The Vampires - Nightjar
The Vampires and a Neck
Twenty years ago, composers on Nightjar, Jeremy Rose and Nick Garbett were surfers, housemates, bandmates. A surfer vibe infuses their music: being at ease and alert, sitting in the swell of a magnificent immense natural force, until the wave comes. Ride it as gracefully and as far as possible.
The Vampires have been hot-housed in Sydney. Expanses get in our bloodstream, they are visceral. It’s in the music. Think of the 35 year long reverberations of The Necks.
The Vampires grew into their own music listening intently to The Necks. Individual members of The Vampires play with individual Necks: Tony Buck on Nick Garbett’s 2019 The Glider; and Lloyd Swanton with Jeremy Rose and Hamed Sadeghi in the improvising trio Vazesh. Chris Abrahams was a compelling collaborator to make music with– which is now Nightjar.
The Vampires, here in lush vamping form, meet the singular acute bright and tender touch of Chris Abrahams.
Together since 2005, The Vampires have forged their sound from their travels and musical lives in jazz, improvisation free-diving and the vibrant cultural bleed of bands driven by Caribbean, Persian, Indian, South Korean, West African and Latin beats. The compositions have always been postcards to other Vampires from wherever they were, but have gradually shifted from the early jazz soloing into longer stretches building texture and tone, buoyed on irresistible riffs.
Tracks
Game Changer - Rose
Khan Shatyr - Rose
Waves - Rose
Ortigara - Garbett
Ortigara interlude - Garbett
Na Pali - Rose
High Plains -Garbett
Evergreen - Rose
Nightjar - Garbett
Sun Gazers - Rose
Biography
The Vampires were the first instrumental act to be short-listed for the Australian Music Prize, in 2017. Nightjar is their 7th release and the 3rd collaboration; following the 2017 ARIA-nominated The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke, and 2010 Chellowdene with Koln-based trombonist Shannon Barnett. On their 2019 release, Pacifica, they returned to the classic chord-less quartet format, leaning into the recording production. The Vampires have performed at premier festivals in their homeland Australia and in 3 previous tours of the UK and Europe, the most recent including a sold-out performance at 2019 Enjoy Jazz.
Jeremy Rose is a saxophonist, composer, Earshift Music label founder and festival director. He has released 20 albums with his various projects, the most recent Disruption! The Voice of Drums winning an Australian Art Music Award 2022, as well as extensive tours in Australia, the UK and Europe, including with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel.
Nick Garbett - trumpeter/composer, currently based between Australia and Italy, has performed internationally with his groups including The Glider with Mike Majkowski recorded in Berlin 2019, Garfish, Nick Garbett Quintet, and Reggae band The Strides with Jeremy. Accolades include the. 2018 Freedman Jazz Fellowship.
Noel Masonisa highly in-demand bassist in jazz, funk and pop. He is a regular member of the band of Australian pop icon Jessica Mauboy.
Alex Masso - drums, is an active member of Sydney’s jazz and improvised music community. He was an early member of the improvised music collective, The Splinter Orchestra, and a long-term member of Queen Porter Stomp. He spreads his time between performance, teaching, and advocacy.
Chris Abrahams - piano, keyboards, is one of three that makes The Necks since1987. He performs regularly in the improvising music scenes both in Australia and Europe. His latest solo album, Follower, was released on Room40 in December 2022
Press for Nightjar
"In one fell swoop, two of the strongest forces in Australian jazz, both of whose music is drenched in melodic beauty, are joined, creating what is palpably a masterpiece." ★★★★★ The Australian
"There's a seductive precision to the music" ★★★★ Jazzwise, editors choice
"Nightjar invites you on a relaxed sound journey, and those who close their eyes can easily imagine the vastness of the continent Down Under in their mind's eye." ★★★★★ Jazzthetik, DE
"The partnership between The Vampires & Abrahams sounds perfectly natural and organic and there’s a lot of mutual trust & respect from both parties. It’s only surprising that it hasn’t happened before." ★★★★ Jazzmann, UK
"enticing psychedelic immersion... ...a kind of permanent musical flow, in which each new note confirms the unique common hypnotic flow of the band, which we would like to listen only on and on. Judge for yourself." His Voice, Czech Rep.
"A captivating jazz experience, Nightjar is lit up by twinkling piano and sweet, sonorous brass." Bandcamp, new and notable
"Chris Abrahams' minimalist approach blends seamlessly into the interaction of the group while he pristine spaces with thrifty harmonic formulas and textural paint overtone layers." ★★★★ 1/2 Concerto Magazine, Austria
"It's really a great album... which I can't find fault with." Off Topic Magazine, Italy
"...ten excellently captivating songs." Nieuwe Noten, NL
"Chris Abrahams’ inclusion in the former group is about as fluent as if he was with the band at its inception." Something Else, USA
"The whole album maintains a relaxed style, not aggressive even in its improvisational moments, pulsing with melodic, journeying self- awareness." Rocking, Greece
"A doubly refined album of well-composed and stylistically convincing songs." Verhoovens Jazz, DE
"Lyrical and rhythmic tracks are in perfect balance on the album, as well as composed and improvised parts." SK Jazz, Slovakia
Earlier Press
“Frischer Wind vom anderen Ende der Welt ..gleichzeitig virtuos und von tänzerischer Leichtigkeit.” Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, live review of Enjoy Jazz Festival 2019
"beautiful and flawless...pitch-perfect sonority. ...sublime pacing, with strategic shifts in texture, tonality, rhythm or intensity ...”★★★★ Gary Fukushima, Downbeat Pacifica, July 2019
“...una lunga scorribanda jazz capace di riflettere e giocare con molteplici influenze.” Luca Muchetti, All About Jazz, The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke 2017
“gold all over” Friedrich Kunzmann, All About Jazz-Best releases of 2017