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!
by Helen Russell | 1 July, 2017 | News
I have some interesting and unusual events coming up over the next couple of months.
On July 13 I’m taking off to Melbourne for the Australian Society for Music Education conference were I will be presenting a paper.
July 29 is a big one. I’m brining my vocal group from USQ, the Harmony Wednesdays, to Brisbane to participate in the “You’re the Voice” event that the QMF is putting on in the Southbank Piazza, an awareness raising event for domestic violence and the services available for those experiencing it. There will be over 2000 people singing their hearts out. The song has been arranged by Emma Dean, and will be conducted by Dr Jonathan Welch AM. Dr Welch made the trip to Toowoomba to work with my group and some member of other groups from Toowoomba and Warwick that will participate. So a big day – followed by my yearly Brisbane Jazz Club gig as featured vocalist – yes, that evening! I will be assisted by my long-time cronies Jamie Clark and Paul Hudson, and have asked saxophonist Josh Hatcher to come along and help.
The next weekend, on the morning of August 6, I’m back at the BJC as part of the Brisbane Vocal Jazz Festival. First up is the Harmony Wednesdays, followed by a duet set by myself and my colleague Melissa Forbes. The morning session is rounded out with an appearance by Elly Hoyt. If you’re you can find out all about it here: http://brisbanevocaljazzfestival.com.au,
I’ll be playing with the lovely Elly at Brisbane’s excellent new jazz venue, Doo-bop, on July 8, and the following evening in a duo with Jamie Clark. If you haven’t been there yet you really must check it out.
Last but not least – tomorrow, Sunday July 2, I will be helping my sister Sharny launch her fab new CD in our home-town, Toowoomba – that’s at The Office, Duggan street, at 2:30.
So, with the start of semester 2 on July 10, the next month is going to be busy busy!
by Helen Russell | 19 April, 2017 | News
Well, not much action here lately, not that I haven’t been doing anything. I had a nice run of gigs in January with Bruce Woodward and Aaron Jansz at Ric’s, although got cut short by the Australia Day holiday Valley blowout. I’ve done some nice gigs at JMI live with Bruce, Andrew Garton and Charlotte McClean, and did a recital at the Queensland Con with Louise Denson, Martha Bartz and Paul Hudson.
I wouldn’t normally mention it, but I’ve been to some nice muso parties recently, a 50th, a 30th, and a surprise 70th for a couple of my teachers from my study at DDIAE 30 + years ago, which was a bit of a reunion, as you might imagine.
At USQ we have a nice new intake of bright-eyed bushy-tailed students who are going along swimmingly.
But it is clearly time to update you all on what I have coming up. Firstly, another JMI gig with Bruce Woodward, tomorrow in fact, and the next Thursday at BJC with the Joshua Hatcher quartet. Then on May 5 I’ll be helping my sister Sharny launch her CD at the Bangalow Bowls Club. The following Friday will be the next instalment of the Little Village project at USQ, featuring Sara Storer accompanied by myself and my USQ colleagues and a few students. The end of May sees the start of the Brisbane International Jazz Festival, at which I will be performing with Louise & Martha, doing a live recording in fact.
The next weekend I’ll be taking off to Melbourne, not only to catch some festival gigs but also to attend the inaugural Australasian Jazz and Improvisation Research Network conference. The following Thursday is the long-awaited (by us anyway) Good Bait trio gig at the BJC.
So, stuff is happening! I hope I’ll be seeing some of you at the gigs/conference etc.!
by Helen Russell | 18 June, 2016 | News
Just letting you know that I’m taking over the Brisbane Jazz Club next weekend. Well, ok, it’s not a coup, BUT – Thursday 23 I’m there with Martha Bartz & Louise Denson, Friday 24 I’m there with my Toowoomba USQ colleagues Melissa Forbes & Bruce Woodward, they’re letting somebody else play there Saturday (actually I think it’s Karen Anderson) and I’m back bright and early Sunday morning (10-12:30) doing my yearly gig as vocalist. On all of these occasions you will see Paul Hudson behind the drum kit and of course Jamie Clark will be there with us on Sunday morning ($20 entry, $35 entry + brunch). In the following week I’m having a rare Wednesday night in Brisbane playing at the Press Club with Bruce at Shannon Marshall’s jazz night. I’ve had a lot of 1-gig weekends lately, so I may end up feeling like a professional musician again by the end of all that! I hope some of you can join us a one (or more!) of these events.
by Helen Russell | 15 April, 2016 | News
After a couple of quiet weekends, next week I have lots of stuff happening. First of all, the second of our “Little Village” series of concerts at USQ will feature Rick Price, joined by myself and my USQ music colleagues, Mark Sholtez, Melissa Forbes and Bruce Woodward, with a little help from Paul Hudson and some of our students. This takes place in the Arts Theatre on Thursday night April 21.
The following evening at JMI live in Bowen Hills it will be a bit of a trip down memory lane for me and my old mates Leah Cotterell and Jamie Clark. Leah and I will pull out a duet set, something that hasn’t occurred for many moons, and in set two we’ll be joined by Jamie and will feature some of the songs we’ve written over the years, as well as few oldies we like to play.
Saturday Jamie and I trek out to Queen’s Park in Ipswich to play some jazz with Tyrone Noonan. So there you go, SE Queensland is going off this week!
by Helen Russell | 20 February, 2016 | News
Ok, I’m a little late with the new year but for those of us who teach at university the new year starts next week when our new students show up for O week. I’m currently under the impression that I’m pretty well prepared for lectures the week after but I’m ready to be proven wrong come approximately Tuesday week.
December and January provided a fair bit of beach time for Ken and me, although our last long weekend at Coolangatta coincided with some windy stormy weather. It was when the really hot weather started in Brisbane so it was still good not to be home, but the weather has stuck around – even up on the hill in Toowoomba it’s been hot and muggy.
I also managed a quick trip to Melbourne to catch up with a few old friends, which is always fun. I got to see my mate Carita Farrer-Spencer performing in the wonderful new Australian musical “Ladies in Black”, with music by Tim Finn – luckily, as it turned out, since it has sold out since! I also braved my holiday chops and sat in with the wonderful Michelle Nicole at her weekly Brunswick Green gig – thanks to Frank DiSario for letting me play his bass, and always a treat to be on stage with the venerable Paul Williamson.
Speaking of holiday chops, it’s almost time for my first gig of the year, after a particularly quiet January/Feb! On Friday night I’ll be playing with a quartet under my name at JMI live – yes, this year JMI is putting on gigs 2 nights a week. Jamie Clark, Steve Russell and Nathan Goldman will be joining me for kind of retrospective of repertoire that has previously been attempted by the forgoing, and it’s turned out to be a pretty interesting list! We start at 8 and do 2 sets, with the usual jam before & after and a $10 entry. We’d love to see you there.
by Helen Russell | 15 August, 2015 | News
I know we’re well in to August, but things have been quiet on the gig front in July although I did have a blast doing a trio gig with Andrew Garton and Paul Hudson at JMI live on July 16. I also got my masters paper handed in, which was a relief! August has started off in a theatrical style, with a show with music theatre legend Peter Cousens at the lovely Empire Theatre in Toowoomba on the 8th, and on the 16th, the Seniors’ Cabaret Gala at City Hall, which is always a fun day. However, another yearly (approximately) event is to take place at the Brisbane Jazz Club on Friday night the 21st, when myself and my siblings Sharny and Steve take the stage for a night of jazz and perhaps some weird bits and bobs from our childhood! We will be joined by the always swinging Paul Hudson on drums. Music starts at 7:30 and cost is $25/15. We would love to see you there, we don’t get to do many gigs together these days and it’s always excellent fun.
