James Macaulay is original, passionate, uninhibited and on top of his game as a trombonist.Featuring as a part of:
- The Monash Art Ensemble with Paul Grabowsky
- The Horns of Leroy
- The Steve Grant Quintet
- Martin Martini
- The Bennetts Lane Big Band
- Allan Browne’s Sextet Nouvelle
- The Lagerphones and
- The Australian Art Orchestra
James has also stepped into the spotlight with his own group, the James Macaulay Quartet. The quartet features the extraordinary Steve Grant (C.W. Stoneking, Black Arm Band) on piano, Tamara Murphy (Allan Browne, Murphy’s Law) on bass and James McLean (Marc Hannaford, Scott Tinkler) on drums.
Connecting himself to a tangible tradition of Melbourne jazz, James likes playing with ‘old dudes’. He describes his own music as ‘straight ahead jazz in a free manner, with a strong element of groove’, and ‘not about girls’. He sees music as honest work, plays on the edge of his technique, and has a cool disdain for clinical displays of virtuosity. Instead, his practice more reflects the lost art of holding a record party for friends when you buy a new jazz record.