Paris-based Contemporary Jazz

The Alex Stuart Quintet  

at The Four Winds Windsong Pavilion Four Winds Road, 

Barragga Bay (near Bermagui) 

Sunday, 26 October, 2014 at 3:00 pm 

Alex Stuart will return from Paris to Bermagui in October as part of the Australian tour to launch his new album, Place to Be. Zephyrs grabbed this opportunity to invite him back, following his 2012 sell-out concert here. This time he will play in Four Winds’ stunning new Windsong Pavilion. 

The Australian tour follows Alex’s album launch at Paris’s famous Sunset Club. Place to Be has received enthusiastic reviews in France since then, including: ‘Balanced to perfection … one of the best jazz albums of the year … 5 out of 5 stars’ (Nouvelle-Vague) ‘An absolutely superb album … music that shimmers’ - (French national radio station France Musique) ‘A compact, virile and integrated group sound. … the musicians come together with talent as a collective project’ (Jazz Magazine) ‘This brilliant Australian guitarist/composer … has released a rich, original and powerful opus’ (Guitar & Bass Magazine) ‘Very fluid modern jazz …18/20’ (Hifi Vidéo) In Australia, ABC Jazz made it a ‘Feature Album’ and The Australian's John McBeath gave it 4 out 5 stars. 

Place to Be expresses a spirit of cultural openness, with inspiration found in many places including the jazz tradition, contemporary jazz, African and South American grooves, rock and ‘post-rock’ music, Indian and Balkan music, the sea and surfing, the varied cultures and lifestyles of Paris's 19th arrondissement and much more. This album marks another big step in his musical evolution. 

Alex will tour with four award-winning Australian jazz musicians as a quintet: 

Alex Stuart – guitar, compositions 

Julien Wilson – saxophone.   Julien has many achievements, among the latest being the first person to win three concurrent Bell Jazz Awards. He played in Alex’s band during his 2012 tour. 

Miroslav Bukovsky – trumpet.  Miroslav is one of our leading jazz trumpeters, band leaders and composers and has won many awards and competitions, including an ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album. 

Jonathan Zwartz – bass.  Jonathon is one of Australia’s top jazz bassists and has won Bell and other jazz awards for his playing and compositions.

James Hauptmann – drums.  James Hauptmann is one of the country’s most in-demand jazz drummers and is in the ARIA Award winning band ‘Bluejuice’. He was one of Alex’s peers at the ANU School of Music and was the drummer on his first album, Waves.

Because he spent much of his youth in the Bermagui area, Alex thinks of it as his ‘second home’. In fact one of Place to Be’s tracks is titled ‘Cuttagee, Wapengo’ – a fond remembering, and anticipation, from Europe. Since arriving in France in 2005 he has built a strong reputation there, especially after launching his 2010 album Around and also winning the coveted 'Révelation' prize at France’s biggest jazz festival, ‘Jazz à Juan’, in 2011. 

In Australia Alex has, among other things, played at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival, been nominated for the prestigious Freedman Fellowship and had his albums featured on ABC Jazz and the ABC’s Jazztrack and The Music Show. 

For more information on Alex Stuart and to hear some of his music, go to www.alexstuartmusic.com. View a video of the title track on Place to Be, here. View the Jazz à Juan performance of the title track of his previous album, Around, here. After the concert please join us for a chat with the musicians and other audience members over drinks and fine finger foods (included in your ticket). 

To buy tickets please go to our booking page. We look forward to seeing you at the Windsong Pavilion, at the Four Winds site in Barragga Bay, off the Bermagui-Tathra Road just south of Cuttagee Beach. 

THE WINDSONG PAVILION Zephyrs Performances Inc | PO Box 388 Bermagui NSW 2546 | 02 6493 4550 enquiries@zephyrsjazz.com.au 

The "Events" page for 2014 has been updated.

Please click on the "Events" tab at the top of the page to see what events are planned this year.

Alliance Française French Film Festival 2014

A full list of films is available here

End-of-year Picnic and Coupe D'Antibes Contest 2013

By now some of you will be melting under the weight of Coupe D'Antibes success and creating space on the shelf for the trophy. Many thanks again to Kerry for her cheerful and efficient organization of the contest!
The members and friends who attended our end-of-year event welcomed the sun (between clouds), enjoyed Kir royal (champagne and sirop de cassis) and then shared picnic fare as well as an occasional glass of wine. 

(The winners of the Coupe seemed to think that their 'no-wine-today policy’ was the key to their success!) Our BYO picnic was easy to organise and 'sharing the cakes' was very popular, with a particular 'strawberry cake' a real hit. (The berries were from the garden, but we would love the recipe, please.)

There were 26 competitors in the pétanque competition and while the regular players had been honing their skills over the past months, the finals were contested between the S Car Go (Bruce Gaunson and Neil Porter) and the Gee- Gees (Greg Welsh and Gabriel Roberts).     One of the semi-finals was an all male game, between S Car Go and Tanna Exploders (Ray Coutts-Smith and Pete Smith), which witnessed much sledging and cheering, amid numerous measurements. (Gives cricket sledging something to aim for.) Since last year, our players’ skill on the 'grassy pistes' has improved and caused a few to fall down,  once they moved over to the compacted sand courts.                                
The Canberra Boules group contacted us and was bitterly disappointed not to be able to participate this year, but they assured us they would like a return visit from our group in Canberra. Maybe we will have a formidable group to play next year, as both interest and skills seem to be constantly improving.            

Carmen Coutts-Smith 

 

 

Un déjeuner délicieux!

56 members and guests attended a wonderful Bastille Day lunch at Drystone Restaurant at Mimosa Winery today.  Glenn and Gail (and staff) looked after us very well and provided the food, wine and ambience we were hoping for.  Steve Clark and Colleen Spillane provided great music.  Merci Mareta for leading la Marseillaise at such ridiculously short notice! Here are a few photos in case you missed out - more to come.

Steve Clark and Colleen Spillane - lovely music!

The "shared mixed plate entrée.

Ray, Mary, Simon, Jan, Bruce, Carmen, Margaret, Brigitte and Neil at the after party :)

The menu - a classy touch by Gail and Glenn!

The Drystone Restaurant on the Tathra Bermagui Road is highly recommended!

Mimosa Restaurant and Winery

2845 Bermagui Tathra Rd

Bermagui NSW 2546

(02) 6494 0164

 

Bastille Day Celebration 2013

Bastille Day Celebration 2013

This year the committee has decided to organise a Bastille Day event focussing on quality French food.  We also decided that for the first time, our Bastille Day celebration will be a lunch. 

The details:

Where: Drystone Restaurant (Mimosa Winery) on the Tathra/Bermagui Road.  http://www.mimosawines.com.au/home.html

When: July 14th - for lunch - 12 o'clock.

How much:  Members $35, Non-members $55 - meal consists of shared Taste entrée plates, main and dessert.  Mimosa wines are of course available, as well as a number of other excellent wines.  Corkage is $20 per bottle if you want to take that special bottle.

There is a possibility that a bus can be provided ($20 per person return) to encourage safety on the roads.  Availability will depend on numbers.

Please contact Kerry ( kerryinparis@gmail.com or tel: 64959463) by June 14th if you would like to attend, and also advise if you are interested to travel on the bus.  Payment in full will be required by June 28th.

Payment: You can either send a cheque to The Treasurer, Alliance Française de la Côte de Saphir, PO Box 3, Merimbula 2548 - or pay by EFT - email us for banking details.

Gail and Glenn from Mimosa Winery are very enthusiastic about the event, and have provided a sample of the French-influenced menu - which looks fantastic.  We will be a part of a wider Bastille Day celebration in the restaurant, and live music will be provided.  One of the most highly respected restaurants in the area, members who have eaten at the Drystone Restaurant will confirm that the food and atmosphere is of the highest standard.  

This is our major annual event, and we'd love to see you there - bring your friends.  It is certain to be a memorable lunch, and a very highly subsidised opportunity for members to sample the Drystone Restaurant's food and wine.

Little Paris Kitchen SBS Thursdays at 8pm

Just watched the first episode, and it was good.  Definitely worth a look on SBS On Demand.
Here's a review from The Australian TV Editor, Ian Cuthbertson:
Whatever happened to French restaurants? In the 1970s and 80s they seemed to be all over Australian capital cities like un irritation. Now they are as rare as teeth in a coq au vin. And, since French women are known to be slim and gorgeous (see the book French Women Don't Get Fat, by Mireille Guiliano) it can't be that the food is unhealthy. This delightful six-part cooking program, hosted by English-born chef and food writer Rachel Khoo, pictured, will make you nostalgic for Paris and French food in general. The scenes of Paris are beautifully shot and they reflect Khoo's passion for the place. The chef left England to live and work in Paris years ago. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu before opening a restaurant in her tiny flat in Belleville where, with just two tables, she wowed the notoriously fussy French food critics and anyone lucky enough to score a booking. This is not just a triumph of celebrity cooking but a victory over space that should inspire anyone living in cramped conditions to give adventurous cooking a red-hot go. With arms outspread, Khoo can almost touch the walls in her kitchen. Undaunted, she show us how it's done with humour and a lovely, engaging manner. Her aim in this series is to take the fear out of French cooking. Mission accomplished.