Double Album Launch: Joshua Nicholls and Maximillian Wickham

The Perth Jazz Society are proud to host a double album launch event, featuring debut albums by Joshua Nicholls and Maximillian Wickham.

PJS has been supporting original jazz artists in Perth for over 45 years. Through their relationship Loop Recording Studio and engineer Kieran Kenderessy, PJS provides free studio hire and engineering time to 2 deserving artists each year, enabling them to record an album of original music.

Joshua and Maximillian present a night of groundbreaking original large ensemble jazz, celebrating the launch of their albums, and the start of another exciting year for PJS.

Joshua Nicholls

Joshua Nicholls is a jazz guitarist, composer and arranger based in Perth, with a passion for bringing his fun, fiery and unpredictable music to the ears of listeners everywhere.

Joshua graduated from the Bachelor of Jazz, at the WA Academy of Performing Arts in 2019, majoring in Guitar and Composition/Arranging. In 2019, he was selected as the Associate Composer in-Residence with the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra, premiering an extended original jazz composition “Astonishing Device” at the 2019 King Street Corner Pocket Jazz Festival. During his time at WAAPA, he has studied and performed in the USA and France, and played alongside notable musicians including Rai Thistlethwayte (SYD), Sébastien Paindestre (FRA), Daniel Susnjar (PER), and his unique arrangements have been performed by Alana McPherson Plus Eleven (Mace Francis), JoFoo Music and Funked Up Brass (Matilda Simcock).

In 2018 Joshua formed his original jazz octet ‘Joshua Nicholls Plus Seven’ (JN+7), presenting original large ensemble jazz tunes in his unique compositional style: an eclectic blend of his early heroes Dream Theater and Led Zeppelin, jazz influences Herbie Hancock, Ari Hoenig and Bob Brookmeyer, along with a dash of unexplained craziness. Musical styles vary wildly throughout his catalogue, with funk, prog, free jazz, metal and cool-school elements present within his music. The one common thread: an infectious groove.

JN+7 has played at the 2019 King Street Corner Pocket Jazz Festival, the 2020 Perth International Jazz Festival, and the Ellington Jazz Club, and are releasing their debut album of original jazz compositions in March 2022, supported by the Perth Jazz Society and the State Government of WA.

Maximillian Wickham

Maximillian Wickham is a jazz saxophonist and composer based in Perth. In 2019, Max attained a Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours in Jazz from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He has performed with artists including the Mace Francis Orchestra (PER), Sam Anning (MEL), Daniel Susnjar (PER) and Jean-Baptiste Bridon (FRA). Max was the 2018 Associate Composer in Residence with the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra and was one of 18 young musicians from around the world invited to attend the 2018 Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony in California.

Drawing inspiration from Australian jazz artists such as Barney McAll, Julien Wilson, and Andrea Keller, Max aims to create music full of passion, emotion and intensity and seeks to blur the lines between the composed and the improvised. Tonight, he will be launching his début album ‘Hopeful’, a selection of compositions inspired by issues and people he cares about. The music will be performed by a 13-piece chamber ensemble featuring a collection of outstanding jazz and classical musicians.

Maximillian Wickham – Tenor Saxophone/Composer
Michael Ellis – Guitar
Tim Voutas – Piano
Alistair Peel – Bass
Daniel Susnjar – Drums
Caitlin Malcolm – Flute
Alexandra Thomson – Clarinet
Philip Everall – Bass Clarinet
Kate Walpole – Bassoon
Ruth Klein Cook – Violin
Yasmin Omran – Violin
Erica Ketterer – Viola
Miranda Murray-Yong – Violoncello