16th January 2023: BBC Jazz Award Winner Anita Wardell and Australian Jazz Pianist Dave McEvoy have just self-released the first single 'Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?' through the distribution company, Distrokid, from their up-coming album “Stars”. You can now hear this track on most platforms including iTunes, Spotify, YouTube andmore. Anita and Dave will continue to release some more singles before the whole album comes out.

'Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?' available here

Having known and performed with each for many years, they decided in May 2022, to record a duo album exploring love and loss; the vulnerability of human experience; and the vast expanse of sky that can at once liberate you or bring you undone.

Anita and Dave released the album in Melbourne, Australia on Dec 8th 2022 with a live performance at the Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival. The album “Stars” is set to be released in the EU on the 29th April 2023 with a performance at the amazing Birdland Club in Hamburg, Germany. There will also be performances of this project in the UK.

Stars features some beautiful re-worked jazz standards and some originals including a dedication to the late, great British jazz singer Tina May.

How the record came about…….

The idea for the record originated in late April 2022 when Dave and Anita got together around the piano and talked about what we each wanted to convey with the music. “A connection with our respective authentic selves, our vulnerable selves, was something we both wanted so, we set about describing to each other, what the lyrics and the melodies represented to us. After ruminating for some time on the colour of the harmony and how it would enhance each song, and the way we heard it, we worked on reharmonising the chords, marrying it all together “

The Recording then took place on May 10/11 2022 at Wizard Tone Studios in Adelaide Australia with the talented engineer Jarrad Payne who totally captured the essence of this set of songs.

Anita, recipient of the prestigious BBC Jazz Award, was once described by Mark Murphy as ‘a gift’. Lauren Henderson (2020 winner of the National Jazz Awards) writes, ‘Anita Wardell is my hero; a world-class storyteller and improviser. Dave McEvoy embodies everything I believe jazz to be—honesty, heart, and playfulness—all the while maintaining impeccable technical command of the instrument. Don’t miss your chance to see two of the greatest living jazz musicians do their thing. It will change you.’

Canadian-born California-based singer Kari Kirkland teams up with four-time Grammy nominated producer and pianist Shelly Berg for the release of her sophomore album if (when you go) this January 13th, 2023.

Breathing fresh life into a range of classic songs, the all-star line-up is brought together by lush arrangements and immaculate production at one of Los Angeles’ premiere recording venues. Kari’s journey to the legendary Capitol Studios in October 2021 was by no means orthodox though…

Growing up criss-crossing the States as the child of two touring musicians, her roundabout route to jazz singer includes time as a professional trapeze artist, circus producer, and private chef. The next step was no less surprising either; the day after wrapping at Capitol, Kari flew to Seattle to donate her left kidney to a fellow musician, and spent the remainder of 2021 recovering. The session itself, though, was just what you’d expect from such an array of jazz talent. Collaborating once again with Shelly Berg, the duo assembled an all-star ensemble featuring the legendary Peter Erskine (Weather Report), Terell Stafford (McCoy Tyner, Christian McBride), and Carlitos del Puerto (Chick Corea, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen) amongst others.

Led by Kirkland’s intimate, honest vocal style, the unique arrangements encapsulate the essence of a collection of contemporary songs including Sting’s Fragile, Coldplay’s Fix You, and Jeff Buckley’s Lover, You Should’ve Come Over. In a refreshingly new context, the vocals soar above a sonic landscape of pristinely recorded, masterful jazz musicianship, big-band-esque horn lines, lush string arrangements, and top tier production. On working with Kirkland, four time Grammy nominee Shelly Berg said: “There is a depth of truth and heart in her singing that is very, very compelling. I’m proud and blessed to have done this project with her.”

Kari Kirkland | Vocals Shelly Berg | Keyboards, Arrangements Peter Erskine | Drums Dean Parks | Guitar Brian Kilgore | Percussion Kevin Axt | Bass Terrel Stafford | Trumpet Carlitos del Puerto | Bass Jason Arkins | Saxophone David Mason | Saxophone Camilo Molina | Trumpet  Michael Gutierrez | Trumpet  Brandon Bryant | Trombone Budapest Scoring Orchestra | Strings

Purchase the album here

‘On Pink Lane’ is the 3rd album by the Abbie Finn Trio. This iconic street in Newcastle housed the old Jazz Café and the renowned jam session where the band first played together. This is their first album comprising of wholly original tunes ‘we hope you enjoy it and feel some of the warmth we feel every time we perform this music’. Today, Pink Lane is home to an array of interesting places including a top-notch bakery, coffee shop, Thai massage and of course the Prohibition Cabaret Bar (which used to be the Jazz Café). It is at this venue where launched their album on January 12th.

 Abbie tells us a little about the new album:

I have composed brand new tunes for this album which focus on varied rhythmic concepts and include heavy improvisation. The album begins with ‘North Sea Wind’, which was the 1st single we released from the album. This explores the famed freezing cold waters which we are all familiar with here in the North-East, our bassist resides at Whitley Bay which we frequently visit, but rarely dare to venture in the sea! ‘On Pink Lane’ is in homage to the street where we first met and played together, this is the title track of the album and we’d especially like to thank Sebastiaan De Krom for his help with this track, as well as others. ‘The Warren’ is a more contemporary, disjointed tune in 5/4, which heavily features our Saxophonist. ‘So It’s True’ is a lively funk tune featuring added percussion and punchy hits. ‘The Labyrinth’ was a really fun tune to work on with our engineer Ray, he really captured the sound of a vast and immense labyrinth through his editing, particularly in the drum solo where I use mallets on the kit. ‘Mirador De Los Poleos’ was one of the 1st tunes I wrote for this album after a trip to Tenerife with my dad. One night, we drove up high to see the stars. What an amazing evening, I’ve never seen so much in the night sky, simply wondrous! The next tune ‘A Real Job’ is simple, as musicians we keep getting asked one of 2 questions: When are you going to get a real job or What is your real job? ‘Big Old Spice Cabinet’ captures our band’s love for food and in particular Indian cooking. The amount of spices in my kitchen at home is crazy and worthy of a mention. The final tune on the album is ‘Jazz The Cat’, named after my mam’s erratic cat who loves to zoom about the house and attack everything in her path.

Released January 7, 2023. The Abbie Finn Trio is:

Abbie Finn - Drums and Percussion
Harry Keeble - Tenor Saxophone
Paul Grainger - Double Bass

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Ray Beckett
Recorded in Blank Studios, Newcastle July 2022
Album Artwork photo by Steven Cropper
Compositions and arrangements by Abbie Finn

Purchase the album here in Bandcamp: On Pink Lane