MICHELLE NICOLLE QUARTET (VICTORIA)

Mon 23 Mar 2009 @ 8:00pm

Admission Members $15 PJS Student Members $8 Concessions $20 Guests $25

It has been several years since we were blessed with the clear tones and exceptional technique of acclaimed singer Michelle Nicolle. She has a beautiful voice; her singing is characterised by uncanny precision in timing and phrasing, a staggering range and an apparent ease at clever and varied improvisation. Based in Melbourne, Michelle is celebrated as Australia's finest jazz singer.

Known for her ability to get right to the heart of a song, as well as being an in-the-moment improviser, Michelle and her quartet have continually developed and nurtured this art form. As recipient of the Australian entertainment industry's Mo Award - Jazz Vocalist of the Year in 2001, 2003 and 2004, National Jazz Award (1998) and ARIA Finalist (2001 and 2004) this special evening with arranger, band leader and jazz vocalist Michelle Nicolle is not to be missed.

As well as releasing five beautiful albums, the Michelle Nicolle Quartet has toured extensively, performing at the North Sea Jazz Festival (Holland) and in Turkey, Estonia, Finland and Singapore. The band recently wooed the crowds at the prestigious JakJazz Festival in Jakarta.

In the band are Geoff Hughes (guitar), Tom Lee (double bass) and Ronny Ferella (drums). Geoff is a highly accomplished musician. His practical knowledge of harmony and time is rare and much sought after - honing his craft whilst living and working throughout Europe in the 1980’s. Tom has studied at the School of Improvised Music (New York) under bassist Drew Gress and recorded with ensembles such as Vada, the Gian Slater Project and Contrabanda. Ronny, finalist in National Jazz Award - Drum (1997), has composed music for his own band IshIsh, which has made quite an impact on the Australian scene - releasing three CDs.

Tonight’s concert promises fresh excitement from Michelle Nicolle and her band - they are revved up from recording their latest album for ABC Jazz. The programme will include a mixture of standards from the new album ‘The Loveliest Night’, songs from previous CDs and some original music.

“..an engrossing and flawless performance” The Australian, August 2006

"Thoroughly entertaining…the vocal pyrotechnics were breathtaking, yet they arrived only because the shape of the music demanded climatic exuberance." Evening Post, New Zealand, Oct 2001, Wellington International Jazz Fest.

“Her phrasing is deliciously elastic, as is her approach to melody... Because Nicolle approaches her material as a musician whose instrument happens to be her voice, she can interact with her colleagues in a way that less creative singers cannot.” Jessica Nicholas, The Age, Sept. 2nd, 2002

“Oh yeah. She's really cool!” Kurt Elling, Fremantle Voice News, Jan 2002

Visit: www.michellenicolle.com for sound grabs, photos and gig information.