Summer 2014
I have just returned from the Queensland Conservatorium Recital Hall where I witnessed Leah Cotterell’s show “The Pleasure of Sad Songs”. This performance is part of her Masters research and is a personal and very brave look at her family’s experience of trauma and mental illness. The show includes original songs written by Leah and Jamie Clark, as well as three tunes on which I collaborated with her – two brand new ones especially for this show, which came up well if I do say so myself – plus several classics plucked from the popular song repertoire of the past 100 years. It was a powerful performance, and accompanied beautifully by my brother Steve Russell at the piano.
I’m looking forward to playing at the Brisbane Jazz Club on Thursday December 4 in a trio with Steve and drummer and old mate Paul Hudson. This is a group that has played a lot together over the last 20 years or so and we have a large amount of interesting and unusual repertoire from which to draw. Steve and I will be having a bit of a sing as well.
The Women in Voice season is wrapped up for another year. The show was a cracker, featuring old-stagers Lil’ Fi and Carita Farrer (as her alter ego Larry Paradisio – Melbourne people watch out for her show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival), the lovely Liz Buchanan, and WIV first timers Bethan Ellsmore and Alinta J. And we took it on the road although not too far afield – Toowoomba, Buderim and Ipswich, making many new WIV converts along the way.
My next big project is working on a retrospective show of the career of Carol Lloyd, Brisbane’s first home-grown rock star, to be performed at the Brisbane Powerhouse on the 18th and 19th of December.
In January I have been asked to tutor at the McGregor Summer School’s first foray into contemporary music. The course is being coordinated by Daniel Spirovski and I will be joined by John Parker (drums), James Sherlock (guitar), Nathan Seiler (keyboard,) Daniel Robinson (voice) and Mark Sholtez (song writing). Two very special guests will be performing and workshopping with students – Clare Bowditch and Shane Nicholson. I went to my first McGregor Summer School as a classical piano student straight out of high school and had a blast – it’s fantastic to have so many creative people in one place at one time.
After that it will be head down getting my Masters paper handed in by late February, hopefully with the odd gig happening now and then, which of course will be detailed in these pages. Hope to see some of you at said gigs!