(co-presented by the MJC)

‘Baxendale shapes a musical space where composition and improvisation move side by side…the ensemble feels fully alive, horns circling, drums gathering force and the guzheng scattering bright cascades of notes through the music.’ –13th Floor   

Wellington-based saxophonist and composer Jake Baxendale unites some of Aotearoa and Australia’s leading jazz and contemporary musicians for Waypeople, a luminous new album on the Earshift label, inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin’s translation of the Tao Te Ching.

Drawing from jazz and Chinese classical music, Waypeople is music about letting go of ego, embracing contradiction, and finding flow. Rooted in the Taoist principle of wu-wei – doing by not doing – the ensemble performs with collective trust and lyrical storytelling, moving seamlessly between meditative intimacy and free improvisation.  Across ten pieces, journey through the Tao’s many voices – mystical, playful, rebellious. Folk-like melodies give way to open, spacious arrangements that feel at once familiar and distinct. From the tender ‘Mindful of Little Things’ to the explosive ‘Being Different,’ the ensemble transforms the timeless Taoist philosophy of harmony, balance, and paradox into sound.

The result is a work of shimmering beauty, grounded in jazz but alive with the rhythm of ancient poetry and the pulse of everyday life. 

The septet comprises Jake Baxendale (alto saxophone, bass clarinet), Chelsea Prastiti (vocals), Jia Ling (guzheng), Melbourne’s Cheryl Durongkisitpul (alto saxophone), the Sydney pair of Luke Sweeting (piano) and Maximillian Alduca (double bass), with Tim Geldens (drums).