DEFLECTIONS
Spontaneously composed duets for acoustic guitar. Fine Australian guitarists, Stephen Magnusson and Ren Walters playing steel string and nylon string instruments in intimate musical conversation.
The first release on the Listening Recordings catalogue.
http://listeningrecordings.com
sales@vorticitymusic.com
Magnusson/wilson/McAll/Black/Helias
New york recording out later this year stay tuned!
Meanwhile...
check out download page for a track sample
MAG 4
Mag will involve a new addition to his trio for a new record released later this year
MAG trio
DAVE BECK & FRANK DISARIO
Here is a project I've wanted to do for some time now. The basic idea
is an extention of the CD boundaries that was recorded with my good friend
Frank. How wonderful it was to play with these guys!! They are both highly
crafted, deep listening musicians with a fantastic sense of humour. Special
quests include Carl Panuzzo one of the most incredible vocalists I've
ever heard and Naomi Jean.
Crusty Boy Sounds
A new and very exciting adventure for us. Crusty boy sounds is a new creative
groove providing music composition, performance and recording for various
media . Contact us at www.crustyboysounds.com.au
MAG/BECK DUO
Carrying on the tradition of the guit/drum duo that Ive been exploring
now for many years. Playing with Dave in this context is so much fun.
His interactive skill are beautiful and of course his groove is as wide
as ever. Stay tuned for a duo CD out early 2006!
MAG SOLO - A Solo Record is on the way Feb 2006
Magnusson/Wilson/Grant
'A very special group, firstly because I have to opportunity to continue
one of my oldest musical friendships, playing with Julien. We have played
hundreds of gigs together and it feels very natural to me. The other reason
is Stephen Grant. Stephen is one of the most naturally gifted musicians
i have ever heard in my life, a true musician.' Formed late last year,
this trio have a folkloric approach to their music. Their mostly original
material, written just for this group, is more about the overall sound
than individual theatrics. They focus on playing beautiful melodies with
lush harmonies that take the audience on a dreamlike musical journey.
“Even the brilliant Melbourne trio of Stephen Magnusson, Julien
Wilson and Stephen Grant struggled to still the racket with their gentle,
tango-inflected pieces. Nonetheless, there was much to enjoy about this
most democratic of bands. Grant is a remarkably self-effacing piano accordion
player whose delicacy and swelling intensity allowed the music to breathe
around the broad emotional scope played out by Wilson's sometimes bold,
sometimes plaintive tenor saxophone, and Magnusson's flair for a rippling
beauty of line on his nylon-string guitar.”
John Shand Sydney Morning Herald
Soup Plus Launch Party April 2005
“...music of great complexity, played passionately by musicians
who have more than delivered on their early promise."
Des Cowley ‘Rhythms Magazine’
ASSUMPTIONS trio
Assumptions is a Melbourne-based ambient-power trio that has been hailed
as one of the most significant groups on the Australian scene. They were
finalists for the 2004 Bell Award for Best Australian Jazz Ensemble. Their
debut album “assumptions 2” was released at Wangaratta Jazz
Festival in 2003 in front of an enthusiastic & enthralled early morning
crowd and has been nominated for an ARIA award and a Bell Award for Best
Australian Contemporary Jazz Album. Stephen Magnusson, Will Guthrie and
Julien Wilson are recognised widely as among the strongest and most original
players of their generation and as such have each been awarded the most
prestigious prize in Australian jazz: the National Jazz Award. They have
worked together since 1993 in numerous groups and combinations before
forming Assumptions, which has quickly developed into one of Australia’s
more exciting, dynamic and intriguing improvisational groups. The three
blend seamlessly together to create a unified ensemble sound that defies
conventions and classification and captivate audiences with their effortless
flow between improvisation and original, yet strangely familiar compositions.
Their second CD “departures by assumptions” was released in
November 2004, and includes live performances from The Cape Lounge & Wangaratta Jazz Festival.
"Stephen Magnusson, Julien Wilson and Will Guthrie are not just
three exceptional improvisers, they are three of our most distinctive
players on their respective instruments.With the absence of a bass, both
the approach to free improvising and the band sound are unique. In lengthy
improvisations (that may nod to a specific composition along the way)
texture and rhythm are at least as important as melody, and more so than
harmony. Like the music of The Necks, this rewards patience, any ecstatic
pay-offs lying at the end of lengthy trajectories.Yet, at their best,
as in the third and final piece here, the ability to sustain intensity
over long periods was a marvel. This was largely due to Guthrie's creative
stabbing and chopping in a way that kept the music energised and on edge,
aided by the forward thrust of Magnusson's guitar syncopations, while
Wilson offered the last word in primal therapy." Live
review - Sydney Morning Herald
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