Bio

"We are two in the night", Swingin' Both Ways' debut album has been ten years in the making. Kimba and Ryan fell in love over music and in the decade that followed they embarked on a musical journey best described as 'haphazard'.

Ryan Griffith was described by one Japanese magazine reviewer as being 'more music than human'. His dedication to his instrument and impressive simultaneous melody/bass line playing is complemented by his eloquent compositions and his commitment to teaching music to young people, focusing on improvisation and inspiration.

As a vocalist, Kimba Griffith literally grew up onstage. Blessed with a beautiful lonesome tone, but finding little natural aptitude for jazz mathematics, her study of the jazz form was by turns exhilarating and painfully slow.

Yet a passion for jazz and an incredible on-stage dynamic kept this sometimes unlikely pair playing together through some memorable musical fights, periods of cold war, and tentative truces in the last year they've been able to break

the tradition of the pre-gig spat, which, as frustrating as it was for Kimba and Ryan, often led audiences to describe their energy as 'electric'.

Recording was a particularly difficult process. In fact, this album was scheduled to be recorded no less than three times, and each time was cancelled. But when Kimba was 36 weeks pregnant with their first child, one magic night they settled into the home studio with some great mics, some mood lighting, and a glass of red wine. "We are two in the night" is the product of this marvellous night of music-making and captures all the things that make Swingin' Both Ways special: Tenderness, rebellion, humour, and a whole lot of passion for life.

Both Kimba and Ryan are sometime fixtures in the Melbourne jazz scene, and with the support of some wonderful mentors, and the friendship and wisdom of Melbourne's incredible jazz players, they have created an album that echoes what jazz is all about.