Album of the week – Iron in the blood by Jeremy Rose and the Earshift Orchestra

‘Iron in the blood’ by Jeremy Rose and the Earshift Orchestra is Eastside radio’s album of the week.

Now this is an album that not only contains some excellent sounds and hosts a wide range of musicians but most importantly tells a story. ‘Iron in the Blood’ is a record that explores the rich tapestry of Australia’s colonial past. The album is inspired by and features text from Robert Hughes’ seminal work ‘The Fatal Shore’. A book that is up there with some of the best when it comes to telling the story of Australia’s history, from the arrival of the English, to the ways in which the infamous convict transportation system acted. While also focusing on the settlement of those who first arrived and moments from history that helped shape the modern Australia we know today.

I am sure quite a few of you know the name Jeremy Rose or if not you know his work, as the young Sydney saxophonist, composer and conductor has released over 12 albums through his label ‘Earshift Music’. He is a devoted lover of Jazz as the man has performed and studied all over the world including stints in London, New York, Oslo, Tokyo, Greece, Cuba, Bali and Berlin. Not only is Rose playing music he is also being highly recognised for it as he has picked up several awards along the way such as the APRA Professional Development Award, the Bell Award for Young Australian Jazz Artist, a BBM Award, and an Australian Postgraduate Award. It is a given that Jeremy Rose knows what his doing when it comes to producing and performing great original music, the interesting side to this incredibly talented artist is that he draws inspiration from where others may not look, which allows him to produce composed and improvised music. Being so unique with his style Jeremy has even taken sounds from the likes of Reggae legend Bob Marley, Indian percussionist Karaikudi Mani and even Neo Soul group The Roots to name a few, and made them into his own.

As Rose has such a broad open mind when it comes to taking inspiration and avenues for his next projects’ it is no surprise that he has gone and given us a documentary through Jazz music. This time he has brought the 17 piece ‘Earshift Orchestra’ on board an ensemble made up of Sydney and Melbourne musicians. Across 11 tracks we get to hear Philip Quast and William Zappa coming in to narrate pieces from the book ‘The Fatal Shore’ and accounts from convicts diaries, soldiers letters and many more detailed notes from times gone by which makes for a really impacting listen.

A piece of work that was only released on the 1st of July this year yet tells tales from the 1700s, with tracks paying attention to the convicts setting sail from England, to tracks that explore the darker days of what treatment Aborigines in Tasmania received. With a few solos along the way to leave an even deeper feel to the documentary this is a project well researched and planned. Whether you are looking for an album full of some great Australian Jazz or if you are looking for a history lesson on the early days of this country, this release has to be called a project cause it is so much more then well performed music. I can assure you that if you give this a listen you will feel the deepness, effort and talent that has gone into the work, you can only imagine the passion that all artist’s involved in the making of this must have put into it and the amount of energy it would have taken from them as they have gone over the history of bleak times that are not so pretty and glitzy. You can see Jeremy Rose live next month on the 2nd of September at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for an even more intimate sound of his work.

Artist Listing