Home » Jazz Musicians » Mace Francis Orchestra Discography

No Postcode

buy album

Mace Francis Orchestra

Label: Self Produced
Released: 2024
Duration: 38:17:00
Views: 70

Tracks

No Postcode; Empty Landscape; Sleepy Duke; An Ocean Seen; Squint Your Eyes; S.M.S

Personnel

Album Description

From big band jazz to funk, rock, noise guitar, ambient sounds, and dark country influences, you’ll hear it all on the new contemporary jazz album ‘No Postcode’ - the fourth studio album (and 10th album release) from the Mace Francis Orchestra (MFO) out on April 12th. Perth icon Dr Mace Francis is no stranger to Australia’s jazz community. Artistic Director of the Perth International Jazz Festival and WA Youth Jazz Orchestra, current Churchill Fellow, and composer and band leader of projects including Mace Francis Plus 11 and New York Nonet - but it’s with the MFO, where you’ll hear the true Mace Francis best. Written over the past six years, the six tracks on ‘No Postcode’ have taken on many iterations before landing on this release - MFO providing the canvas for Mace to express his many different musical influences, harmonies, and orchestral colours. Mace started the band in 2004 to experiment with big band composition after graduating from university and the project continues 20 years on. It’s featured a long list of up to 13 revolving musicians, with five original members remaining including Ricki Malet (trumpet), Ben Collins (saxophone), Mark Sprogowski (saxophone), Catherine Noblet (trombone) and Greg Brenton (drums). Over the years, MFO have toured and recorded regularly achieving four national tours, performances with international jazz artists including Jim Pugh (USA), Jon Gordon (USA), John Hollenbeck (GER/USA), Satoko Fujii (JAP), Natsuki Tamura (JAP), Theo Bleckmann (USA) and Ed Partyka (Austria), released four studio albums and 10 albums, and commissioned 30 new pieces. One of those commissions was ‘No Postcode’ by Mace’s close friend, Victor O’Connor, to be performed at his funeral. It’s the album’s title track and is influenced by the recordings of Frank Zappa and Turkish folk. This piece was played for the first time at Victor’s wake, and despite the fact this album explores the themes of isolation, loss and loneliness - it’s not a sombre listen. Full of memorable melodies, intriguing harmonies, and solos from some of Perth’s best musicians, you’ll lose track of time listening to ‘No Postcode’, forgetting any worries of the day.

Next >
Isolation Emancipation