I’m thrilled to announce that as of tomorrow, Tuesday 25th May 2010, I will be hosting my own weekly radio jazz show. The station is 2RDJ FM, which is 88.1 FM or streaming on the internet www.radio2rdj.com 11am – 1pm Eastern Standard Time.

I’m looking forward to playing some great jazz, talking with interesting industry people and sharing some fascinating stories.

I will be creating Podcasts of some of the material – stay tuned!

What a wet old weekend for a Jazz Festival. I sang at two very different events on Saturday – both on the Curtain Call Lawn stage. The first was a duet in the Open Mike, which I sang with Mik de Vecchio. Must have known it would be chilly …we sang  Frank Loesser’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside”. George Washingmachine did a great job as MC, keeeping things relaxed and amused despite some technical hiccups and cool weather. By by the end of the gig all the ‘contestants’ were all eagerly swapping phone numbers and Tess the lovely stage co-ordinator was even being offered group hugs by the John Redmond trio.

Immediately following was Charlie MacMahon’s Jazz Walkabout, for which I was a guest singer. Charlie has a song about his Didgeribone and I wrote some lyrics to sing with it. Smiles from the audience told me that “Slide The Bone” was a catchy title! (Charlie’s innuendo, not mine, although I can’t say I wasn’t smiling when I sang it).

At the Darling Harbour Jazz and Blues Festival 2010 with Mik de Vecchio

The Darling Harbour Jazz and Blues Festival is almost upon us and I’m excited because this will be the first time I perform in the festival. I’m joining Charlie MacMahon’s Jazz Walkabout on Saturday 22nd as a guest singer. Charlie plays the ‘Digibone’, his own tuneable version of a didgeridoo. He gets some very funky sounds pumping with his looping machine as backup.

I’ve been busy writing a musical, and although I am finding the process intoxicating and exhilarating, it’s challenging. It’s a romantic comedy about love and loss (plenty of real life experience, thus).

And as there’s no rest for the wicked , I have some exciting news brewing in the world of broadcasting. Another exhilarating challenge is about to reveal itself… stay tuned.

I had the pleasure of seeing Emma Franz’ film “Intangible Asset No. 82″ a couple of days ago at the Randwick Ritz. It’s a documentary about Sydney-based jazz drummer Simon Barker and his interest in a Korean Shaman/musical practitioner called Kim Seok-Chul. www.intangibleasset82.com. I’ve been interested in the relationship of music to spirituality for a couple of years now, so I was curious to see what Franz and Barker would present. Jazz drumming is a fairly rigid practice as far as art forms go, so breaking out and following an intangible impulse needs some courage. Courage which I think Simon Barker displays throughout the film, starting with agreeing to be its subject.

The theatre was packed to the rafters with jazz musicians and arts community bods; a great sight on a wet Monday night. There was a Q&A after the film which was handled candidly by Franz and Barker. I did notice a small hestitation around the subject of spirituality, almost an embarrassment to say anything out loud that might seem kooky. This subject was avoided almost completely in the audience’s questions, and even in her answers Franz seemed a bit coy, choosing her words carefully. I can understand this shyness, especially in an Australian context.

Jazz doesn’t automatically suggest spirituality the way another musical genre – such as Gregorian chanting – might. Of course there’s the improvisational side of jazz, which is about freedom in ways that other genres aren’t. However for me at least, spirituality isn’t just associated with free-form, but rather as an expression coming through the structure. Some players seem to have a certain sound that touches my heart, and it wouldn’t matter if they were playing a melody as straight as it was written; they would still have that effect. For me it’s Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Bill Evans and most recently Phil Slater’s contribution on Jonathan Zwartz’s The Sea. Were/are these players spiritually in tune? Or just very relaxed? Are we guided spiritually if we are truly relaxed while we create?

In the film “Intangible Asset No. 82″ a Shaman describes the importance of the breath; co-ordinating the body’s actions with the instrument (in this case a drum), the breath and the heartbeat. Relaxation was also valued by the Shamans, a state I have often heard performers of all kinds desiring in their work. Concentration on the breath is an ancient practice used in meditation, and I have found this to be a valuable practice for myself as a centering device in performing and creating – not to mention general wellbeing. If you’re interested in exploring this further, I recommend Kenny Werner’s book/CD “Effortless Mastery”. Werner is a jazz pianist but the book is accessible to all musicians whether their instrument is on the inside or the outside.

Today at around 2.30pm I’ll be chatting with Susan Gai Dowling on her radio show on Eastside Radio (89.7FM). They are now streaming live, so check it out; www.eastsidefm.org. Very exciting news for people who to date have not had good radio reception, due to that large grey obstacle called the city. It’s also very flattering to be a guest at a radio station that is so committed to high quality jazz and arts. Susan Gai Dowling is the real deal too. I saw her performing recently at the Paddington RSL, with her sextet. I always enjoy Susan’s phrasing and the emotional honesty in her singing, and of course the swinging accompaniment. (Only a singer can get away with calling Bernie McGann, Carl Dewhurst, Brett Hirst and John Pochee “accompaniment”. Actually, I don’t think I’m going to get away with that at all).

Hi all, hope you’re well and enjoying life. I am. I did a radio interview last week (2RDJFM 88.1) on ‘The Fin Review’. Not talking about banking though, I was being interviewed by presenter Fin about the greatest music in the world – JAZZ. No bias there at all. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I had there, and I signed up. Radio is a pleasing medium to me – listening and presenting. It’s like performing but since you can’t see the audience you can go crazy imagining .