PROJECTS
As For Now
Ever since I first began writing for big band in my early high school days, I dreamed of recording an album of my original tunes. In 2019 I was lucky enough to be the recipient of the Mike Stewart Award (valued at $10,000) presented by Helpmann Academy and JazzSA. As part of my application for the award I detailed plans to record a studio album of nine of my original compositions at Wizard Tone Studios. The recording sessions were filmed and edited into full length videos to accompany each track. The album was launched on the 24th of April 2021 at the stunning Grainger Studio, Adelaide.
Album Background
When choosing which of my pieces to record, I decided to go with a mix of my new material and several of my earliest charts. Feline and Samba de Alegria were written during my final years of high school, and even though I had moved on musically I couldn’t record my first album without including them. Poetically, these two tunes were commissioned for the JazzSA Superbands program by the late Mike Stewart. Mike not only gave me the chance to write for big band, but also paid me for it. I went on to write another fifteen charts for the program, and without Mike’s early support I may not have had the opportunity to develop myself and refine my skills as a writer. That is why it was so special to be able to record this album through an award in his honour.
One of my most important early writing influences was the music of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, and the subsequent arrangements of their work for big band by Bob Curnow. Pat’s Maze was written during my first year of university and was the first tune I wrote that took me out of the comfort zone of writing latin or swing.
As For Now and 1,858 were both contemporary tunes inspired by a difficult personal experience of mine. As For Now (which ended up being the title track of the album) describes going through a painful experience and believing that there will be brighter days ahead but knowing that for now you must endure. I was very fortunate to have the incredible Will Vinson feature as the guest soloist on this track. 1,858 is an auto-biographical piece that flows through six distinct sections that symbolise the passing years. This tune was by far the most difficult, time-consuming, and ultimately cathartic piece on the album. I was again very lucky to feature a very special guest on this tune, world renowned guitarist and my former university lecturer James Muller.
The final special guest on the album was another former university lecturer of mine, Mark Simeon Ferguson. Ferg has been a big musical influence of mine since the age of 13, and was the reason for my early interest in latin music. I was stoked to have him feature on Son de Ferg, a piece I had written in 2014 as a little tribute to him, which includes a shout section that is an orchestration of Ferg’s solo on a very early incarnation of the tune.
I wrote Ballade For Mama in 2019 to commemorate 10 years since my mother’s passing. She was an amazing classical pianist, but above all she was a beautiful human who always put the needs of others ahead of her own. Her favourite piece of music was Chopin’ Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, so when I began writing this piece I drew inspiration from Chopin’s melodies and harmonies.
Gallery - ‘As For Now’ Album Launch @ Grainger Studio 24th April 2021
