Auret Ikechi Cousins Trio

AURET, IKECHI & COUSINS TRIO

Peter Auret’s trio was founded in 2010 and is led by SAMA award-winning musician and music producer Peter Auret on drums with David Cousins on piano and Amaeshi Ikechi on double bass. This jazz trio plays mainly original modern jazz compositions, with all 3 members contributing creatively to the writing process. The sound of the group is very much inspired by the great American jazz trio tradition but is also largely influenced by South African and European jazz. Auret’s trio has been regularly featured in clubs and concert venues around Johannesburg that include: the Orbit Jazz Club, Niki’s Oasis, Winnie’s Soul and Jazz Restaurant, Afrikan Freedom Station and The Roving Bantu Kitchen . The group has also performed at various international jazz festivals such as the Macufe Jazz Festival (2011), Standard Bank Joy of Jazz (2013) and the UNISA International Jazz Festival (2018). In 2015 the trio toured jazz clubs in Cape Town and Durban having been awarded funding by Concerts SA. All three members work as freelance musicians and are featured regularly as side men with some of South Africa’s biggest stars.

Performance details:

- Traditional jazz trio line-up of piano, double bass & drum set.

- Approximately 60 minutes of original music composed by Peter Auret ,David Cousins and Amaeshi Ikechi.

*The group can be expanded to quartet or even quintet by adding tenor saxophone and/or trumpet, as many of the compositions have been arranged with such instrumentation in mind.

About the musicians:

Peter Auret (Drums) is a Johannesburg based musician who has spent the last 20 years working as a freelance drummer and a recording engineer at his Sumo Sound Recording facility.

As a freelance drummer Peter spent most of his 20s and early 30s as a side-man for some of the country’s most formidable popular music acts. This includes touring and recording stints with pop/rock sensation, “Watershed” and singer-songwriter “Karma/Henry Ate”. In 2001, Peter and Guitarist Max Mikula were signed to the Gallo Record Company to record their world music/Afro jazz project, “Tsunami”. Tsunami released 2 albums between 2001 and 2004. Both albums were nominated for South African Music Awards.

Jazz and improvised music has been a passion for Auret since his early 20s, and has now become the focus of his musical endeavours. As a jazz musician Peter has had the privilege of performing with local jazz legends, including Andile Yenana, Paul Hanmer, McCoy Mrubata, Africa Mkhize, Bokani Dyer, Feya Faku, Marcus Wyatt and Vuma Levin as well as international artists, Jan Lundrgen (SWE), Bruce Cassidy (CAN), Lisette Spinnler (CHE) and Rachel Rarnisch (CHE). In 2013 Peter was the local headliner at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival, performing his own compositions with his “Peter Auret Trio”.

As well as being a professional drummer, Peter Auret is one of South Africa’s most popular recording engineers for jazz and improvised music, with credits that include: Kyle Shepherd, Nduduzo Makhathini, Marcus Wyatt ZAR Jazz Orchestra, McCoy Mrubata, Sibongile

Khumalo, Sisonke Xonti, Benjamin Jephta, Shabaka Hutchings & the Ancestors (UK) and Mike Del Ferro (NL).

In April of 2014 Peter was awarded a South African Music Award (SAMA) for the category “Best Engineer” at the SAMA 20 awards held at Sun City, and was nominated again in 2015 and 2016 in the same category. To date Peter has been nominated 5 times for various categories of the South African Music Awards. In 2020 Peter won his 2nd SAMA in the category, “Best Engineer”, for Marcus Wyatt & ZAR Jazz Orchestra’s live recording, Into Dust/Waltz for Jozi.

For the last few years Peter has been touring and recording as a sideman with the Charl Du Plessis trio, Sydney Mavundla Quintet and serves as drummer for stage veteran and TV personality, Nataniel.

David Cousins (Piano) is professional jazz pianist, composer and arranger who graduated with a bachelor of music degree from the University of Cape Town in 2004. He continued his studies at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, developing his composition and arrangement skills further whilst playing and performing with music students from around the world.

David was a finalist in the SAMRO piano competition in 2005 and the FMR/Pick 'n Pay awards in 2006. He has also performed with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra as a featured soloist, playing his own orchestral arrangement of Claude Bolling's 'Cello Fan'.

As an arranger and orchestrator, David has worked for many South African artists including Marcus Wyatt, Elvis Blue, Lloyd Cele, Die Heuwels Fantasties and Karen Zoid. He has contributed orchestral and big band scores for festivals like Skouspel, Starlight Classics and the Tshwane International Big Band Festival (for which he arranged a composition of acclaimed American vibraphonist/composer, Stefon Harris). His arrangements can be heard

on Swing City’s second studio album, Now Listen Properly (2017).

In addition to performing as a keyboard player for artists such as Timothy Moloi, Jesse Clegg, Jonathan Roxmouth, Gloria Bosman, Kabelo, Loyiso Bala and Graeme Watkins, David has worked with some of South Africa's finest jazz musicians with the Orbit Big Band and continues to work as a freelance pianist for Dan Shout, Peter Auret, Mike Rossi, Steve Dyer and Marcus Wyatt. He has also performed as a member of the house band on the following live TV shows: Strictly Come Dancing (2014/15), Dancing with the Stars (2018) and The Voice (2018/19).

David maintains an active performing and arranging schedule while keeping up with his teaching commitments as a lecturer in arranging, jazz piano and ensemble studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (where he recently completed his master’s degree in music).

David's debut album, Flight of Fancy (2015), featuring original jazz compositions in a traditional quartet setting, is out digitally on itunes and CDBaby and in hard copy at High Fidelity and Just CD's.

Amaeshi Okwarachukwu Ikechi (Bass) is a Nigerian-born bassist, composer and band leader. Growing up in a Christian family, Amaeshi was exposed to church music from an early age, which led to him taking up percussion and drums and performing regularly in both his church and school bands as well as various cultural music groups. At age 13, Amaeshi

took an interest in the electric bass guitar and by his early 20s he began working as a professional bass player in and around the Lagos music industry.

In 2010 Amaeshi immigrated to South Africa to expand his musical horizons where he quickly became an in-demand bass player for some of the country’s biggest stars, including: Selaelo Selota, Lira, Zonke, Simphiwe Dana, Zama Jobe, Stix Hojeng and Malaika.

By 2012 Amaeshi was working as both an acoustic and electric bass player, and has had the privilege of performing and recording as a side man in groups led by jazz legends such as: Zim Ngnawane, Afrika Mkhize, Andile Yenana, Thandi Ntuli, Bheki Khoza, Steve Dyer, Feya Faku, Sydney Mavundla and Marcus Wyatt.

During his time on the bandstand with these artists, Amaeshi was exposed to the many, varied South African music genres, quickly falling in love with acoustic South African jazz. This newly discovered interest led to him commencing formal studies in double bass and jazz improvisation, which recently culminated in his completion of a 3-year diploma in jazz and popular music at the Tshwane University of Technology.

Amaeshi also leads his own quintet as a bass player and composer and has been a featured artist at many of the country’s finest jazz and concert venues. His debut album with this outfit has been recorded and is scheduled for release later this year (2022).