“Walder himself is a splendid bassist with a very big sound...” - Eric Myers
“...these musicians pass with flying colours, producing an album that epitomises how well the essential language of jazz is played today in Australia.” - Eric Myers
Michael Walder Trio
A hard-swinging modern jazz trio from Sydney, Australia
“A first-class modern jazz rhythm section [that] propels what is basically a fierce hard-bop group.”
— Eric Myers, AJAZZ
Led by bassist and bandleader Michael Walder, the Michael Walder Trio brings together some of Sydney’s leading jazz musicians in a hard-swinging contemporary take on the great piano trio tradition.
The band’s debut album, Blues for Ray, was released in 2020 and draws inspiration from the legendary trio recordings of American bassist Ray Brown, featuring swinging arrangements of well-known jazz standards alongside guest appearances from some of Australia’s finest musicians.
At the forefront of the trio is Michael Walder, one of Sydney’s most in-demand and experienced bassists and bandleaders. Having performed extensively throughout Australia, Walder brings together a formidable rhythm section featuring Aaron Blakey on piano, who relocated from Tokyo to Sydney in 2011 and has established himself as one of the country’s outstanding jazz pianists, and Alex Hirlian on drums, winner of the 2018 National Jazz Awards at Wangaratta.
Blues for Ray also features Simon Ferenci on trumpet, a three-time National Jazz Awards finalist; saxophonist Chris O’Dea; and acclaimed vocalist Nic Jeffries, who has performed nationally and internationally under his own name and worked as a frontman with legendary Australian jazz musician James Morrison.
The Michael Walder Trio has received airplay on ABC Jazz and performs at jazz clubs and venues throughout Sydney, bringing the hard-swinging sound of Blues for Ray to the stage alongside an evolving repertoire drawn from the great jazz tradition.
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