ALISTER SPENCE TRIO

‘In a good world we would have come under the magic spell...of Alister Spence Trio.’ Bad Alchemy

Alister Spence - piano / samples
Lloyd Swanton - double bass
Toby Hall - drums, glockenspiel

One of the most distinctive and spellbinding units in Australian improvised music, the ARIA-nominated Alister Spence Trio have gained worldwide recognition for their ingenious compositions and magnetic live interplay. Together they create luminous soundscapes that are dark, lyrical, textured and endlessly surprising.

‘Utterly compelling.’ Jazz Journal, UK

Over 20 years, the Alister Spence Trio have built a distinctive world of sound based around Alister’s compositions, establishing a strong national and international reputation, with performances including Tokyo International Jazz Festival, Montreal and Vancouver International Jazz festivals, and Vivid Festival Sydney (curated by Brian Eno, 2009).

The band has twice been nominated for an ARIA Award (Best Jazz album 2004, 2007), and an APRA/AMCOS Art Music Award (Excellence in Jazz, 2016). Not Everything but Enough was voted by Music Magazine, Japan, in the top 10 jazz releases worldwide for 2017. The trio released their eighth album and seventh studio release Gather in Feb 2025.

The trio continues to work in a project with electric guitarist, Ed Kuepper (co-founder of the influential proto-punk group The Saints, and founder of The Laughing Clowns) called Asteriod Ekosystem and have released two albums, Asteroid Ekosystem and Asteroid Ekosystem Live.