Rafael Karlen presents Equally True, a captivating album with his new all-star quintet featuring vocalist Kristin Berardi, pianist Matt McMahon, bassist Brett Hirst and drummer Simon Barker. The lyrical compositions and beautiful interplay on Equally True draws similarities with standout ECM albums from Kenny Wheeler, and Tord Gustavsen. The album showcases the distinctive personalities and sensitive playing of this exceptional ensemble.

“When I was preparing for Equally True,” Karlen recalls, “my goal was to have clear, distilled compositions as vehicles and departure points for the players to engage with. I wanted to have pieces that were descriptive enough to capture a specific environment and mood but open enough for these amazing players to bring themselves into the music.”

The 10 original compositions elegantly traverse a compelling range of moods and themes. Alongside a Suite of four pieces which were originally commissioned for the Brisbane International Jazz Festival, the music was written while Rafael was 2018 Composer-in-Residence in the prestigious Peggy Glanville-Hicks House. The Arrivals and Prospects Suite, the only pieces to include lyrics, is an extended work exploring charged landscapes of nostalgia and lingering reflection, through to anticipation and excitement of future destinations.

“Kristin Berardi and I have worked alongside each other for many years in several different projects so we comfortably play and phrase very naturally together” says Karlen. “I have always been a fan of Matt, Brett and Simon’s playing and wanted to work with them for a long time. They all create a beautiful space and openness in their playing, and that was a key element of this project. Most pieces were from the first or sometimes the second take as these captured the clearest spark, warmth, and excitement from these wonderful musicians.”

About the Music

1: Again, as Always was written to convey openness and warm familiarity and to capture the beautiful space that these musicians are capable of producing.

2: The title Equally True refers to the complicated nature of our different views and how to reconcile these views in ways which aren’t mutually exclusive. This title also plays on the multiple ways in which one bar can equally imply a three, four and six feel.

3: Foucault’s Pendulum: I liked the thought of how setting up a Pendulum can show the earth’s rotation. It somehow makes something small a signifier for massive planetary rotation and suddenly gives it new meaning. The developing piano figure is complemented by a through-composed unison line for voice and saxophone.

4: Arrivals and Prospects Suite: Blueprint of Possibilities: One of four movements to include lyrics, this movement explores the way that we can look forward with excitement and anticipation.

5: Arrivals and Prospects Suite: Evening Corridors: Looking back and reflecting can be a beautiful thing but sometimes we can slide into closed loops of rumination and become stagnant and bitter. This is the darkest piece on the album and unravels these themes over a rubato and textural feel throughout.

6: Arrivals and Prospects Suite: The Promise of Postcards was written to express the anxieties surrounding the uncertainty of future events.

7: Arrivals and Prospects Suite: My Own Quiet Library expresses reflection on memories with kind/gentle nostalgia and the building up a personal memory archive from which to draw.

8: Seven Seconds After Sleep was titled for the expansive space we find ourselves in just after falling asleep

9: Rich Hours: With the exception of the Suite, all these compositions were written while I was the Composer-in-Residence in the Peggy Glanville-Hicks House in Sydney. This piece is titled for the fertile hours and productive output of my time living in that beautiful house.

10: Before the Day: I have been enjoying trying to explore and distil very specific moods and themes in my music. It feels like we can, as performers, uncover and delve deeply into the many corners of each concept.

Berardi/Foran/Karlen create music that brings together captivating melodies, lush harmonies and emotive collective improvisation. The sense of group empathy is striking, with a subconscious understanding of the flow between the voice (Kristin Berardi), piano (Sean Foran), and Saxophone (Rafael Karlen) developed through years of performances and a shared musical vision. Their new album HAVEN features guest Vibraphonist PASCAL SCHUMACHER, from Luxembourg, whose sensitivity and nuance brings a new level of texture and dynamic to this stunning band and music.


With only 4 instruments, the sonic world created on HAVEN is lush. Modern jazz, folk and classical elements combine in intricate, yet light and delicate arrangements, with each instrument taking a lead role. The 10 tracks on the album are split across musicians with Berardi, Foran and Karlen each contributing works. The opener, Berardi’s No Shepherds Live Here brings a sense of calm, yet tells an intense story. Complementing this Karlen’s Ripple and Handwritten sparkle, with the Saxophone and Vocals intertwining, and the piano & vibraphone creating layered harmonic textures. Foran’s works, Orbit and Rambling bring more rhythmic energy, with the insistent pulsing Vibraphone lines giving an almost minimalist aesthetic wrapped with a modernist jazz edge.
The intimacy of this work draws similarities with standout ECM albums from Azimuth, Gary Burton, and Anouar Brahem – But Berardi/Foran/Karlen define their own approach, and with Schumacher it’s a captivating world to be in.

In The Sweetness of Things Half-Remembered, composer and saxophonist Rafael Karlen seamlessly draws together elements from jazz and Western art music through skillful composition and tasteful improvisation. The inventive and lyrical playing of pianist Steve Newcomb and saxophonist Rafael Karlen is showcased soaring over the colorful textures and beautiful musical environments of a string quartet.

Founded by trumpeter/composer Laura Kahle and pianist/arranger Steve Newcomb, the 10-piece West End Composers Collective began in 2003 as a monthly gathering of Brisbane’s creative improvising musicians, composers and arrangers to workshop original works. The ensemble has since released two recordings featuring original material and performed throughout Australia.

Driving Hat is their second album and features the music of Rafael Karlen. Utilizing the unique skills of the Collectives' ten members, Rafael embraces each musicians individual strengths to deliver a collaboration of unified sound around his rich harmonies and melodic lines. Driving Hat solidifies the ensembles aim to produce an outstanding contemporary jazz album of original Australian compositions. The title track, Driving Hat was a finalist in the 2009 Jazz Bell Award for Best Australian Jazz Song of the Year