Welcome to THE LISTENING ROOM
Recordings, stories, and voices from across our organisation.
Guy Strazz (PhD)
Guitarist | Composer | Teacher
In the Spotlight | Guy Strazz
Acclaimed Australian guitarist, composer, educator, and long-standing Central Coast Conservatorium staff member Guy Strazz continues to make his mark on the international jazz scene with a sound that fuses modern jazz, Afro-Brazilian rhythms, and Western and Indian classical traditions. Holding a PhD in improvisation and composition, Guy’s career has included studying under the late jazz legend Pat Martino in Philadelphia, recording with fusion icon Mike Stern in New York, and producing the acclaimed album Calcutta Express in India — work supported by an Australia Council Music Fellowship…
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Guy’s recorded output spans projects including the duo album 2@1 with pianist Matt McMahon, the African and Indian-influenced Afrotonic, the flamenco-inspired Silk Road Concerto, and Colours, featuring an APRA Award-winning collaboration with guitarist Slava Grigoryan. His full discography is available to stream via Bandcamp.
An APRA Jazz Award winner and author of the instructional book Jazz Guitar Mastery: Fretboard Revolutions, Strazz remains an active performer with ensembles including The Fret Benders, Stratofibre, and the guitar duo Great Guitars.
Alongside his performing career, Strazz is a respected educator who served as Head of Guitar at the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music for 15 years and currently teaches composition at Avondale University. He has also taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, UNSW, and Macquarie University over the past two decades, guiding students through HSC Music, AMEB exams, and university audition preparation.
Recordings
AfroTonic
This album blends classical, acoustic and hybrid guitars with drums, and percussion such as Tibetan bowls, Middle Eastern Darabuka and a variety of cymbals. With the exception of Kathak Blues, Overture Samba and Ronaldinho, the compositions combine notation and structure with open form modal improvisation where rhythm, texture, and colour become primary elements.
Silk Road Concerto
This is a long overdue release of a concerto I wrote over a decade ago. Flamenco master, Tomatito, gave me great feedback, but for a number of reasons mostly to do with health – I shelved it. It was almost forgotten when a friend encouraged me to give it its just birth. So here is Silk Road – Double concerto for guitar, piano and chamber orchestra
Listening link
2@1
2@1 received Australian Independent Recording Nomination for Best Jazz Release. It features renowned artists: pianist Matt McMahon and guitarist Guy Strazz in duo mode.
Calcutta Express
Calcutta Express – American Indie Acoustic Project Awards Nomination – Best CD 2006 Eurasia/Global Beat. “One of the best CDs of 2006” IAP
Eastern Blues
“The “mysterious” or “eastern” flavor is overt but functions brilliantly within a happy, swinging modern jazz-blues instrumental context”- ABC Radio National – Weekend Planet
“Sitting at my desk I heard Mingus in the Ganges. Brilliant!”- Robbie Buck ABC Radio
Dimitri Vouros
Woodwind instrumentalist | Composer | Teacher
Recordings
Silent Night
[Bağlama – Clarinet] Muharrem Aslan feat. Dimitri Vouros – Silent Night
There are 13 songs in the Buluşmalar (Nexus) Vol.2 album. The album consists of duet journeys of the ‘Baglama’ with the World instruments. These are, according to album order Baglama-Electric Guitar (Eitan Muir), Baglama- Cello (Kayla Flaxman), Baglama-Tenor Saxophone (Chris Blundell), Baglama- Electric Bass (Hugo Powell), Baglama- Clarinet (Dimitri Vouros), Baglama- Flute (Rachel Woolley), Baglama- Classical Guitar (Manuel Diewald), Baglama- Piano (Madison Wu), Baglama – Synthesizer (Lachie McWhirter), Baglama- Sitar (Colin Berryman), Baglama- Vocal (Kayla Flaxman), Baglama- Vibraphone (Sarah) and Baglama- UNSW Classical Guitar Ensemble (Eamon Feeney, Manuel Diewald, Dylan Kontos, Tobias Dracoulis, Reede Palmer and Jono Alejandro Moran).
The Bluebird, the mystic and the Fool
“The Bluebird, The Mystic and the Fool” (2018)
Joseph Tawadros Quartet featuring Dimitri Vouros
The Lonely Spirits Variety Hour
In 2021 Dimitri was commissioned to compose and record jazz tracks for the Australian film “The Lonely Spirits Variety Hour”
Ed Street
Ed Hughes Quintet – Ed Street, Featuring Dimitri Vouros on Alto Saxophone
Michaele Archer
Soprano | Composer | Teacher
Silphie – Videos
Si Tu
- Vocals/composer – Michaele Archer (Pictured)
- Cello – Rachel Whealy
- Guitar – Giuseppe Zangari
- Viola – Gab Steele
- Dancer – Darcy Strode (Pictured)
- Director/filming and editing – Benjamin Fraser (Pictured)
Filmed at the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music on Darkinjung land. Latin text written by ancient Roman poet Sulpicia from her Garland of 6 poems.
Recorded and mixed at Damien Gerard Studios Producer and Sound Engineer – Andrew Beck Mastered by Marcello de Francisci From the latest album project by Silphie “Garland, the love poems of Sulpicia” is a setting of ancient Roman poet Sulpicia’s Latin text and stories.
The poems are love letters to her secret lover Cerinthius. Si tu meaning “if you” is the 4th poem in the series. Sulpicia has a deadly fever. Sulpicia says “if you love me I will surely live!”
Film Awards & festival screenings
- Award winner for Hollywood Indie Festival
- Tokyo Lift-off Festival
- New York film and female actress award
- London Lift-off Festival
- WSXA Paris – best music video finalist
- Berlin FIlm Festival International
