DARREN HEINRICH TRIO AT ARTBAU IN BROOKVALE

Above image : Darren Heinrich

It was a privilege for me to attend on Tue Feb 17, the Listening Station, a small, intimate music gig at artist Frankie Morgan’s Artbau gallery in Brookvale.  This venue, where Morgan writes and paints every week day, was apparently inspired by her eight years living in Berlin from 2012 to 2019. “Bau” means “construction” in German, and “artbau” means “making art”. About a year ago, drummer Hamish Stuart began curating a jazz gig on the third Tuesday of the month in this tiny venue which holds about 35 people.

Performing on this particular night were Hammond B3 organist Darren Heinrich, Sam Rollings on guitar and, of course, Stuart on drums. It was a tonic for me to  experience this lovely performance in the company of a small, but knowledgeable and appreciative audience. It’s important that this gig be documented as I feel it’s symptomatic of a somewhat new phenomenon in the wider Sydney area: the springing up of a number of small venues over the last few months, where local jazz artists, notoriously deprived of places to play, have been afforded increasing opportunities to present their music, in a scene where larger venues (such as Mary’s Underground) have marginalised jazz, or in fact disappeared (such as Foundry 616, which closed in June, 2025).

Before a note was played Frankie Morgan addressed the audience about her gallery and then asked the musicians some questions which threw light on the nature of their creativity. For example, the difference between reading music and improvisation, which often fascinates those who are new to jazz.  Hamish Stuart admitted that his own limitations as a reader had caused him some angst in the past. As he’s been a prolific player in umpteen studio recordings over many years, where written charts for all musicians to read were no doubt present, this was an enlightening revelation. Not that this apparent shortcoming has prevented him from establishing himself as one of our finest drummers, not only in Sydney but also around Australia.

Another interesting, indeed sobering, revelation was Heinrich’s testimony that, even with airfares to Europe and back taken into account, it was still cheaper for him to record his latest album in the Czech Republic rather than in Sydney. It’s entitled Riddle Diddle: The Prague Sessions and took place in February, 2025. He’s accompanied on the album by two musicians with whom he’s previously toured in the Czech Republic, Czech guitarist Libor Šmoldas and the American drummer Jesse Simpson. Apparently they did five gigs in Prague before going into the studio in Nouzov for three days to record.

Personally I welcomed this sort of discussion which Frankie Morgan conducted, as all three musicians were forthcoming with interesting observations, even if there was some diffidence in the air. Opportunities to hear our leading musicians speaking about how their music comes together are extremely rare. We hear their music at length of course, and often there are interesting press releases which describe the inspiration for the compositions they’ve recorded on disc.  But we rarely hear them speaking on issues which should be of interest to all jazz lovers. In encouraging this sort of dialogue with the musicians at the beginning of the concert, before a note was played, Morgan has hit on something extremely valuable.

Darren Heinrich certainly has many interesting things to say about his music, which in turn helps to bring that music to life. To introduce his opening number, he mentioned the American Hammond B3 organist Dr Lonnie Smith who, Wikipedia tells us, was a member of the George Benson quartet in the 1960s. We know that Heinrich studied with Smith on two occasions, in 2009 and 2014, at Smith’s home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  It was salutary therefore that Heinrich opened his performance with one of Smith’s best-known compositions What the Doctor Ordered.

In poking around on the internet I discovered on YouTube Heinrich’s version of this tune, recorded live in the Czech Republic. It’s at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGWm7fZ_mKw. As this is one of the tracks on Heinrich’s Riddle Diddle album, it’s energising to see the three musicians playing live in the studio at a time when they were obviously recording the album.

In fact the repertoire on the night at Artbau was dominated by the compositions on this outstanding album. Heinrich proceeded with other tracks, such as the title track in medium four Riddle Diddle; an interesting tune in three Duplicity, which Heinrich says incorporates two versions of one idea: the minor key version and the blues-sounding one, which correspond to the A and B sections of the tune; and A Cutting Remark, dedicated to a friend who some time ago died suddenly of cancer.

This was followed by another track from the album Bowen’s Lament, a moving ballad which celebrates the death of an Aboriginal tracker and customs officer named Bowen, who was killed in 1853 by bushrangers on Bushrangers Hill, where Heinrich now lives in Newport, north of Sydney. Then Bluebottles, a tune in bright four, inspired by the blue-bladdered jellyfish called blue bottles which wash up on Australian beaches, and can cause intense and painful stinging to beachgoers who get into a tangle with them. Heinrich explains in his marketing blurb that “the melody of this rhythm changes-based tune can get you in a similar tangle if you’re not paying attention. It’s my attempt at a bebop style tune.”

This short set, lasting about an hour, was brought to a close with Heinrich’s spirited Latin-style composition Barrenjoey Boogaloo. I had only a vague idea of what a boogaloo was, and Heinrich didn’t define it from the stage. So I later went to Wikipedia for a definition: “a modern jazz genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. [It] originated in New York City mainly by stateside Cubans and Puerto Ricans with African American music influences.” This tune underlined the feeling in the air that this was a happy band playing joyous music.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that this last tune was the first in which Hamish Stuart used his sticks. Otherwise he used brushes throughout the whole set, which of course made complete sense in such a small venue. But soundwise, for me this was manna from heaven, as I love the subtle sound of the brushes. Anyone familiar with my reviews in Sydney Arts Guide will know how often I’ve expressed admiration for the two Sydney drummers who come to mind as absolute masters of the art of brushes on the drums: Andrew Dickeson and of course Stuart himself.

This not to say that sticks are not appropriate when called for; of course they are essential. But I’ve sat through umpteen performances over many years watching drummers playing for a whole night without ever picking up their brushes; even using sticks on a quiet ballad, which seems to me incomprehensible. So whenever I hear a drummer such as Stuart who’s not afraid to use his brushes, my heart warms. I can’t get too much of it. I trust that both Dickeson and Stuart, who are educators, and no doubt influencing younger players as they emerge, are leading a resurgence in the use of brushes.

The so-called “organ trio” which became popular in clubs and bars around the world in the 1950s and 1960s, was characterised by a blues-based style of jazz that incorporated elements of R & B. I’ve found it an extremely attractive and accessible form of jazz, and have always loved it whenever it’s come my way. It’s great that Darren Heinrich is keeping alive this immortal genre and playing it so beautifully in a contemporary jazz style.

This performance took place at the Artbau Gallery, 1/1 Mitchell Rd, Brookvale, on Tuesday February 17, 2026, featuring Hammond B3 organist Darren Heinrich, with Sam Rollings on guitar and Hamish Stuart on drums.