Following directly after his solo recital at the Adelaide Festival, Sydney pianist/composer Mark Isaacs joins with the Melbourne rhythm section of Ben Robertson (bass) and Dave Beck (drums) to reunite the trio he had in the late 1990s. They did several performances at Bennetts Lane and at the Side on Cafe in Sydney.
This is a rare return to trio playing as Isaacs’ focus for his jazz performances in the last 5 years has been his Resurgence Band which continues to gain widespread acclaim for its virtuosic and lyrical performances of Isaacs’ compositions. The Resurgence Band’s latest CD Aurora which includes the bonus live concert DVD of the previous CD Tell It Like It Is was released at the end of 2010 to critical acclaim in Australia and overseas. To celebrate its release the band made a 14-concert tour of Australia in May/June 2011 including the Melbourne International Jazz Festival and Brisbane’s Valley Jazz Festival and later in the year appeared at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival. The Resurgence project has received two ARIA nominations, three Bell Award nominations and a nomination for Best Independent Jazz Album at the 2011 Jägermeister Independent Music Awards.
Isaacs’ parallel career in classical music continues apace. His first symphony is being commissioned by News Ltd CEO Kim Williams, who was Mark’s composition teacher when Isaacs was 14. It is one of his orchestral works that will be premiered by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in 2012-13. He recently completed composing a cello concerto for Goldner Quartet cellist Julian Smiles and has composed a suite of new piano music for his recital in the 2012 Adelaide Festival.
“Isaacs’ compositions flood the senses, the pianist playing with a passion that stands out in Australia today” - Limelight Magazine
“Australia has produced many brilliant pianists, and certainly Isaacs is one of the very best, but there are few Australian composers in any musical field who are his equal...Like other great pianist/composers like Ellington and Corea, Isaacs seems to compose specifically for his collaborators...The five seem to breathe as one” - Music Forum Magazine
