Galaxstare: its time

Eastside Radio’s Album of the Week is A Time, Times and Half A Time by Galaxstare.

Formerly ‘The Richard Maegraith Band’, Galaxstare is an all star cast of Australian Jazz Musicians, featuring Kristin Berardi on vocals, Gary Daley on piano, Jonathan Zwartz on double bass, Tim Firth on drums and Richard Maegraith on tenor sax and bass clarinet.

It’s four years since the band’s debut release Free Running, with A Time, Times and Half A Time recorded live at Sydney’s Seymour Centre Sound Lounge. The group draws on a whole heap of influences including soul, funk, swing and world music plus more niche genres including minimalism, drum and bass, and microtonal harmonies.

A triumph of modern free flowing jazz, the album is one of the finest jazz releases to come out of Sydney for some time. Berardi’s vocals are smooth and powerful, the rhythms and melodies are tight and liquid, and the unpredictable nature of the album draws one further and further in. The breadth of complexity in each composition is inspiring and refreshing, and there is further sentimentality to the release with the title track from the album dedicated to two of Maegraith’s Japanese friends who survived the devastating Tsunami last year.

A Time, Times and Half A Time is a release by Jazz Head. For more information go to www.jazzhead.com

Stay closely tuned to Eastside as we are giving away a copy of A Time, Times and Half a Time to a listener everyday this week!