Some of the most exciting acts in the contemporary instrumental world are heading to Melbourne Recital Centre this month.
It’s July, meaning it’s a brand new year. Financial new year, that is. What better way to approach dealing with all that boring and annoying tax paperwork that we have to get sorted than by ignoring it altogether for another month in favour of indulging the moment.
Go out! See some shows! Live your best cultural life here in this magnificent city of Melbourne!
Fortunately, the good people of Melbourne Recital Centre are totally on board with this concept and have come up with a list of legitimate excuses so you can turn to that pile of receipts and declare “tonight, I’m choosing the majesty of live music over the tedium of admin!”
To be clear, Melbourne Recital Centre use the words “Season Three” rather than “legitimate excuses” but the effect is the same. They have programmed a series of shows, running from July through to September, which showcase visionary and exploratory artists who run the gamut from classical and chamber music to improvised experimental pieces and everything in between.
Here’s what you can tell your accountant you saw during July:
HEKKA
- When: July 8
- Where: Primrose Potter Salon
With a reputation as one of the most exciting groups to emerge in recent times in contemporary instrumental music, Sydney-siders Novak Manojlovic, Jacques Emery and Tully Ryan are collectively known as Hekka. The piano trio, who infuse a love of electronic, jazz, classical and rock music, mixed with some hints of New York’s downtown loft scene and London’s gritty nu-jazz wave, have just released their debut album, Everywhere I Go My Body Goes With Me.
“This music was recorded in January in 2021 and we want you to hear it,” they say and you can do just that, in a venue renowned for its purpose-built acoustics, on Saturday July 8. This Recital Centre show is part of their national album launch tour, so catch their “iconoclastic, unpredictable and entirely modernistic” sound live while you can, because they have a whole bunch of interstate dates after this, so it will be a while until they’re back in town.
MORGANA
- When: July 15
- Where: Primrose Potter Salon
Morgana hold the distinction of being Melbourne’s, and quite possibly Australia’s, first all-women jazz quintet. Back in 1992, saxophonist Fiona Burnett assembled a collection of musical powerhouses – Lisa Young, Sue Johnson, Annette Yates and Sonja Horbelt – and together they took on the world, performing at major music and arts events, receiving standing ovations and making a significant impact on gender diveristy and jazz in the process.
As individuals, these women are known as leaders on their respective instruments and areas of specialisation, winning countless awards and racking up PhDs and all kinds of other accolades and achievements. Three decades on, they’re gettin’ the band back together to celebrate their legacy, back catalogue and reward longstanding fans with some new works when they play this very special show at Melbourne Recital Centre on Saturday 15 July.
Original members Fiona Burnett, Lisa Young, Annette Yates and Sonja Horbet will be together once more with brilliant pianist Mina Yu joining them. With a reputation for performing original improvised music, you can expect to be surprised with diverse influences ranging from everything from swing; modern and modal jazz; Indian vocal percussion, Konnakol; Celtic melodies; Baroque expressions; and/or funky back beat grooves.
Reuben Lewis – The House is Empty
- When: July 21
- Where: Primrose Potter Salon
ARIA-nominated composer, producer and improviser, Reuben Lewis spent two years composing his debut solo record The House is Empty. A series of meditative works intended to “gently guide the listener to develop a curiosity and comfortability with the unknown” Lewis will – for the first time – perform a complete live iteration of the album as part of the Haven season. Reviewers of his work have said that “Lewis’ music is beyond category” so best you catch his lush sonic soundscapes and see if you can put the intangible into words in what is sure to be a memorable live experience.
Rose Riebl – Do Not Move Stones
- When: July 22
- Where: Primrose Potter Salon
Hot on the heels of sold-out shows in cities across Australia, the UK, Europe and Iceland, pianist and post-classical composer Rose Riebl will be performing compositions from her debut album Do Not Move Stones. Her works draw influence from Romantic classical composers Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Chopin, with a contemporary and minimalist take, and the result is fragile and soulful works that the international press have described as ‘shadowy and haunting’. For this show, Riebl will be joined by a cello trio.
Ziggy & Miles – Sidekick
- When: July 28
- Where: Primrose Potter Salon
Since picking up a guitar as children, Melbourne born brothers Ziggy and Miles have amassed more than 50 awards between them, from guitar competitions and local music Eisteddfods, as both soloists and as a duo.
Now based in the NYC, the pair are continuing to hone their skills with further study at The Juilliard School under Multiple Grammy Winner, Sharon Isbin, as Artist Diploma candidates, becoming the first Australians of any instrument and first guitar duo in the program’s 20-year history to be accepted.
The brothers are back on home turf for Sidekick, which is also the name of their latest album. Expect to enjoy works from the new album, such as new commissions by Australian composer Ken Murray and Welsh composer Katie Jenkins, plus the brothers’ own arrangement of Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque, Gnattali’s Suite Retratos, and more.
Melbourne Recital Centre’s Season Three runs from July to September, for all the performance details and booking links, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Melbourne Recital Centre.
