Brisbane International Jazz Festival presents Denson/Baartz Quartet and The Steve Newcomb Orchestra

Brisbane International Jazz Festival presents a Double Bill featuring Denson/Baartz Quartet and the Steve Newcomb Orchestra.

Denson/Baartz Quartet features the superb line-up of three acclaimed Australia jazz women alto saxophonist Martha Baartz, pianist Louise Denson and double bassist Helen Russell. Together with maestro drummer Aaron Jansz. This inspiring quartet features beautifully crafted new works by Baartz and Canadian born Denson covering a diverse range of styles from tango, bolero and ballads, to fast swing and samba. This evenings performance will be recorded for an album release in late 2017.

The Steve Newcomb Orchestra (SNO) is a large chamber jazz project realising original and diverse works that evolved during Newcomb’s doctoral studies at the Manhattan School of Music, New York. The orchestra features the unique instrumentation of harp, string quartet, four winds, voice and jazz piano trio performing works from Steve’s album “Caterpillar Chronicles”.

Newcomb is equally in demand for his unique touch on the piano, detailed writing, and comprehensive style of arranging that explores the realm shared by jazz and new music in various styles making “music in a knotty zone where Thelonious Monk meets classical music” (Sydney Morning Herald).

His work in the field of jazz has seen him write for Stefon Harris and the Manhattan School of Music Symphony, the world renowned Metropole Orkest (The Netherlands), vocalist Roberta Gambarini, as well as numerous collaborations involving Jazz Orchestra and soloists.

He has written for a wide array of musical artists, from Ben Folds, Ben Lee and The Panics in the pop world, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras in the classical world and has collaborated with Australian vocalist Katie Noonan on many projects, including the ARIA award winning album “First Seed Ripening”.

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