Live Review: JazzWA WAMI Festival Showcase - The Bakery

29 May 2012 | 5:44 pm | Olivia Gardner

An intimate crowd of young and old gathered at The Bakery Monday night for a JAZZWA showcase of talent as part of this year's WAMi Fest. Those who braved the cold to be there were rewarded with a display of West Australian jazz talent while the venue demonstrated its immaculate capability to accommodate a diversity of music genres with infallible acoustics. Fifteen-piece ensemble the Horizon Art Orchestra was first to indulge the audience with a set of dreamy melodies intertwined with classic orchestral jazz compositions and provided an excellent representation of Perth's up and coming young jazz musicians. The group's saxophonist Jeremy Trezona performed an outstanding solo in the final piece that could not pass without noting. After a brief intermission the ensemble had been replaced by a grand piano and four skilled musos who proved to be the standout act of the night, the Glyn MacDonald Quartet. They kicked things off with a cracker of a song called Funny Faces during which percussionist Chris Tarr blew our minds with a solo that was so impeccable the audience couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. The group played a set of Macdonald's original compositions that were all quite exceptional, quirky and definitely worth checking out by anyone interested in some quality jazz. The other members joining Macdonald on piano - Matthew Styles on sax and Nick Abby on the most charming sounding bass - all deserve a mention for their work on stage that evening. Finally, as the crowd began to dwindle, the Victoria Newton Sextet took things down to a slightly more subdued and sultry level, winding up the entertainment for the night.