Great Waitress is the acclaimed international improvisational collaboration of Magda Mayas (piano, Berlin), Monica Brooks (accordion, Dharug and Gundungurra country, Katoomba) and Laura Altman (clarinet, Gadigal and Wangal country, Sydney).

The trio first played in 2009, curated as a first time collaboration at the NOW now festival in the Blue Mountains, and instantly formed a special rapport. Jim Denley writes, “From their first performance … there has always been magic created whenever they play.” He describes Great Waitress as “One of the most important improvising ensembles of the twenty-first century.”

They have since toured in Australia and across Europe, performing at events including the NOW now Festival (NSW), Sound Out Festival (ACT), Konfrontationen and Music Unlimited (Austria), All Ears Festival (Norway) and Festival Densités (France).

Great Waitress has released four albums. In the liner notes to their most recent release ‘back, before’, Chris Abrahrams says, “A favoured criterion I’ve lately adopted as to what constitutes ‘good’ music is that it should affirm the need for humans to make it; I should be able to intuit from listening: ‘this is why humans make and need music.’ This is how I feel when I listen to ‘back, before.’ […] Great Waitress have a strong identity, one that transcends the individual contributions of Mayas, Altman and Brooks. It’s an identity made from a multi-dimensional counterpoint—timbral, rhythmic, harmonic, melodic, emotional…—that results in an ever-evolving gestalt.”