The Musicians
Hamed Sadeghi
Born 1983 in Iran, Hamed is a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Sydney.
He has performed at the most well-known festivals around the world and has been nominated for multiple awards including Sydney Fringe Festival 2019 and with Vazesh he has been a finalist at Art Music Awards 2021, Performance of the Year: Jazz/Improvised Music
Hamed’s recent highlights in theatre include scoring and performing in productions Sami in Paradise 2018 at Belvoir St Theatre, The Iliad Out-Loud at Sydney Festival 2019 and Adelaide Festival 2020, Stop Girl 2021 at Belvoir St Theatre, Adam and Eve at Kuala Lumpur Performing Art Centre Malaysia 2013. His collaborative score with Michael Askill for the Iliad Out-loud was nominated for the Best Original Score at the Sydney Theatre Awards 2019.
Sadeghi is the Australian delegate chosen by the Australian Music Centre at Jazz-ahead Festival in Germany 2022.
Adem Yilmaz
Born in Istanbul 1992, Adem Yilmaz is a highly renowned percussionist of Kurdish origin from Turkey. He began playing his first instrument is Darbuka (Goblet Drum) at the age of eight.
Having Mr. Izzet Kizil, one of Turkey's most recognised and internationally known percussionist as his teacher, Yilmaz specialised in a variety of eastern percussion instruments and found himself in a world where he was performing with many bands as well as being involved in many of those bands’ album recordings.
Since migrating to Sydney, Australia in 2014, Adem established himself, within a short period of time, as a versatile and sought-after percussionist and has been involved in many bands such as Aria nominated Zela Margossian Quintet, Eishan Ensemble, Masha's Legacy, Visions of Nar, The Catholics and more
Yilmaz continues his musical journey in Sydney, collaborating with many artists, projects and participating in festivals.
Michael Avgenicos
From Sydney, Michael's performance career has taken him around Australia and abroad to Asia Europe and the USA.
Performing on alto and tenor saxophones, clarinet and flute, Michael is an active member of a number of bands; having recorded albums with experimental jazz group COAST, FRYJA, Eishan Ensemble, Aaron Blakey and Gregg Arthur. He also co-leads and composes music for his own group, the Avgenicos Brothers, who recently released their debut album 'TREADING WATER'
Recent performance highlights include opening for Brandon Marsalis at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, performances for Sydney Fringe and VIVID festivals and album launches for Eishan and COAST.
A graduate of The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (Bachelor of Jazz Performance, 2016), Michael Avgenicos was a finalist in the same year at the prestigious National Jazz Awards – Saxophone Competition in Wangarratta, SA. In 2017 he received the Big Brother Movement (BBM) award for excellence in music.
Maximillian Farrell-Alduca
Double bassist Maximillian Alduca has established himself as a force of creative energy amongst the Sydney Jazz and experimental music scene.
Alduca has worked alongside some of Australia’s biggest names in Jazz including Mike Nock, Paul Grabowsky and Dale Barlow. As well as accompanying such luminaries, Max is a chief collaborator in projects that have been touring locally and internationally with recent performances at Copenhagen Jazz festival (Vulkan DK/Aus), Wellington Jazz festival (Steve Barry trio) and Manly Jazz festival (The Pocket Trio) to name a few.
Alduca is an active recording artist who has been featured on recent album releases including ‘Blueprints and Vignettes’ (Steve Barry Quartet), ‘Good Winter’ (Antipodes Aus/NZ) as well as soon to be released album ‘All At Once’ from The Pocket Trio.
Pedram Layegh
Iranian-born, Pedram Layegh, began his musical studies under the guidance of acclaimed Iranian guitar teachers, Farhad Faghihnia and Touraj Dadyan in Iran.
Following his move to Australia, he studied classical music at Australian Institute of Music. He continued his studies with Grant Sambells, Tom Ferris and Damian Wright.
Pedram performs regularly with local groups and with visiting international artists such as the renowned Kurdish singer, Adnan Karim.