Lachlan McKenzie is a Sydney-based musician who has gained recognition both nationally and internationally for his formidable abilities as a jazz trumpeter and composer. He has had the opportunity to perform and record with various well-known artists over the years. In 2023 Lachlan took his quartet to Osaka, Japan, to perform at the 25th annual Takatsuki Jazz Street Festival and in the past two years has also performed at leading jazz clubs in Seoul, South Korea and Bangkok, Thailand.
He has just released his sophomore album, entitled Departures, which features seven of his original compositions, coincidentally written over seven years.
When did you first play jazz and who were some of the artists who influenced your style?
I guess I started to become more interested in jazz music during and towards the end of my high school years. I always remember enjoying playing more in the school big band than I did in the concert band, which was a strong indication that I was more interested in jazz than in classical music. My high school band teacher, along with some members of a community band I played in, gave me CDs of some of their favourite jazz artists – particularly trumpet players. I’m very grateful for this, because the artists and albums they gave me became a massive influence on my playing. Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker were on the CDs I was lucky enough to receive. At the time, I seem to remember Clifford Brown having the greatest influence on my style. Since studying music at university some of my other big trumpet influences have been Kenny Dorham, Roy Hargrove and Wynton Marsalis.
What are your current musical projects?
I suppose my main musical project for the last few years has been my quintet. I’ve worked hard on writing and refining repertoire for the group, which culminated in the album recording – this was a big milestone. During this time we’ve also gone on two tours and played a bunch of gigs. The group has gone through a few personnel changes since it was established, with George Greenhill (drums) moving to New York and Lachy Hamilton (saxophone) moving to Amsterdam last year. I was happy to have Alex Young (drums) and Justin Yeo (saxophone) join me for most of the dates on our album release tour, along with longstanding regulars Wilbur Whitta (piano) and Jacob Graham (double bass). Putting the quintet aside, I don’t particularly have any regular musical projects that I lead; however, I’m currently involved with a few groups, including Andrew Robertson’s Big Band and Yannick Koffi/Tim Kovacs sextet, along with various duos/trios/quartets that get assembled for gigs.
Life as a musician is full of challenges. What are some of those that have confronted you so far?
There have been many challenges along the way! I guess the most prominent, which I’m sure is the case for many musicians, is how to make money and support yourself while trying to practise/write/work on music. Perhaps the most common way of doing this is to teach, alongside gigging, etc, which fortunately, I enjoy. Although it’s sometimes a challenge dealing with fatigue from late-night gigs and then teaching the next day, I guess that’s just part of it all. Keeping the drive and diligence for practising is a challenge too, but it’s so important, especially as a trumpet player. I try to break up my practice throughout the day – some at the start, some in the middle and some at the end seems to work best for me.
What are some of your interests outside of your musical career?
Fitness! Probably my main interest outside of music is staying fit. So, for me, that means getting to the gym regularly and going for runs. I ran a half-marathon back in 2023, which felt awesome, and I’m running a 10K event at the end of August. I feel that weight training at the gym helps my trumpet playing too – focusing on keeping good form and posture and regularly drilling the same muscle movements at the gym is somewhat like practising trumpet. I have a strong interest in coffee/food too. Most weekends my girlfriend and I will head out to check out a new café or go to one of our favourite restaurants.
If you had not pursued a career as a professional musician, what would you have liked to have done?
That is a difficult question. It’s hard for me to see myself doing anything except music, because that’s all I’ve been pursuing since high school. If I had to answer, though, I would say something to do with transport or town planning. It may sound quite random, but I’ve recently been interested in cities/suburbs and how people get around with various public transport options. Many Sydney suburbs and areas interest me, particularly town centres, high streets and main shopping areas. I’m always curious to see how successful these areas are – how functional, how much local businesses thrive and generally how enjoyable these places are to be in. It’s also interesting to compare these areas from city to city. So perhaps a town planner. Although, at the same time, I really can’t imagine myself doing anything besides playing, writing, arranging and teaching music.