Doors 7:45 PM, Music 8:30 PM – 2 sets of music
Line-up:
Pat Jaffe – Piano
Audrey Powne – Trumpet
Ross Anderson – Double bass
Jack Thomas – Drum kit
About:
Australian pianist/composer Pat Jaffe’s music brings together vivid storytelling, lyrical melodies and expansive chamber-jazz soundscapes. He will be touring music from his new album LUNSEN, releasing in late-2026 on the ABC Jazz label. Named after the forest near where Pat lived in Sweden, the album’s compositions conjure up a combination of tranquil beauty and untamed wildness. For this show at The Vortex, Pat has assembled an exciting band of Aussie expats, featuring rising star trumpeter Audrey Powne.
Pat was the winner of the 2020 Allan Zavod Performers’ Award, has been a finalist in the APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards and has worked as an arranger/collaborator with Nai Palm (Hiatus Kaiyote) and Academy Award winning singer-songwriter Markéta Irglová. His debut album ‘Eldorado’, was recorded in Reykjavík with the Siggi String Quartet and he has since released two albums with Brisbane-based label MADE NOW MUSIC.
Pat currently co-leads a weekly residency at Old Plates Record Bar with Afrospace Interchange, featuring legendary South African drummer Brian Abrahams, which has built up a cult following over the past three years. An active fixture of the Melbourne music scene, Pat also performs and records with bands such as the Jazzlab Orchestra, Monash Art Ensemble, Owelu Dreamhouse, and Andrea Keller’s Composers Circle.
“The music contained both irrepressible energy and heart-melting beauty … Jaffe has turned one of his favourite places in nature into a musical space for discovery, trust, passion and vulnerability. It’s a space I’d gladly revisit any time. —-” – Jessica Nicholas, The Sydney Morning Herald
“His music blends elements of jazz, modern classical, and minimalist pianism, falling somewhere between Brad Mehldau and Australian neo-classical pianist Luke Howard. There’s something in these woven melodies and their relaxed timing that calms the soul when peace is needed most” – Headphone Commute
“An impressive debut from a thoughtful and sensitive musician … the music is peaceful and ruminative but, under a seamless surface there are nuances which are subtle and exquisite” – Eric Myers, The Australian