David Cousins Trio

The David Cousins Piano Trio, featuring Peter Auret (drums) and Amaeshi Ikechi (double bass), has been performing in and around Johannesburg (The Orbit, Six Restaurant, Doppio Zero, Lonely Hearts, Venice Bar, Sips etc.) since 2015 as a stand-alone unit in addition to an established rhythm section supporting some of South Africa's finest horn players and vocalists. Each member of the trio is an active freelancer with a wealth of stylistically varied musical experience used to good effect in the ensemble's unique interpretations of jazz standards (both traditional and modern) and original compositions.

A spirit of collaborative creativity comes through in the band's arrangements of original music as the focus shifts between the three instrumentalists, each capable of assuming the featured solo role. The sound of the trio combines traditional American jazz language with the chamber-infused sensitivity of the European scene while remaining rooted in the rhythmic vamps and melodicism of South African jazz. Although the trio's original material reflects three distinct compositional voices, these harmonise seamlessly through a shared musical empathy and understanding developed over the years as collaborators and friends.

Performance details:

- Traditional jazz trio line-up of acoustic piano, double bass & drum set.

- 60-75 minutes of original music composed by David Cousins, Peter Auret and Amaeshi Ikechi.

*The group can be expanded to quartet or even quintet by adding tenor saxophone and/or trumpet, as many of the compositions have been arranged with such instrumentation in mind.

About the musicians:

David Cousins (Piano) is professional jazz pianist, composer and arranger who graduated with a bachelor of music degree from the University of Cape Town in 2004. He continued his studies at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, developing his composition and arrangement skills further whilst playing and performing with music students from around the world.

David was a finalist in the SAMRO piano competition in 2005 and the FMR/Pick 'n Pay awards in 2006. He has also performed with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra as a featured soloist, playing his own orchestral arrangement of Claude Bolling's 'Cello Fan'.

As an arranger and orchestrator, David has worked for many South African artists including Marcus Wyatt, Elvis Blue, Lloyd Cele, Die Heuwels Fantasties and Karen Zoid. He has contributed orchestral and big band scores for festivals like Skouspel, Starlight Classics and the Tshwane International Big Band Festival (for which he arranged a composition of acclaimed American vibraphonist/composer, Stefon Harris). His orchestral arrangement of Hugh Masekela's 'Stimela' was recently performed by the Metropole Orkes for the 2022 BBC Proms concert: “The South African Jazz Songbook”.

In addition to performing as a keyboard player for artists such as Timothy Moloi, Jesse Clegg, Jonathan Roxmouth, Gloria Bosman, Kabelo, Loyiso Bala, Ard Matthews, Tarryn Lamb, Refentse Morake and Graeme Watkins, David has worked with some of South Africa's finest jazz musicians with the Orbit Big Band and continues to work as a freelance pianist for Dan Shout, Peter Auret, Mike Rossi, Steve Dyer and Marcus Wyatt. He...