I’ve been in New York City 23 years this month. After leaving Australia in 2000, our family spent six months in Phoenix, where my wife Danielle had a nursing contract. While in Phoenix, I hardly played, apart from jetting off for a Scott Tinkler’s Trio tour of Vietnam and China. When asking about local gigs, the person answering the “Phoenix Jazz Hotline” suggested moving to LA or New York! So, when we escaped Phoenix and arrived in New York, I wasn’t sure how I would start to make inroads into the scene. I knew Sean Wayland. I also got in touch with Nicky Parrott who loaned me an amp for a couple of early gigs. But I could tell it was going to be tough to make connections.
Pamela Knowles had returned to the US around that time. She was keen to promote her new album 13 Kinds of Desire. She booked a band composed of Xavier Davis, Alex Norris, Keith Hall, Gilad, and lucky me. The first rehearsal at Michiko Studios was a revelation. Everyone was there set up and ready to play right at call time. I consider myself to be punctual, yet I was the last to arrive. Also, everyone had checked out the music. The first reading of each chart sounded gig worthy. Having played on her album, I led Pamela’s band. The musicians were cool with that … even though they had no idea who I was! That was the beginning of a nice run with Pam, including performances at Nuyorican Poets Cafe and the Chicago Humanities Festival.
So began a series of Aussie connections that led to much of the work I’ve done since moving to NYC.
Pamela recommended me to saxophonist Eric Person. Pam had met Eric at Ronnie Scott’s in London when she opened for Dave Holland’s band. Eric invited me to play in Meta-Four, replacing Kenny Davis who had started to tour with Herbie Hancock. I’ve played regular gigs with Eric ever since, toured across the US and made records, with collaborators including Zaccai Curtis, McClenty Hunter, Dave Gilmore, Kevin Eubanks, Ingrid Jensen, Adam Klipple, Brian Charette, Shinnosuke Takahashi, Patience Higgins, Duane Eubanks, Darrell Green, Houston Person, Ralph Alessi and more.
Aussie drummer, Ben Vanderwal, invited me to a jam in Brooklyn with saxophonist, Kim Bock. I ended up playing in Kim and Sila Cevikce’s band, which recorded with Rich Perry and Ari Hoenig. Kim’s quartet, featuring Peter Retzlaff and David Smith, toured and made records over four or so years, including Live in Copenhagen on the SteepleChase label.
Christian Finger, who heard my name when he lived in Australia, asked me to join his NYC trio. Christian’s bands have been another staple, including gigs and recordings with Chihiro Yamanaka (with whom I toured Japan), Vadim Neselovskyi, Rich Perry, Dave Stryker, Pete McCann, Jeff Ballard, Tim Armacost, Donny McCaslin, Zach Brock, and Nate Radley.
Aussie saxophonist, Tim Otto, booked me for a gig early on with Richard X Bennett on piano. A few years later, Richard asked me to play in his trio and his quintet, featuring Lisa Parrott and Matt Parker. I’ve made a number of records with “RXB,” playing gigs with Michael Blake, Paula Jeaneen, Alex Wyatt, Julian Edmond and more.
The musical connection I made with Ken Thomson (who knew about me via Greta Gertler) has been one of the most satisfying and challenging of my years in the U.S. Performances with Ken’s bands have included recordings and tours of Europe and the U.S. with Slow/Fast, with Nir Felder and Russ Johnson, and Sextet, which has featured Russ, Anna Webber, Kalia Vandever, Nadje Noordhuis, Alan Ferber, E.J. Strickland and Daniel Dor. Ken’s music has been some of the most complex I’ve played — that’s saying something, considering I was a member of David Jones’s AtmaSphere, and Daryl Pratt’s Sonic Fiction. Ken relocated to Berlin during COVID, but I hope to do more with him in the future (given time to practice!).
In a long line of great singers with whom I’ve had the honor to play and record — including Pam, Greta, Aussie ex-pat Ali Hughes — last, but definitely not least, is KJ Denhert. I joined KJ’s “jazz project” in 2018, playing a residency at the 55 Bar with Adam Klipple and Joe Strasser. This year, with Nicki Denner on keys, Eric Halvorson on drums, and Mark McIntyre on guitar, KJ is releasing an album featuring her originals, jazz standards and reimagined pop tunes.
During my 23 years in NYC, I haven’t gotten back to Australia to play much, nor played with too many visiting Aussie musicians. In 2001, I did play with Don Burrows for the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico. I also joined Maria Schneider’s Orchestra of Aussie musicians for the 2002 Sydney Festival. And this year I reunited with Miro Bukovsky’s Wanderlust for that legendary band’s 30th anniversary celebrations in Sydney. But I guess I haven’t been on the Australian scene’s radar much.
So, when people back home ask, “What happened to Adam Armstrong? The guy who played bass on a heap of records and gigs in the 80s and 90s,” I’m still here. Maybe playing at the Blue Note, Small’s, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola or venues in Brooklyn. Danielle and I have been married 31 years. We’ve raised two kids — Matilda, 26, and Gabe, 20, who is studying double bass at Purchase College. We live in Brooklyn. We’ve survived 9/11, Superstorm Sandy, and COVID-19. I’m not “famous.” But I still love to play the bass and try to play it better every day. So, to paraphrase Sam Keevers’s funny expression from when we were in Vince Jones’s band, “Hey, Australia! I’m over here. What’s it like over there?”
