Award-winning jazz pianist and composer Ben Winkelman is touring Australia in March to launch his fourth Trio CD, 'The Knife'.
Inspired by the highs and lows of getting acclimatised to life in New York, the 13 original compositions on 'The Knife' explore some of Ben’s diverse musical interests in a jazz piano trio setting. These include Cuban, Brazilian and gospel music, odd metre claves and through-composed miniatures.
Formerly of Melbourne, Ben has been living in New York since 2010, where he is active on the jazz, Latin and gospel music scenes.
Here, Ben reflects on the five things he misses most about Australia.
The beaches
I didn’t fully appreciate how spoiled I was growing up near some of the best beaches in the world until I moved away. One of my favourites is in Croajingalong National Park in eastern Victoria, but there are so many good ones.I’m hoping to fit in a little beach time in Byron Bay on this upcoming tour. On a related note, I miss the Australian bush: camping, hiking or just being in it. Also the nature that you find in the middle of some Australian cities, like the Merri Creek in Melbourne.
The music scene
There’s a lot of Australian musicians I miss playing with, listening to and hanging out with. For instance Ben Vanderwal. Luckily for me I’m about to play a whole tour with him! In spite of its relatively small population and isolation I think Australia punches above its weight musically.Perhaps its isolation encourages jazz musicians in Australia to do their own thing more than they might in other places. I found that growing up in Melbourne there was a lot of emphasis on cultivating your own sound and writing your own material, which has probably influenced my outlook.
Meat pies
Especially the ones from Babka bakery in Melbourne. Buttery pastry, falling apart chunks of beef. I miss the ubiquity of Vietnamese and other Asian food in Melbourne, and also the very high overall standard of the food (and coffee!).Universal health care
Seems like an obvious idea if you grow up with it, but they don’t have it everywhere.My Mum
And the rest of my family.'The Knife' is released 4 March.
Ben Winkelman Tour Dates
Sun 6 Mar - Ellington Jazz Club (Perth)Thu 10 Mar - Portland Arts Centre
Fri 11 Mar - Melbourne Recital Centre
Sat 12 Mar - Brisbane Jazz Club
Tue 15 Mar - Lismore Workers Club
Wed 16 Mar - Chapel Theatre (Glen Innes)
Thu 17 Mar - Adamstown Uniting Church (Newcastle)
Fri 18 Mar - Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre (Sydney)
Sat 19 Mar - The Street Theatre (Canberra)
Sun 20 Mar - The Jazz Basement (Wodonga)
Wed 23 Mar - Hamilton Performing Arts Centre
