Redleaf by Hilary Geddes

Redleaf documents the evolution of Sydney-based guitarist and composer Hilary Geddes across four transformative years with her long-standing quartet: Matthew Harris (piano), Max Alduca (double bass), and Alexander Inman-Hislop (drums). Following their acclaimed debut Parkside (ABC Jazz, 2021), which earned an AIR Award nomination and positioned Geddes as one of Australia’s most compelling new jazz voices, the quartet return with a recording that is both expansive and intimate. The album captures the group’s lyrical interplay and rich atmospheres, blending jazz improvisation with cinematic textures and guitar-led harmonic landscapes. Spacious, contemplative and deeply personal, Redleaf is a slow-burning journey through memory, place and interior life, showcasing a band that has matured together while continuing to embrace risk, freedom and collective storytelling.

"a sonic sculptor" - Sydney Morning Herald, John Shand

Written largely during Covid lockdowns and the early post-pandemic years, Redleaf captures the strange sense of both expansiveness and stasis of that period. Geddes describes the music as having a “slow brew quality,” with looping guitar motifs, cinematic harmonies, and shifting textures. Tracks like “The Needling,” “March,” and “Three Five Ten” reflect her interest in guitaristic composition, soundmapping, and the influence of place on listening. “I think you can hear some of the anguish, as well as the spaciousness (and at times the repetitiveness of life) that was emblematic of this time for me,” she reflects.

The album was recorded in a single day at Golden Retriever Studios, engineered by Simon Berckelman, produced by Laurence Pike, and mastered by Bob Scott. Geddes recalls: “Recording with Alex, Max and Matt was a joy. These musicians are such thoughtful and generous players – it is a privilege to make music with them. We set up pretty close to one another, and the proximity felt more like playing a gig, rather than recording.” Producer Laurence Pike, she notes, was instrumental: “He was great at talking me out of removing a lot of guitar in the mixing process! He was also brilliant to work with as his guidance and patience allowed me to focus more on actually playing the music while we were recording.”

The writing process was equally shaped by collaboration and mentorship. Geddes credits pianist Andrea Keller with encouraging her to experiment with non-linear score formats, which liberated her approach to composition. “I really wanted the band members to feel supported by the compositions, not boxed in by them” Geddes explains. “Our collective music trust has deepened over the years and I think you can hear that relationality in the music. I hope listeners find it a cathartic experience – that they come away content and breathing a little slower.”

Reflecting on the album’s aesthetic, Geddes shares: “I think this album is aesthetically more confident. I think you can hear elements of things I was exploring on Parkside more explicitly on Redleaf – soundscapes, timbral approaches to improvisations, attempts to sonify feelings or different moods. The last five years have been pretty massive and I think things I was grappling with personally meant that there is a greater sense of interiority to this album.”

The album is named after Redleaf Beach, a harbour beach in Sydney’s inner east – a place of solace that Geddes has returned to often over the past five years. “Redleaf is one of my favourite places to visit in Sydney, so much so that there’s actually a field recording of the harbour pool that features on the final track of the album, and the album artwork features the iconic bougainvillea that seems to always be flowering regardless of the season,” she states.

Hilary Geddes is an award-winning guitarist, improviser and composer based in Eora/Sydney. Born and raised in Griffith on Wiradjuri Country, a regional town 6 hours drive west from Sydney, she began learning guitar at the age of six and piano shortly after. “My first concert was The Wiggles and my favourite Wiggle was Murray because he played guitar,” she recalls. While music was a constant presence at home, Geddes didn’t find consistent guitar tuition until she moved to Sydney for university, where she discovered a thriving musical community that would shape her career. While at university, Geddes completed a year-long student exchange at the Bremen Hochschule für Künste, studying with esteemed guitarist Andreas Wahl. The connections formed from this exchange led to her completing a successful tour of Germany in 2023 with the Geddes/Haupt Quartet.

Her sound is often compared to Bill Frisell, though she modestly notes, “I think that’s because I play a Tele at the moment. Alas my tone is not nearly as legato as his.” Critics have celebrated her as a “sonic sculptor” (Sydney Morning Herald), praised for guiding ensembles through inventive textures, lyrical improvisation and dynamic interplay.

The Hilary Geddes Quartet formed in 2019, when Geddes received the Jann Rutherford Memorial Award, which enabled her to record and launch the band’s debut album Parkside (ABC Jazz, 2021). Their first performance at the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival at Foundry 616 was a sold-out event, testament to the generosity of Sydney’s music community supporting Geddes’ first outing as a bandleader.

Since then, the quartet – featuring Matthew Harris (piano), Max Alduca (double bass), and Alexander Inman-Hislop (drums) – has grown into one of the most vital young ensembles in Australian jazz. They have performed at leading venues and festivals including Phoenix Central Park, the inaugural VOLUME Festival at the Art Gallery of NSW, Melbourne International Jazz Festival, as well as support for jazz legend Marcus Miller at City Recital Hall.

Geddes is also a member of the rock band, The Buoys. Performing sold-out national headline tours, their debut album Lustre debuted at #7 of the ARIA Australian Album charts in 2024. The Buoys have also supported international acts such as the Arctic Monkeys, Dandy Warhols and IDLES. In 2025, they completed two successful tours of the UK and Europe and were nominated for “Best Live Act” by Rolling Stone. Their song, “Lie To Me Again” featured in Triple J’s Hottest 100 in 2021.

Together, the Hilary Geddes Quartet embody the next generation of Australian improvisers: inventive, collaborative, and deeply attuned to one another’s voices.

Hilary Geddes is an award-winning guitarist, composer and improviser based on Gadigal Land. She is a 2021 Freedman Jazz Fellow, ABC Scholarship recipient, the 2019 Jann Rutherford Memorial Award recipient and is the bandleader of the Hilary Geddes Quartet. Their debut album, Parkside was released in 2021 with ABC Jazz.

hilarygeddes.com