7 out of 10 by Jon Delaney

The opening theme for "Anthem Song with a Beat" is an attempt at serial composition, followed by a joyous chordal passage which leads into a free improvisation reminiscent of 90's alt-rock.

"The Admission" is a gentle piece in 3/4 time with some beautiful moments in both bass and guitar solos before the theme is reintroduced.

"A Good Time Was Had By All", named after a volume of poetry by English writer Stevie Smith, is a ballad performed entirely colla voce. It begins with a beautiful bass solo, which gives way into a bowed accompaniment for the guitar. The theme is introduced over the ecstatic drum solo to bring it to a close.

"Little Song For Karen" is almost a country song, inspired by Bill Frisell's album "Nashville". It features beautiful bass and guitar solos of uncluttered simplicity.

"One More" is an uptempo straight eights tune inspired the compositions of Brad Mehldau. The highlight is an improvised transition out of the guitar solo into the stunning bass entry.

"Twice in a Week" is a slow ballad, ushered in by a lush drum solo. The theme is followed by tuneful guitar and bass solos before the album is brought to a quiet close.

About Jon Delaney

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Jon Delaney is a freelance guitarist, composer and teacher from Melbourne, Australia. He performs regularly with his own band, "The Jon Delaney Trio" and in many other contexts, with some of the foremost talents on the Melbourne improvised music scene.

Jon's musical development began while he was ostensibly studying philosophy and literature at Monash University, playing rock guitar and bass in pubs, clubs, and friend's living rooms and doing serious diservice to Descartes and Shelley. Taking a year off after graduation to practice and catch up on reading, he was accepted into the Victorian College of the Arts in 1998, from which he emerged some years later with Bachelor (hons) and Master of Music Performance degrees (he has also taken part in the Banff Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music (2006), a 3-week ferment of creativity and discovery in the Canadian Rockies).

His studies and the predictable onset of tinnitus contributed to a broadening of his musical taste, and Jon developed an attachment to small group jazz, baroque, and 20th century classical music. He now performs predominanty in a modern jazz style, incorporating elements of free improvisation and textural variation, and plays Bach and strums indie-rock songs to himself on weekends. He has a special interest in the continuing evolution of accompaniment roles in jazz, which he explores in "The Jon Delaney Trio", and is influenced strongly by Jim Hall, J.S. Bach, Jimmy Guiffre, Art Farmer, Don Thompson, Jane’s Addiction, Sonny Rollins and countless others.

Jon is the author of two theses: "Jim Hall Live!: Advancing Conceptions of Instrumental Role Playing in Jazz Ensembles", and "In Search of a History: Selection and Performance of Transcriptions for Pick-Style Guitar and Bass Duo of J.S. Bach’s Contrapuntal Keyboard Works". He is a faculty member of Victoria University, and also teaches guitar at Fitzroy High School.

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