On an otherwise dreary Thursday evening, being bathed in the gently pulsing, ethereal music of the Andrea Keller Trio with string sextet was a welcome and transportive break. I came to the event with an open mind and no expectations, having only heard of Keller as a contemporary classical composer rather than as a jazz pianist and improviser.

This was both a headline event of the 2022 Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival and also the SIWJF’s first time in the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s stunning new theatre, The Neilson, in Walsh Bay, which struck the perfect balance between being in an impressive and dominating location (harbour views available on tap) while also being intimate enough to create a cosy atmosphere.

Andrea Keller. Photo © Perce Woodbury

Keller laid down repetitive fluttering piano motifs, which were joined by a soft bed of strings, excellently led by the ever-compelling Véronique Serret. Virtuosic passages from saxophonist John Mackey occasionally erupted from the reverie with smooth dexterity, while Miroslav Bukovsky soared above on muted trumpet.

I got the sense that the audience was perhaps more familiar with the conventions of a classical concert, and it was...