James Morrison's 10-piece brass ensemble opens his Jazz Weekend at UKARIA

James Morrison has never been one to settle for the expected, and Brass Sonority makes that clear from its premise alone. Rather than lean on the traditional brass band sound, Morrison has assembled a 10-piece ensemble built on a more European model: four trumpets, four trombones, French horn and tuba. It is a configuration built for blend and depth rather than punch, and it gives the concert a sonority (hence the title) that should feel richer and rounder than the brassy fanfare audiences might expect.

Morrison himself moves between brass and piano, and he brings his working quartet along for support: William Morrison on guitar and vocals, Harry Morrison on double bass, and Patrick Danao on drums. Guest soloist Patrick Bartley joins on alto saxophone, adding another voice to a program that promises real range. Expect jazz standards sitting alongside original compositions, Latin grooves and gospel-inflected material, with plenty of room left for improvisation. That last point matters with a band this size. It is one thing to write charts for ten brass players, another to let them stretch out and talk to each other in real time.

The concert runs around two hours, with a 25-minute interval to reset. UKARIA Cultural Centre is the right home for this kind of listening, a room built for clarity and intimacy rather than volume for its own sake, which should suit an ensemble more interested in texture than blast.

Brass Sonority is the opening concert of Morrison's Jazz Weekend at UKARIA, with two more concerts following on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September. Worth noting for those still planning: Friday's concert is sold out, so anyone keen to catch this particular lineup will need to look to the Saturday or Sunday shows instead.

For those who do have tickets, there's a Friday Package worth mentioning for future reference or repeat visits to the weekend: $155 for adults or $150 concession, covering the concert plus a post-concert soirée with the artists from 9pm, complete with canapés and wine. Bar platters are also available from 5:30pm for $45, serving two, for anyone wanting to make an evening of it before the music starts.

UKARIA acknowledges the Peramangk people as traditional custodians of the land on which the centre sits, a fitting note for a weekend built around listening closely and sitting with music that rewards patience.