On a cold, dreary winter’s night in Melbourne, hundreds of jazz-lovers congregated at the Forum Theatre for performances from some of the most innovative and impressive jazz pianists in the world.

Upon my arrival, veteran jazz duo Raw Materials had just began their startlingly impressive set, with Vijay Iyer on the grand piano and Rudresh Mahanthappa on the alto saxophone. Having played together for fifteen years, their repertoire is expansive and versatile, including collaborative and individual original compositions from Iyer and Mahanthappa.

The musical chemistry between the two is indubitable, as their instruments weave in and out of each other, seamlessly creating a single instrument in themselves. Both musicians shared the limelight respectively, often playing together, yet occasionally one would quieten down as the other shows off his talent alone. Iyer nodded his head with approval as Mahanthappa embarked upon a daring saxophone solo, and the respect was clearly reciprocated when the piano was the only instrument to be heard.

The set list included several songs from their album Raw Materials, such as ‘Shape of Things’ and ‘Forgotten System’. ‘Regions’, about the fourth song into the set, was particularly impressive with a slow, quiet piano build up into a majestic, powerful tune. Among their inspirations, Iyer cited Tibetan and Mongolian paintings, which is fitting given the meditative feel of some of their songs. Raw Materials ended their set with a soaring rendition of ‘Hope’ from Raw Materials, which began with Mahanthappa playing an incredibly impressive, and equally complicated, saxophone solo.

Following a brief intermission, three boisterous men jumped onto the stage. As the patrons of the Forum halted their mingling to rush back to their seats, Jason Moran and the Bandwagon insisted everyone take their time so ‘we can all sit down together’. What followed was an awesome introductory jam from pianist Moran and his companions; bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits.

Though both Raw Materials and Jason Moran and the Bandwagon are piano-based and equally innovative and stimulating, the two performances were starkly different. Mateen and Waits maintained the groove as Moran effortlessly powered through his performance of avant-garde jazz, stride piano and innovative, unconventional, approaches to jazz music.

When his fingers weren’t dancing wildly all over the keys, Moran would suddenly stand up and walk off the stage, leaving the audience perplexed and in awe of his cool and calm demeanour. Then, he would just as suddenly return to deliver another almost unbelievable presentation on the piano. On one occasion, Moran played the piano by leaning inside it to pluck the treble and bass strings themselves. Cheeky and full of charisma, Moran and his band would often catch each others’ eyes and openly laugh throughout the performance.

A far cry from traditional jazz, this performance was infused with audio-cues from the speaker system, which propelled the wacky nature of the show even further. At one stage Billie Holiday was blasted as the band commenced a cover of the jazz singer herself and, later, American hip-hop beats could be heard blaring around the majestic setting of the Forum while Moran and the bandwagon played along side.

Throughout the set, the audience would let out sighs of awe and exclamations of disbelief as Moran’s hands slayed the piano. The final song of the set, before the encore, was a personal highlight. The epic track progressed solidly to reach a loud, rapid peak when what sounded like sinister Chinese whispers sprayed from the speaker system over the top. The result was spectacular, surreal and eerie.

They returned for an encore (unsurprising, given the fact that their actual set had been rather short...), leaving most patrons satisfied as they vacated the building. As the Jazz Festival continues, Melbourne is playing host to jazz aficionados and all their vices; providing constant entertainment in the forms of daytime masterclasses, early-evening gigs and late-night jams.

Wednesday night’s performance was my inaugural experience of the festival, and it certainly won’t be my last. As we re-emerged into the chilly night air, my friend commented about how culturally important artists like these are to remind people about the raw value of music and improvisation, and to bring jazz infused music back into the mainstream. And I reckon he’s probably right.