Monday, December 20, 2021

Mike Nock / Hamish Stuart / Julien Wilson / Jonathan Zwartz - Another Dance (December 2021 Lionsharecords)

Comprising four of Australia’s most esteemed jazz musicians, this celebrated jazz ‘supergroup’ made waves in 2020 with their critically acclaimed and ARIA nominated debut ‘This World’. Two years on, they ask you to join them for ANOTHER DANCE, their second full length album, recorded in Sydney on the very brink of the 2021 extended lockdown.

A lot of water has passed under (and over) the bridge since their first recording session in 2019. The band somehow managed to tour the East Coast twice during 20/21 against all odds. The first tour in Feb 2020 let them see firsthand the devastation wrought by the Black Summer bushfires through parts of regional NSW and ACT. In Braidwood the band donated the proceeds of their show to local bushfire victims, only to have floods prevent half the town from attending. Many shows and festival appearances were cancelled at the eleventh hour (no less than five shows in Melbourne) due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. The fact that the quartet have performed thirty shows in fifteen towns over four states during this period is a testament to their tenacity and vitality and their drive to share the unifying and uplifting power of live music with others.

The best creative pursuits offer reflection on the environment and events that they spring from, so it stands to reason that the music on Another Dance embodies different elements to This World. The eight new pieces presented here bear witness to the enduring bond the musicians share, and offer a deep and rich sense of optimism, hope and shared humanity as a tonic to these most interesting of times.

Press about This World:

“the fraught, euphoric, challenging, rewarding business of being human really seems to have been condensed into music” John Shand, SydneyMorningHerald

“at a time in history when division is the order of the day, four souls crafting melody together can abide by a deeper principle of love and listening.” Tyran Grillo, ECMreviews

“profound, moving and expressive jazz of the highest level.” Stuart Nicholson, Jazzwise 

1. Deception 06:01
2. LDT 07:09
3. Headlands 10:35
4. Winter 09:22
5. Little Stars 08:19
6. Johnston St 10:04
7. Wheelbarrow Road 05:13
8. Yearning 02:27

Mike Nock - piano
Hamish Stuart - drums
Julien Wilson - tenor saxophone and effects
Jonathan Zwartz - double bass

Recorded at Studios 301, Sydney
Engineer: Owen Butcher
Assistant: Reinert Wasserman
Mixed and Mastered by Helik Hadar
Produced by This World

Cover photo: Jonathan Zwartz
Design: Luke Fraser/Ahr+

Hamish plays Gretsch drums and Lauritsen cymbals
Jonathan and Julien are D’Addario Artists
Julien is a Yamaha Artist
Mike Nock compositions published by Fourth Way Music - ASCAP