Monday, January 8, 2018

Steve Barry Quartet - Blueprints & Vignettes (January 19, 2018)



Blueprints & Vignettes, the third album from leading Sydney based pianist-composer Steve Barry will be released January 19 on Earshift Music/MGM with launch dates in Sydney, Wellington and Auckland. 

With virtuosic playing from Barry and his quartet, the album features highly forged compositions and riveting ensemble work. The music is a kaleidoscopic exploration of the sonic and melodic possibilities of contemporary jazz. 

Joining Barry are longstanding collaborators Jeremy Rose (alto saxophone, bass clarinet), Max Alducca (bass) and Dave Goodman (drums). Beautifully captured at Sydney’s Sony Studios by Ross A’Hearn, this album is set to be an important contribution to Barry’s growing output.


A product of Barry’s recently completed PhD at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Blueprints & Vignettes reflects his parallel interests in jazz, creative music, 20th century classical music, new music and improvisation. The album dances back and forward between intricate compositions and free improvisation in an exploration of harmonic hues and the spontaneous re-imagination of pre-set structures. 

Barry maintains a busy schedule composing, teaching and performing across Australia, New Zealand and Japan. He is the co-founder of Orbiturtle, recently curating and collaborating with Koto player Michiyo Yagi at the Joganji Buddhist temple in Osaka Japan. An album of solo piano works, also a product of his doctoral studies, is set for release in early 2018. 

Barry has a growing list of awards and nominations, amongst them the Bell Award for Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year, 2nd in the National Jazz Awards, a finalist in the APRA Professional Development Awards and a nomination for the Freedman Fellowship.

1. Mammoth part 1
2. Mammoth part 2
3. Primed part 1
4. Primed part 2
5. Grind
6. Umbric Symmetry
7. Progeny
8. In the crepuscular forest of forked paths
9. #34