SIMA Jazz:NOW – Superclusters

“Van Reyk’s work showcases the unique acoustics of the room: when she allows tones to ring, I am entirely immersed in them...” – Limelight Magazine

“With virtually no flaws, I would almost dare say that Bree Van Reyk created a masterpiece here...” – everythingisnoise.net

For the first of SIMA’s flagship ‘Jazz:NOW’ 2026 program we return to The Vanguard – with Australian percussion powerhouse Bree Van Reyk’s Superclusters featuring Australian post-rock guitar icon Mick Turner and a performance from two stalwarts of Australia’s new music scene in Spartak.

Bree Van Reyk is a seminal voice across Australia’s new music scene having collaborated with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Chamber Opera, Paul Kelly and more. While her solo performances centre on exploring minimal, experimental, and meditative experiential soundscapes, in this special performance we present her large ensemble project Superclusters, highlighting her rich musical universe of collaboration, spontaneity and adventure. 

Here joined by Mick Turner – the iconic guitarist from post-rock royalty Dirty Three – Superclusters construct profound, swirling maelstrom of restrained virtuosity where sounds seemingly drift in an endless and expansive void – dark, but not desolate; vast, but not isolating. There’s something heavy floating in an unknown, deep, and ever evolving space. 

Spartak is the longstanding musical collaboration two of Australia’s most restless improvisors in Sia Ahmad and Evan Dorrian. While both known for their solo practice and work with acclaimed outfit Tangents, Spartak demonstrates the best of both artists’ practices – effortlessly weaving free-flowing improvisation, electronic manipulation and live instrumentation. Over the years, they have performed alongside such disparate artists such as My Disco, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Mark Pritchard, highlighting their genre-agnostic attitude across several musical settings.

“I am thrilled to announce the return of SIMA’s flagship ‘Jazz:NOW’ program for 2026, and to open the season with this rare performance featuring such cultural stalwarts as Bree Van Reyk, Mick Turner and Sia Ahmad and Evan Dorrian of Spartak. As ever, I am interested in the diversity of the definition of ‘improvisation’, and the many musical forms in which it manifests. Superclusters defines this diversity by drawing on minimalism, post-rock and ambient musics to create something distinctly contemporary and exciting. This trend continues with Spartak, comprised of two artists who for as long as I can remember have been at the forefront of creative music making in Australia – building rich and unique catalogues which consistently push the culture forward. This is a particularly exciting bill for me, and may it be for you too! Onwards!” – SIMA Artistic Director, Novak Manojlovic

Superclusters:

• Bree Van Reyk | vibraphone, drums

• Mick Turner | guitar, effects

Spartak:

• Sia Ahmad | guitar, electronics, vocals

• Evan Dorrian | drums, electronics