Review by Merinda Edwards
Tucked away in the Dunston Playhouse on a rainy Sunday night, the pocket venue at the Festival Centre came alive with Adelaide’s hidden talents – The New Standard, Women in Jazz’s new nine-piece band and synth-heavy new sound ER@SER DESCRIPTION.
This seemingly quiet Sunday night was an amazing showcase of what Adelaide has to offer hiding in plain sight. The Adelaide Jazz Festival hosted a weekend-long program leading into the Sunday performance for UNESCO International Jazz Day.
It was a joy to watch ‘The New Standard’ a forward-thinking and boundary-pushing group that speaks volumes by the music they choose to present with a repetiteur built from foundations of leading female and non-binary jazz musicians. Inspired by GRAMMY®-winning drummer, composer, and producer Terri Lynn Carrington’s project New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets By Women this set also included standards written by the performers. This nine-piece band combines a powerhouse of artists coming together to produce a high-quality set, notably vocalists Eliza Dickson and Danica Lammertsma duet’s of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Field’s “The Way You Look Tonight”.
ER@SER DESCRIPTION captured their audience with intricate improvisations and electronic jazz that combines so many genres. These guys bring an edge and a new style to jazz. Coming off his Womadelaide debut the seriously talented Alexander Flood’s drumming solo work never fails to impress and astound his audience. David Goodwin and Jack Strempel synth bass and keyboard playing was engaging, and wild to watch as they worked together to move through an array of both old and new music, adding their own interpretation to the tracks as they went along.
This was a wonderfully produced event by the Adelaide Jazz Festival and the Adelaide Festival Centre; the contrast between the two bands was a reminder of the greatness and diversity of talent in Adelaide and goes to show, we are far from going to sleep as we head into the colder months. This showcase highlights South Australia is producing artists that are challenging and pushing the line, not only by the music that they play but in the artist representation on stage.
Adelaide Jazz Festival Ran from Friday 28 April to Sunday 30 April
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