The Band
Rex Goh
Guitar/Band Leader
Rex Goh was born in Singapore, came to Australia in 1972 and eventually settled in Sydney. He gained a Diploma Of Jazz Studies at the NSW Conservatorium Of Music in 1980. Rex has toured and recorded with a host of Australian artists including Savage Garden (he played on their US#1 and #5 hits), Air Supply (3 multi-platinum albums), Daryl Braithwaite, The Eurogliders, Renee Geyer, Grace Knight, Tommy Emmanuel, Kate Ceberano, Wendy Matthews, Gina Jeffreys, Graeme Connors to name just a few! He has performed with numerous international artists including Randy Crawford and Tom Jones. Studio work also includes countless jingles and many film and television themes. Rex has also produced albums for Tania Bowra, The Robertson Brothers, Rene Diaz and Run Silent, amongst others. He has played for the last six years in the Australian Idol band, and is currently working in Sydney with The Brothers Of Oz (and just about everyone else )
Matt McMahon
Keyboards
Matt McMahon, born in 1971, is a Sydney based pianist, keyboardist and composer. Having studied music and English literature at Sydney University and jazz studies at the NSW Conservatorium of music he has been actively performing and recording music since 1993. He has performed/recorded with many musicians and groups including Dale Barlow, Sandy Evans, Joe Tawadros, Vince Jones, Katie Noonan, Daorum, Baecastuff, Guy Strazz, Steve Hunter, Phil Slater, Jackie Orszaczky and his compositions appear on many albums. He has also performed with touring artists from the USA Bobby Previte (1999) and Greg Osby (2006).
He performs in concerts and festivals nationally and internationally with a variety of groups. In Australia he has performed at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival, Queensland Music Festival, Melbourne international Jazz Festival, Sydney’s Jazznow Festival and he appears on over forty albums. Matt was the winner of the 1999 National Jazz award at the Wangaratta festival of Jazz and was the recipient of the $20,000 2005 Freedman Jazz Fellowship. He leads groups under his own name (having recorded two critically acclaimed albums) and co-leads The Band of five Names – a collaborative ensemble with Phil Slater and Simon Barker (with three albums).
He currently teaches in the Jazz faculty at the Sydney Conservatorium, presents a weekly jazz radio program at Eastside Radio (89.7fm) and is a committee member of the Jazzgroove Association.
Nick Sinclair
Bass Guitars
Originally from Adelaide, Nick Sinclair has played bass since the age of 11. Influenced and mentored by his musician father, Nick’s love of music quickly took hold and after discovering the music of jazz greats Jaco Pastorius, Darryl Jones, Marcus Miller and Weather Report in his early teens, Nick’s fate was sealed.
From early days in Adelaide as a staple on the pop and jazz scenes, including time with Aria Award-winning Jazz guitarist James Muller’s band, Nick moved to Melbourne in his early twenties where he established himself as one of Australia’s best. It was in Melbourne that Nick played and toured nationally and internationally with guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel as well as pop group Bachelor Girl and a stint with the renowned Hey Hey It’s Saturday studio band.
Moving from Melbourne in the late 90’s to join legendary Acid Jazzers, “Directions in Groove” (D.I.G.), Nick now resides in Sydney where he is considered one of the city’s most highly respected and versatile bass players. He is in constant demand in the studio, on stage and screen and for an impressive list of national and international touring artists that include; Tina Arena, Lionel Richie, Take That, Kate Ceberano, Rick Price, Ricki-Lee, Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Guy Sebastian, Damien Leith, Anthony Callea, Marcia Hines, Grace Knight, Christine Anu, Vanessa Amorosi, Bardot and The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra amongst many others.
Nick is currently co-composing and recording material with original Jazz/Rock trio, “King Neptune”.
Tony Azzopardi
Percussion
Tony Azzopardi is a Sydney-based percussionist with Thirty years of professional experience in Australia and overseas. He has performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival (1995) and the Jazz Festival of Bangkok (1996). He has worked with many Australian artists including Marcia Hines, Jenny Morris, Marc Hunter Gina Jeffreys, Doug Parkinson and has played with Tom Jones, Thelma Houston, The Temptations, Leo Sayer, Cathy Sledge and many more. Tony works regularly on TV variety shows and is heard in commercials, TV soundtracks and promos. He has toured with Grease – the Arena Spectacular, the shows Fame and Floorplay and is a regular fixture in the Australian Idol band. In addition to tirelessly performing Drumbeat to school audiences for many years with Billy Hyde’s Drumcraft’.
Gordon Rytmeister
Drums
Gordon Rytmeister is one of Australia’s most in-demand drummers with an extraordinary ability to cross every conceivable stylistic boundary. He brings a unique energy to any performance as both an exciting soloist and a very supportive team player with a driving, natural feel.
Born in Sydney, in 1968, Gordon started playing drums at age 13. Like many young musicians, his initial inspiration came from the raw rock of bands such as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, however, he quickly developed an interest and passion for an extremely broad range of music styles in particular, Jazz. After leaving school in 1986, he studied at the NSW Conservatorium of Music. During that time he began playing in Mike Nock’s band and later joined The Don Burrows Quartet gaining amazing international touring and performing experience. Between his travel commitments, he quickly established himself as one of Sydney’s busiest freelance musicians performing everywhere from small clubs to studios and concert halls.
Since then, Gordon has worked with an extraordinarily diverse range of people, including the cream of Australia’s Jazz, Pop, Rock, and Country artists and many international acts. These include, Lalo Schifrin, James Morrison, Bob Mintzer, Leo Sayer, Bob James, Tom Jones, Bob Florence, The Commodores, Bob Geldof, Barry Harris, Nat Adderley, Maria Schnieder, Lee Konitz, Glenn Shorrock (from Little River Band), Tina Arena, The Sydney All Star Big Band, Roger Frampton, Bobby Shew, Anthony Warlow, Russell Watson, Rob McConnell, Don Rader, Dale Barlow, Eartha Kitt, Jimmy Barnes and many more.
He is the resident drummer on TV’s highly successful Australian Idol, as well as playing five nights a week nationally on Tonight Live with Steve Vizard in the early 1990s. From the mid 1990s until its demise he co-led the extremely popular original instrumental fusion band GLUE. Gordon spends a lot of time freelancing in various recording studios and can be heard on many movie soundtracks, albums, and television themes. He recorded Anthony Callea’s “The Prayer”, which is the highest-ever selling single in Australia by a local artist. He is a regular contributor to Drumscene magazine, in which he was also the subject of a cover story. In 1995 he was voted “Pop and Rock Drummer of the Year” in the Skin Full readers’ poll, another magazine in which he was featured.
Gerard Masters
Keyboards
For the last 10 years Gerard has been heavily involved in both the Jazz and Pop music scenes in Australia.
As a session keyboardist he has recorded and performed with Missy Higgins, Wes Carr, Tambalane, James Morrison, Chico Freeman, The Potbeleez, James Muller and many others.
The Gerard Masters Trio, has released 3 CD’s and one DVD on the Jazzgroove Records Label and toured nationally and internationally. Performing at many great jazz festivals as well as famous jazz clubs.
As a solo pop artist, Gerard has just released the SPIN EP, which has received great praise from industry leaders such as John Watson(Silverchair), Pete Murray, David Champion(Wes Carr, Jessica Mauboy) and Myles Thomas(the Potbelleez)
Jeremy Sawkins
Guitar
Sydney-based guitarist Jeremy Sawkins has been an active member of the Australian jazz fraternity since the early 1980’s. As well as being a composer/bandleader,Jeremy has shared the stage and recording studios with many fine artists. As well as performing all around Australia he has performed in Europe and Asia.
Some of Jeremy’s earliest jazz performances were with the reknowned alto saxophonist David Ades,as well as Dale Barlow and prominent expat guitarist Peter O’Mara(Germany).After graduating the N.S.W. Conservatorium of Music in 1984 Jeremy joined his former teacher ,the late Dr Roger Frampton in the band “Intersection” which performed in Sydney,Melbourne and Brisbane.They recorded one album-”A breath of fresh air”.
Since then Jeremy has led many of his own groups,his current being “Jazz Organism”,which has had many performance opportunities in Sydney (and Ireland) since 2003.
Jeremy has played with singers Monica Trapaga (1993-2000), Grace Knight, Glen Shorrock, Jackie Orszaczky, Tina Harrod and Frank Bennett.
He had a long musical association with expat singer Kristen Cornwell (Belgium). He has performed with James and John Morrison, John Foreman, Don Burrows to name but a few.
Jeremy has been with the A.R.I.A. award winning jazz/world music group “Wanderlust” since 1996.
In 2004 he moved to Dublin(Ireland)and collaborated with lots of prominent Irish Jazz musicians in performance in the 18 months that he lived there.
In 2006 Jeremy returned to Sydney to re-establish himself in the Sydney jazz scene.
Aaron Michael
Saxophones/Wind
Born into a family of classical musicians in 1976, Aaron Michael began is musical studies on piano and then alto saxophone. Inspired by the music of John Coltrane, Michael Brecker and Branford Marsalis, Aaron switched to the tenor sax while studying at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. There he was taught by two of the best teachers in the country: Col Loughnan and Tony Buchanan. After finishing his studies he made the move to Sydney landing work with several bands before joining the Steve Edmonds Band in 1999. Soon after this he quickly become known as one of the most accomplished saxophone players on the Sydney music scene.
Over the last decade Aaron has worked with a vast array of artists including the James Morrison big band, Renee Geyer, Ugene Hidaway Bridges, Dan Barnett, Steve Balbi, Zkye, Tim Freedman, Skunkhour, Sydney All Star Big Band, the John Hoffman big band and the London Jazz Collective. He has also appeared on the Kerry-Ann Show, GMA with Bert Newton, the Footy Show, Australian Idol and the sydney season of the Producers.
While being highly in demand as a session musician, he has also recorded two albums with the legendary Australian singer Jeff Duff. Aaron helped produce the singers show “Ground Control to Frank Sinatra” which sold out three shows at the Sydney Opera House Studio and headlined the Adelaide cabaret festival and toured extensively throughout Australia over a period of four years.
Throughout his career as a side man and band leader Aaron has played some of the best stages in the world including Ronnie Scotts in London, the Basement, the Wangaratta Jazz Frestival, the London Jazz Festival, and the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He continues to lead his own Jazz quartet and is also involved in writing music for film projects.
