Mike Nock: Lead On.

Mike Nock’s BigSmallBand plays the Healer on Thursday.

Mike Nock’s BigSmallBand has hit the National Circuit. Successful Jazz promoter Henk Van Leeuwen organised the 2002 tour debut through the Commonwealth Government’s performing arts touring program.

It was back in May 2000 that Nock gathered together outstanding musicians from Sydney’s talent pool to achieve his BigSmallBand line-up. Local venues, jazz clubs and festival organisers embraced the band. Also quick to note the formation and offer broadcast opportunities were producers of ABC’s Jazztrack, Music Room and TV Series The Pulse.

The personnel involved in the inaugural tour includes: Pianist Mike Nock, Trumpeter Simon Sweeney, Trombonist Dave Panichi, David Basden, who plays the Tuba, Drummer Tony Hall, Brett Hirst on bass, Guitarist Cameron Deyell plus sax and clarinet artists Blaine Whittaker, Roger Manins and Matt Ottignon.

“I am really excited about getting this opportunity to work with these guys under these conditions on regular basis,” says Mike. “We have a repertoire of some 25 – 30 songs but we will be working out of a repertoire of 10 – 12 maybe.”

Mike happily shares some of the compositions that will be played during the tour: “I am really thrilled about doing a piece written by a woman from Melbourne, called Andrea Kellar. She wrote this as a commission for us and it’s turned out to be a very successful piece its called Three Portraits Of A Simpleton. There’s Footnote which is written by our trombonist Dave Panichi its quite nice – he’s had a lot of experience in Buddy Rich’s band and that’s more of a latin based thing and we also have a piece called Tango Australis which features our bass player /clarinettist in a duo with me.”

Mike Nock is an inspirational leader who has enjoyed an impeccable international reputation for at least 40 years. He even boasts 25 years in America tossing material around at various intervals with: Yusef Lateef, Coleman Hawkins, Michael Brecker, Keith Jarrett and Sam Rivers. He is true to his call and has taken the time to record as a soloist and in trio, quartet and quintet formations. There’s must be at least 90 recordings available. In general Jazz enthusiasts everywhere would tend to agree that The BigSmallBand is primarily an extension of his success.