DARCY GILKERSON – Debut/Album Launch

Darcy Gilkerson is releasing his debut album Acteon. The album is the culmination of a long period of experimentation and exploration in coupling together classical compositional techniques and jazz improvisation, inspired by composers such as Nat Bartsch, Linda Oh and Luke Howard. At its strongest, the ensemble comprises both a string quartet and a jazz piano trio, as well as a tenor saxophone and guitar. By playing with different textures within this instrumental configuration, Darcy’s music focuses on simple ideas that are expanded and stretched into broadly layered multi-faceted conversations between multiple artists. As a queer composer and performer, Darcy’s music explores themes of self-discovery, empowerment, trans love and the ever-present ebb and flow between pain and joy. Personnel comprises Matt Steele (piano), Dan Waddingham (guitar), Hector Harley (tenor sax), Monty Shnier (double bass), and Ollie Cox (drums), Rebecca Shirley (violin), Chloe Sanger (violin), Eugenie Lyons (viola) and Darcy Gilkerson (cello)

Presented by the Melbourne Jazz Co-operative, with funding assistance from Creative Australia and Music Australia