Jess Green's High 5

Historical article recovered from a Wayback capture dated 2018-02-24.

Jess was born and raised in Canberra, and begun participating in the local arts scene from an early age, performing and studying music and theatre as well as being involved in arts promotion, including radio producing and broadcasting and community development. In 2001 she completed a Bachelor of Music (Jazz Studies) majoring in guitar at the Canberra School of Music, ANU. She graduated with first class honours and received the Directors Prize. During her degree, Jess developed her passion for composition, and she founded several ensembles, one of which continues to perform regularly; “The Green Septet”. At the beginning of 2002, Jess was commissioned by The Street Theatre to compose an original score for a production of the play “Adult Child/Dead Child” (written by London playwright Claire Dowie). She performed this score live during the play’s 2002 season in Canberra, and then in October at Chapel off Chapel for the Melbourne Fringe Festival. The play returned to Melbourne in January 2003 and was received with critical acclaim.

In the second half of 2003, Jess travelled through Europe and West Africa, studying and performing music. In this year she was awarded funding by the ACT Arts Council to record a CD of her jazz compositions written for “The Green Septet”. Jess spent 3 months living in London, attending concerts and jam sessions and performing with local musicians. The transition from London to Accra (Ghana) was a huge influence on her writing during this period, and many of the pieces from her debut album reflect this.

Upon returning to Australia in February 2004 Jess moved to Sydney and began working with a new Septet, which comprises of some of Australia’s most highly regarded young jazz musicians including Matt Keegan, Evan Mannell and Zoe Hauptmann. This group made several high profile appearances including dates at the Side-On Cafe, and the Jazz Groove Association’s Excelsior concerts.

“Brilliantly crafted compositions”…”An auspicious beginning”

• Sydney Morning Herald June 3rd 2004

Jess recorded her debut album with this group; “The Singing Fish (and other Short Stories)” in December 2004. The album was released September 2005 through Jazzgroove Records and the group toured the album to sell out shows throughout the East coast.

“Green emerges as an unmistakeably gifted writer and arranger” “a highly pleasing guitarist”

• Sydney Morning Herald, Dec 2005

“Happy and imaginative grooves”

• Limelight magazine Dec 2005

Highlights of the past 4 years include performances at Bennett’s Lane for the Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival (2004). Devonport Jazz Festival. (2005) Melbourne’s “Half Bent” Festival (2005). Bennett’s Lane for the Melbourne Jazz Co-op, Sydney for the Jazzgroove Association and recording for ABC’s Jazztrack (2006), Darling Harbour Jazz Festival with African-Oz (South Africa), featuring James Morrison. Also the Palmer St Jazz Festival (QLD) in August 06, a Septet performance of new work by Green at the Eastside Arts Festival in September 06, and concerts for the Sydney Improvised Music Association (SIMA).

As well as this she regularly performs in Blues/Funk/Rock venues in a variety of bands. Jess is also a highly sought after teacher and tutors guitar, aural, history and theory at The Australian Institute of Music. She is also a regular lecturer at SIMA’s young women’s Jazz workshops and tours regularly throughout Australia for MUSICA VIVA.

In 2006, Jess was awarded the Jann Rutherford memorial award. An award given to female Jazz musicians in NSW in honour of the late pianist Jann Rutherford. In December 2006, this award helped Jess fund an east coast tour by the Septet, culminating in a performance at Melbourne’s Bennett’s lane for the Co-op, for the 2006 Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Fest.

“Green’s electric guitar skipped across the melodies with light-hearted ebullience, or added hints of rock-like grit as the leader explored each tune’s parameters with obvious pleasure”

• The Age, Dec 12th 2006

1. HERBIE HANCOCK QUARTET- Seymour Centre Sydney 17th Nov 1996

With Gene Jackson, Craig Handy and Kenny Davis.

Whoooooahh this was really my first “proper” jazz concert and I will never forget the physical feeling of trying to contain myself and shrieking and yelping at what I truly thought to be magic! I’d only been listening to jazz for a few months, enough to realise that what these guys were doing was astounding .I was amazed at what seemed an unseen connection between Herbie’s and Gene’s body. I really thought it was telepathy that allowed them to catch so many improvised rhythmic hits together, and just when you thought Herbie’s solos couldn’t get any more exciting, they did!

What made this concert extra special was a bunch of us had made the trip from Canberra for the gig and we were able to share this incredible experience. I remember looking at Zoe and Lou and just not being able to get our eyeballs any wider to communicate our extreme happiness.

To top it all off, after waiting an hour at the backstage door in the freezing cold (the security guys thought we were mad!) Herbie finally came out and talked with us for ages about music and playing and .well we practically flew back to our hostel. And when he came back with Wayne Shorter at least 3 or 4 years later we did the same thing and he remembered who we were and pointed us out amongst a bigger crowd this time.

2. TRILOK GURTU – The Basement approx 1999/2000

I was particularly impressed with guitarist/vocalist Jaya Deva at this performance, and had been struggling with whether to choose between the two instruments, hearing this guy made me realize I didn’t need to! This gig really turned me on to Trilok’s music and I remember there being an incredible energy surrounding the band and enveloping the audience. Trilok conducted the audience to sing in one tune and it was a very powerful moment.

3. GIL SCOTT HERON – Byron Bay Blues Fest 1994?

Zoe pops up again in this account .somehow we managed to convince our parents that it was ok for us to trek off together by ourselves to Byron Bay for a week to check out the blues fest at the age of 16!

Well lucky they did because it was an experience of a lifetime

The whole festival was amazing, I picked Gil Scott Heron because we really had no idea who he was but knew it was something pretty heavy. The blend of jazz and soul was intoxicating, and I’d never really heard anyone perform spoken word like that over music.

4. WEST AFRICA ?

I picked two moments from this trip but really there was never a moment when I wasn’t experiencing music in some way.

Drums

The first night I arrived in the village Wougome dekpo in Togo, (after my wonderful, enthusiastic hosts finally allowed me to rest) I slept to the sound of drumming coming from nearby villages. It seemed every night there was a wedding or a funeral or some other occasion and there would be music all night long. That first night I remember getting out of my hut and walking into the surrounding bush with my minidisc recorder, wanting to capture that sound blending with the cicadas. That one moment alone, was enough to justify the entire trip –it was like I’d travelled back in time ten thousand years.

Choir

Once while walking around the village at night with my friend, we chanced upon a choir rehearsing in a small church. I snuck up to the window and listened to the whole rehearsal. As a kid I was hooked on Paul Simon’s Grace land album, and particularly with the sound of Ladysmith Black Mambas. Hearing these gorgeous African voices singing church music in harmony was absolute as close to heaven as I’ve ever been.

4. KURT ROSENWINKLE QUARTET -With Ben Street, Jeff Ballard and Mark Turner -The Winebanq, Sydney January .2004/5?

This was a week-long residency, Jonathan Zwartz organised (THANKYOU!) and I’d already been listening to Kurt for a while. The first night was so incredible I went back twice more. To see not only a fabulous Jazz Guitarist from New York in an intimate venue was grand but to see his whole band that had been playing together regularly for over 10 years was priceless.

This gig was a double whammy for me, Kurt was the first guitarist I’d seen live that I REALLY wanted to play like, and witnessing what incredible interplay and depth of music comes from a band knowing each other’s playing so well taught me it’s a completely different ballgame to a “throw together” band.

5. EVAN PARKER – The Vortex, London 2004

I was lucky enough to live near the Vortex in Stoke Newington, London for a few months (just before it closed/moved) and so at my “local” I could see week after week world-class performances. The first time I saw Evan Parker, I was so changed mentally and physically I couldn’t speak to anyone afterwards and had to go home straight away.

I’d never really connected with free jazz before, but this gig coincided with having just seen a whole bunch of wonderful impressionist/cubist/abstract art in Paris and London and that night I felt complete synthesis between my understanding of music and painting. It was the right mind set at the right time at the right gig with the right band! I was able to listen in a way that combined complete relaxation and complete concentration and it seemed the trio were 3 living organisms in a perfectly symbiotic relationship and their level of experience and highly skilled ears and intuition meant the music was as clear a language as ABC.