Kim Lawson's High Five

Historical article recovered from a Wayback capture dated 2018-02-24.

Kim Lawson on saxophones, originally hailing from Cairns, is quickly establishing a reputation for his tenacious and inventive improvising and huge sound. Kim completed his BMus at the Sydney Conservatorium in 2005, where he studied with some of the most prominent Australian jazz icons such as Dale Barlow, Judy Bailey, Dave Panichi and Col Loughnan, just to name a few. Kim has been playing, recording and touring in and around Sydney for over 7 years, in a number of musical settings, ranging from swinging jazz, Latin, and hard hitting funk ensembles, to 18 piece big bands. Since leaving the conservatorium Kim has had the opportunity to collaborate with many of Sydney’s top musicians, in a diverse range of music. Lawson released his debut album as a band leader in 2010 ‘Alive and Kicking’, with virtuoso bassist Steve Hunter and power house drummer James Hauptmann.

1. DONNY McCASLIN – NYC, 2008

During trip to New York, I was lucky enough to hear Donny play a couple of times and have a lesson with him. The gig that really stood out was with Donny McCaslin, Ben Monder, Boris Koslov, and I can’t recall who else. There were only 6 or 7 of us in the audience, but it was one of the most slamming gigs I’d ever seen. I remember a conversation with the bass player in the set; I was going on about how or why they are playing so amazingly considering there was only a few punters in the audience. His response was simply, ‘what are we going to do play like crap??’ That is something I think about all the time.

2. THE SIDE ON CAFÉ – Sydney, Wednesday Jam, 2000

When I first moved to Sydney there was a weekly jam session happening at the side-on café on a Wednesday night. Coming from Cairns I wasn’t sure what to expect, assuming it was some reggae or dodgy funk thing. It turned out to be Roger Manins playing the most burning alto I’d ever seen! The whole vibe of the place was unbelievable, being so close up and to see all those instruments on stage playing straight-ahead jazz was really mind-boggling.

3. JAMES MORRISON – Cairns Civic Theatre, 1995 (I think)

Growing up in Cairns there were never any inspiring gigs to check out. The local scene consisted of the pub rock, reggae and grunge bands, and the old trad cats that we would see once a year at the Cairns Jazz Fest. Spoilt for choice, we ended up getting into bands like Grinspoon, Korn and Regurgitator, which we got to see at some all-ages concerts or festivals. Occasionally, a touring artist would come to town and it would be the most amazing music we had ever heard. There were a couple of note; Mike Stern, Billy Cobham with Randy Brecker, but one that really stood out was James Morison at the Civic Theatre. I can’t remember much about the gig, apart from the drummer taking a solo, getting off his kit and continuing his solo tapping on the stage and then on the wall of the theatre. That was cool! I’m not sure how it relates to whom I am as a musician, but I can remember the excitement and spontaneity was a good feeling.

4. GEORGE GARZONE – LILYPAD, 2008

Garzone has to be one of my all time favourite horn players. His trio called ‘The Fringe’, formed in 1971 and have been playing in Boston for over 30 years, which is amazing in itself. I’ve heard recordings of his trio, but when you’re in the same room as Garzone, it’s a whole other thing. As Mike Rivett once said, “just being in the same room as him playing is a lesson in itself”.

5. CHUCK YATES TRIO w/ Special Guests - The Bald Faced Stag 2001 – 2006

This is where I fell in love with Australian Jazz. The Stag had a weekly jam that featured some of my favourite players/teachers! Chuck Yates, Ron Philpot and John Pochee made up the trio. Some of the featured artists included Dale Barlow, Warwick Alder, Dave Panichi and Don Rader, just to name a few. I wish this gig was still going.