As 2021 ends and we see in the new year of 2022, that pesty arts disruptor is at it again!
Our Aussie star Hugh Jackman is in the news as performances of his Broadway show The Music Man are cancelled. Here in Sydney, our own Sydney Festival has been impacted, with some shows delayed due to rehearsals issues. The news just keeps coming. And some performances just can't be understudied. When this hit our inbox, we thought we'd share the news. The music plays on.
An email from our dear friend and talented Sydney musician, Elsen Price
Dear all,
With the current Covid influx, numerous performances before New Years and the weeks following have been canceled. This is both partly because ensembles cannot perform if one member isn't able to attend, and health and safety of audiences must be a priority.
With that said, here is a list of releases I have produced which are available right now, all of which have been created alongside some of the most hard working and talented people in Australia:
www.creativesourcesrec.com/catalog/catalog_697.html
Inlay Ensemble - Songs for Habitual People - featuring Susie Bishop and Carl St. Jacques (yet to be released in Australia) - Released by Creative Sources Recordings (Portugal)
The Australian album launches will be 29th January 2022 at the Hydro Majestic in Katoomba. Blue Mountains, and the 5th of January at Acoustic Ritual, 5 Eliza St, Newtown, Sydney.
elsenprice.bandcamp.com/album/gastronomy-astrology
The EJT - Gastronomy Astrology - featuring James Ryan, Stuart Vandegraaff, Felix Lalanne, Casey Golden, Ed Rodrigues - 4/5 stars Fine Music Magazine, 4.5/5 stars The Australian - Released by Rippa Recordings
"It’s very hip music, the outcome of a modern jazz sensibility. A formidable bassist, Price anchors an outstanding rhythm section, including drummer Ed Rodrigues whose sensitive and nuanced playing gives the music its primary character. Pianist Casey Golden, guitarist Felix Lalanne, and saxophonists James Ryan (tenor) and Stu Vandegraaff (alto) complete this sextet, all of them performing with virtuosic authority. Price provides highly technical written passages articulated in unison by the rhythm section players, sometimes introducing the pieces, at other times used as connecting links inside the compositions. Solos by all players are a delight throughout, showcasing the brilliant improvisational talent in this generation of musicians." - Eric Myers
elsenprice.bandcamp.com/album/the-life-long-day-dreamer
Elsen Price - Australian Double Bassist - Life Long Day Dreamer - Solo - 4/5 stars Sydney Morning Herald - Released by Rippa Recordings
"Indeed the music is not only as fascinating, but also as multi-layered, without relying on technology, thanks to Price’s streams of lyricism and his infinite ways of sculpting each note’s shape and manipulating its timbre – including, of course, deploying his magnificent arco as well as pizzicato playing. He also has a keen sense of not letting an idea’s duration tip from tension into predictability. If anyone doubts the completeness of a solo bass album, just listen to the likes of Majestic Lizard Thing, Descent and The Sea Parted and the Earth Opened, and be converted." - John Shand
www.abcmusic.com.au/discography/elsen-price-descent-free
Elsen Price - Descent of the Free - Solo - 4/5 stars Sydney Morning Herald - Released by ABC Music
"His level of virtuosity has few peers in this country, but two other aspects of his work are yet more important: his starburst imagination (as both composer and improviser) and his sound. The latter's opulent warmth ensures that however complex, busy and labyrinthine the music may become, Price can stop your heart with a single note (executed with perfect intonation). And because he has been active across so many areas (and no doubt listens and experiments more widely still), the music interweaves multitudinous concepts (scalar, harmonic, rhythmic, textural) that make for endless surprises in where he takes his melodically luxuriant seven-part suite on this digital-only release. Exhilarating." - John Shand
weirdbeardsounds.bandcamp.com/album/red-planet
Elsen Price - Red Planet - Solo - Independent release
"This album shows the signs of someone well versed in their own musical language, drawing on a wide range of musical influences. Combine all this with someone who has a refined control of their instrument and a very exciting tonal palette is produced. Overall, the music engages your ear on an emotional and intellectual level, as the best music does, and considering the album was recorded, edited and produced within the scope of 10 hours, it makes for some thought-provoking listening." - Samuel Cottell - CutCommon Magazine
Thanks to the wonderful labels Creative Sources Recordings, Rippa Recordings, ABC Music for their support for these releases.
Best wishes for the New Year,
Elsen Price