A change of fortune

Upon my return to Australia things were really starting to look up. A Japanese gentleman walked into a Sydney store and bought a copy of my Bacharach record and took it back to Japan. He gave it to his friend at ‘Atelier Sawano’ who loved the record and wanted to distribute it in Japan. In the meantime they asked me to make a CD for them the Joy of Standards. Well, three weeks after they released it the CD went to number 1 on the HMV modern jazz charts. I'll never forget the list they posted on the Internet showing the best sellers. There was my name at number 1 with the likes of Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Kenny Baron and George Cables underneath. At that moment, it didn't matter that Bill Evans had probably been on that list for 30 years.

I had achieved something special. My attitude to everything has changed since that moment. I feel unstoppable because I’ve managed to find the key to open that elusive international door. And because of it, people in my own country are taking me far more seriously. They gave me the 2002 Australian Entertainment “MO” Award for Instrumental Jazz Performer of the Year. I've made Joy of Standards Volume 2 for the Japanese which was released in early 2003.