A Jazz Hour in Conversation

A jazz-orientated recording artist and singer/song-writer, Bonnie J Jensen possesses an uplifting repertoire and a voice that segues effortlessly from soulful interpretations of classy jazz standards and poetic originals through adventurous arrangements of contemporary songs.Playing in a variety of line-ups that showcase the pride of Australian jazz talent, whether out front with her Quintet or at the piano solo or with bass, Bonnie’s live performances display her warmth and a sheer love of good music. But she also has a passion for creating wonderful recordings and she already has several. But it’s her latest recordings with the Dan Barnett Big Band that we’ll be talking about when she joins me as my special studio guest on this edition of A Jazz Hour in Conversation.

Dr. Sandy Evans is an Australian jazz composer, saxophonist, and bandleader with a career spanning four decades.Recognition of her work[3] has included receiving an Order of Australia Medal in 2010 for services to music, and in 2014 she was awarded a PhD from Macquarie University and the Vic Chancellors Commendation for Academic Excellence, for her thesis on practice-based research into Carnatic Jazz Intercultural music.In the same year she also received a Churchill Fellowship to visit India,and in 2019 she was inducted into Australian Jazz Bell Awards, Hall of Fame.As a performer, she is a member of the bands Mara!, The catholics, the Australian Art Orchestra, Ten Part Invention,[14] and austraLYSIS, among many other ensembles, and she has performed on more than thirty albums.She leads the Sandy Evans Trio (with Brett Hirst (double bass) and Toby Hall (drums) who have just released their new album The Running Tide.

Trumpeter Lee McIver has travelled the world performing, composing and producing. He worked as a freelance trumpet player for many years touring and recording with many of Australia’s leading pop, jazz and world music artists but has always had a strong focus on performing and producing art music of an improvised nature, He has worked as a composer for theatre, dance, multi-disciplined arts, television and film, and pure music ensembles. His latest album, Tokyo Dawn, Is an international horn of mystery. A multi-talented free spirit, genre-jumping love child of jazz and cool electro, making music for all times.

Alex Siegers has amassed considerable experience as a performer and an educator across the jazz, sacred, classical and pop genres with leading ensembles throughout Australia. . She has also worked as an educator, conductor, vocal arranger, arts administrator, arts marketer, and music librarian. In 2017 she graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music With a Bachelor of Music and Arts, majoring in Jazz Performance, Asian Studies and Linguistics. Alex was our 2021 Ken Weatherley Jazz Scholarship recipient, here at 2MBS Fine Music Sydney and has just released her debut album, recorded in our Founders Studio as part of the Scholarship. The album From Here is a collection of Australian Jazz Standards.

Australian bassist and vocalist Nicki Parrott talks about her recording and performance career in New York and Australia.

Pianist /composer and bandleader Matthew Thomson chats about his musical journey and influences and his new recording with Tourismo.