Aotearoa jazz artists continue to highlight a wide range of compositional talents, especially evident in this year’s finalists for the 2023 APRA Best Jazz Composition Award. The winner will be announced at a private event in Pōneke this October at the beginning of the Wellington Jazz Festival, with the winner/s receiving a $1000 cash prize.
“Once again, the finalists for this year’s award showcase an exceptional blend of originality and inspiration, pushing boundaries with their innovative compositions. The work of these talented writers breathes fresh, charged air into the genre, inviting listeners to experience jazz from Aotearoa in new and captivating ways” shares Mike Hall, Director of Member Services NZ.
2023 Finalists
Formed in the mid-2000's The Circling Sun is a sonic collective from Tāmaki Makaurau focused on progressive Afrocentric inspired jazz music. Featuring some of the finest talents in music from Aotearoa, members include: Julien Dyne - drums/percussion (Ladi6, Avantdale Bowling Club, Half Hexagon), Cameron Allen - Saxophones/keyboards (Opensouls/Relaxomatic Project), Ben Turua - acoustic bass (Avantdale Bowling Club, Nathan Haines), J.Y. Lee - saxophones/flute/bass clarinet (Yoko Zuna, Chaii, Avantdale Bowling Club, Dave Dobbyn), Guy Harrison - Keyboards/trumpet (Troy Kingi, Avantdale Bowling Club, Bailey Wiley), Finn Scholes - trumpet and vibraphone (Carnivorous Plant Society, Dave Dobbyn).
The Circling Sun began as an offshoot of various local bands they all performed in, at first brought together by an offer of a weekly residency at a local music venue in Auckland.
The group receive their first APRA Best Jazz Composition nomination for ‘Bones’ the lead single off their debut album Spirits released in May this year. Channeling spiritual/modal jazz and Latin rhythms, they simultaneously reference the greats such as Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders, and Alice Coltrane, while maintaining a fresh perspective on ensemble dynamics. Throughout the album the wind section delivers ecstatic saxophone riffs, fluttering flutes and solid horn choruses throughout. Meanwhile, providing vital foundational support are the percussion, vibraphone, acoustic bass and full choir arranged by Matt Hunter, which you will hear on ‘Bones.’
Louisa Williamson is based in Pōneke (Wellington), Aotearoa (New Zealand). She has performed live and recorded with L.A.B., Trinity Roots, Dawn Diver, Bret McKenzie, AJA, MĀ, Rob Ruha, Clear Path Ensemble, The Rodger Fox Big Band, Other Futures Big Band, Lord Echo and Louis Baker.
Louisa studied at New Zealand School of Music (Victoria University) from 2015-2020, completing a Bachelor of Music majoring in Jazz Performance (First Class Honours), and a Master of Music (Composition).
As well as being a regular gigging and session musician, Louisa fronts her own group playing her own original compositions. What Dreams May Come is Louisa’s first album released in June 2022, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Mike Gibson. The lead track from the album is the evolving three-sectional piece ‘Dream Within A Dream’ which has earned Louisa her nomination this year.
‘Dream Within a Dream’ explores themes of dreaming, whether it be when we are asleep or daydreaming. The piece’s intention is to bring a sense of calm and reduce anxiety. The middle (second) section represents the “dream within a dream” and features a trombone solo by the amazing Wellington musician Kaito Walley.
To find a crossover between ambient and big band jazz, ‘Dream Within A Dream’ is intended to be as ignorable as it is engaging, like how ambient music is often described as “wallpaper music”. It is meant to soften the space around you, allowing you to relax in it.
Previous Best Jazz Composition Award winner (for ‘Tūī’ in 2020), Jake Baxendale is nominated this year for ‘The Big Question’ a commissioned work performed by Sanctuary. Jake Baxendale is a saxophonist and composer based in Te Whanaganui-a-Tara/Wellington, Aotearoa. He was born in the UK and grew up in Mohua/Golden Bay, developing a freedom of expression, love of nature and community-oriented mindset that he continues to demonstrate in his life and music. He has received a number of national awards and nominations, including Aotearoa Music Awards Best Jazz Artist in 2021 for his work with prog-jazz band The Jac.
In recent years, Jake has released Sanctuary, an album of large ensemble compositions in collaboration with Jasmine Lovell-Smith, completed a Master of Music at The University of Auckland that explored new approaches for practicing and developing a musical vocabulary for improvisation, launched a new project “Gardening Music”, and became a father. Currently, Jake is writing new music commissioned for the 2023 Wellington Jazz Festival, arranging lyrics from Ursula Le Guin’s version of the Tao Te Ching for a 7-piece band.
Jake Baxendale’s nominated work ‘The Big Question’ was a piece of music commissioned for a wedding proposal. Tom, the groom-to-be, and his partner regularly attended Jake’s jazz orchestra/improvised gigs on Monday nights (The Arthur Street Loft Orchestra Series) and eventually Tom approached Jake to create a piece of music as part of an elaborate proposal plan. The piece starts moodily, a bit ambiguous, almost ominous – featuring odd meter and lots of minor and diminished chords. “I was imagining the nervous tension of a first date – or the day of the proposal!” Jake explains. The solo section is a duet of two saxophones, two sides of a union. Here, Jake and the tenor player (and fellow finalist) Louisa Williamson improvise the same melody together, then the next section builds to a big tension release. This ends up being the moment the groom proposes, gratefully receiving a “yes!” Finally, the main theme returns in a triumphant manner, now supported by uplifting major chords.
A full list of past winners and related news can be found here.