Tune into Friday Night Live on the June 20 for an exciting concert by the Wayne Kelly Trio and special guest Con Campbell.
The Wayne Kelly Trio will feature Wayne Kelly on piano, Mark Sutton on drums and Eric Ajaye on Bass with Con Campbell on sax. Wayne has been playing music since he was 12 years old; his love for jazz began when armed with his headphones and trusty radio he listened to the local station that played all types of Jazz. Wayne also recalls picking up a 1984 keyboard magazine and learning the piano transcription Denny Zetlin ‘The Herald’, this contained interesting harmony such as bi-tonal chords.
Wayne has performed at many festivals through Australia including Manly, Thredbo, Adelaide and Canberra Jazz festivals. Now at 36 years of age Wayne continues to be heard with his self-titled trio at Canberra’s home of Jazz the Hippo Bar and many other venues.
Mark Sutton has been playing drums for almost 30 years. He completed a Diploma of Music and Graduate Diploma of Music in the early 90’s from the Canberra School of Music. Since then he has performed with many artist both in Australia and overseas including, Peter Omara, Dale Barlow, and Mike Nock. He has taken lessons from Kenny Washington (USA), Andrew Gander, Gordon Rytmeister, Colin Hoorweg and others. he is currently on staff at the Canberra School of Music.
Eric C. Ajaye was born in Brooklyn, New York and he always loved music and studied violin for nine years before switching to bass. In college Eric studied bass under Buell Neidlinger at California Institute of the Arts where he was on scholarship. While living in Los Angeles, Eric’s music career included many aspects of the music industry, such as recording albums with artists from Bill Cosby to Chaka Khan, television and film soundtracks, and television commercials.
Eric has toured many countries in Asia, Europe, Russia, Central and South America and has been a member of the bands of Freddie Hubbard, Taj Mahal, The Jazz Tap Ensemble, The Doug MacLeod Band, the Pointer Sisters and Barry White. He has also backed artists Nancy Wilson, Bennie Maupin, Gary Bartz, George Howard, Sonny Stitt, Joe Williams, Gregory Hines, Harold Nicholas, Todd Cochran (Bayete),Pee Wee Crayton, Joe Louis Walker, Della Reese, and many more.
Eric moved to Australia in 1998 and has work with many of Australia’s top jazz artists accompanying them at jazz festivals, in jazz clubs and on recording sessions. Some. Since February 2000 Eric has been a member of the Jazz Department faculty at The Australian National University School of Music, teaching double bass/electric bass and leading the Commercial Ensemble, which performs at various jazz festivals during the school year.
Con studied jazz performance at The Canberra School of Music, ANU. He was the recipient of the James Morrison Jazz Scholarship in 1995, and recorded his self-titled album with Morrison at the age of 19. After having been identified by Morrison as an exciting new talent in Australian jazz, Con has performed at The Monterey Jazz Festival (USA), The Wangaratta Jazz Festival, The Australian Jazz Festival, The Manly Jazz Festival, The Basement, and Soup Plus, among other notable venues and locations.
Appearing on various recordings, Con also performed on and co-produced the album The Gospel According to Groove, with James and John Morrison, Vanetta Fields, and The Idea of North. His latest album, Freedom in the Groove, features Evelyn Duprai and a 30-piece gospel choir.
Friday Night Livefeatures live performances from the ArtSound recording studios and pre-recorded concerts from venues around the Canberra region including the God’s Café, Canberra Southern Cross Club, the Street Theatre as well as some of the world’s top festivals. You’ll hear interviews with band members and news of the latest jazz gigs around Canberra.
Tune in every Friday night to hear the best Australian and international talent on offer!
