Recorded in Oslo’s iconic RainbowStudio, Open Road is a cross-cultural project between pianist Luke Howard (Australia) & bassist Janos Bruneel (Belgium). Luke and Janos exemplify the new breed of jazz performers/composers embracing creativity and technical maturity from an early age. 

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Born of a road trip by the duo through Nordic Europe including Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Germany and Holland, it is a sometime pensive, always pure performance.

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This achingly beautiful performance is enhanced by the astounding quality of the recording – Howard’s subtle and delicate touch is wrapped in the embrace of Bruneel’s bass. Every minute nuance is evident.

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On the international stage Luke was a finalist in the 2001 and 2004 Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competitions. In 2009/10 he lived and immersed himself in the cultural vibrancy of Berlin. Back in Melbourne he is focussing on composing for a variety of projects and leads the acclaimed ensembles Magnolia and FGHR with guitarist Leonard Grigoryan.

 

 

 

Janos has been awarded a raft of international prizes including National Contest for Music and Spoken Word of the Dexia Bank (2001), Octave de la Musique (2004), Concours Playfestival Motives for Jazz (2007) and Jazz Concours Dinant (2008).