You’re touring oz. What’s the occasion?

I’m doing a release tour for my new album “Place to Be” which was released in April in Europe. And it’s a good occasion to play with some super talented Australian musicians at the same time!

Tell me about ‘Place to Be’, your third album.

“Place to Be” is a good reflection of where I’m at today. For me the “Place to Be” is what you make of it and can be multiple. Today it’s Paris but I also feel like it could be many places. I guess that comes in some way from the fact that I’m an Australian with a Vietnamese mother who’s spent more than third of his life in France. This manifests itself in the way I write. I have very diverse influences.

What are the influences for this album?

My influences are very varied, from modern jazz, to post rock, to African grooves to Indian and Balkanic inflections and more. I listen to, love and play a lot of different music so those styles blend quite naturally in my own compositions. I don’t try and write in a certain genre, I go on feeling and what I like comes out fairly organically.

How has your music evolved since your last album, ‘Around’?

I’d say it’s slightly more written and slightly less open than my last album. I’m working a lot more off written layering of parts which creates some more arranged kind of grooves. The rock influence is also more pronounced.

Who are the musicians for the tour?

I’m touring with some wonderful Australian Musicians from Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. On the trumpet- Miroslav Bukovsky, on the sax- Julien Wilson, on the bass- Jonathan Zwartz and on the drums- Tim Firth. Can’t complain!

Has living in Paris been as expected? What are best and the hardest things about being a musician in the city of lights?

Paris is a wonderful city, there’s a real energy here that I love. It’s one of the great cultural capitals of the world. What I really enjoy in Paris as a musician is the huge range of styles you can hear every night, from Balkanic brass bands, to traditional Indian music, to a multitude of African styles, to indie rock, to modern jazz, the list doesn’t stop. As someone who loves very diverse music styles, it’s a real attraction for me. And the huge quality of the musicians to collaborate with here is wonderful too. It’s also very competitive, which can be hard sometimes, but at the same time it’s a good thing.

What keeps you inspired?

The fact that there’s still so much music I’d like to check out deeply as a musician. Until the day I can’t play anymore, I know that I’ll never get sick of getting new things down. There’s just so much great music out there. And all that can feed back into the way I write and improvise.

What musician do you dream of being referred to?

No one in particular. There’s so many musicians and groups that I love but my main priority is finding my own voice.

Alex is touring Australia from the 21st October 21 until the 1st November including shows at Bennett’s Lane (Melbourne) and the 505 (Sydney). He resumes concerts in France shortly after. All dates and details on www.alexstuartmusic.com

Alex featured in Ruby’s Qantas magazine story on Australian musicians in France that you can read here.