Published August 2025
Two emerging jazz bands plus a trio of saxes blew the Governor of Queensland’s socks off in July at Brisbane Jazz Club’s (BJC) New Generation of Jazz Showcase.
Her Excellency the Honorable Jeannette Young and Professor Graeme Nimmo, patrons of BJC, were treated to excellent student performances by the Sergei Prosvirnov Quintet and Sinclair’s Swingin’ Smorgasbord, with student sound engineer Bon Lloyd on the sound desk.
Saxophonist Sergei Prosvirnov brought together drummer Joh Kotoda, bassist Connor Perkins, and guitarist James Todd in an electrifying combination of musicianship – it was clear they had an instinctive sense of the sound they wanted to create, and this shone through in their entrancing performance.
They kicked things off with a Wynton Marsalis song, sudden flurries of incremental sax notes capped with a single note hanging in the air, while the other instruments swirled around it.
Prosvirnov’s original song, called Beginnings, saw impassioned, cantabile cries from Prosvirnov’s sax while Todd’s intense yet serene work on his electric told an intimate story.
Ballad Embraceable You featured tremolo in the sax wistful enough to make you cry, while the meandering gentle electric brought on the frisson of Todd’s delicate intonations.
The bass solos saw Perkins seeming to commune with the instrument, like a chef spinning pizza dough or meticulously seasoning a sauce.
One song intro found him wading through dissonances as if he was searching for the perfect note, gazing with such intensity when he finally landed on it.
Joe’s percussion, featuring cascading syncopation, kept us on our toes throughout the whole set, giving us the glorious and exhilarating thrill of skiers careering down a mountain.
Sinclair’s Swingin’ Smorgasbord played a mix of bewitching songs from the 60s to contemporary jazz, including a heavenly version of I Remember You by Frank Ifield and the 2024 song Colloquially by Caity Gyorgy, a labyrinth of syncopation.
Alyssa Iti Merekara Sinclair led the band on trumpet and vocals. Her vocals shimmered as if floating on a cloud, whispery and susurrus, knowing just when to pull back to make us lean in for more.
The saxophones – Tyger Middleton, Chris James and Mason Harvey – whirled through their notes with the athleticism of a crossfit trainee and the deftness of salsa dancers.
Baa Baa Black Sheep took us for a walk through the jungle with the added growl of Sinclair’s trumpet mute, Minnie Rumble’s piano keys providing the light and Nick Maskell’s double bass bringing the shade, all woven around Harry Beeton’s lightly simmering drums.
The New Generation program aims to give a platform to young jazz musicians in Brisbane.
As BJC President David Herbert said that evening – “We need to make sure we have audiences for our musicians so they can make a living, and we don’t lose them to other cities. Get out and see some music.”
