A very pleasant night of jazz-inspired Aussie music evoking the vast tapestry of our country.

Local songstress Jessie Gordon has brought together a band of outstanding local musos to present an eclectic collection of Australian tunes.  All are given Jessie’s ‘light jazz’ style arrangement and, in the hands of the talented four-piece, the sounds are superb.
Jessie on vocals (and a burst of ukulele) is supported by Ben Vanderwal – percussion/ jazz drums, Lucky Oceans – pedal steel guitar and Russell Holmes – keyboards and guitar.

The music was presented as a continuous track, with instructions for no applause from us until the very end of the performance.  Each song, or fragment of song segued into the next with a near-seamless transition.

It was undemanding, but in a nice way with the audience encouraged to drift off into our own thoughts, inspired by the music.  Some songs were just part of medleys but the fuller versions seemed to work better allowing the audience to do a bit of personal foot-tapping, swaying and grapple with the temptation to sing along or hum silently to ourselves.

The performers were set up in the centre of the performance space which allowed them to interact fully with each other but somewhat limited their engagement with the audience.  We were privileged observers at a gathering of talented musicians but somehow a little external to the intimacies of the music.

There was disappointment that the visual images, crafted to match the music, were largely ineffective because of the black background onto which they were projected.  From what could be discerned from the glimpses we saw, the feeling is that they would elevate the overall performance, so hopefully, a white background can be set up in the performance space.

Overall, a relaxed and sophisticated show which will appeal to music lovers who enjoy an Australian tinge to the performance.