Some words from Barney...
Wangaratta is the best festival Australia has and the number one place to present music as far as I can see. I have always enjoyed the coming together and the chance to see the development of all the various Australian artists who perform there as well as the International players.Throughout the years musicians are living their lives, wood shedding, having flashes of inspiration, labouring over various facets of their music and then voila!...they perform their music and we can hear where they're at and where we're at in a way... Improvised music is like a chronicle. Maybe that's why many people in the audience have their eyes closed at the festival.
I have always felt so much encouragement playing at Wangaratta. I live in New York and its rough at times and to come home and play amongst all those great musicians and to feel the openness of the audience to accept whatever hair brained scheme I may hatch is priceless. It's a real springboard for inspiration.
When I won the Piano competition way back when, i was pretty green but I suppose the judges heard something in my playing. There were superb players that year as there have been every year. I'm not just saying this, its a fact and that fact is also a big draw card for Wangaratta. I love the story about one of my all time favorite pianists Mark Fitzgibbon. Apparently the year he won he invited all the other contestants back to his room afterwards for pizza and a slab!
That's really where its at... because its so random who wins, who plays their best on the day, who has some musical flow, who doesn't, what the judges trip is. The muse is very complex ... Its hard to measure something that is continually in flux. That being said I am very very grateful that I did win because It really helped me return to New York and connect with teachers and the scene here. I am pretty fortunate.
Wangaratta Jazz festival has been witness to huge growth in Australian improvised music since its inception and I believe every year there is a greater sense of identity and originality.
As far as my fondest memories of the festival; I remember hearing Adrian Sheriff one year playing with Andrea Keller. He played a trombone solo that was so emotionally powerful that i had to leave the town hall and go for a walk. I didn't listen to much more music that day because it was enough. Just that one solo.
Other times I go and hear as much music as i can and that experience doesn't seem as cacophonous as other festivals tend to be. Maybe its the camaraderie? Maybe its the country air?
I'm still enjoying playing piano and I look forward to playing the Wang Steinway. I suppose my aspiration is to just speak clearly on the instrument and through my compositions in a way that people can use. Like Charlie Parker says: "I am a devout musician".