Number Junky show Composure with new album and national tour
Australian contemporary jazz trio Number Junky will release their third album, Composure, on Friday, October 30, and take the new music on an Australian tour.
The tour kicks off at The Ellington Jazz Club on Tuesday, October 20, before heading around the country for an additional ten dates.
Featuring Danish-born, Perth-based guitarist and composer Kristian Borring, Zac Grafton on double bass and Peter Evans on drums, Number Junky are known for technically demanding contemporary jazz built around complex rhythmic structures, odd and mixed meters, rich harmony and lyrical melody, performed with precision and control.
But on Composure, the band said that keeping everything musically under control wasn’t the objective.
“Composure is about keeping calm and in control while navigating challenging metric structures and rhythms,” Borring said. “But too much composure can become overly controlled. Sometimes you need to lose a little control and allow the music to dance on the edge.”
The record brings together original compositions with arrangements of jazz standards and music by Danish classical composer Carl Nielsen (1865–1931). The trio’s fascination with odd and mixed meters remains, but with greater space and interaction developed through several years of playing together.
For Borring, the album also represents a return to his Danish musical roots. Two tracks, No. 66 – Tunge, mørke natteskyer and No. 246 – Derfor kan vort øje glædes, reinterpret music by Nielsen from a collection of songs and hymns Borring encountered growing up in Denmark. Nielsen grew up on the island of Funen, not far from where Borring himself was raised around a century later.
“I grew up with many of these songs, and they have an almost folkloric identity in Denmark,” Borring said. “Having lived away from Denmark for more than 25 years in both London and Perth, I feel a need to remain connected to my Scandinavian heritage and culture.”
Composure is Number Junky’s first album recorded entirely as a trio. Their debut, Earth Matters (2022), featured Cuban/American pianist Fabian Almazan, while British saxophonist Will Vinson appeared on follow-up Birak (2024). It is also the first to feature a composition by another trio member, with Grafton’s atmospheric Mist opening the record.
The album was recorded live together at Villa Studios in Perth, where Number Junky have performed monthly since 2022 through their intimate Villa House Sessions.
Number Junky’s third album, Composure, is out on Friday, October 30, 2026. Number Junky play The Ellington Jazz Club on Tuesday, October 20. Tickets are on sale now from ellingtonjazz.com.au
