Vince Jones and The Basement are synonymous with the best that jazz has to offer and it’s at The Basement that Vince can recall remarkable nights with exceptional bands and joyful audiences. “Retrospective – Till Now” sees Vince re-visiting songs born of this decades long artist/club relationship.

Songs co-written with some of the Australia’s finest musicians – Barney McCall, Doug De Vries and Paul Grabowski; songs from the Great American songbook and songs from recent departures Mose Allison and Leon Russell. And as always, exciting players – in this case, Matt McMahon (MD/piano), James Hauptman (drums) and Karl Dunnicliff (bass).

469003_470755399665996_1468919535_o

Australia’s leading jazz vocalist, Vince is also a remarkable interpreter and composer of songs in a contemporary jazz style – a style that appeals equally to listeners and his musical peers. As a vocalist he resists showing off technique to the detriment of feel – he’s confident in his musical literacy and sings like there’s nothing to prove. It’s a refreshing approach that gives us, the audience, the chance to be really moved. Vince Jones also plays trumpet and over the years his style has developed a distinctive reserve and subtlety – he plays a little less and draws a good deal more from it than he did in earlier days. A brief, thoughtful solo from Vince is worth a hundred notes played with less discretion.

10506820_673906876017513_2224173362065605048_o