| The Idea of North | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Years Active: | –present |
| Current Members: |
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| Past Members: |
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The Idea of North are an Australian a cappella vocal ensemble founded in Canberra in 1993, by Nick Begbie (tenor), Meg Corson (alto), Trish Delaney-Brown (soprano) and Andrew Piper (bass). Still active in 2023, but touring less frequently since the Covid-19 pandemic, The Idea of North has had a number of personnel changes since their formation, with Nick Begbie the only remaining original member.
The group is the only a cappella outfit ever to have won two ARIAs (Australian Recording Industry Association awards), both in the Best Jazz Album category at the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 for Feels Like Spring (collaboration with James Morrison) and again in 2013 for Smile, as well as three other ARIA nominations.
The Idea of North was formed in Canberra 1993 by Nick Begbie (tenor), Meg Corson (alto), Trish Delaney-Brown (soprano) and Andrew Piper (bass).[1] Three of the members were students at the Canberra School of Music (CSM) of Australian National University (ANU), while Nick was studying a non-music degree at the ANU but singing with the other three extra-curricularly in the CSM's vocal jazz ensemble, led by performer and jazz vocal educator Gery Scott. These four formed their own quartet from the larger ensemble, eventually adopting their name from The Idea of North (1967), a radio documentary by Canadian classical pianist, Glenn Gould.[2] The group is generally described as a jazz quartet,[3] [4] but they also delve regularly into the pop, R&B, classical, folk, soul and gospel genres.[5] [6] [7] Over the years, the individual members of the group have written, arranged and performed some original music, but largely tackle re-imaginings of jazz standards and other music by a huge variety of artists, including but not limited to The Beatles, Tim Minchin, Sting, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, The Muppets, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, ABBA, The Bee Gees, Vulfpeck and John Mayer.[7]
In 1997 they recorded their debut album, The Idea of North, with Ra Khan in the recording booth at the CSM recording studios.[8] The group members arranged cover versions of both jazz standards, gospel music, traditional songs and more contemporary material.[8] Instrumentation was provided by Greg Stott on congas and percussion, Duncan Brown on bass and Piper on flugelhorn on "My Funny Valentine",[9] although the album was majority a cappella.
The Idea of North's second album, The Sum of Us was released in October 2001, its track, "Mas Que Nada", features Morrison on trombone and another track, "Fragile", showcases Don Burrows on flute.[10] Delaney-Brown wrote two tracks, "Neat Surprise" and "Gotta Move On", while "Singin a Capella" was co-written by Begbie and Piper and "Two Sides to the Story" was written by Piper.[10] [11] It was co-produced by the group's members and recorded by David Hemming at Tiger Studios, Sydney for Magnetic Records.[11] It reached No. 15 on the ARIA Jazz & Blues Albums chart.[12]
In March 2002 Corson was replaced as alto in the group by Naomi Crellin (ex-Pure Harmony & ex-Jelelah), an Adelaide Girl's Choir alumni and a graduate from University of Adelaide's Elder Conservatorium.[13] Crellin's previous group, Pure Harmony, was an a cappella quartet formed in 1992 at Marryatville High School, Adelaide with fellow students Sally Cameron, Joy Hague and Kate Boumelha.[14] [15]
The Idea of North's third album, Here & Now, was released in October 2003 via ABC Jazz, which contained re-recordings of their previous material plus two new tracks.[16] Recorded by the line-up of Begbie, Crellin, Delaney-Brown and Piper at Australian Broadcasting Corporation's studio 227, Sydney,[16] it reached No. 13 on the ARIA Hitseekers Albums Chart and No. 8 on the ARIA Jazz & Blues Albums chart.[17]
San Francisco-based, Contemporary A Cappella Society, present the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards.[18] In 2004 the Idea of North were runners up for Artist of the Year.[19]
In May 2004, The Idea of North's released Evidence, featuring original songs from Delaney-Brown and arrangements by Crellin, Delaney-Brown, Morrison and Piper, as well as guest appearances by Morrison and Melbourne-based Australian drummer David Jones. The group also recorded and included on Evidence an arrangement of Horace Silver's Sister Sadie written especially for them by long-time fan and renowned Swedish-Australian musicologist and music theorist Bengt-Olov Palmqvist. Evidence peaked at No. 12 on the ARIA Jazz & Blues Albums chart.[20] At the 2005 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards they won best jazz album and best jazz song for "Rachel".[21]
In April 2006, The Idea of North released The Gospel Project, and featured prayers and three tracks, "Let It Ring", "Help Us" and "The Truth" co-written by Begbie and Michael Leunig. Aside from vocals by Begbie, Crellin, Delaney-Brown and Piper four of the recordings included instrumentals: Duncan Brown on bass guitar, Bill Risby on keyboards and Gordon Rytmeister on drums. During 2006 they had appeared at festivals in Germany, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea.[22] In October they toured Australia to promote the album with the Gospel Project Band.[22]
On 2 July 2007 they issued their first live album, Live at the Powerhouse, both on CD and as a DVD.[23] Barry O'Sullivan of All About Jazz described how the "a capella vocal ensemble just swings and swings with impeccable harmonies and an understanding of each others' vocal parts. The breadth of the group's performance is its most remarkable characteristic, never stopping in offering something new with tracks."[24] The album was recorded at the Brisbane Powerhouse on 4 June 2006 with the DVD directed and edited by Adam Sébire, while the audio was recorded by David Hemming and produced by the group.[25]
Sally Cameron (ex-Pure Harmony, South Australian Police Band) joined as soprano in February 2007 to replace Delaney-Brown, who left to start her family.[26] The group farewelled Delaney-Brown, formally, in a one-off concert at The Basement, Sydney in June 2008.[26] She later became a member of Sonic Mayhem Orchestra and then James Valentine Quartet before establishing the Trish Delaney-Brown Quintet, and then in 2021 debuting with her new female vocal trio, Lhyra.[27]
On 10 April 2010, The group released their sixth studio album, Feels Like Spring which, another collaboration with Australian jazz icon James Morrison, peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Jazz & Blues Albums chart and spent 33 weeks (non-consecutive) in the top 20 until February 2011.[28] [29] In the studio, non-vocal instrumentation was supplied by: Ian Cooper on strings; Sandro Constatino on viola; Alexandra D'ella on violin; Phillip Hartl on violin; Morrison on double bass, flugelhorn, horn arrangements, piano, saxophone, trombone and trumpet; James Muller on guitar; Gordon Rytmeister on drums; Sunil de Silva on percussion; Adrian Wallis on cello; and Jonathan Zwartz on double bass.[30] It was recorded at James Morrison Studios and co-produced by the group and Morrison.[30]
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 Idea of North and James Morrison won the ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album for Feels Like Spring.[31]
In July 2011, the group released Extraordinary Tale. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2011 the recording was nominated for Best Jazz Album.[32] For this entirely a cappella recording Begbie, Cameron, Crellin and Piper provided their usual four part harmony with Piper adding some vocal percussion.[7] [33] Extraordinary Tale peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Jazz & Blues Albums, No. 5 on the Hitseekers Albums and No. 93 on the Top 100 Physical Albums charts.[34] Also in late 2011 Crellin took maternity leave, her alto role covered by Joy Hague (ex-Pure Harmony) with Crellin returning in early 2012. Hague resumed her work as a high school music teacher although she filled in as deputy alto in the Idea of North as required thereafter.
The quartet recorded their eighth studio album, This Christmas, which was released on 29 October 2012. The album includes Morrison guesting on trombone on two tracks and Hague as alto on three tracks. It was rumoured to have been recorded in several locations, including the James Morrison Studios in Warriewood, Sydney, the home studio of Sydney drummer Gordon Rytmeister (who also appears on the album), and a friend's single-car garage. The album peaked at No. 80 on the ARIA Albums, No. 2 on the Hitseekers Albums and No. 2 on the Jazz & Blues Albums charts.[35]
The quartet's ninth studio album, Smile, was released on 12 August 2013 which peaked at No. 86 on the ARIA Albums, No. 4 on the Hitseekers Albums and No. 2 on the Jazz & Blues Albums charts.[36] [37]
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013 the Idea of North won the ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album for a second time with Smile.[38]
In November 2014, the Idea of North released a compilation album, Anthology, which peaked at No. 5 on the Jazz & Blues Albums charts.[39]
In 2015, due to some vocal health issues, a replacement tenor was sourced to cover Nick's part for The Idea of North's 2015 Australian Christmas Tour. Ed Fairlie, a jazz trumpeter, singer and educator from Melbourne auditioned and was taken on for the tour, however because the adverse effects of Nick's health issues only affected his upper register, Naomi rearranged the tour repertoire to include a new baritone part that Nick learnt alongside Ed's inclusion, and it became the first ever 5-part (quintet) tour The Idea of North had ever undertaken.
From 2016, Japanese vocal percussionist Kaichiro Kitamura was a session and touring member and featured on three tracks on their tenth studio album, Ballads, which was released on 18 April 2016.[40] The album was a collaborative affair, not only with Kai's involvement, but Ed Fairlie also arranged a song ('My One And Only Love') for the group's 2016 album 'Ballads' and sang with the group on the recording of that song. 'Ballads' has a fifth quintet track in a song featuring Australia jazz vocalist Kristin Berardi on a Naomi Crellin-arranged track that Kristin wrote called 'Ode to Ollie'. The album reached No. 3 on the Hitseekers Albums and No. 2 on the Jazz & Blues Albums charts.[41]
Several years prior to 2016, The Hush Foundation, (a Melbourne health care charity) had approached The Idea of North and asked them to record an album of original music for the HUSH program – but the group had been too busy. It was suggested that the album go ahead, but with collaborators. HUSH 16: A Piece Of Quiet was born, through collaborations between The Idea of North, Israeli-Australian singer-songwriter Lior and Australian composer and pianist Elena Kats-Chernin. The tracks on the album were based on conversations had with kids - about their views of the world, family life, school life, illness, health and wellbeing - and the kids' stories and views were used as a basis for the lyrics and themes on many of the album's tracks. It was The Idea of North's first kid's album project, and was nominated for 'Best Children's Album' at the 2017 ARIA Awards.
2016 was a busy year for The Idea of North, who were also approached by long time collaborator and label ABC Music in 2016 and asked to record a Christmas Album with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for the ABC Classics label (
In February 2017, Cameron and Piper both left the group; Piper was replaced on bass by Adelaide jazz vocalist, saxophonist and educator Luke Thompson, while Cameron's temporary replacements were Delaney-Brown and Jo Lawry prior to Emma Rule becoming the group's new permanent soprano in September 2017. Kaichiro Kitamura became a permanent member of the group in May 2017, and for the first time in its history, The Idea of North was officially a quintet.
In November 2018, the group self-recorded and self-released its 14th and first fully 5-part album Brick By Brick, with the same lineup that has persisted since then: Nick Begbie; Naomi Crellin; Kaichiro Kitamura; Emma Rule and Luke Thompson.[42]
Before the Covid-19 pandemic set it worldwide, The Idea of North played their last show to a full house at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, Australia. Due to the increasing concern over the pandemic, growing rates of infection and escalating frequency of lock-downs, The Idea of North went into hiatus. With members living in three different states of Australia and one member in Japan, rehearsing became unviable, and the pandemic saw live presentation of the arts in Australia grind to a shuddering halt. For periods throughout 2020-2022, singing in group was deemed illegal (in Australia), so the viability of working as a singing group was severely diminished. In 2023, following a significant decrease in infections worldwide, as well as the post-pandemic re-opening of Japan in Oct 2022, The Idea of North re-formed to begin touring again.
Nick Begbie (1993–present)
Emma Rule (2018–present)
Naomi Crellin (2002–11, 2012–present)
Luke Thompson (2017–present)
Ed Fairlie (2015-2016)
Kaichiro Kitamura (2016)
Meg Corson (1993–2002)
Andrew Piper (1993–2017)
Joy Hague (2011–12)
Sally Cameron (2007–2017), Trish Delaney-Brown (1993–2007, 2017), Jo Lawry (2017)
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | AUS Jazz and Blues | ||
| The Idea of North |
| - | - |
| The Sum of Us |
| - | 15 |
| Here & Now |
| - | 8 |
| Evidence |
| - | 12 |
| The Gospel Project |
| - | - |
| Feels Like Spring (with James Morrison) |
| - | 3 |
| Extraordinary Tale |
| - | 1 |
| This Christmas |
| 80 | 2 |
| Smile |
| 86 | 2 |
| Ballads |
| - | 2 |
| Brick By Brick |
| - | - |
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS Jazz and Blues | |||
| Live at the Powerhouse |
| ||
| A World of Christmas (with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) |
|
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS Jazz and Blues | |||
| The Gospel According to Groove (James Morrison, Con Campbell & The Idea of North) |
| ||
| Hush Volume 16: A Piece of Quiet (with Elena Kats-Chernin & Lior) |
|
The ARIA Music Awards are presented annually since 1987 by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The Idea of North has won one award from four nominations.[47]
|-| 2010| Feels Like Spring
| rowspan="4"| Best Jazz Album[48] | |-| 2011| Extraordinary Tale| |-| 2013| Smile| |-| 2016| Ballads| |-| 2017| A Piece of Quiet (The Hush Collection, Vol. 16)
| Best Children's Album[49] | |}
Since 1992, the annual Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs) recognise the best recorded a cappella and aim to support this burgeoning culture of instrument-less enthusiasts.[50]
|-| rowspan="2"| 2005| Evidence| Best Jazz Album| |-| "Rachel"| Best Jazz Song| |-| 2010| rowspan="3" | The Idea of North| rowspan="3" | Favourite Oceanic Group| |-| 2011| |-| 2013| |}