Launch of Bloomsbury Publishing in Australia

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Tom Abbott

Launch of Bloomsbury Publishing in Australia @ Centennial Parklands Dining, Centennial Park

 

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Wedding @ Araluen Function Centre

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Tom Abbott

Setting up before wedding performance @ Araluen Function Centre, Epping

 

The groom's hat finds a new owner @ Araluen wedding gig

What a beautiful venue. An oh so cute little chapel on site for the ceremony, then a beautiful house in which to hold the reception. Not to mention, a lovely grand piano to use, if you wish, and plenty of space for dancing. The band’s music flows into the dining room during dinner, and then those who wish come come on over to the dance floor for a boogie. Fun for the whole family!

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Tempus Two: Beautiful Barrel Backdrop

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Tom Abbott

Performance with wine barrel backdrop @ Tempus Two

On Thursday 10 March we piled into the Jazz-mobile and headed off to the Hunter Valley to perform for the wedding of Sarah & Darren at Tempus Two.

This room can be a little challenging acoustically with it’s hard floor and high ceilings, but visually it provides a spectacular setting with giant barrels of wine stacked up behind the bandstand.

And once we got the balance right after sound check, it was a swinging night indeed – with some great food, wine & music + plenty of guests keen to make the most of a big night on the dance-floor after driving up to the Hunter Valley!

Here’s an audio sample from this gig for you to check out:

Caldonia – 10 March 2011 @ Tempus Two, Hunter Valley
Vocal Quintet: Vocalist, Saxophone, Keyboard, Bass, Drums

Entrance to the Barrel Room @ Tempus Two

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Live At The Sands … it’s SJC!

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Tom Abbott

Performing at Le Sands Restuarant

We had a great time rounding out a busy weekend with a Sunday evening gig performing for the wedding of Peter & Jane in Brighton-le-Sands.

The Sunday night band featured Charlie on guitar in the lineup instead of keys (and the lovely Lisa on vocals) which delivered a really beautiful sound. We also shared the bandstand that night with a real-deal authentic Greek band which provided a good contrast to our jazz & soul repertoire – and an endless flow of great live music for the guests!

Here’s a couple of tracks we recorded that night:

There Will Never Be Another You – 6 March 2011 @ Le Sands Restaurant
Vocal Quintet: Vocalist, Saxophone, Guitar, Bass, Drums

On a break between sets while performing at Le Sands Restaurant

It’s Alright With Me – 6 March 2001 @ Le Sands Restaurant
Vocal Quintet: Vocalist, Saxophone, Guitar, Bass, Drums

 

View out the front of Le Sands Restaurant

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Bronte Surf Life Saving Club

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Tom Abbott

Performing at Bronte Surf Club

On 5 March as part of the epic weekend of gigs Jason mentioned in the previous post, we had the pleasure of performing at Bronte Surf Life Saving Club for the wedding of Ross & Claire (and their funky friends who really loved to dance!)

They had a really warm relaxed vibe to the night, with a great marriage service conducted by the minister from the Wayside Chapel, and a speech from the very familiar voice of Peter Harvey – who also happened to be Claire’s father.

This venue is a bit of a tricky load, but the staff were great & there is a good performance space for the band once you get inside + some very tasty treats supplied by the Avocado catering group.

Here’s a live track we recorded that night at Bronte Surf Club:

Just The Two Of Us – 5th March 2011 @ Bronte Surf Club
Vocal Quintet: Vocalist, Saxophone, Keyboard, Bass, Drums

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4 Weddings and an NRL Launch

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Jason Isaac

Sound check before our gig at Pilu Freshwater

It’s been a very busy start to March for the band, with 6 performances in the space of a week!

It was great to see the professional media management and production behind the 2011 Wests Tigers Launch on March 1st. Thanks to the Tigers staff and to All Occasion Cruises for looking after us in the lead-up and on the night. I must confess to not being an avid NRL fan, but as a Leichhardt resident, I guess they must be my team….

Friday March 4th was a monster day with a daytime wedding @ Pilu, Freshwater Beach, and an evening booking @ the QVB tearooms.

The food at Pilu was absolutely incredible! The quintet (instrumental) was a little worried about the small amount of room available for the band, but we managed to make it work – even accommodating a path between the horns and rhythm section for bathroom access! Some great tracks from this one are on their way. Here are the first couple:

Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You – 4 March 2011 (daytime) @ Pilu Freshwater
Instrumental Quintet: Trumpet, Saxophone, Keyboard, Bass, Drums

My Romance – 4 March 2011 (daytime) @ Pilu Freshwater
Instrumental Quintet: Trumpet, Saxophone, Keyboard, Bass, Drums

Great to play with Ken on trumpet – a fine young player who I met first when he was around 14. Hope to see him on some more gigs this year!

Tom, Darren and I then bumped out and headed straight into the QVB – though Darren with his Hammond Organ Rig this time. Always a challenging acoustic, we arrived to discover we’d been allocated a 2x3m area that we were to share with the DJ. Thanks to the staff at the Tea Room for moving the tables around a little for us!! Note to Tom: 4x5m. 4 x 5 meteres!  🙂

All set for live recording at QVB Tearooms

I’m hoping to get some tracks up from the reception soon. This is the first live recording I’ve done of Darren’s Hammond, and I need his help to get some good EQ and mastering on his tracks.

Thank you to all my Friday afternoon students who gave up their lessons in support of these worthy events. It’s been a while since I sat on my drum stool for 11 hours in a single day.

More on the Saturday and Sunday night soon……

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Welcome to the SJC Blog

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Tom Abbott

Sydney-Jazz-CollectiveHello and welcome to the official blog of Sydney Jazz Collective.

We’ve been making some great live recordings at some of the 150 gigs we perform together each year, and thought it was time to share some of our favourite audio clips with you.

So here is the very first installment of our brand spanking new blog! Featuring some live tracks recorded at a wedding we performed at last weekend.

Hope you enjoy, and watch this space for lots more audio recordings of the band live in action + hopefully some videos coming soon too!

All Or Nothing At All – 26 Feb 2011 @ Sydney Uni Refectory
Vocal Quintet: Vocalist, Sax, Keyboard, Bass, Drums


Alone Together – 26 Feb 2011 @ Sydney Uni Refectory
Instrumental Quartet: Sax, Keyboard, Bass, Drums

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