AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER JAZZ FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 20TH YEAR
The lineup has been announced for Australia's premier jazz event, the Wangaratta Jazz Festival, which will be staged over the pre-Melbourne Cup Day weekend of Friday 30 October – Monday 2 November.
The Festival’s 20th year is a phenomenal achievement, according to the Festival’s founding artistic director, Adrian Jackson. “When we were putting the event together back in 1990, I honestly thought we would be lucky to make it into a second year, let alone 20. The fact that we have made it this far, and the event has become so well known and recognised, reflects the remarkable support we have received from the Wangaratta community, the depth of talent we have in this country, and the audience’s great appetite for high-quality jazz and blues.” He adds, “It is symbolic of how far the Festival has progressed that this year, our main concert venue will be in the city’s new multi-million-dollar Performing Arts Centre.”
Mr. Jackson says this year’s program promises another feast of memorable music from Australian and international artists. “Perhaps the best-known in jazz circles is the New York trumpeter Charles Tolliver, who has worked with everyone from Max Roach to Andrew Hill, as well as leading his own bands. He will present his big-band arrangements with the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra, and will lead a Quartet with pianist Mike Nock.”
Other New York-based artists who will be at the Festival include:
- Jazz singer Kendra Shank, who will perform with the Tim Stevens Trio
- Drummer Ari Hoenig, whose band will feature Israeli guitarist Gilad Hekselman, bassist Sam Anning and Perth-based saxophonist Jamie Oehlers
- Bassist Linda Oh, who moved from Perth to New York in 2003, and whose Trio features drummer Tommy Crane and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, winner of the Thelonious Monk Jazz Trumpet Competition in 2007
- Pianist Barney McAll, who moved to New York from Melbourne in 1998, and whose Sylent Running band will feature Melbourne vocalist Gian Slater and New York guitarist Nir Felder. Jackson said, “It is especially pleasing to have Barney at this year’s Festival, continuing an association that began when he won the National Jazz Awards at the first Festival in 1990.”
Several European jazz artists will play at this year’s Festival:
- Pianist Carsten Daerr and his Trio, from Berlin
- Pianist Laia Genc and her band Liaison Tonique, from Cologne
- British classic jazz pianist Martin Litton, with guitarist-singer ‘Spats’ Langham
- Norwegian saxophonist Froy Aagre, touring as a guest soloist with Brisbane band, Misinterprotato
Among the Australian jazz artists at this year’s Festival will be:
- Pianist Paul Grabowsky with his all-star Sextet
- Trumpeter Scott Tinkler, who will premiere an extended composition with a special edition of the Australian Art Orchestra
- Band Of Five Names, featuring former National Jazz Awards winners, trumpeter Phil Slater and pianist Matt McMahon
- Saxophonist Julien Wilson and guitarist Steve Magnusson co-leading a Quintet, featuring pianist Barney McAll (all former National Jazz Awards winners)
- Allan Browne’s Australian Jazz Band, playing a program of jazz classics by Graeme Bell, Ade Monsbourgh and John Sangster
- A rare performance from Ish Ish, led by drummer Ronny Ferella
- Sydney saxophonist Andrew Robson with his Thomas Tallis Quartet, playing a concert in the Holy Trinity Cathedral
- Singer Kristin Berardi with a band featuring pianist Mike Nock and guitarist James Muller
- Melbourne's favourite 'punk trad' band, The Hoodhangers
Mr Jackson pointed out, “Some of these artists are not exactly household names, but I think one factor in the Festival’s success is that the audience has come to trust that we would not be bringing artists from overseas unless they had something special to offer. Likewise, while we feature many of the most respected names in Australian jazz, we also feature many up-and-coming younger musicians, and others who deserve wider exposure.”
The Festival’s Blues Marquee always hosts the year’s biggest lineup of blues talent seen in Victoria, and this year, the Festival will present three great international acts, along with bands from Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Queensland and Warrnambool.
The international acts are :
- US guitarist-singer Deborah Coleman, who has released 8 albums on the Blind Pig and Telarc labels, and is regarded as one of the most original and exciting blues artists of the last two decades
- British blues/soul singer and guitarist James Hunter, whose persuasive sound (as showcased on his latest hit album, The Hard Way) evokes the likes of Sam Cooke, Bobby Bland and his former employer, Van Morrison
- Hamilton Loomis, a talented young guitarist-singer from Texas, who has released two albums on Blind Pig
Joining them will be Australian blues acts like:
- Sydney pianist Bridie King with The Boogie Kings and The Harmony Queens
- Marco Goldsmith and Blue Heat, from Warrnambool
- Canberra-based singer-guitarist Glen Terry
- Queensland’s wild man of the blues, Hat Fitz, with Irish vocalist-percussionist Cara Robinson
- Sassy vocalist Andrea Marr with her 8-piece band
- Rocking blues combo, The Vanguards
Jackson said, "As our audiences have come to expect, Wangaratta will be full of music lovers from Friday night right through the weekend until the Cup Eve Concert. They will be having a great time, enjoying some wonderful music, catching up with friends. Why would you want to be anywhere else?”
The festival's main program features a schedule of over 80 events at 16 venues. Most of these events are covered by the Festival Pass, which offers great value for three days of music, priced at $160, or just $130 for 'early bird' orders before 30 September.
In addition to a great lineup of jazz and blues performers, the Wangaratta Jazz Festival offers visitors the chance to enjoy the quality wines and gourmet foods for which the surrounding region is renowned, whether at street stalls in town over the weekend, or meals at venues like Brown Brothers Epicurean Centre or the Wangaratta Gateway.
It all adds up to Wangaratta Jazz 2009 being an event that no music lover can afford to miss!