LiveWyre
LiveWyre is an original project that was started in 2014 by pianist and composer Ben Matthews. The goal of this project is to break away from more straight-ahead forms of jazz by incorporating elements from other genres – r’n’b, funk, ambient, fusion, groove and cinematic music. Much of the music draws influence of musicians who blend genres in their own writing style; the compositional sounds of jazz masters like Pat Metheny, Hiromi Uehara, Robert Glasper (etc) are alluded to throughout the music of the LiveWyre project. All of these pieces are original works by Ben Matthews, who is accompanied tonight by the incredible talents of Joe Southwell (Bass), Laura Corney (sax) and Daniel Gullaci (drums).
About the Musicians:
Ben Matthews was drawn to the piano at a young age, following a passion for artistic expression through improvisation and composition. Since 2008 he has held various residencies at many of Perth’s premier performance venues, has been nominated for a WAM award, and has shared the stage with some of Australia’s internationally acclaimed musicians as a sideman and bandleader.
Joe Southwell is an exciting and versatile bassist arising from the western coast of Australia, where he can be heard shaping the low-end frequencies in various bands and sessions. Joe pursued music throughout school and developed his craft playing on the church scene. Having completed a bachelor degree (majoring in jazz performance) and studies in contemporary music at WAAPA, Joe now performs regularly on the local circuit in numerous genres – including rock, pop, jazz and R&B, amongst others.
Drumming from an early age, Daniel Gullaci has enjoyed a career that has seen him extensively tour and record for various artists round the world. Touring and producing with Cirque du Soleil for 5 years previously, he now runs MDmusic, a production house based in Perth and working in the UK.
Saxophonist Laura Corney is a seasoned and engaging performer. A recent jazz honours graduate of WAAPA, and with an Honours degree in classical music from the Sydney Con under her belt, too, Laura uses her earthy reed instrument to sing nuanced melodies, raw with emotion. Her compositions and improvisations echo elements of broadway standards, modern jazz, improvised art music, pop songs, Bach cello sonatas, and middle-eastern ornamentation. With recent successful performances this year at WOMADelaide and New York’s Metropolitan Museum with singer Tara Tiba, Laura’s is a unique voice on the saxophone not to miss. If you’re loving the sound of Laura Corney with LiveWyre, check out her Sextet sound next Sunday at the Laneway Lounge
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TONIGHT’S PROGRAM
Set 1
The Captain
This composition is an amalgamation of individually conceived musical passages. The title is a reference to popular 90’s kids cartoon, Captain Planet – “With these pieces combined, I am… Captain Planet?”
34 GrooveChoon
A first attempt at writing a “slow-jam” styled piece – something slow, grooving, but with a dash of harmonic and rhythmic complexity.
Prologue
A Change of Pace
After finishing my undergraduate jazz studies at WAAPA, this was the first piece I’d written that wasn’t in a “straight-ahead” jazz style, something that drew influence from more modern artists like Pat Metheny and Hiromi Uehara. It is the first composition that was born from the decision to work toward creating a compositional voice of my own by combining the sounds of musicians that I love. This piece was written as part of a quintet project called “Introflect”, performed for the Perth Jazz Society’s Young Lions program in 2011.
The Process
This piece describes a creative process. It begins in a quiet and calm manner – perfect for contemplation. The piece builds with an influx of ideas and with them, a curiosity and wonder to explore new ideas further. An energetic rhythm falls into place as ideas begin to connect and develop and as creation happens. After a time, concentration begins to wane, ideas are no longer coherent, and there is no use in forcing progress. The music comes to an abrupt halt, silencing irrational, would-be thoughts, allowing for the quiet and calm ambience to foster once more, and the cycle repeats.
Set 2
Freeflow
Freeflow is dedicated to the Perth Parkour crew who have inspired me as both practitioners and as welcoming, reasonable and loving people over the last couple of years! You guys rock!!
Motherflippin’ Smoothie Time
You wake up and start to go about your day, but you feel that something is missing from your life. It’s a smoothie. Thinking about it, you love smoothies and it’s been a while. A sense of excitement wells up inside as you begin to consider the ingredients, and the possibility of impending deliciousness. Frozen banana, check. Half a teaspoon of vanilla essence, check. It’s looking good. 1 heaped dessertspoon of raw cacao powder and natural honey? Check and check! You’re getting really excited now, but then it hits you, and your heart stops as you’re sucked away from your fantasies. What about the avocado? Didn’t you eat that on Tuesday? Excitement turns quickly to uncertainty. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. The path of the dark side. BUT THEN YOU SEE IT! It was hiding under the lettuce in the crisper!! You hurl a third of the suddenly-peeled avocado and 500ml of coconut water, along with the other named ingredients into a blender. T-Minus 30 seconds, the smoothie is imminent. It’s ready now and you take a sip. Yes. YES. OH GOD YES, THIS IS THE BEST DAMN SMOOTHIE OF YOUR LIFE! It’s cold, sweet, creamy, healthy, filling and delicious! Aren’t you just a bundle of cheeriness and delight? However, the smoothie is a finite resource, and you know it’s only a matter of time before it’s over. It’s time to get back to work, to the dull afterlife of an amazing smoothie…
Solo Improvisation
Temporal Shift
This piece is an expression of the frustration that comes from the discord between working several casual jobs and trying to enforce some form of consistency and stability in a weekly schedule with varying degrees of failure.
Pressure Point
Pressure Point was also written for the “Introflect” project in 2011.
Keep In Touch:
Like the FacePage to keep updated with my events and news at: www.facebook.com/benmatthewspresents
For Ben’s other projects and information, head to the official ‘site: http://benmatthews.com.au
If you’d like to get in touch directly, e-mail me at [email protected]
For more information regarding upcoming Perth Jazz Society Events, you can find their program here.
Thank you for coming!
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Much love,
Ben