About Black Arm Band
Newsflash... Black Arm Band MURUNDAK has won the 2007 Helpmann Award for Best Australian Contemporary Concert!

 

The Helpman Awards recognise outstanding achievement in the Performing Arts. Congratulations to all the mob!
The Black Arm Band is a 32-piece ensemble featuring a line up of exceptional soloists performing works from the inspirational songbook of contemporary Indigenous life. The Black Arm Band was created to perform MURUNDAK(meaning 'alive' in Woirrwurung language) for the 2006 Melbourne International Arts Festival. MURUNDAK is an extraordinary musical event that celebrates music as an instrument of identity, resistance, resilience and a call to freedom.

 

The Black Arm Band are amongst the most respected names in Australian indigenous music and include Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Bart Willoughby, Stephen Pigram, Carole Fraser, Peter Rotumah, Kutcha Edwards, Kev Carmody, Mark Atkins, Lou Bennett, Joe Geia and Dave Arden himself. These artists were joined by musicians that have added their own unique artistic voices to Indigenous musical history, including Paul Kelly and Shane Howard. A blistering band led by pianist Aaron Choulai features some of Melbourne's finest jazz instrumentalists.

The Black Arm Band premiered as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival in October 2006. A big schedule of national and international festival dates is in the planning for 2008 & 2009

MURUNDAK The Black Arm Band selected press quotes

“The concert was a sweaty, powerful, uplifting example of why cities and governments invest in festivals”

Corrie Perkin, The Australian Newspaper, 30/10/06

“This gathering of stars and styles was like listening to a gathering of Beaz, Dylan, Judy Collins, Eric Clapton and Odetta”

John Slavin, The Age Newspaper, 30/10/06

“A spectacular, moving end to the festival and sent an unmistakable political message”

Gabriella Coslovich, The Age Newspaper, 30/10/06

“Up on stage at Hamer Hall on Friday night were some of the greatest performers this country can presently boast of, members of what is described as black folk protest, a phenomenon as significant to the national cultural life as Aboriginal art”.

John Slavin, The Age Newspaper 30/10/06

“a collectively joyous experience”

Corrie Perkin, The Australian Newspaper, 30/10/06

“Audiences gave the Black Arm Band a standing ovation on Saturday night…‘Audiences received (the band) so well that you know that something healed, it just did’ Edmunds said.”

Gabriella Coslovich, The Age Newspaper, 30/10/06

“…a euphoric concert of contemporary indigenous music that saw an outstanding cast take to the stage of Hamer Hall” Gabriella Coslovich, The Age Newspaper, 30/10/06

“…the concert…was a call for black-white solidarity in the struggle for justice”

John Slavin, The Age Newspaper, 30/10/06

“There are no stars here, the 'star' is the music and the stories it tells, the stories of Aboriginal Australians. Catch it if you can, you may never see so much talent together again” Jan Chandler, Melbourne Stage Online, 29/10/06

 

Featured Artists David Arden (Co Musical Director), Shane Howard (Co Musical Director), Mark Atkins, Andy Alberts, Lou Bennett, Robbie Bundle, Kev Carmody, Liz Cavanagh, Emma Donovan, Kutcha Edwards, Carole Fraser, Joe Geia, Ruby Hunter, Paul Kelly, Rachael Maza, Shellie Morris, Stephen Pigram, Archie Roach, Peter Rotumah, G.R Burrarrawanga (deceased), Bart Willoughby

Core Band Aaron Choulai (piano), Rory McDougal (drums), Michael Meagher (bass), Eugene Ball (trumpet), Shannon Barnett (trombone), Julien Wilson (sax), Jason Yarde (sax), Andrea Keeble (violin), Suzanne Simpson (violin), Erkki Veltheim (viola), Caerwen Martin (cello) Kate Ben-Tovim (producer) Steven Richardson (conception and realisation),

 

Produced by Arts House