A band apart

On the morning of 25 September, five School of Music jazz students – pianist Cedric Charles, bassist Marionne Montesa, drummer Matthew Tibbitts, guitarist Dylan Hadfield and vocalist Lexie Buchanan – arrived at the Pullman Hotel to a familiar set-up.

At first glance, the piano, guitars, drumkit and microphone seemed ordinary, but their crosshatched filament patterns revealed their secret: everything except the strings and drumheads was 3D-printed – the work of additive manufacturing expert and Faculty of Engineering and Design Professor Olaf Diegel.

The ensemble was rehearsing to perform at the Golden Graduates lunch, honouring alumni aged 70-plus or who graduated from the University 50 or more years ago. For weeks the band members had rehearsed their setlist – ‘Rhiannon’ by Fleetwood Mac and ‘Reminiscing’ by Little River Band – but the morning of the event was the first time they laid hands on these futuristic instruments.

“At first I was worried there was going to be weird weighting, maybe it would be neck or body heavy,” says Dylan. “But it was perfectly balanced and felt, surprisingly, really good to play. Any reservations I had were shot down the second I picked up the guitar.”

The quintet started jamming about a year-and-a-half ago, eventually solidifying into a band after a gig for Cedric’s end-of-semester assessment. When they saw a social media call for performers for the Golden Graduates event, they filmed audition videos and put themselves forward. They got the gig almost immediately.
 

Their sound draws from jazz, rock, funk and soul, inspired by the electric fusion of Herbie Hancock, the groove of Philly Joe Jones, the guitar mastery of George Benson, and the soulful voice of Erykah Badu. For this set, Matthew wanted songs that would resonate with the 1975 graduating class.

“The event director suggested ‘Reminiscing’, then I landed on ‘Rhiannon’, which fits that 70s soft-rock, easy-listening feel,” he says.

Matthew found the 3D-printed drumkit comparable to a standard high-end kit, though tuning presented familiar issues, with cracks during rehearsal.

“I was concerned about how the material would absorb sound differently than wood, but that didn’t end up being a problem,” he says. “It sounded and played like a normal drumkit.”

Lexie hadn’t realised the set-up would include a 3D-printed microphone – let alone one shaped like a skull.

“It was so cool. Maybe the skull wasn’t the vibe for this particular performance,” she laughs. “When Olaf mentioned the point of reception was on top, I was like, ‘How am I gonna do that?’ But it was actually fine. It’s not something a lot of people can say, that they’ve sung into a 3D-printed skull.”

For most of the band, jazz wasn’t their first musical love. Marionne was classically trained in violin and piano before switching to bass in Year 9 to fill a gap in her school music group. Matthew came to jazz after years of playing pop and rock drums. And Dylan didn’t discover the genre so much as stumble into it.

“I was six, and my mum had bought me the cheapest guitar she could find online. It was a piece of junk, but I stuck with it for a year, so she ended up giving me classical lessons,” he says.

“Then as a joke, my guitar teacher, because I struggled so much with classical, said, ‘Oh, you should try jazz because you’re playing so many wrong notes’. At the time I sort of ignored it, then I was like, you know what, ‘jazz is pretty cool, I’ll give it a go’.”

Cedric fell for jazz early, after hearing his primary school orchestra play ‘The Pink Panther’. From that point, he was intent on joining the School of Music’s jazz specialisation.

His enthusiasm was what prompted Lexie, originally studying a Bachelor of Arts, to pursue a Bachelor of Music (Jazz Vocals) as well.

“I met Cedric through some courses in my arts degree, and jamming with the band made me realise what an important facet of my life music is, and that I could pursue it professionally,” she says.

“I’ve been singing since I could talk, and jazz really suited my voice. It was like a piece of my life that was missing.”

She auditioned for the jazz specialisation – and was thrilled to be accepted.

“It feels like what I’m meant to be doing.”

Jogai Bhatt