Jazz trio lose their 'Composure' on new album
Australian contemporary jazz trio Number Junky will release their third album, Composure, worldwide on 30 October 2026, taking the new music on an Australian tour across October and November, including the Brisbane International Jazz Festival and a masterclass at ANU in Canberra.
Featuring Danish-born, Perth-based guitarist and composer Kristian Borring, Zac Grafton on double bass and Peter Evans on drums, Number Junky are known for technically demanding contemporary jazz built around complex rhythmic structures, odd and mixed meters, rich harmony and lyrical melody, performed with precision and control.
But on Composure, keeping everything musically under control isn't the objective.
“Composure is about keeping calm and in control while navigating challenging metric structures and rhythms,” Borring explains. “But too much composure can become overly controlled. Sometimes you need to lose a little control and allow the music to dance on the edge.”
That balance between control and freedom runs throughout the nine-track album, bringing together original compositions with arrangements of jazz standards and music by Danish classical composer Carl Nielsen (1865–1931). The trio's fascination with odd and mixed meters remains, but with greater space and interaction developed through several years of playing together.
For Borring, the album also represents a return to his Danish musical roots. Two tracks, ‘No. 66 - Tunge, mørke natteskyer’ and ‘No. 246 - Derforkan vort øje glædes’, reinterpret music by Nielsen from a collection of songs and hymns Borring encountered growing up in Denmark. Nielsen grew up on the island of Funen, not far from where Borring himself was raised around a century later.
“I grew up with many of these songs, and they have an almost folkloric identity in Denmark,” Borring says. “Having lived away from Denmark for more than 25 years in both London and Perth, I feel a need to remain connected to my Scandinavian heritage and culture.”
Borring first explored arranging this repertoire while studying in Amsterdam in the early 2000s, returning to it in 2025 and bringing the music into Number Junky rehearsals where it developed organically with Grafton and Evans.
Composure is Number Junky's first album recorded entirely as a trio. Their debut, Earth Matters (2022), featured Cuban/American pianist Fabian Almazan, while British saxophonist Will Vinson appeared on follow-up Birak (2024). It is also the first to feature a composition by another trio member, with Grafton's atmospheric ‘Mist’ opening the record.
The album was recorded live together at Villa Studios in Perth, where Number Junky have performed monthly since 2022 through their intimate Villa House Sessions, developing new music and performing alongside local and visiting artists.
“We've performed at Villa at least monthly since 2022, so we know the room and how we sound in it extremely well,” Borring says. “I hope we've managed to capture some of the warmth and intimacy we experience during the House Sessions on the record.”
Number Junky's previous albums have attracted coverage from Jazziz (US), Jazz Halo (Belgium), The Australian, Jazz Journal (UK), Rhythms Magazine and Dingo Jazz. The trio have toured extensively across Australia, with performances at The JazzLab, MONA and Hal's Hall, and appearances at Perth International Jazz Festival, Brave New Works Festival and Strings Attached Guitar Festival.
Composure will be released worldwide on 30 October 2026, supported by an Australian album tour.
NUMBER JUNKY – COMPOSURE AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2026 20 Oct – The Ellington Jazz Club, Perth. Doors 6pm, Show 7pm. TICKETS
29 Oct – JMI Live @ Brisbane International Jazz Festival, Brisbane. Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm. TICKETS
30 Oct – The Playhouse, Armidale. 7:30pm. TICKETS
2 Nov – Church Street Studios, Camperdown, Sydney with Dave Wilson (NZ). 8pm. TICKETS
3 Nov – NIMA, The Grand Hotel, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm. TICKETS
4 Nov – ANU, Canberra – Masterclass. 5pm. TICKETS
5 Nov – Smith’s Alternative, McGregor Hall, Canberra. Doors 6:30pm, Show 7pm. TICKETS
6 Nov – Mona Lawns, Hobart. 1pm. INFO
7–8 Nov – LIMA Presents: World’s Smallest Improvised Festival, Launceston. TICKETS
9 Nov – COMA @ The Wheatsheaf Hotel (The Wheaty), Thebarton, Adelaide. 7pm. TICKETS
10 Nov – The JazzLab, Brunswick, Melbourne. Doors 7pm, Show 7:30pm. TICKETS
‘Composure’ by Number Junky was made possible through an investment by the WA Government.
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