Jonathan Crayford presents music from his award winning and highly original albums ‘Dark Light’ and ‘East West Moon’. Crayford has garnered many awards over the past 4 decades and is celebrated around the world as a fine pianist and composer. He’s noted for his work with Kurt Rosenwinkel, David Murray, Groove Collective and Afro/Cuban NY based band Mambo Macoco along with many others. His music according to one critic “leaves you gasping at its beauty, richness and assuredness”. He’ll be joined by heavyweights Sam Anning bass and Felix Bloxsom drums for this exclusive Melbourne appearance....
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Jonathan Crayford presents music from his award winning and highly original albums ‘Dark Light’ and ‘East West Moon’. Crayford has garnered many awards over the past 4 decades and is celebrated around the world as a fine pianist and composer. He’s noted for his work with Kurt Rosenwinkel, David Murray, Groove Collective and Afro/Cuban NY based band Mambo Macoco along with many others. His music according to one critic “leaves you gasping at its beauty, richness and assuredness”. He’ll be joined by heavyweights Sam Anning bass and Felix Bloxsom drums for this exclusive Melbourne appearance.
“A huge talent, Jonathan is a true original who explores creative musical opportunities, when or wherever they might arise. I consider him to be one of the very finest creative musical talents to have ever come from Aotearoa.” Mike Nock
“This is the kind of piano I totally relate to: exploratory, thoughtful, soulful, focused. Those qualities are all sort of contradictory, or at least contrasting, which is why this kind of work is meaningful: because it is multi-dimensional.” Thomas Conrad critic for Jazz Times
At the age of 26 he moved to New York to immerse himself in the jazz scene and following a short while studying at the Julliard School of Music began playing with notable musicians on the scene including Kurt Rosenwinkel, David Binney, Groove Collective, Mambo Macoco, Jay Rodriguez, Bill Ware and many others in the genres of jazz, latin jazz, funk and in some cases classical.
In 2009 he moved to Paris to work on his own two-year project concerning the life of Evariste Galois – the genius French mathematician for which he received the Edwin Carr Scholarship. Whilst there he assisted David Murray and Valerie Malot (director of French world music concert promotion company ‘3D Family’) in the creation of several projects involving the Afrobeat music of Fela Kuti with Tony Allen, Questlove, Macy Gray, Amp Fiddler, Mamani Keita (Mali) and other world music artists. Across many years spent performing in both the United States and Europe, Jonathan has worked with a wide range of musicians. In New York he worked with Kurt Rosenwinkel, David Binney, Mambo Macoco, Groove Collective, Barney McAll and in Europe with David Murray, Tony Allen, Questlove, Macy Gray and Bobby Carcasses.
His 2014 album, Dark Light was nominated for the Best New Zealand Jazz Album with his 2016 follow up, East West Moon taking out the Tui in that category. He can also be heard playing electric bass on that album.
Though primarily known for his work as a pianist, Jonathan is a talented multi instrumentalist.
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