The Hourglass Ensemble is a group who have been playing together for two years, permanently comprised of Artistic Director and founder Andrew Kennedy (clarinet), Ewa Kowalski (flute) and Gregory Kinda (piano). To this grouping they add a variety of guest artists; in the case of this evening’s concert, these were mezzo-soprano Jo Burton, saxophonist Nathan Henshaw, trumpeter Andrew del Riccio and percussionist Tim Brigden. All but the singer and pianist doubled: Kennedy on bass clarinet, Kowalski on piccolo, Brigden on vibraphone and glockenspiel, while Henshaw played both tenor and soprano saxophone. A lot of timbral variety, but not an instrumental combination with an inbuilt repertoire – so Hourglass arranged four jazz standards, and more importantly, commissioned a song cycle from Sydney-based composer-writer Tim Hansen.

The concert opened with the jazz arrangements: three songs by Duke Ellington (Prelude to a Kiss, In a Sentimental Mood, and Take the A Train) and George Shearing’s Lullaby of Birdland. The wide vocal range of the Ellington ballads proved no problem for Burton, who was highly effective in the languid In a Sentimental Mood, which also featured subtle piano work (“stylings”, it used to be called) from Kinda. However, it might have been unwise to stress...