Twenty five years after releasing New Zealand’s landmark jazz album, Shift Left, and dismantling genre barriers in an adventurous new way, Nathan Haines is bringing his musical prowess to the role of Music Director at the 2019 APRA Silver Scroll Awards.

The Music Director is responsible for all the performances throughout the ceremony. These performances that have become somewhat legendary over the years and APRA are excited to have Nathan bringing his innovative and astute musical skills and understanding to the awards ceremony, particularly given that Nathan is in the midst of preparing for two very special Shift Left anniversary shows later this month.

On the night, the five Silver Scroll finalists’ songs, as well as the winners of the Maioha Award and SOUNZ Contemporary Award – Te Tohu Auaha, and a tribute to the NZ Music Hall of Fame inductee are reinterpreted by different artists, bands, and once-in-a-lifetime, one-off collaborations.

“A great honour has been bestowed upon me and I am both humbled and excited” says Nathan.

“I plan to bring together some amazing New Zealand artists and performers from many different backgrounds to perform these important works which have been judged by the many APRA members around the country. It’s a unique opportunity and I’m looking forward to October 2 very, very much!”

Nathan is performing the Shift Left anniversary shows at the Civic Theatre in Auckland on August the 24th, 2019 and at the Trafalgar Centre in Napier on August 17th, 2019, alongside an impressive band made up of the original Shift Leftplayers – Sonny Sagala, Joel Haines, Richard Hammond, Kevin Field, Alan Brown, Miguel Fuentes, and Richard Cesan.

The finalists for the SOUNZ Contemporary Award, APRA Screen Awards, APRA Maioha Award, and APRA Silver Scroll Award will be announced shortly.

All awards will be presented during a ceremony at Spark Arena in Auckland on Wednesday October 2nd. As a part of the celebrations, APRA will also be inducting a songwriter(s) into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. The awards are proudly supported by Hallertau Brewery, and Soho Wines.

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Universal Music New Zealand and CRS / Live Nation are proud to announce the 25th Anniversary reissue of Nathan Haines’ seminal debut album, Shift Left, alongside two very special celebratory performances by Nathan and the Shift Left live band. Originally released in 1994, the album is a subtle, astute meltdown of jazz and hip-hop by the preternaturally mature Haines and his fellow musicians whose diverse backgrounds came into play across the 11 originals. The album was released by Verve Records in the UK in 1995 and remains New Zealand’s biggest selling jazz album, while also forming the blueprint for Nathan’s future releases and his international career path.

“To say Shift Left was a landmark in New Zealand music is an understatement,” says Simon Grigg (who released the NZ edition on his Huh! Label), “but it didn’t arrive out of the blue. The genesis came with the new generation, bands like The Jazz Committee and Freebass, both featuring the precocious, hugely talented saxophonist Nathan Haines and his equally talented guitarist brother Joel.

“What made Nathan and these players unique was the way they fused hip-hop and Urban Pasifika with experimental improvised jazz, often live at Cause Celebre in intense sessions that would sometimes not start until 1am and last until dawn.”

Those sessions ultimately led to the formation of the Shift Left band, comprising some of the most virtuoso performers to ever join together both in the studio and on stage in New Zealand. Featuring Joel Haines, drummer Mickey Ututaonga, keyboardist Kevin Field, Puerto Rican born percussion legend Miguel Fuentes and turntablist/DJ Manuel Bundy, this original line-up is re-uniting for the first time in over two decades for two very special and historic shows.

With this excellent remastered reissue – and three new remixes from drummer / producer Julien Dyne, Haines with DJ/producer Frank Booker, and P-Money – this innovative album sounds contemporary but is also a reminder of the period which created it.

Shift Left is available in double LP, CD, digital and streamable formats and Nathan Haines and the Shift Left band bring the music to life once again on stage in August 2019.

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