Stephen John Magnusson (born 13 February 1969) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

. He is known for his work as an

improviser Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

and has worked with the

Australian Art Orchestra The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) is one of Australia's leading contemporary ensembles. Founded by pianist Paul Grabowsky in 1994, it has been led by composer/trumpeter/sound artist Peter Knight since 2013 and led by pianist/composer/producer A ...

, and

Elixir ELIXIR (the European life-sciences Infrastructure for biological Information) is an initiative that will allow life science laboratories across Europe to share and store their research data as part of an organised network. Its goal is to bring t ...

and

Katie Noonan Katie Anne Noonan (born 2 May 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the band George and remains the singer in the band Elixir; perf ...

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Gurrumul Yunupingu Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (22 January 1971 – 25 July 2017), commonly known as Gurrumul and also referred to since his death as Dr G. Yunupingu, was an Aboriginal Australian musician of the Yolŋu peoples. A multi-instrumentalist, he played ...

Paul Grabowsky Paul Atherstone Grabowsky (born 27 September 1958) is an Australian pianist and composer. Biography Born in Lae, Papua New Guinea, Grabowsky is a pianist and composer of music for film, theatre and opera. His father Alistair had lived in Papu ...

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, Christine Sullivan,

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, Paul Kelly,

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and

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among others. In 2013, Magnusson was awarded the Melbourne Prize for Music Outstanding Musician Award.

Career

1969-1990: Early years

Magnusson began playing musical instruments at age three when he was given a

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

. At age six he had his first

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and began performing at the age of ten on an electric guitar that he borrowed from a school teacher. He started to formally study

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

under Gordon Pendelton at

Box Hill TAFE Box Hill Institute is a provider of vocational and higher education located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The Box Hill Institute has three locations in Box Hill, Victoria, Box Hill ( ...

in 1985. In 1986, Magnusson began his formal training at the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts. Here, he worked under the supervision of musicians,

Tony Gould Tony Gould is an Australian jazz musician, pianist, composer and educator. Gould's many recordings and performances reveal his harmonic view of music and his love of music from both African-American and European jazz traditions, as well as the c ...

Bob Sedergreen Bob Sedergreen (born 1943) is an Australian jazz pianist. Sedergreen has worked with John Sangster, Don Burrows, and Brian Brown and supported Nat Adderley, Dizzy Gillespie, and Milt Jackson. Biography Sedergreen was born in Mandatory Pales ...

and

. He practiced improvisation and composition, joining various bands and exploring many styles, developing an understanding of the mechanics of his instrument and the art of improvisation. Magnusson was influenced as a child by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

whose music Magnusson describes as "a magical experience, because it was so produced, and because of this amazing journey that they'd take you on. Especially from the mid 1960s on, they just explored sound." Magnusson was also influenced by the linear playing of

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

and

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

, but also fascinated by

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

who Magnusson says "..played these beautiful colours that didn't sound like pop music at the time… I just loved exploring that principle."

1990-1999: Europe and ''Snag''

In the mid 1990s, Magnusson travelled to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, performing and collaborating with musicians in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In 1997 he was appointed to the staff of The Academy of Contemporary Music in Zurich and met his longtime collaborator Sergio Beresovsky. They performed regularly with Björn Meyer, a Swedish bassist and were joined soon after by Australian saxophonist Julien Wilson. They formed the group ''SNAG'' and recorded a self-titled album which was released in Australia with the title ''Hey Guess What''. Magnusson both played and taught across Europe and performed regularly with SNAG and other ensembles. In 1999, Magnusson was nominated for the Swiss Fellowship award.

2000-2011: Solo success

After three years living in Zurich, Magnusson returned to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 2000. At the 2000 National Jazz Awards (as part of the

Wangaratta Festival of Jazz The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz is an annual Australian festival of jazz and blues, founded in 1990 by the City of Wangaratta with Adrian Jackson as its first director. It is held at various venues in the town of Wangaratta, north east of the ...

), Magnusson won the National Jazz Award. After performing with drummer Sergio Beresovsky and trumpeter Eugene Ball, the trio released the album, ''Healing Songs'' in February 2002. In 2001, Magnusson returned to Europe, touring throughout Germany and Switzerland. In October, Magnusson brought SNAG to Australia for an East Coast tour and again appeared at the Wangarratta Jazz Festival. In 2002, Magnusson spent time in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

playing music in Aboriginal communities with old friend and collaborator Stephen Teakle. This had a significant impact on both his life and his music. Upon returning to

, Magnusson embarked on a recording that would incorporate these influences compositionally and sonically. ''Boundaries'' was released that year with Bassist Frank Di Sario. In 2007, Magnusson released ''14 Little Creatures'' on ABC Music, with The Weekend Australian giving it 4 out of 5 saying "These 14 creatures are highly individual solo guitar performances, ten of which were composed by... Stephen Magnusson. Listening to this album is like having Magnusson in your lounge room to play an intimate, unique solo concert on acoustic guitar." Magnusson has had three compositions added to The Australian Jazz Real Book and in 2013 the Melbourne Prize Trust awarded Magnusson the Outstanding Musician Award.

2012-present: Magnet and Boundaries

In 2012, Magnusson formed the four piece improvisational group called ''Magnet''. Their self titled debut album was released in October 2012. Magnusson has had three compositions added to The Australian Jazz Real Book and in 2013 the Melbourne Prize Trust awarded Magnusson the Outstanding Musician Award. In 2013 at the Australian Jazz Bell Award, Magnusson won Best Contemporary Jazz Album with his quartet MAGNET (with Carl Pannuzzo, Eugene Ball and Sergio Beresovsky). In May 2015, Magnusson appeared at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival with the Stephen Magnusson Quartet, Kinfolk which, along with Magnusson on guitar, included Frank DiSario on double bass, Tim Neal on Hammond organ, and Dave Beck on drums. In November 2015, a second Magnet album was released, featuring Magnusson on guitars, Beresovsky on drum, Ball on trumpet, Carl Pannuzzo on voice and DiSario on acoustic bass guitar. As of 2020, Magnusson is writing for his duo Boundaries (with Frank DiSario) and trio MAGnet (featuring DiSario and Dave Beck).

Discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

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 music genre in Australia. They were named in honour of Australian jazz pianist, composer and band leader, Graeme Bell (1914–2012), at ...

, (also known as the Bell Awards or The Bells), are annual music awards for the jazz music genre in Australia. They commenced in 2003. , - , 2008 , "14 Little Creatures" , Australian Jazz Composition of the Year , , - , 2013 , ''Magnet'' by Magnet , Best Australian Contemporary Jazz Album , , -

Melbourne Prize Trust

The Melbourne Prize Trust grants awards on a rolling three-year basis for Urban Sculpture, Literature and Music and commenced in 2005. , - , 2013 , Stephen Magnusson , Outstanding Musician Award , , -

National Jazz Awards

The National Jazz Awards are organised as part of the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues and began in 1990. , - , 2000 , Stephen Magnusson , National Jazz Award , , -

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the Australian live scene – recognising the best vocal talents and musicians alongside ...

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

National Live Music Awards of 2019 The National Live Music Awards of 2019 are the 4th annual National Live Music Awards. The nominations were announced on 22 October 2020 and the awards ceremony was held on 4 December 2020. For the first time ever, all State and Territory catego ...

, Stephen Magnusson , Live Jazz Act of the Year , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnusson, Stephen 1969 births Living people Australian guitarists Australian composers