Jonathan Peter Zwartz is a New Zealand-born Australian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician. In the 2018 ARIA Music Awards, he won the Best Jazz Album category for his third album, ''Animarum'', released in 2018.

Early life

Zwartz was born in New Zealand.

Career

1980s

Jonathan Zwartz joined New Zealand pop band, the Crocodiles, on bass guitar, alongside Tony Backhouse on piano, Jenny Morris on lead vocals, Rick Morris (her brother) on guitar, and Barton Price on drums. Note: name given as Jonathon Swartz The group were based in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and performed at Sweetwaters 1981 in January before they relocated to Sydney in the following month. In July of that year Morris left to start her solo career, the remaining members had recorded a single, "Hello Girl", with vocals by Rick but they disbanded soon after. Late in 1981 Zwartz and Backhouse formed the Vulgar Beatmen with Peter Boyd and Mike Gubb (both ex-Rough Justice). He became a session musician. Zwartz and Backhouse also joined ex-the Crocodiles member,

Fane Flaws Fane Michael Flaws (16 May 1951 – 17 June 2021) was a New Zealand musician, songwriter, director and artist. Career Flaws was a member of bands including Blerta, Spats, and The Crocodiles. Until joining Blerta he was known by his second nam ...

' project I Am Joe's Music, which issued a self-titled album in 1983. Other former members of the Crocodiles with contributions were Jenny Morris, Arthur Baysting and

Peter Dasent Peter Dasent is a New Zealand born composer, pianist and songwriter who has lived and worked in Sydney, Australia since 1981. He played keyboards in the bands Spats, and The Crocodiles. He leads the chamber-jazz group the Umbrellas, is writin ...

. A single, "Life in Asia", was issued by the group in August, which ''

Woroni The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university and member of the Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition ...

''s reviewer described, "Life on Coota beach perhaps. Complete with self styled poseuring, hip singing and New Zealand brand of paranoia. Basic and forgettable shit."

1990s

In 1991 Zwartz, on bass guitar, joined the Bernie McGann Trio, a Sydney-based jazz group, with McGann on saxophone and John Pochee on drums. McGann eschewed piano and explained, "You tend to think that because there's no piano in the group, you're restricted to just playing some songs. But I think you can play anything at all, and it's a very open sort of group which when it works, works extremely well indeed." In 1992, Zwartz was a member of Bobby Gebert's trio, alongside Gebert on piano and Andrew Dickson on drums, which backed visiting English saxophonist,

Ronnie Scott Ronnie Scott Order of the British Empire, OBE (born Ronald Schatt; 28 January 1927 – 23 December 1996) was a British jazz Tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner. He co-founded Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London's Soho district ...

, in a performance in Canberra. Michael Foster of ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'' wrote, "Wherever Scott went he triowere right with him, seemingly not needing the charts which Scott supplied. Their confidence was impressive, and justified." Zwartz played

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

as a member of the Umbrellas, a Sydney jazz ensemble, with Dasent on piano, organ and accordion, Mark Bruwel on oboe, James Greening on trombone, Toby Hall on drums and Tim Hopkins on tenor saxophone. The Umbrellas recorded an album, ''Soundtrack to the Passing Parade'' (August 1993). Zwartz worked in Vince Jones' backing band in November 1993, with Jones on trumpet and vocals, Hopkins on tenor saxophone, Peter Jones (no relation) on drums,

Barney McAll Barney McAll is a jazz pianist and composer who lives in Melbourne, Australia. McAll joined Gary Bartz's band in 1997, and has also played with the Josh Roseman Unit, Fred Wesley and the JB's, Groove Collective, and Kurt Rosenwinkel's "Hear ...

on piano, and Ray Pereira on percussion. Once more the performance was well-received by Foster.

2000s

In 2000 he co-produced a ten-episode jazz music series, ''Pulse'', for ABC-TV. In 2009 Zwartz issued his debut solo album, ''The Sea''.

2010s

His next album, four years later, ''The Remembering & Forgetting of the Air'' (July 2013), was described by John Shand of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', as "...ambient in intent (although it could be used that way). But it has a deep peacefulness and a simple beauty carrying an implicit hint of ineffable sadness...

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

carefully layered production creates three-dimensional sound images...". Zwartz third solo album, ''Animarum'' (February 2018), was feature album of the week on

ABC Jazz ABC Jazz (formerly Dig Jazz) is a digital radio station, available on mobile devices, DAB+ digital radio, digital TV and online. It is operated by the ABC Jazz team at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History ABC Jazz is a part of ...

, with their reviewer opining, "yet another smörgåsbord of intricate compositions, woven together... Each piece is unique, drawing on a plethora of musical influences from all over – yet they are also sequenced together to create a truly engrossing musical experience." In June 2018 he led a performance of ''Animarum'' at the Sydney Con International Jazz Festival, which was well reviewed by ''The South Sydney Herald''.

Discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, ''The Sea'' , Best Independent Jazz Album , , - ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, ''The Remembering and Forgetting of the Air'' , Best Independent Jazz Album , , - ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, ''Animarum'' , Best Independent Jazz Album , , - ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, ''This World'' , Best Independent Jazz Album or EP , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. ! , - ,

, ''The Remembering & Forgetting of the Air'' , Best Jazz Album , , , - ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, ''Animarum'' , Best Jazz Album , , , - ,

, ''This World'' (with Hamish Stuart, Julien Wilson &

Mike Nock Michael Anthony Nock (born 27 September 1940) is a New Zealand jazz pianist, who lives and works in Australia. Biography Nock was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, but spent his childhood in Ngāruawāhia. Nock began studying piano at 11. H ...

) , Best Jazz Album , , , - ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, , ''Another Dance'' (with Hamish Stuart, Julien Wilson & Mike Nock ), , Best Jazz Album, , , , , -

Australian Jazz Bell Awards

The

Australian Jazz Bell Awards Australian Jazz Bell Awards, also known as the Bell Awards or The Bells, are annual music awards for the jazz genre in Australia. They were named in honour of Australian jazz pianist, composer and band leader, Graeme Bell (1914–2012), at thei ...

, (also known as the Bell Awards or The Bells), are annual music awards for the jazz music genre in Australia. , - , rowspan="2", 2010 , ''Epic'' , Best Australian Jazz Ensemble , , - , "The Sea" , Best Australian Jazz Song , , - , 2019 , "Animarum" (from Animarum) , Best Jazz Work of the Year , , -

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are annual Australian music awards, established by Heath Media in 2016. They were preceded by the AU Live Music Awards in the previous two years. The awards are given in categories that recognise the best ...

(NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, himself , Live Bassist of the Year , , - , rowspan="2",

, rowspan="2", himself , Live Bassist of the Year , , - , Live Jazz Act of the Year , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zwartz, Jonathan New Zealand emigrants to Australia Australian musicians Living people ARIA Award winners Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Auckland