The Enthusiastic Musicians Orchestra (EMO) have reason to be enthusiastic — they've finished recording their third album, and they've got an upcoming gig with acclaimed saxophonist Julian Arguelles.
“It’s been exciting. We kind of had this live recording idea,” explains composer Andrew Garton. “We figured we'd just do two gigs, two nights in a row, and play the same music and hopefully get two takes of everything. On the first night the band just crapped themselves and played terribly. The worst I've ever heard it. The second night it was the opposite, the band sounded really amazing and probably the best we've ever played.
“That probably typified the experience that we had. In the end we got some really good stuff down so it should be enough for a really good album.”
Garton says the band is looking forward to showcasing its diversity and talent at the second annual Brisbane International Jazz Festival (BIJF). “The Brisbane jazz scene isn’t that big but it is fairly diverse and that's kind of represented within our band. We've got some guys who are really into playing old school grungy kind of music and some that are into playing modern music. So as a result we present a whole heap of different things.”
EMO are busy rehearsing for the festival and are excited about collaborating with Julian Arguelles at the BIJF. “We're joining with Julian, who has been really important on the British jazz scene for a really long time. As a result of us joining with him there will be an extra element... I guess we don’t know what it's going to be like yet either. The shape of the room at the Jazz Club makes it really full-on. You see the effort that all these guys are putting in and the wall of sound sort of hits you. It's a pretty exciting room to be in to hear a big band.”
Once they have BIJF behind them, there’s still plenty happening with EMO. “There's an album launch that's looking like it will have to be in early August ... then we've got a gig planned later in the year. We like to do a gig where we invite some local jazz composers that I know to write brand new music for the group, so there will be one of those gigs coming up.”
EMO play the Brisbane Jazz Club with Julian Arguelles as part of the Brisbane International Jazz Festival on Sunday June 8. EMO also play the final Jazz Party Tuesday at Black Bear Lodge May 6.
