The Neil Sagewood Trio will launch its debut album Octagon at Junction 142 Katoomba on Friday, December 2.
Octagon is a magical melding of 35 years of musical craft and wood craft. Each of the songs tells a story associated with the life and career of this celebrated, versatile local musician, master pianist and master carpenter, best known to Mountains locals for the Latin sensation Babalu.
The Octagon itself is an exquisitely built light-filled studio that Sagewood designed and built in the bushland setting of his home. The centrepiece of the room is a rare exemplar of the iconic Australian Beale grand piano, lovingly brought back to life by Sydney Opera House piano technician Owen Geary.
It was Neil’s daughter Charlotte, also an accomplished musician, who insisted that the beauty of his compositions be fully realised and introduced the exceptional, boundary-breaking drummer/percussionist and studio engineer Ben Walsh (The Bird, Circle of Rhythm) to help realise the magic of Octagon. Walsh instantly knew that he had taken on a very special project.
“It’s almost as if the Beale was the fourth member of the band,” he said. “It vibrated with the bass and resonated the cymbal frequencies. We were all in awe of the tone and sustain of the instrument, the most beautiful acoustic properties I have ever heard in a piano.
“It’s a testament to Neil's masterful playing and his special connection with the Beale. Most players would have shunned it due to its very difficult action, but Neil heard its promise and worked hard over decades to adjust his technique and bring out the magic you can hear in the album.”
Each of the Latin-jazz fusion pieces on Octagon tells a story, from Sagewood’s daughter perched in a mango tree to the dark moment of switching off a loved one’s life support machine.
Sagewood’s delicately crafted melodies set the room shaking with the joyously inventive rhythmical brilliance of Walsh, and the sinuous bass of Charlotte Sagewood. The Trio is joined by local talents Micky Young, Hamish Rynehart, Bonnie Coady, and Peter Kennard. Tickets: $25 presale (+ fee) or $30 at the door. See www.stickytickets.com.au/59532/octagon_neil_sagewood_trio_album_launch.aspx.
