Contemporary four-piece jazz collective comes to Bello

ZODIAC, an instrumental, contemporary four-piece jazz collective from Sydney, is performing at Bellingen Memorial Hall on 5 September and Wauchope Community Arts Hall on 6 September as part of a six-venue tour between Melbourne and Brisbane.

Featuring a powerful lineup of some of Sydney’s most creatively ambitious musicians, Jordan Chung (piano), Hinano Fujisaki (tenor saxophone), Sabine Tapia (double bass) and Manson Luk (drums), the group has quickly emerged as a uniquely original voice in the Australian jazz scene.

They describe their sound as “rich in passion and storytelling”, which is deeply inspired by the members’ Asian-Australian heritage.

The group operates as a collaborative unit, with all musicians contributing to the composition process, which is deeply rooted in the tradition of jazz yet pulls from a wide range of genres such as gospel, film score, rock and improvised music.

Their music can be described as cinematic, playful and sentimental, drawing inspiration from versatile artists such as Kamasi Washington, Brian Blade Fellowship and Linda May Han Oh.

“We’ve chosen Bellingen Memorial Hall and Wauchope Community Arts Hall to perform because we’ve all spent time up on the Mid North Coast before and have always felt a deep sense of calm and creativity there,” the band leader Jordan Chung band told News Of The Area.

“For us as a band, the environment really matters.

“We write music that’s reflective, atmospheric, and rooted in a sense of place, so playing in towns like Bellingen and Wauchope just makes sense.

“We’re really looking forward to meeting the local audiences, sharing our story, and hopefully creating a really intimate experience with the music.

“It’s also exciting for us to step away from the big cities and connect with people in a different, more personal way.”

The tour serves as an extended launchpad for the single Homecoming, released in May, and their album From, released at the end of June.

By Andrea FERRARI