by Helen Russell | 27 April, 2026 | News
I was recently reminded that my website wasn’t exactly keeping pace with my life so I guess it’s time to outline some more recent developments in this space. A pretty big lifechange happened in mid-September 2025; I finished up at the University of Southern Queensland after 10.5 years of full-time employment. I had some great times there but things were changing rapidly in the university and the programs, so I was happy to let it go and become a jobbing musician again.
This, I suppose when I think about it, precipitated the trip I returned from a week & a half ago from Europe. I did the typical Aussie traveller thing and tried to cover too much ground, but I had some great experiences and caught up with some special people (missed a couple too), and I managed not to miss any planes or trains! It’s kind of exhausting, that kind of solo travel, or at least it is for someone my age (!) but I basically like just being in new places, so really worth doing. Also great to come home again though!
By the way, the person that pointed out my slackness at website blogging was the man who runs this page; https://yhalinen.com/from-brno-to-u-stare-pani/, (sensibly trying to find some background about me), a photographer who journals the jazz happenings of Prague. I’ve never played a jam session that has been reviewed before!
Just before I left, I was surprised and very pleased to be offered the teaching job that I was doing before I started at USQ, that is, teaching the bass students in the jazz stream at the Queensland Conservatorium. I’ve just begun catching up with the students there and it’s great to be back!
On the gig front, the Unladylike Big Band has a flurry of gigs on, I’m about to get into rehearsals for two shows happening in the Anywhere Festival, Ruth Apelt’s homage to Janis Ian, and edition #3 of Anje West’s Ladysinger’s Record Parlour, where we get to play some favourite songs from the 70s and 80s.
In other news, I finally made it into the lovely studio at Marist Ashgrove (thanks Andrew Butt) to belatedly record a handful of jazz tunes plus the last few songs that Leah Cotterell and I have written together (with a couple of reworkings of old originals). It’s still being fine tuned, but of course you will be hearing about it when there is a product to spruik!
I’m going to try harder to post about my upcoming gigs here in future, and do some updating on the pages, I promise!
by Helen Russell | 21 April, 2021 | News
Well, it’s a long time since the last instalment, but – not that I haven’t done ANY gigs, but things were a little quiet there for a while!
Anyway, this weekend is a big one – I’ve got back to back nights at the Brisbane Jazz Club Friday and Saturday, the 23rd and 24th of April.
On Friday I’ll be helping Louise Denson launch the latest LDG CD, Nova Nova, along with Paul Hudson, James Sandon, and Lachlan McKenzie, who is making the trip up from his new home in Sydney. We played at the Glasshouse Brewery on Sunday evening (thanks Robyn Brown) to a lovely audience, and I’m sure Friday will be just as much fun.
On Saturday night, I am part of a band making its debut at the BJC. I and my old friends Jamie Clark and Kym Ambrose have played there many times of course, but we will be sharing the stage with pedal-steel legend Michel Rose, who will be making his first appearance at the club. Michel has played with many country luminaries as you would expect, but has also been a part of such bands as The Feral Swing Katz and all-star Australian jazz band, the Catholics. We’ll be playing some swing classics, I’ll sing a couple and there will be some western swing thrown in. So come and enjoy a rare chance to swoon (it’s the swooniest sound I know!) to some pedal steel jazz!
by Helen Russell | 9 July, 2019 | News
Keeping up a cracking pace with these blogs, I know! At least it’s less than a year since the last one.
I’m sure you are all aware that the Queensland Music Festival is currently happening, in Brisbane and far-flung places around the state. A very special event is happening this Saturday night 13/7 in the QPAC concert hall. The Genius of John Rodgers is a performance that will show-case the amazing diversity of the talents of said JR, John Bone, the Rat, however you know him. There is a long list of participants, including the Queensland Orchestra, Kate Miller-Heidke, Scott Tinkler, Simon Barker, Paul Grabowsky, Pearly Black, Megan Sarmardin, Andy McDonnell, Jamie Clark, Erkki Veltheim, and even me, as a member of the ‘Art Choir’. It will be an amazing celebration of John’s multifarious talents, hope you can join us.
Ok, now the smaller gig. Once a year or so, I get to lead my own band as vocalist/bassist, at the Brisbane Jazz Club. This year it’s Thursday next week, the 18th of July, and the tricky bit is that it’s not at the BJC. That beloved little building on the river is undergoing some renovations, and in the meantime, the shows are happening at the Russian Club, 19 Lotus Street, Woolloongabba. It’s one of those cute little suburban halls (although really this is pretty inner-city) with a proper stage and tea & coffee making facilities. Most of them have a portrait of the Queen but I don’t think there is one because, well, it’s the Russian Club. I’ll be joined by Bruce Woodward on guitar and Aaron Jansz on drums, with a special guest, Josh Hatcher on saxes. I’ll be singing a bunch of OLD songs (I’ve almost got a whole set from 1934), many by well-known composers, but the twist is, the songs I do are not the well-known ones. I like to champion the less performed songs, that are every bit as good, but for whatever reason, not heard often, at least not in Australian jazz. Many of them come with a back story – I’ve been doing my research! So I hope you can join us at 7:30.
Event website:http://www.brisbanejazzclub.com.au/#event|helen-russell-trio-at-queensland-russian-community-ctr|1818
by Helen Russell | 31 August, 2018 | News
Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve had something to say here, it’s true. It’s been a busy year of teaching, with some big gigs thrown in like last Sunday’s Seniors’ Cabaret Gala at the city hall.
But, I have a couple of trio gigs under my own name coming up; the first is next week at JMI, Thursday October 6 at 8pm. I’ll be singing my obscure trove of standards and playing with Jamie Clark and Aaron Jansz. This will be happening again at the BJC on October 11. Another couple of interesting ones this month – with my sister Sharny at the Spiegeltent on September 16 and at Doo-bop with Jacki Cooper, John Morrison, John Hoffman and my brother Steve Russell on September 21. I hope to see some friendly faces at one or more of these events.
by Helen Russell | 23 July, 2017 | News
I have a couple of big weekends coming up! On Saturday July 29, me and my fabulous little a cappella group from USQ, the Harmony Wednesdays, are participating in the QMF You’re the Voice event with 2000 other singers at Suncorp Piazza. Big hardly describes it. THEN, I rush over to the Brisbane Jazz Club, where it’s my yearly showing as jazz vocalist (7:30-10). I’ll be joined by Paul Hudson and Jamie Clark and special guest Josh Hatcher will join us in the second set.
The next weekend, on Sunday morning August 6, I’ll be back at BJC with those clever little Harmony Wednesdays again, singing our jazz repertoire, followed by myself and Melissa Forbes doing a special set of music for double bass and vocal duet. This is part of the Brisbane Jazz Vocal festival – we’ll be followed by the wonderful Elly Hoyt. So if jazz singing is your thing, I’ll be involved in quite a lot of it in the next little while, so come along if you can!
