Fiona Burnett Soprano Saxophone

Band Biographies 

Fiona Burnett Saxophone

Fiona Burnett has decades of experience band leading and forging new ground creatively as a performer and composer.  Her first major performance was at the Sydney Domain aged 14 years old in a group led by renowned percussionist Greg Sheenan.  At 21 she founded her groundbreaking all female group Morgana, recognized for its trailblazing contribution to jazz and women in music. Since this time Burnett has led many projects from large ensembles with orchestration and strings to quartets, trios  to duos and solo projects. She has released nine albums and four on the ABC label, has been the recipient of numerous arts grants, held a seat on the Music Board of the Australia Council for the Arts as  appointed by the Federal Arts Minister. She is a passionate advocate for gender equity in jazz, is a respected music educator and is currently the Coordinator of Secondary and VCE Music at Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School. She holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne studying works of JS Bach and John Coltrane and is recognised  internationally for her highly energised virtuosic soloing and soaring, melodic improvisations on the soprano saxophone. 

Mina Yu  Piano

Based in Melbourne, pianist and composer Mina Yu relocated from New York City after seven years of performing and studying in the USA. She appeared at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Columbia University, and New York Live Arts, and has toured internationally across South Korea, Australia, England, and Switzerland.Since settling in Melbourne, Mina has performed at leading venues and festivals including Melbourne Recital Centre, Arts Centre Melbourne, NGV, Jazzlab, Paris Cat Jazz Club, and the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. She also served as music director and pianist for K-pop star Tae Woo Kim’s Melbourne concert.Active across classical, jazz, and contemporary music scenes, Mina has contributed to award-winning albums such as ZEDSIX’s The Shape of Jazz and Richard Pavlidis’ Without Within. Mina teaches at Melbourne University (VCA) and Monash College, and is an AMEB examiner. She was also an artist-in-residence for Berklee’s Inspire program and holds music degrees from Berklee College of Music and Manhattan School of Music.

Christopher Hale Acoustic Bass Guitar

Christopher Hale has been called “one of the most unique and respected musicians in Australia” (Glam Adelaide), an “unconventional virtuoso of the bass guitar” (The Age), and “an Australian jazz heavyweight and a brilliant, groundbreaking composer” (Rhythms Magazine). Raised on Brazilian, Afro-Cuban music and flamenco, Hale has long immersed himself in musical traditions, shaping a personal approach to jazz and improvisation. He has performed with Sting, Jamey Haddad, Jim Black, Virgil Donati, Jo Lawry, Bae Il Dong, Brad Shepik, Jojo Mayer, and many others, and is a central figure in the Australian scene, regularly collaborating with Andrea Keller, Julien Wilson, Paul Grabowsky, Scott Tinkler, Simon Barker, Jamie Oehlers, and Gian Slater.Hale received an Australia Council Fellowship in 2004 and the prestigious Freedman Fellowship for Jazz in 2012, Australian music’s “genius grant” (Music Forum). He holds a PhD from the University of Sydney and is an Associate Artist with the Australian Art Orchestra.His latest recording, Ritual Diamonds—a collaboration with Korean master drummer Woo Minyoung—has been hailed as “a milestone album for Australian jazz” (Australian Jazz Museum).

Aurelian Rease Cameron Drums 

Sydney Based Aurelian Rease Cameron is one of Australia’s most respected jazz drummers and music educators — a dynamic performer, improviser, and mentor whose artistry spans more than three decades.Renowned for his expressive clarity, deep musicality, and refined technique, Rease has performed across Australia, Asia, and the US, with appearances ranging from intimate club sets to orchestral premieres, major festivals, and national television bringing depth, finesse, and expressive clarity to every performance. His playing weaves intensity and subtlety with an unmistakable sense of presence. He holds a PhD in jazz performance studies exploring creativity and self-expression in drumming through the lens of Tony Williams’ revolutionary contributions .and is the inaugural recipient of the John Pochée Momentum Award at the 2025 Inner West Drum Fest, presented in recognition of sustained creative impact; led The Boundless Ensemble in its debut featured concert performance as part of the festival celebrations