Welcome to the new AAO website!

Message from Paul Grabowsky

In October 1993 a group of musicians came together from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to play three performances of my suite ‘Ringing the Bell Backwards’ at the Melbourne International Festival of Arts, thanks to the support of festival director, the late Richard Wherrett. Among the players in that very first prototype for the AAO were Niko Schauble, Alex Pertout, Adrian Sherriff, Scott Tinkler, Steve Magnusson, Philip Rex and Elliott Dalgleish, all of who are still with the band. Since that time, the AAO has explored many areas of music through projects exploring the interface between improvisation and notation, and through various cross-cultural collaborations. It has been an extraordinary journey, and now, seventeen years on, I am able to say with confidence that the future has never looked brighter.

Jump straight to our new home page or read on for an overview of our 2011 achievements.

During 2011, new recordings of the Crossing Roper Bar project have revealed the value of a collaboration which has been allowed to develop steadily over a number of years. There is a sense of an integrated musical vision with the Young Wagiluks (from Ngukurr in South-East Arnhem Land) extending their vocalising into long interactive dialogues with various of the AAO players. This represents an interesting development from the first recordings (as heard on the CRB CD), which have more of a juxtaposed, indeed at times confrontational, structure. Video of the first recordings, shot during performance takes at Allan Eatons Studio in 2009, can be viewed here. It is fascinating to observe the process as we feel our way towards a unified vision.

The ‘Meet Me in the Middle of the Air’ tour was a triumph; together with Paul Kelly, Vika and Linda Bull and the wonderful Choir with No Name led by Tina Harrod we played to packed houses in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide. It was like a big family on the road, a time of great fun and collective joy in music making. Live recordings were made in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide that will hopefully result in a CD release next year.

Straight off the back of that tour, we found ourselves in Melbourne’s Bennetts Lane, where we played every Thursday for a month. In some ways, this was my favorite event of the year, because it gave the band a chance to workshop some music of mine over a month, allowing the resultant familiarity to inform more confident performances. It was also good to be in an environment where we were able to connect with our audience in a very direct way. We were introduced to the exciting sound of Scott McConnachie on tenor, and it was great to have Peter Neville joining us on percussion. It was also a chance to feature some players who contribute so greatly to our music in more substantial solo roles, particularly Lachlan Davidson and Eugene Ball.

The ‘Chennai Tapes’ concert at the Recital Centre in Melbourne proved yet again that the work begun in 1996 by Adrian Sherriff and Guru Karaikudi R Mani has led to a deep understanding between Sruthi Laya and the AAO. I found the concert very moving, as the spirit of goodwill between the two ensembles has allowed a repertoire to develop which has real depth. Congratulations to Paul Williamson for filling the (very large) Tinkler shoes on the gig! The final percussion solo at the climax of the concert was yet another dazzling display of mental arithmetic converted into pure and astonishing musicianship, including a composition in a subdivision of 6 that had me totally bamboozled. There are plans to tour India in 2012, and it is my hope that we will have some new compositions to play, and that perhaps we may be able to revisit the pieces by Elliott and Adrian, and by Daryl Pratt, which were performed in Melbourne back in 2002.

Finally, the wonderful trombonist/composer Josh Roseman worked with us in Wangarratta. I first heard his band Extended Constellations in NYC a couple of years ago, and thought immediately that his music would be a great fit for the AAO. It combines complexity with wit, soul with intellect and is truly of our time. Having Barney McCall on board with his amazing palette of sounds was a thrill; it was the first time Barney (whom I taught many years ago) and I have performed together, and hopefully not the last. Also joining us from NYC were the incredible Ted Poor on drums and Peter Apfelbaum on various instruments. It was also great to welcome altoist Tim Wilson, Paul Williamson on trumpet, Geoff Hughes, guitar, and my partner in crime Jamie Oehlers alongside regulars James Greening, Phil Rex and Eugene Ball. I’m intending to deepen the relationship with Josh, hopefully with a new commission for the full AAO to coincide with our projected tour to North America in 2014.

There is too much going on to contain within a single newsletter, so I will reveal more next time. Until then, thank you for your ongoing interest in, and support for, the work of the Australian Art Orchestra.

Cheers

Paul Grabowsky

Proceed to our new home page

Photo: Pia Johnson