MACE FRANCIS ORCHESTRA (MFO) Members Only Sundowner at 7:00pm

Mon 20 Apr 2009 @ 8:00pm

Admission Members $12 PJS Student Members $6 Concessions $18 Guests $20

Quixotic MFO trip
produces new album

`Neverever... Well, Maybe Someday'.
THAT'S the title of MFO's newest CD, which will be premiered at the Perth Jazz Society - and it's typical of the good-natured humour that underlies most everything this band has achieved. Anyone who's experienced them, as the MFO or the Hounds splinter group, has felt that vibe.

Perhaps it's because they're all young, friends, and doing it for the love of the music? It certainly ain't for the money. And if you have no sense of humour you couldn't sit and play near Mace Francis.

Gone east
In July 2008, MFO set out on a demanding tour that covered most of Australia's east coast. Two Brisbane shows, then Lismore, Byron Bay, Canberra, Albury/Wodonga, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide were covered in two weeks. It was intensive, travelling in hire cars and buses, living, sleeping and eating en masse. Or should that read mess? Despite all, 14 musicians returned alive and remained friends.

This new CD, their fourth in four years, is a live recording of the Sound Lounge gig in Sydney on July 12th towards the end of the tour.

Says Mace:
"Ross A'Hern did an amazing job with the recording to capture the energy and spirit of the band on these nine original tunes, composed by saxophonist Daniel Thorne and trombonist Tilman Robinson, and me.

"Every night on the road each soloist came up with more and more inventive ways of enhancing and developing these tunes. On this night at the Sound Lounge, some stand-out solos are by Callum G'Froerer on trumpet and Tim Jago on guitar."

This recording is another chapter in the ever changing story of the MFO. We're so lucky to have this big band sound in our home town. Read some of the reviewers.

Lloyd Bradford Syke Australian Stage
"Their musicianship is flawless, with some impossibly seasoned mature playing... innovative, dynamic, exploiting the power and versatility of the collective... Enchanting, unforgettable, moving music!"

Eric Pozza Canberra Jazz
"...an excellent and inspiring night of improvised and composed music at a high quality level."

Bill Donaldson Cadence Magazine
"Mace Francis deserves recognition as a big band leader with his own vision and his own sound."

For more -
www.myspace.com/macefrancis or www.macefrancis.com