Some weeks are quiet, nobody home, and others are awash with interesting happenings. This week seems to have been busy.

So, for that reason I'll leave getting stuck into the Jazz Festival until next time. The full programme – including all the afternoon events downtown and at the Historic Village – has now been released, and it's huge. It'll take a few days to digest, so we'll come back to that. In the meantime, I thought a quick catch-up on the various celebrities who've been jetting through town and stopping in to enjoy the pleasures of the Bay's recording studios might be in order.
The Boatshed Studio in Whakamarama has been abuzz recently with the visits of various musical heavyweights, dropping in to Tauranga to add their talents to trumpeter Sonia Bullot's debut solo album.
In fact it's been a busy time all round at the Boatshed. Artist and all-round renaissance man Dave Roy has just finished his latest album of eccentric meanderings, entitled Pear-Shaped-Belly-Up Custard. Expect a review of it in the Weekend Sun over the next couple of weeks. John Michaelz gospel-rock album Walk on Water has also been finished and is over the other side of town at Welcome Bay's Colourfield studio where it is currently being mastered by Tim Julian.
Still in production at the Boatshed is a debut album from Hamilton rockabilly trio Johnny Stash which drew in the local assistance of Robbie Laven on saxophone and Sonia Bullot on trumpet. And Sonia, as I mentioned, has also been spending a lot of time in the studio recording an album under her own name.
Most regularly seen as the horn player with local blues ‘n' roots band Kokomo, Sonia has been planning this project for a few years now and with Kokomo between albums the time seemed right for what she intends as a summary of her career so far. To that end she has enlisted some of the many jazz and blues musicians with whom she has shared the stage over the years.
Most recently Julia Deans of Wellington band Fur Patrol (now resident in Melbourne) jetted across the ditch to provide her vocal prowess on a couple of tunes. I don't think Julia needs much by way of introduction but here's a quick nutshell. She first came to attention in Celtic band Banshee Reel, who toured relentlessly, getting as far as Canada. She then formed the immensely popular Fur Patrol and recorded the platinum-selling album Pet, from which came one of new Zealand's biggest-selling songs 'Lydia”. They picked up 4 Tui NZ music awards in 2000, including single of the year for Lydia, and songwriter of the year for Julia. In 2001 she was awarded female vocalist of the year at the Tuis and somewhere along the line she picked up a bNet 'Best Fox” award.
But, before all that…
Julia and Sonia played together in a band called Flibbertigibbet, which Sonia put together when the two were together at music school in Wellington. Revisiting those days in the studio for Sonia's album, Julia sang 'My Funny Valentine” and Miles Davis' 'All Blues”.
The backing for 'All Blues” had been recorded a few weeks earlier by more friends of Sonia's, the boys from Shaken Not Stirred, in town for a festival in Katikati and in the studio the next day. They also recorded another three tunes, while Gerard Masters - nephew of studio head honcho Nigel Masters - also popped into town for a brief sojourn and leant his jazz piano chops to 'My Funny Valentine” and a couple of others. Gerard attended the Sydney conservatorium where he was a protégé of Mike Nock. He now tours with Missy Higgins amongst others.
Shaken Not Stirred, meanwhile, were back in town last weekend, this time breaking up their gigs with a quick trip to the Colourfield studio where they added horn lines to some tracks on the upcoming album by rhythm ‘n' blues group Brilleaux. Tim Julian reports that all went well and that the album is now ready for mixing and mastering. The band are hoping to have it ready by Easter, though that looks like a pretty tight deadline. But definitely expect it sometime in April or May.