Art Smitten: Reviews - 2016

The Melbourne international jazz festival, now in its 18th year is Melbourne’s premier jazz festival which takes over the city for 9 days in june showcasing local and international talent in different concert halls, bars and occasionally laneways! This year I was lucky enough to attend three completely different yet equally exiting events: Tomasz Stańko Band, Vince Jones and the astral orchestra, and Jose James. Polish born Tomasz Stanko has been a jazz trumpeter since the 60s, touring the world time and time again and working on film scores. His performance at the Coopers Malthouse was a true testament to his experimental yet highly skilled approach to jazz. Accompanied by Alexi Tuomarila on piano, Slawomir Kurkiewics on bass and Olavi Louhivuori on drums, the four absolutely filled the space of the theatre unlike any others! Performing a total of six songs, interspersed with extensive improvisation, the band created the classic dizzying jazz atmosphere and had the entire audience bopping their heads,