Simply put, Fringe Ignite will excite even the most cynical of city dwellers.
The whole community has rallied behind the live music initiative, one that plans to fill not only the pubs and bars of Stanley Street with flesh-and-blood performers, but this year shopfronts, galleries and restaurants too. All the venues will be bursting with the sights and sounds that make Sydney the unique and diverse city we all love, and the event has been expertly curated by the one and only Barney McAll.
“When I was asked by APRA to be a part of this, I thought it would be a really exciting way to not only present my friends and peers – who may not be as well known as they should be – but also to create awareness about the importance of the live music scene in any city, and the spirit of it, which seems to be under attack here,” says McAll. “When people experience a live performance they’re given something that you cannot get from a screen.”
For those aware of McAll’s varied and successful career as a jazz pianist and composer, he will need no introduction. But others who are less familiar with his many achievements – both here and in the US – can be assured that 2016’s Fringe Ignite is in safe hands.
“I lived in New York for many years but I’ve been coming back home every year and staying part of the scene here,” says McAll, “so I really have stayed in touch with everything that’s going on. I have worked with a lot of great jazz musicians: people like Dewey Redman, Kurt Rosenwrinkel, and of course Gary Bartz. I also played with Fred Wesley and The J.B.’s, so I just lapped everything up and learnt a lot about music.”
Over the years McAll has been nominated for a slew of ARIA, Bell and AIR awards, many of which he has won. He ranks up there with some of our most celebrated exports, even managing to snare a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2007, while incredibly finding himself awarded the Australian Council Fellowship in the very same year.
Then, in 2011 McAll fulfilled a long-held promise to his even longer-held friend, Sia Furler, when he signed on to be her musical director. “I met her in the early ’90s when she came to my gig,” he explains. “She told me that one day she was going to be really famous and that I was going to be her keyboard player – that’s how forward thinking she is.” He laughs.
It’s not just Furler, however: McAll has a range of contacts in the contemporary music scene, and his varied tastes mean that he has a whole host of performers to introduce to Sydneysiders come Fringe Ignite. “I have always kept myself connected to the Australian music scene,” McAll says, proudly, “and the people that I’ve chosen are my favourite musicians here.”
The sheer talent of the musicians signed up for Ignite is staggering: Rai Thistlethwayte will be there, a musician McAll describes as being “out of control”, along with soul singer Alice Terry, and Simon Barker and Carl Dewhurst, the duo playing under the Showa 44 moniker. “They’re both so talented,” McAll says of the pair, “and it’s so good to have them on the bill.”
Though every single act included has the power to attract a legion of fans, one band sure to stand out from the crowd is Melbourne/Sydney based band The Prophets. “They’re an amazing band,” says McAll. “They’re a collaboration between Peter Farrar and Darryl Carthew. These guys are so brilliant and they present a lot of researched African rhythms in a context that is kind of theatrical but also very groovy. They’re also a roving act too, so they will be walking around the street and playing at the venue. They wear these amazing masks, and they’re excellent musicians; some of my best friends.
“Then there’s Sikkim Rex, who are now a trio,” McAll continues. “They do some really exciting stuff. Also, I’ll be there to accompany singer-songwriter Diana Rouvas, and my trio – made up of Hamish Stuart and Jonathan Zwartz – will also be playing. There’ll also be a set from the Old School Funk Band, which is the Tuesday night regular band from the Surry Hills jazz club, 505. They’re an amazing group: they’ve been playing there for years just funking it up and I’m going to sit in with them as well.”
Even though McAll is the very definition of a jetsetter – he’s always involved in new and exciting projects that take him around the world – he stresses that he is extremely proud to be part of such an iconic Sydney event, and believes we should all get out there and support our local artists. “The people that I’ve picked are underground and free thinking, and that’s the kind of show I wanted to present. Especially in this, the day and age of X Factor and those kind of shows. They’ve diluted our industry and made free thinking and forward thinking less palatable, which is really a sin. So let’s get together and give Sydney a shot in the arm!”
Fringe Ignite, part of Sydney Fringe Festival 2016, takes place Saturday September 3 inStanley Street, Darlinghurst. Head to sydneyfringe.com for more info.
