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Over the past two years, the band has honed its sound through a weekly Wednesday night residency at Old Plates Record Bar in Fitzroy. The residency has quickly established a reputation as one of the most joyous and exciting musical hang-outs in the city.
The house band, co-led by bassiest Zvi Belling and pianist Pat Jaffe, is joined by a diverse range of guests each week, creating a cultural exchange between Australian and South African improvisers. Over 60 guests have now featured, including South Africa's Jason Reolon and Sello Molefi , touring members of the UK band Cymande, and stalwarts of the Melbourne scene such as Nkechi Anele, Flora Carbo, Audrey Powne, Callum Mintzis, Holly Moore, Cheryl Durongpisitkul , Ronny Ferella, Zac O'Connell and Ebs Daramola.
AFROSPACE INTERCHANGE was founded by Zvi , Brian and Pat in memory of pianist Howard Belling , their father, best friend and teacher respectively. What started as a small band to explore the rich idiom of South African Jazz that was so central to Howard's life, has now grown into a vibrant community, celebrating this genre with joy, energy and innovation. The house band has grown to include guitarist Leon Stenning (UK), flautist Kasinda Faase, trumpeter Nic Ryan-Glenie and tenor saxophonist Ron Romero, as well as regular guest vocalist/violinist Fem Belling. All of the band's members contribute originals to the band's repertoire and in 2024, they recorded two albums at Rolling Stock Recording Rooms. The first of these, 'Old Plates, is due as an LP release on the Rear Ear Records label in May 2025, featuring guests such as Sandile Gotswana (South Africa/UK), Flora Carbo, Callum Mintzis and Andrew Saragossi. The band has already launched two pre-release tracks from the album on Bandcamp and is also featured on 'Tiny But Wild', a compilation of some of the leading Australian contemporary improvising ensembles, produced by The Australian Jazz Museum.