Groovy, swinging, and sophisticated at the same time

- this band hits all the right notes. Covering a wide variety of styles from rock and blues to funk and Latin and hard-swinging modern and post-modern jazz, Russ and Jodie have been garnering rave reviews for their performances all around the world. 

Jodie Michael started playing drums as a teenager and studied at the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music. She gained more experience during subsequent study in New York with world-class drummers Michael Carvin, Eric Harland, Bernard Purdie and Billy Hart and has played with many acclaimed Australian jazz/contemporary musicians including James Muller, James Morrison, Dale Barlow, Katie Noonan, Bobby Gebert, Carl Dewhurst, Craig Scott and Matt McMahon. A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2012 with a Bachelor of Music, Jodie is the recipient of the 2013 Jann Rutherford Memorial Award and was featured in the Sydney Morning Herald magazine in 2013. Jodie performed with US musicians Camille Thurman and Mimi Jones at the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival in 2015. Jodie is a graduate of Berklee College of Music’s Global Jazz Masters program.

Russ Spiegel is a commissioned composer and arranger as well as a highly respected international guitarist, bandleader, writer, musicologist, and award-winning sound engineer. Russ spent more than a decade living and performing in Europe before returning to the US. to settle in New York City. Once there, he quickly became an established member of the city’s jazz scene. He earned his master’s degree in jazz performance at the City College of New York under the aegis of John Patitucci before going on to receive his doctorate in Jazz Composition at the University of Miami Frost School of Music as a Henry Mancini Institute Fellow. He has released several CDs, scored music for film, and performs and leads masterclasses, workshops, and seminars around the world. Russ currently teaches at Florida International University and Barry University.

This evening will feature original compositions and arrangements from Russ with this handpicked group of top Sydney players.

Russ Spiegel Press Quotes: 

Channeling the spirited energy of hard bop with the progressive aesthetics of rock music, Spiegel carves out his own niche in the contemporary jazz scene —Troy Collins, All About Jazz 

Spiegel plays with a clear, bright sound and his solos reveal a sure-footed rhythmic instinct and a harmonic sense which may be rooted in bebop, but which also leans towards the future  —Charles Alexander, Jazzwise (London) 

Intellectual to the core, melodic and elegant, [Spiegel's] music will engage and challenge you at the same time —Ed Blanco, EJazzNews 

A killer guitarist that’s simply welcome all over the world, Spiegel lays it down without pretense or drama and lets his clean lines and solid playing provide all the drama and dynamic tension non-smooth jazz should have, even when he’s playing it light and easy. A tasty cat you should definitely get to know —Chris Spector, Midwest Record 

The scorching solos…drew applause every single time —Arhan Sett, Times of India

The Jodie Michael/Russ Spiegel Group - Andrew Crago - alto sax 🎷, Russ Spiegel - guitar 🎸 and compositions 🎼 , Barney Wakeford - organ 🎹 &  Jodie Michael - drums 🥁 

$30 + bf entry includes a meal 🥘

Level 1 is the intimate room

7pm Doors 🍷
8.30pm band

Lazybones Lounge Restaurant & Bar is a  COVID Safe ✅. You must obey the conditions of entry