Wah Sa

Wah Sa is nothing less than jazz-groove lightning in a bottle. It's the fourth album from the Daimon Brunton Quintet and first to be recorded live. Wah Sa is both a popping, rhythm and beats propelled salute to the 70s recordings of Freddie Hubbard, and an attempt to capture the Melbourne-based group's electrifying live gigs. "Our last album, My Favourite Things, was all about melody and creating the most beautiful sound possible," says Daimon. "This time it was all about energy and that's why we had to record it live." Over the course of two years recording, the group's line-up changed multiple times, several jazz venues were used and the list of charts rotated constantly. Daimon finally found the sound he wanted at the relaxed Open Studio with a line-up comprising himself on trumpet, Olaf Scott and Greg Levell on keyboard, Stella Skinner on guitar, Pat Farrell on bass and Adam Donaldson on drums. From hours of recordings, just five tracks were selected to create a powerful album full of infectious grooves and brilliant playing. There are two covers: Herbie Hancock's Chameleon and Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay, which Daimon notes "are played straight but with plenty of firepower". Added to that are three originals: the title track Wah Sa, They Know Not What and A Happy Coincidence. "With those three I just wanted to write the hippest, funkiest charts I could," adds the trumpeter-composer. In fact it's the towering figure of Freddie Hubbard that first inspired Daimon with this project. "After Sky Dive (1972) he seemed to move away to more pop-oriented music, but I was interested in exploring what might have been if Freddie had continued down the jazz path." he explains. "That's why when it came to putting this album together, regardless of cleanliness or mistakes, we prioritised those recordings which are the most addictive and which have the most intense energy." Wah Sa is a Chinese chant that means, "already done". For Daimon Brunton and his group, the work for this live album was already done over some 15 years of playing live around Melbourne. Now with the support of Arts Victoria, they are hitting the road for the first time on a national tour in support of Wah Sa, playing in Melbourne, Shepperton, Adelaide, Canberra, Wollongong, Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane.