Music review: A Night of Jazz with Jazzmeia Horn 2024
Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Jazzmeia Horn returned to Adelaide to perform alongside this year’s top jazz graduates from the Elder Conservatorium of Music in a night of joyful expression at the Town Hall that also featured hip-hop group DEM MOB.
On a bigger stage than last year, the Helpmann Academy brought together seven of the most outstanding young jazz players in Adelaide, presenting them alongside the innovative voices of singer Jazzmeia Horn and her fellow New York-based Grammy nominee, pianist Victor Gould.
The evening began with a collection of tunes from the jazz graduate award winners that saw each musician have a moment to shine.
A standout for the evening was Courteney Hooper’s sparkling fresh voice, which blends a classic jazz sound with newer soul runs. She brought a cheekiness and joy to “September in the Rain” by Harry Warren and Al Dubin that is rare in vocalists at this stage in their career.
Many of the songs in this set were arranged by this year’s Helpmann Academy Langley Award for Jazz recipient Harrison Smith, a trumpeter, composer and arranger who has recently returned from the Siena Jazz International Summer Workshop. Beyond his writing, Smith’s solos were tasteful with regular whispers of blues.
Drummer Jackson Mack was captivating and full of surprises in a short but sweet feature in “Yes or No” by Wayne Shorter.
The band was wonderfully reactive to each soloist across the night. One of the brightest moments of interplay between the graduates was during the ballad “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” as Hooper and pianist Solomon Young began the song together. Alto saxophonist Tyler Leung flowed through the changes.
They finish their set with a transcription of Samara Joy’s “You Stepped Out of a Dream”, leaving the audience with a satisfaction akin to a full stomach after a tasty meal.
Next up were special guests DEM MOB, a hip-hop group from the APY Lands community of Pukatja who rap in a mix of English and Pitjantjatjara and have been collaborating with Horn while she is in Adelaide to create a new track. They performed “Soul of a Lion”, layering tracks and spreading the message of self-resilience.
The second half of the evening was led by Horn, with musicians jumping in and out across her set, switching up the band to feature all of the night’s performers.
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Jazzmeia Horn shares vocals with award winner Courteney Hooper. Photo: Sam Roberts
Horn pulled and pushed throughout her song “Tip” as it oscillated between straight and swing feels. The students were willing participants in a musical interplay that occasionally caught them unawares. “Submit to the Unknown” created a moment where Horn hit whistle tones that stunned the room. Bassist James Ho was having a blast here, while tenor player Paolo Guttila came alive soloing.
Some of the delicacies happening across the band did get lost in the reverb of the Town Hall, a difficulty whenever presenting rhythmically complex music in large spaces.
Horn looked to the sky during “I Remember You” as if she was singing to someone she has lost; music is clearly a spiritual experience for her. In a duet with Horn, Gould managed to explore a darker feeling while still maintaining a light, impressionistic touch.
The band’s rendition of “Sunny Side of the Street” was pure delight. Hooper and Horn finished each other’s sentences as they shared the melody, improvising lyrics. Mack kept it cute with delicate rim-clicks.
All the evening’s performers returned to the stage – and were joined by Kallan Francis on guitar – for the finale in which Horn and DEM MOB came together and drew the crowd out of their seats.
As graduates, these students have created music in an academic environment for years, focusing on perfecting their craft under the pressure of exams and the eyes of their peers. But one can see how Horn pushes the students she works with, creating formative experiences for them as they find their voices as artists. Her style opens up the world of music to show how joy, play and experimentation can become a part of the musical experience, giving them glimpses of new musical frontiers.
The combination of DEM MOB and the innovative Jazzmeia Horn produced an energetic end to the evening. The warm response of the audience to the merging of styles was an example of what happens when the lid is lifted on genre and participation by diversifying the music Adelaide’s community shares and supports.
Award winners:
Harrison Smith: Helpmann Academy Langley Award for Jazz 2024, $7500
Courteney Hooper: Helpmann Academy Award for Voice 2024, $5000, and Helpmann Academy Award for Outstanding Vocalist, $2000
Tyler Leung: Helpmann Academy Top Honours Award, $5000
Solomon Young: Helpmann Academy Top Undergraduate Award, $5000
Paolo Guttilla: Helpmann Academy Award for Outstanding Saxophonist, $2000
Jackson Mack: Helpmann Academy Award for Outstanding Drummer, $2000
James Ho: Helpmann Academy Award for Outstanding Bassist, $2000
DEM MOB: Elise Ross Regional Award, $5000
A Night of Jazz with Jazzmeia Horn was presented by the Helpmann Academy, University of Adelaide, City of Adelaide and Adelaide City of Music at the Adelaide Town Hall on October 31.