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On Sunday 29th April from 2.00 to 5.00 PM at BMW Edge in Federation Square, the Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival presents its second annual Commission Concert. Building on the outstanding success of the inaugural 2006 event, which was awarded to Jex Saarelaht, the 2007 Commission Concert promises to be an unmissable event for anyone interested in Melbourne’s burgeoning jazz and creative music scene. It presents a new work, Yasaka Sho myo, by acclaimed pianist and composer, Colin Hopkins who was awarded the commission from a long list of excellent proposals from around Australia.

While Colin Hopkins is well known as a pianist through superb releases such as Paper Hat’s Nine Conversations (Rufus 2006), it is not common knowledge among music lovers that he also excels in the field of architecture, in which his skills have been recognised with several major awards (John Charles Lloyd Exhibition, Nell Norris Scholarship, and Stephenson Turner Prize). Yasaka Sho myo (pronounced sho em yo) brings together the dual strands of Colin’s creative life and is inspired by a recent extended trip to Japan. It is structured on the universal architectural elements and organisational principles expressed in the Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, and will be presented as a four-part suite for piano, acoustic bass, percussion and the renowned Silo String Quartet.

The Melbourne Jazz Fringe Commission Concert will also feature the superb Sydney vocalist Elana Stone who was the winner of the 2005 National Jazz Award. Elana will be appearing with saxophonist Julien Wilson and guitarist Stephen Magnusson. In addition the concert program will feature a performance by Diode, which is comprised of trumpet virtuoso Tristram Williams and Michael Fowler (laptop, keyboards and assorted electronics).