GARY DALEY, JAMES GREENING & RONNY FERELLA: SUNSET SESSIONS // Saturday, 13 January 2024 // 4:00-6:00 pm // Free Event; No Bookings: Walk-Ins Only // Venue: Bar NSW; The Lookout @ Echo Point; 33 Echo Point Rd, Katoomba.
/ GARY DALEY /
Gary Daley is best known as a musician playing in some of the elite bands of Australian jazz; currently James Greening’s band Greening from Ear to Ear and the jazz-world music band The catholics. He leads the quartet Bungarribee which features his own compositions and interpretations from the classical repertoire. Gary plays acoustic and electric piano, organ and also the piano accordion. Another side to Gary is his appearances on weekdays on the ABC TV children’s channel in the pre-school show Lah Lah’s Adventures.
In his hometown Springwood, just west of Sydney, he is the artistic director of the music concert series Live at the Village which has presented leading musicians in a variety of improvised music since late 2009.
Sanctuary is the recording of the latest album which was supported by the Australia Council. Psalm from ‘In the Palm of Your Hand’ is a five part gospel-jazz work was commissioned by the St Paul’s Grammar School, Cranebrook in 2004. Performed by Gary Daley, Steve Clisby (solo voice), Toby Hall, Jess Ciampa, Richard Maegraith, Ben Waples, Ben Daley, Voice Mail (choir of St Paul’s Grammar), Cathy Jarman.
Daley’s playing has been described as “exquisite”, John Shand of The Sydney Morning Herald, and his composition for large ensemble, Sanctuary, drew the following response……
“. . . music such as this can knock the wind out of my diaphragm, by simply reminding me how far the word falls short of the music.”
- John Hardaker, Australianjazz.net.
/ JAMES GREENING /
Search JAMES GREENING - TROMBONE and a plethora of projects past and present will hit the screen. James Greening has been a leading voice in the music scene in Sydney and Australia for more than thirty years. Trombones, pocket trumpet, slide trumpet, tuba, sousaphone and diddly bow bass add to James' diversity as a performer. His roots are in any music that grooves, expressed more often in jazz as a founding member of seminal Australian jazz bands such as Ten Part Invention, Wanderlust, The Catholics, The Umbrellas and The Australian Art Orchestra.
The World According to James, formed in 1992, saw James step forward as a bandleader and composer, presenting music with all the qualities of wit, creativity and exuberance that have long been associated with his work as a soloist. Three critically acclaimed CDs of original compositions include No Job Too Small, Wayback (ARIA nominated) and their third CD, Lingua Franca, winning the AIR (Australian Independent Records Labels) award for Jazz album of the year for 2010. In 2012, James Greening launched a new 7-piece project, Greening from Ear to Ear and composed a new suite of original music, Tam O’Shanter Tales. This album has received rave reviews.
A significant part of his playing has been in funk, and one of James Greening‘s major musical influences was friend and mentor, the late Jackie Orszaczky. Greening’s performing and recording credits put him in the company of some Australia’s all-time greatest contemporary musicians.
“Greening’s trombone has the delicious plumpness of a ripe mango. The Sad bits and the funny bits become jumbled, and there can be no higher praise.”
– John Shand, The Sydney Morning Herald.
/ RONNY FERELLA /
Ronny Ferella is regarded as one of Victoria's top jazz drummers having played with more than his fair share of heavy hitters, and is a well know composer and improvisor. His compositional approach is ensemble focussed and dances between the notated and the improvised; the final result of the piece is always driven by the performance over the page.
IshIsh, for which Ferella composes most of the material, has made quite an impact on the Australian scene – releasing four albums. In July 2001, IshIsh performed at the prestigious Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, and Pori Festival (Finland).
Ferella's Spartacus Collective is a quartet of solo drumset with instrumental accompaniment. A combination of written notation and improvised material is utilised to put the drummer in the solo spotlight. Conceived by Ferella, this project flips the traditional roles of the usual instrumental hierarchy and highlights the drumset as a tonal instrument that can adapt to the requirements of the music on hand.
Ferella leads other original improvised-based bands including Peon (a 2 drummer/electronic project) and Mandala and in 2009 launched a CD label and website, Downstream Music. Ferella is also a frequent collaborator with the likes of Reuben Lewis in projects like I Hold The Lion's Paw, and is a mainstay in the Michelle Nicolle Quartet, the 1997 Bell Award Winner. In 1997 he was a finalist in National Jazz Award Drum Competition. Ronny also co-founded and directed Half Bent Festival – a musician-based organisation involved in presenting concerts and he teaches Small Ensemble Studies and Principle Study (drums) at Monash University, NMIT and for The Song Room.
Ferella's IshIsh performance at the Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival garnered this comment . . .
"I really liked the organic feel of this group and the absence of the cycle of solos."
- Ausjazz.net.
/ SUNSET SESSIONS @ BAR NSW /
Perched on the edge of Katoomba's iconic Echo Point escarpment, with breathtaking views of the Jamison Valley, Bar NSW @ The Lookout is one of the best places in NSW to soak up a sunset as you're chasing golden hour in the Mountains. With free live music between 4:00-6:00 pm, cold beer on tap from Katoomba's own Mountain Culture Beer Co (currently Australia's No. 1 rated beer from GABS), and an 'Outback Cookout', an outdoor BBQ on the balcony, there's no better place to kick back in the afternoon for a bevvy and a little live music - you deserve it.
Bar NSW has the biggest range of regional beer, wine, and cider in the Blue Mountains, and right next door is the Milkbar - so whether you're looking for a tasty drop, a cup of coffee or an ice cream to cool you down, The Lookout @ Echo Point has got you covered. And don't worry, there's plenty of space indoors if the weather gets nasty - The Lookout is an all-weather venue!
// Proudly presented by MUSIC IN THE MOUNTAINS //