The Jazz Haus | Sax Koto | 12 Apr

Sandy Evans Quartet, 2024. Photo Shane Rozario

DATE: Saturday 12 April, 2025

TIME: 7pm, Bar from 6pm

COST: $45 / $38

Details

The trio of Satsuki, Sandy and Steve have performed to enthusiastic audiences at the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival. The premiere performance of their collaboration with Sohrab Kolahdooz in June 2024 was enthusiastically received and the quartet are thrilled to present this exciting new collaboration with the Jazz Haus Canberra and Tuggeranong Arts Centre.

“These musicians open doors to magical musical places… Their inventiveness, musicality, sensitivity, responsiveness, and depth of sound and feeling can bring a complete sense of peace and calm – or a dark mystery – or a ray of sunshine.” Sandy Evans

The ensemble boasts remarkable credentials. Satsuki Odamura, a master of the Koto and Shamisen, has significantly influenced the appreciation of these traditional Japanese instruments in Australia through her performances and teaching. Sohrab Kolahdooz, renowned for his percussive prowess, brings a rich tapestry of sound that complements Sandy Evans’ inventiveness as a saxophonist and composer. Steve Elphick is one of the treasures of Australian improvised music, known for his distinctive double bass playing.

This concert will be a magical evening that transcends cultural boundaries and celebrates the freedom of the human spirit. It is an essential experience for enthusiasts of cross-cultural music.

Reviews

“Remarkably compelling and beautiful.” Shane Nichols

“World class is world class, pandemic or no pandemic.”  John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald

Notes

* The Tuggeranong Arts Centre Theatre is raked steeply. People with mobility issues are advised that the top two and bottom two rows are the most easily accessible. Please advise us if you have mobility issues and we can direct you to your seats.

About the Artists

Sandy Evans – Tenor and soprano saxophone

Sandy is an internationally renowned saxophonist and composer with a passion for improvisation and new music. She has played with and written for some of the most important groups in Australian jazz since the early 1980s and has toured extensively in Australia, Europe, Canada and Asia. She leads the Sandy Evans Trio and co-leads the Evans/Robson Quartet. She co-led GEST8 and Clarion Fracture Zone. She is a member of Hamed Sadeghi’s Empty Voices, austraLYSIS, Mara!, The catholics and Ten Part Invention. Collaborations include work with Freyja Garbett, Andrea Keller, Brenda Gifford, Chloe Kim, Paul Grabowsky, Guru Kaaraikudi Mani, Shubha Mudgal, Aneesh Pradhan, Sirens Big Band, Adrian Sherriff, Sarangan Sriranganathan and Bobby Singh. Sandy is an advocate for gender diversity in music.  She has been awarded an Australia Council Fellowship, a Churchill Fellowship, an OAM, Bell Award, a Young Australian Creative Fellowship, APRA Award and three ARIA Awards. Sandy has a PhD from Macquarie University.

Woman with long silver hair smiling while holding a saxophone

Sandy Evans, Image Shane Rozario

Satsuki Odamura – Koto and bass koto

Satsuki is a master of the Koto and Shamisen, both traditional Japanese stringed musical instruments. She has pioneered awareness of these ancient Japanese instruments through her performances in Australia, and through teaching her students around the country. She is the Director of the Koto Music Institute of Australia. Satsuki has performed extensively in Australia and internationally. She leads the Satsuki Odamura Koto Ensemble. Their recent CD ‘Pearl of May’ is a landmark recording that features works by Australian composers including 4 pieces by Sandy Evans.

Satsuki Odamura. Image Ben Williams Photography

Steve Elphick – Double bass

Since the early 1980s, ARIA Award winner Steve Elphick has been active in groups playing original jazz and improvised music. He plays, records and tours extensively around the world with some of Australia’s most creative groups in a wide spectrum of styles. He has performed with Mara!, Ten Part Invention, the Andrew Robson Trio, Women and Children First, GEST8, The Umbrellas, The World According to James, Greg Sheehan and Mark Simmonds.

Steve Elphick. Image Shane Rozario

Sohrab Kolahdooz Tonbak –  Percussion and Voice

Sohrab is a dynamic percussionist, educator, and performer with a passion for music education. He is a virtuosic and experienced musician who was born in a musician family. He was enchanted by the sound of the Tonbak since age 4 and went on to win first place for solo playing in Iran’s Tonbak Festival. He studied a B.A in Music under Ali Radman, Keivan Saket and Keyhan Kalhor at Art and Architecture Shiraz Azad University, Iran. He has 20 years of professional experience, including over 300 collaborative performances with well-known musicians worldwide. He is widely recognised for his solo achievements and contributions to diverse musical projects. Sohrab is dedicated to inspiring students and fostering musical creativity.

Sohrab Kolahdooz. Image Sonic Sydney

ACT Government