THURSDAY 8 | Euan Gray, front man of epic Australian groove band The Rooftops and now based here in Cambodia, dreamed as a boy that he met saxophonist James Carter and asked the secret of his success. In the dream, Carter lifted his lapel to reveal a small badge that said ‘Practice’. The grown-up Gray claims not to have heeded that advice, but the seductive sound that spirals out of the bell of his almost-a-century-old sax suggests otherwise – despite his protestations to the contrary: “It’s clunky, it’s out of tune. With a new sax, the sax drives you. But with an old sax, you have to do the driving. You have to say: ‘This is where we’re going.’ It’s really out of tune and good players I know can’t play it. I was just brought up on bad saxophones, so I know what I need to do to squeeze it into shape.” Expect a bouncy set list spanning jazz and pop, with backing from Ritchy (drums) and Barry Speirs (keys).
WHO: Euan Gray Trio
WHAT: Jazz and pop
WHERE: The Groove, Terrazza, Street 282
WHEN: 9pm August 8
WHY: The grooves are feet-friendly, the storytelling soulful