It’s a kind of magic.
Queenstown-based jazz muso Cliff Leatherbarrow is about to play his first show at Te Atamira, following a busy few years creating his first album amidst a global pandemic.
He and his family moved to the Whakatipu from China in early 2020 just before Covid struck,so he’s been navigating pursuing his musical aspirations around restrictions, and taking a few shifts each week playing at The Carlin Hotel’s Oro Restaurant.
He says his dream was always to create soundtracks, and he had a vision of hosting overseas directors in Queenstown, though realised the talent here is already fantastic.
Leatherbarrow grew up in Wellington, in a household filled with classical music, falling in love with clever guitar solos and teaching himself to play classical piano.
From there, the next step was jazz.
Then, in the early 2000s, he spent four years at the New Zealand School of Music, and instantly felt “at home”.
He’s also played in plenty of bands over the years, including a cover group for American jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy after moving to Queenstown.
Through Covid, however, the cover band broke up and Leatherbarrow decided to turn the tunes he’d come up with them into an album.
Last year, he released Jazz Alchemy, a collection of tracks he composed, played on, and produced.
“I can pretty much make a mock-up of a tune – like a demo – [on the computer] that sounds quite high class, then I talk to the bandmates and they can pretty much tell what it’s gonna sound like finished.”
The album’s already featured on RNZ National and Concert FM, as well as a jazz show on Radio Hawke’s Bay – fitting given he’s donating proceeds from this week’s Te Atamira gig to Cyclone Gabrielle relief.
Leatherbarrow says the band’s hoping to make it as “musically interesting as possible” for the crowd, which will be treated to a variety of tunes.
Cliff Leatherbarrow’s Jazz Alchemy, Te Atamira, tomorrow, from 7pm. Tickets $20 via teatamira.nz
