Chris Cody - Mountain to Sea

2024

Chris Cody is proud to announce the release of his new album featuring a truly all star group of jazz musicians from different backgrounds and generations. The music they play when they come together is organic, intuitive, exciting, and without boundaries. As Chris notes "we love the journey each piece takes both us and the audience on". The music was conceived as a lyrical and meditative response to turbulent and divisive times.

The album combines jazz with African and French influences - music that has long fascinated Chris and the various band members. There are minimalist and trance elements in bassist Lloyd Swanton's work with the Necks, and saxophonist Sandy Evans has long explored Indian music in her various music projects. The rising star saxophonist Tessie Overmyer is a powerful voice in jazz and improvisation.

Playing without a drummer adds exciting rhythmic roles to the individual and group playing, with everybody enjoying the extra space. The group has found some highly innovative ways to exploit the various possibilities of piano, saxophone and double bass. They combine Chris’s compositions with free group and solo improvisations to take the listener on a truly exciting and imaginative journey.

“This latest recording from the pianist/composer is engrossing music of the highest quality, a masterclass in how to be full of sound without necessarily being furious. Bringing together musicians from different backgrounds and generations, Chris Cody (piano), Sandy Evans (soprano and tenor saxophone), Lloyd Swanton (double bass) and relative newcomer Tessie Overmeyer (alto saxophone), the album combines jazz, classical, African and French influences, in an intimate and fluid performance that combines masterful skills and musicality.

Cody is a highly skilled pianist/composer who stands at the forefront of the Australian jazz scene. His compositions are richly textured and anchored by a sophisticated modern edge, drawing from various genres. In the opening track, Stepping Out, with its Cameroon-African French influence, there is a delightfully upbeat conversation between all four musicians.

Throughout the album, utilizing extended techniques, this drumless ensemble finds countless innovative ways to exploit the various possibilities of their instruments, notably on the four brief improvisational tracks, Piano, Alto, Soprano and Bass. Throughout the longer extended tracks of Journey, Mountains, Dream, Quiet and Slow, delightful examples of the quartet’s cohesive interplay showcase blending intricate meters with a focus on creative freedom within well-defined structures. Cody’s album offers a compelling and multifaceted listening experience, confirming this quartet’s creative vitality."

– Barry O’Sullivan - Fine Music magazine