Laurence Pike (NSW) ‘Possible Utopias for Jazz Quintet’ Album Launch + Niran Dasika (solo)

Sydney drummer/composer/producer Laurence Pike launches his fifth solo album Possible Utopias for Jazz Quintet, joined by pianist Novak Manojlovic and saxophonist Jack Stoneham.

One of the leading figures of Australia’s creative music community, Pike has a long history of coloring outside the lines, not just in his solo recordings—including four albums for the Leaf label between 2018 and 2024—but also in Warp Records alumni PVT; Szun Waves (alongside saxophonist Jack Wyllie and Border Community’s Luke Abbott); two acclaimed duo recordings with legendary pianist Mike Nock; Triosk, which recorded an album with Jan Jelinek in 2003; and avant-punk titans Liars, whom he joined in late 2018.

Of Possible Utopias for Jazz Quintet, Pike says, “My loose concept was: What does music sound like when the expectations of late capitalism are removed from it? How might a jazz musician from an idealised culture of the future, or even another world, utilise musical language when the conventions of style and marketing are no longer a factor in music making?”

That inquiry, he says, connects to his “guiding principle: that the purpose of music is to access something bigger than the individual, and reveal a sense of possibility and freedom in the world to the listener. To create an understanding that the future can be something other than what we imagined or expect, even unconsciously.”

Possible Utopias for Jazz Quintet is a point in a continuum, a voice in a conversation, a question with no obvious answer: How can the search for otherness in music manifest something true about ourselves?

The Melbourne Jazz Co-operative:

The Melbourne Jazz Co-operative is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and promoting original live jazz performance by established and emerging artists in Melbourne.

Since 1983 our objectives have been to increase the exposure of contemporary jazz performance by making it accessible to audiences, and to provide award waged performance opportunities for emerging and established artists.

In addition to support derived from member contributions, the MJC is assisted by  the Victorian Government, through Creative Victoria, via its Arts Development Programs. MJC was assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body from 1983-2017 inclusive, and was delighted to receive Australia Council funding of $60,000 for our 2019 program.

The MJC received $40,000 from the Australia Council over the 2021/2022 Financial Year, and was pleased to received a grant of $75,341 from Creative Australia (with Music Australia contribution) for our 2025 Annual Program.

Our sold-out 40th Anniversary Concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre in May 2023 was supported by a $20,000 grant from Creative Victoria’s Creative Projects program.