we are ali & the thieves!!

the 15 year collaboration between vocalist ali hughes and composer daryl wallis is made evident by a unique blurring of their energies in live performance.
neither leads nor follows.
instead, what is heard is the organic ebb and flow of two people whose musical appreciation for each other and the work has become ritual.
‘ali & the thieves’ is the music collective which has grown, and continues to grow, from the always evolving collaboration of hughes and wallis. each of us have our own creative projects and identities, as you will see below in the bios of some of our collective:

ali hughes – vocalist, storyteller, interpreter: a soulful, velvety voice that crosses over from country to rock to pop to jazz with ease and emotional honesty. ali has performed in theatre, children’s theatre, musical theatre, jazz, americana and pop productions and concerts. apart from steering the magic carpet of ali & the thieves, ali tours and records as backing vocalist for Canadian artist, jane siberry with Peter Kiesewalter, Kevin Fox and Rebecca Jenkins, and with CurtisJSocial – Brooklyn Americana Music Festival, International Leonard Cohen Festival (Dublin), Noosa Long Weekend, Sydney and New York Fringe Festivals, the Sydney Opera House, New York’s Joe’s Pub and The Iridium, the DUMBO Archway in Brooklyn.

 

Daryl Wallis – piano and electric piano: Daryl has composed music and created sound designs for theatre, television and film projects; and performed in many opera, musical, jazz, theatre productions and concerts including Sydney Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Brisbane Cabaret Festival, Noosa Long Weekend, and the Sydney and New York Fringe Festivals. Daryl formed The Wallis Trio in 1999 to explore the classic songbooks of jazz, broadway and contemporary song. They have featured in cabaret performances and recordings by Mitchell Butel, Jenny Vuletic, Natalie Gamsu, Fiona Ruth and in its current configuration with Ali Hughes as Ali & The Thieves; with performances of Leonard Cohen Koans in Sydney & New York and The Royal Seed at the Sydney Opera House.

 

Michael Galeazzi – bass: Michael has nearly two decades of national and international touring experience. From original projects such as The Java Quartet,  Karma County and The Millionaires, to providing bass for artists such as indigenous legend Jimmy Little, soap star Ronn Moss and international festival chanteuse Camille O’Sullivan, Michael engages in the contemporary music industry in both a creative and an academic capacity.

 

Toby Hall – drums and percussion: One of Australia’s most highly regarded drummers, Toby works with Australia’s finest jazz and contemporary musicians live and in the studio. He has played and recorded with outstanding Australian improvisers including Mike Nock, Lloyd Swanton, Bernie McGann, Alister Spence and Sandy Evans as well as leading his own groups. He has also played with many visiting performers including jazz vocal legend Sheila Jordan.  Montreal Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, New York’s famous Knitting Factory – Toby’s been there, done that, and will most decidedly do it again…