tim Neal (Hammond organ), Frank DiSario (double bass) and Dave Beck (drums) to produce earthy, bluesy grooves, while retaining the freedom to take the music in different directions. He will perform a Solo opening set (with a guest or two).

Tenor saxophonist Anton Delecca has just returned from two and a half years in New York, completing a MM in Jazz Studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music, the program created by master saxophonist Jimmy Heath. The band features Delecca’s long term collaborator Danny Fischer, along with a group of young Melbourne musicians who are completely new for Delecca: Flora Carbo (alto saxophone), Kade Brown (piano) and Ben Hanlon (acoustic bass).

 “The Dreamers” is bassist/composer Frank Di Sario’s fourth CD release as a leader, and the first featuring his exciting new ensemble. Legendary guitarists Stephen Magnusson and Lucas Michailidis bring their distinctive mastery of sound and space to make this a unique ‘two guitar’ ensemble. Supporting their rich and varied textures are DiSario’s bass, together with his long-time collaborator Dave Beck (drums).