The venue VJs is located on the campus of North Shore Temple Emanuel in Chatswood. It has an auditorium that offers what it describes on the internet as “an intimate and welcoming performance space where audiences can experience live music up close.” I first went there in early 2023 to hear saxophonist Mark Ginsburg and pianist Ryan Grogan launching their album Oceans Together, released on Earshift Music in March, 2023. That project grew out of the Covid period, and the group was a discrete one, owing to a deliberate artistic choice made to work with hand percussionist Fabian Hevia rather than a drummer. Ginsburg says that this was designed to create more sonic space for the music.
I was back to VJs on October 11, 2026 for a stellar performance by a somewhat similar ensemble, the Mark Ginsburg Band. It includes three musicians from the quartet which performed in 2023: Ginsburg, Grogan, and bassist Brett Hirst, but it’s important to note that the current quintet represents a different musical concept, rather than an evolution of the earlier quartet. Accordingly drummer Nick McBride is now on board, and trombonist James Kennedy has joined, enlarging the group to a quintet.
An interesting aspect of the performance was that both Ginsburg and Kennedy were introducing for the first time a somewhat new innovation: using effects pedal boards for their respective instruments. This was an interesting experiment for the musicians, as much as it was for the audience who were treated to some unusual sounds in the music.
Ginsburg clarified what was being attempted: “In summary, both boards take a direct signal from the saxophone or trombone via piezo pickups embedded in the mouthpieces of our instruments…. The effects we are using include compression, delays, reverb and harmonisers. I think the core of the sound palette will come from the harmonisers, which allow us to create additional voices from the original instrument.”
“Other effects include long-tail reverbs, which can move the saxophone into a much more spacious and ambient sound world”, he went on. “That said, we are using the effects quite sparingly. They are not intended to be a constant feature of the performance, but rather to augment particular arrangements — giving us additional voices in the front line and, in some cases, creating a soundscape that the other musicians can respond to and interact with.”
Ginsburg’s description summarised pretty accurately the role of the pedal boards throughout the performance. Both Ginsburg and Kennedy are strong players, and in my view neither particularly needed their instruments electronically enhanced. But there were some very pleasant additional sounds produced from time to time which certainly were interesting, and served to enhance the music. I was delighted however that they were never intrusive enough to impinge on the band’s core sound.
From the word go, it was clear that Grogan, Hirst and McBride were a splendid rhythm section, their playing faultless throughout the evening, providing me with unmitigated pleasure. I loved the interaction between Grogan and Hirst particularly during Hirst’s brilliant double bass solos which were amplified well enough by an extremely competent sound technician, so they could be heard clearly. It’s always fascinating to hear how Hirst’s choices – whether to play two to the bar, or four to the bar, or adopt what I think of as a broken time-feel – always sound entirely appropriate, if not perfect. This ability to choose well is, I believe, the sign of a great bassist. It has to be said also that Grogan’s comping behind all the solos was a wonder to behold.
McBride on drums had a great night, playing softly with brushes when required, but at the same time willing to bring the volume up, often with sticks, when the music required higher energy. I would put him in the same class as a handful of other drummers of this ilk around the country. The prolific jazz writer Ian Muldoon, now based in Melbourne, has coined a phrase for drummers who exhibit this sort of sensitivity and nuance. In a recent review of a performance at Melbourne’s JazzLab, he described the Canadian drummer Dylan van der Schyff as “a drum whisperer”. I venture to say that this description could well apply to McBride also, who demonstrated a rare expertise on the drums throughout the two sets played.
At such jazz gigs, I always like to document for posterity the titles of the compositions played, and who wrote them. The five in the first set were all written by Grogan: Undertow; The Shape of Things; Atonement; Marching On; and Open Season. Similarly, five compositions also were played during the second set, this time a mixture of Grogan & Ginsburg tunes: Home Coming (Ginsburg); Kites (Grogan); Times and Tides (Ginsburg); Make Believe (Grogan); and Mark’s Blues (Ginsburg).
However, I feel it isn’t particularly important to know the titles of the compositions played, other than for documentation purposes; the repertoire in fact was transcended by the vibe of the night which I found unusually distinctive. This was an evening of brilliant compositions by two great writers, all their works featuring lovely harmonic changes, which were lapped up by a generous and knowledgeable audience. The warmth in the room being transmitted from the audience to the performers was palpable. This supportive atmosphere was adroitly aided by improvisations from both Ginsburg and Kennedy; they played rhythmic and melodic solos, which never went on too long.
Also the variety encapsulated in the arrangements was impressive throughout. The cleverness in the music was illustrated by the fact that the quintet did not adopt the conventional format which many modern jazz groups often use: first, play the head of the tune, then solos from everyone in turn, then fours with the drums, then return to the head. On the contrary I was always fascinated by the variety of the ways in which the Ginsburg band put together their music. For example, in the second tune of the second set, Kites, Grogan, now on electric piano, played a beautiful solo and there were no horn solos. I often wonder how such groups, apparently through intuition, assemble their music so seamlessly.
An important aspect of the evening was Ginsburg’s tribute to his artist friend John Gilfillan, who died from cancer recently. “John was an expressive artist, with a wonderful sense of the grand and an eye for the interplay of light and shadow,” Ginsburg has said. “He was a larger-than-life character, endlessly curious about the world and interested in just about everything — particularly people, and talking to them! He had a way of looking at the world that was entirely his own. Over the years, he submitted works for the Archibald prize… I remember his enthusiasm, his warmth, and his capacity to find something to celebrate in the world around him.”
VJs on this night was characterised by the sort of professionalism which these days is often absent from comparable venues in Sydney. It was heartwarming to see highly competent technicians supporting the music. Sound technician Phil Meltzer, and lighting technician Barr Perez were on hand, and I congratulate them on a job exceedingly well done. Such technicians are indispensable to a high-quality jazz performance, and I was immensely heartened by their presence at VJs. This showed an awareness of the essential requisites for a successful performance, and indeed unusual attention to detail on the part of the venue.
Also I should mention that the performance was being recorded by the technician Jacob Alleck. Ginsburg also has asked that volunteer audio-visual technician, Tony Abo, be given credit; the latter played a key role in configuring and physically connecting all the technical components.
When I reviewed the Grogan/Ginsburg album Oceans Together in 2023, I closed with the sentiment, “it’s comforting to know that there’s room in Australian jazz for such an exquisite album.” I feel very much the same way, now having heard the new Ginsburg/Grogan project live at VJs. I don’t know whether I fully understand the oeuvre being established by Ryan Grogan & Mark Ginsburg. Both musicians of course, hail from South Africa, and accordingly there are elements in their music which are somewhat unfamiliar to my ears. I can only assume those elements derive from their knowledge of the unique forms of jazz being played in Cape Town. Whatever their music represents, I know that I like it very much, and will look forward to opportunities in the future to hear it again.
This performance by the Mark Ginsburg Band took place on October 11, 2026 at the venue VJs in Chatswood, Sydney. The band included Mark Ginsburg (saxophones), James Kennedy (trombone), Ryan Grogan (acoustic piano & electric piano), Brett Hirst (double bass), and Nick McBride (drums).
