Published April 2025
Everyone’s favourite jazz standards, plus a few lesser-known gems to keep us on our toes, filled the air by the river at the Brisbane Jazz Club (BJC) on a Wednesday evening in March.
Helmed by vocalist Shelby Rose, the marvellous Ashley Hutton on sax, along with Ethan Coleman on keys, Aaron Ma on bass and Harold-Bryson Dean on drums, The Shelby Rose Quartet played a bevy of hits with talent and pizzazz to an almost full house – a great showing for a weeknight.
Ma had the bass walking up and down On the Sunny Side of the Street, Rose got her Doris on with Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps, while Coleman treated us to some lively tunes on the ivories, not to mention some superb sax solos from Hutton throughout and Dean keeping a tight rhythm.
Wielding rhythm like a lasso, they hooked us in, from double time swing to the slow croon of It Never Entered My Mind.
BJC President David Herbert said they have been attracting a younger crowd recently, and with their stellar New Generation of Jazz program inviting bands like the Shelby Rose Quartet, it is no wonder.
The program allows music and sound engineering students from the Jazz Music Institute and The Queensland Conservatorium of Music to showcase their talents with a paid gig.
Mr Herbert has been coming to the volunteer-run club for over 20 years, and said he hopes others will come out to enjoy their laidback atmosphere and feel a part of their jazz-loving community.
