On a Clear Night

One of the great things about being in an entirely new environment is discovering the local artistic and music scene. I've been trying to learn about Australian musicians, and just purchased Missy Higgin's new album "On a Clear Night". She's had quite a success nationally, as well as touring in the UK and U.S. She's only 23, but has a soulful voice with wise lyrics. She reminds me a bit of Dido and Fiona Apple. She's on tour in Australia right now, with many of her shows sold out, so not sure if I'll get to see a live performance.

Tonight we're going to a Melbourne Jazz fest performance, with Abate, an Ethiopian saxophone player, and Aaron Choulai, a 24 yr old Aussie pianist/composer. There are, of course, some very famous jazz musicians headlining the festival (Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Pharoah Sanders) but we've already seen some of them, and the tickets are very pricey. So we decided to just pick performers that we'd never heard, and it will give us a chance to check out a local jazz club, Bennetts Lane.

There are also "buskers" (street performers) around the Southgate and downtown area, and many of the musicians I've heard are quite good. I found some info about busking here. I've seen sax players, guitarists, drummers, vocalists (even an opera singer), rappers, and a didgeridoo player (okay, the rapper was bad...who wants to hear someone making mediocre percussion noises into a mike only to stop occasionally and say "Stop! Hammer time!"). It's always interesting though. I wonder how they "claim" their territory, if it's first come, first serve, or what, and if some of them can make a living at it.