Clear Path Ensemble is the new project and brainchild of Wellington jazz and sonic arts graduate Cory Champion.
Clear Path Ensemble live at St. Peter's On Willis, Wellington, NZ. 10 June 2021 during the Wellington Jazz Festival. Photo: Stephen A'Court
Cory is well known as a DJ and producer and a drummer, and is connected to a wide range of musical scenes in New Zealand. As a jazz drummer he’s worked with Lucien Johnson and Honey Boulton, as a funk player he’s jammed with Electric Wire Hustle; on the pop side he’s worked with Louis Baker and Estere, and he produces left field house and techno under the name Borrowed Cs.
Cory Champion and Clear Path Ensemble live at St. Peter's On Willis, Wellington during the 2021 Wellington Jazz Festival. Photo: Stephen A'Court
This Wellington Jazz Festival concert featuring the Clear Path Ensemble is, in Cory’s own words, his first offering to the jazz gods. Having spent many years playing drums alongside some of New Zealand’s most talented musicians this release is an amalgamation of the energy & spirit that the Wellington scene encompasses.
Walking over the blurred lines of psychedelia and spiritual jazz and taking cues from planetary rhythms and celestial oddities, the Clear Path Ensemble invokes a higher sense of self through the transformative power of sound.
The show includes compositions by Cory Champion, alongside collaborations between Cory and members of the band. Joining Cory on stage in the Clear Path Ensemble are Mike Isaacs on clarinet and synthesiser, Louisa Williamson playing tenor sax and flute; Daniel Hayles on keyboards, Johnny Lawrence playing the bass, Michael August on guitar, and Riki Gooch playing drums and percussion. Cory Champion himself plays drums and vibraphone.
Sound produced and engineered by Darryl Stack for RNZ Concert
Recorded at St. Peter's on Willis, Wellington
Commissioned by Wellington Jazz Festival
Notes: Cory Champion
Clear Path Ensemble live at St. Peter's On Willis, Wellington, NZ. 10 June 2021 during the Wellington Jazz Festival. Photo: Stephen A'Court
