Double Bill: Nock & Johnston + Cody & Greening

A duo of duos. A double bill, featuring two variations of the piano/horn duet, in a unique evening of experimentation, spontaneity, and surprise. Nock and Johnston will explore the music of Steve Lacy (with a few bonus tracks), and Cody and Greening will explore the boundaries of composition and improvisation.

Mike Nock (piano) and Phillip Johnston (soprano saxophone) play the music of Steve Lacy

Chris Cody (piano) and James Greening (trombone) mix composition and improvisation.

Mike Nock’s career has spanned the range of contemporary musical styles and he is widely recognised as an important voice in Australian modern music. Based in Sydney since 1986, he previously spent 25 years in the USA, working with many of the world’s top jazz artists.

Soprano/alto saxophonist Phillip Johnston tours internationally, having played in the last few years in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Paris, New York, and Buenos Aires among others.

A week after this performance he will travel to New York to perform at Brooklyn’s Barbès night club, record an episode of WNYC-FM ’s Sound Check, with John Schaefer, now in its 21st year, (first as broadcast radio in New York, now as a podcast on-demand) and to do the US launch of the paperback edition of his book on silent film music, Silent Films/Loud Music.

These two musicians play a mix of more structured compositions and free improvisations and revel in interacting with each other with humour, changing up the roles and taking the music to new and unexpected places. They’ve been playing together for over 25 years and have recorded several successful albums together including Oasis and Astrolabe.

Pianist and composer Chris Cody has performed extensively throughout the USA, Europe, Africa, and Australia while based in Paris for many years. He has released 12 CDs of his own music, played on many others, and also collaborated with jazz masters around the world including Roy Hargrove, Herb Geller, Rhoda Scott, Rick Margitza, Sunny Murray, Marcel Azzola, Jason Marsalis, and many more.