Jazz and improvisational music are such elastic labels for music, and the Sydney Improvised Music Association (SIMA) has always been one to make the most of that fact.

Curated by newly-appointed Artistic Director and pianist Novak Manojlovic, Jazz:NOW is a brand new series that  celebrates the adventurous spirit of contemporary music within the field, “from the familiar to the new”.

SIMA’s Jazz:NOW Ep. 2 featuring Satsuki Odamura, Sandy Evans and Steve Elphick. Photo © Shane Rozario.

For Wood & Wire, the second of the series, an intriguing double bill of trios take over newly-reopened Newtown haunt The Vanguard: saxophonist Sandy Evans, koto player Satsuki Odamura and double bassist Steve Elphick opening; cellist Freya Schack-Arnott, percussionist Matthias Schack-Arnott and double bassist Ben Ward to close.

Evans, Elphick and Odamura are long-time collaborators, though a koto in a jazz trio is still a novel sight. It’s a  classic with a twist that works wonderfully well; going further than just a piano substitute.

Odamura can summon a huge range of sounds from her instrument – from blooming melodies and clouds of...