Decades after This Time hit record store shelves, Galapagos Duck is still actively gigging and packing out venues across Australia. While the lineup has inevitably shifted over the last half-century, the core philosophy has never wavered: deliver high-energy, world-class jazz that makes the audience feel good.
The album is a fascinating time capsule of mid-70s jazz experimentation:
They rose to fame as the house band for the legendary Sydney venue, The Basement , where they played for 16 years. In 1975, they released This Time , an album that beautifully captured their genre-bending sound by blending jazz, funk, and traditional New Orleans elements. 🎷 The Birth of "The Duck" Galapagos Duck This Time
To understand This Time , you have to understand where Galapagos Duck came from. Formed in Sydney in 1969, the band didn't just play jazz—they defined the sound of the Australian jazz boom in the 1970s. They were the foundation of The Basement, a club that went on to be known as one of the greatest jazz venues in the world.
One minute the band is driving a heavy, contemporary funk-jazz riff, and the next they lurch directly into traditional New Orleans swing, complete with Burrows on clarinet.
Recorded with a very loose, live feel and minimal overdubbing, it feels like sitting in the front row of a smokey club. Decades after This Time hit record store shelves,
By 1975, Galapagos Duck was a well-oiled machine. They teamed up with legendary producer Horst Liepolt for his 44 Records label to record their third album, This Time (often discussed alongside their subsequent 1976 releases like St James ).