A new year, and the changes big and small that come at this time of the year. After exploring some important but sometimes challenging themes last year, we chose the theme of Hope as an uplifting counterpoint for Salon #4. We invited a trio of Jazz musicians to explore this theme with us: Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet), Eric Ajaye (bass) and Colin Hoorweg (percussion). All three have a lifetime of professional experience collaborating with a multitude of collaborators, including each other. Miroslav is the leader of the ARIA award-winning ensemble Wanderlust and director of Ten Part Invention, performs internationally and has lectured nationally. The list of musicians Eric has worked with runs into the hundreds; he also performs around the world and is a lecturer at the ANU School of Music. Colin is also a former lecturer at the ANU School of Music and a recipient of a Churchill Fellowship, and we felt very fortunate to have all three at the salon.
We opened with an improvised performance from the musicians, and then spoke a little about how we understand the connections between improvisation, collaboration and hope – the sense of wanting to go someplace together, of not knowing at the outset how we’ll get there, of divergences and convergences as we travel, and of the shared commitment to undertaking the journey together. Colin, Eric and Miroslav brought attention to the many hours they spend alone, practicing their instruments, and how essential this solitary time spent on the foundation of their practice is to the collaborative project of making music together. In small groups, we worked with a collection of prompts to think about what hopes means and does in collaboration, before finishing with some more thoughts from the musicians and an incredible percussion-based improvisation. A wonderful, hopeful start to our program for this year!
