My Favourite Things is the hotly anticipated third release from the popular Melbourne jazz group, The Daimon Brunton Quartet.
“It’s strong melodically as well as having some harmonic ideas which I think are quite cutting edge,” says Daimon. “But beyond all the Avant-garde stuff, what I’m really trying to achieve is music that is beautiful. I’ll always go for beauty over impressive.”
The album begins with a piano accordion styled Parisian waltz and concludes with a soulful, New Orleans Bourbon Street parade. In between listeners are taken on a world journey with stops at some bass-popping funk and Arabesque trumpet solos. The title track is Daimon’s reharmonisation of the tune Coltrane made popular in jazz circles, featuring none other than the organ at Melbourne’s own St Francis’ church. “Needless to say it’s a very, very big sound,” comments Daimon.
Daimon’s drive to push the boundaries of the sound and form of contemporary jazz is also evident in his use of writing a couple of tunes in rondo form. “That’s something no one really uses in jazz, but it turned out to give us more storytelling power,” he adds.
For the past 12 years, the DBQ has been toiling away in a city with far more supply than demand for jazz. The past couple of years have found them making something of a home and an ever-increasing fan base at the uber-hip downstairs laneway club, Paris Cat.
With Daimon on trumpet, the rest of the Quartet features well known local muos: Mark Lockett on drums, Michael Story on bass and Daniel Gassin on keys, fresh from being a finalist at last year’s prestigious Montreaux Jazz Festival.
My Favourite Things is set to appeal not only to fans of jazz, but also to anyone who enjoys hearing exciting, new, Melbourne made music. If your favourite things include tunes that groove with real passion, energy, and above all, beauty, you’ll love the latest from The Daimon Brunton Quartet.