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Dingo acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
JOIN US THIS YEAR TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY AT WELCOME TO THORNBURY.
JAZZ IN THE NORTH
FREE JAZZ SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2PM – 8:30PM FREE EVENT
Plus merch and a fantastic relaxed atmosphere. Grab a meal, have a drink and enjoy Australian jazz artists.
EDITOR Adam Simmons | editor@dingojazz.com CO-EDITOR & MARKETING Cal Barry | marketing@dingojazz.com ART DIRECTOR Perri Winter | artdirector@dingojazz.com WRITERS Ben Bartholomew, Des Cowley, Stephen Hornby, Julia Messenger, Barry O’Sullivan, Michael Prescott, Jurate Sasnaitis, Josh Underhill SUBSCRIBE subscriptions@dingojazz.com ADVERTISING marketing@dingojazz.com PUBLISHED BY Sounding Grace Pty Ltd 339 Clarendon St, South Melbourne, VIC 3205, Australia DISTRIBUTED BY ARE DIRECT ISSN 2652-9637 Dingo accepts freelance art, photo and writing submissions, however we cannot reply personally to unsuccessful pitches. For submission guidelines please visit www.dingojazz.com/contact Views expressed by the authors are not those of the publisher. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. Copyright is reserved by the publisher. Sumo Laser is an environmentally responsible paper manufactured under the ISO14001 Environmental Management System, using elemental chlorine free pulp. Sumo Laser is FSC Certified Mix pulp.
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editor Wominjeka/Welcome As we prepared for Dingo’s seventh edition, we felt it was the ideal opportunity to reflect and stretch ourselves with something a little special. Significant in many traditions, the number seven is often linked to bigger-picture thinking, a bridge to higher places. From the start, our mission at Dingo was to create a forum for the plethora of Australian jazz, improvising and creative musicians – what if we highlighted a whole bunch of artists and their achievements? And so, what you hold is the collective wisdom from over 65 of our artists, sharing their journeys, influences, and inspirations with us. From the seasoned masters playing for decades to the fresh, emerging talents, each brings a unique voice to the rich tapestry of our music heritage. Their stories reveal commonalities that bind us – dedication, influence, and the pursuit of mastery – against a backdrop of diversity that enriches our experiences and understanding. Encouragingly, while there is great respect and deserved admiration for jazz’s international giants, in many instances our respondents have declared some of their most impactful influences and wishlist collaborators are fellow Australians. While the focus is on artists, there is plenty of festival action going on with Wangaratta rising from its “last hurrah”, the return of Brisbane Jazz Festival and Sydney Con Jazz Festival, as well as new events such as Adelaide Jazz Festival and Sydney’s Inner West Jazz Festival. Though with the example of Orange Winter Jazz Festival taking a break this year, they should not be taken for granted. Approach this edition with a spirit of discovery – which is a sentiment expressed more than once in these pages as being at the heart of jazz. Treasure the insights offered by those you know and love well; delight in the joy of surprise offered by new discoveries. And the excitingly scary thing is we’ve barely scratched the surface. Enjoy Adam Simmons
contents
005 EDITOR’S LETTER 008 SPOTLIGHT 014 ARTISTS PROFILES REVIEWS AWARDS
112 LIVE 114 CONTRIBUTORS
10 12 26
42 29
79
34
96
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spotlight
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JAZZ IN THE NORTH 2024 Dingo’s International Jazz Day celebrations return this year as Jazz in the North with another jam-packed day of Australian jazz artists. International Jazz Day – chaired and led by UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay and legendary jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock – is declared to be “the world’s largest celebration of jazz as a force for peace, intercultural dialogue and international cooperation.” As noted by Hancock during 2023’s showcase event, “Respect for human dignity is firmly integrated into the DNA of jazz. International Jazz Day honors this important value by embracing the peace and freedom that jazz so eloquently proclaims. And that is the spirit of jazz – finding delight in diversity and creating harmony out of our differences.” It is with this spirit that Dingo’s Jazz in the North celebrates the richness and diversity across different aspects of the Australian jazz community. This year Welcome to Thornbury – located in Melbourne’s inner-north suburbs – will come alive on Saturday April 27 with Melbourne’s finest emerging and established jazz artists such as Merri-bek City Band Phoenix Project, Mark Morand’s 32 Bars, The Whoopee Project and Ray Pereira’s The Mouth (presented in conjunction with Melbourne Jazz Co-Op) as well as ensembles from Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Jazz & Improvisation Department. So join us for live music 2pm - 8:30pm, April 27 in a fantastic, family-friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Grab a meal, have a drink in the sprawling beer garden and enjoy Australian jazz artists.
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F E S T I VA L S 2024
2025
April 26-30 Adelaide Jazz Festival Adelaide, SA
August 23-25 Newcastle Jazz Festival Newcastle, NSW
February SoundOut Festival Canberra, ACT
www.adelaidejazzfestival.com
www.newcastlejazz.com.au
www.facebook.com/
May 3-5 Generations in Jazz Festival Mt Gambier, SA
September 20-29 York, WA
www.generationsinjazz.com.au
May 3-5 Newport Jazz Festival Newport, VIC www.melbournejazzjammers.com.au
May 24-26 Big Band Blast Bathurst, NSW www.bigbandblast.org
May 29 - June 2 Cronulla Jazz and Blues Festival Cronulla, NSW www.cronullajazzandbluesfestival.com
June 2 Sydney Con Jazz Festival Sydney, NSW www.sydneyconjazzfestival.com
June 7-10 Merimbula Jazz Festival Merimbula, NSW www.merimbulajazz.org.au
June 7-9 Castlemaine Jazz Festival Castlemaine, VIC www.castlemainejazzfestival.com.au
yorkfestival.com.au
October 18-20 South Coast Jazz Festival Goolwa, SA www.sajazzfestivalsinc.com
October 18-27 Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Melbourne, VIC www.melbournejazz.com
October (TBC) Inner West Jazz Fest Annandale, NSW innerwestjazzfest.org
October (TBC) Sydney International Women’s Jazz Fest Sydney, NSW www.sima.org.au/siwjf/
November 1-3 Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues, Wangaratta, VIC www.wangarattajazz.com
November (TBC) Perth International Jazz Festival Perth & South West, WA www.perthjazzfest.com
July 25-28 Devonport Jazz Festival Devonport, TAS
December (TBC) Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival Melbourne, VIC
www.devonportjazz.com.au
www.mwijf.org
August 2-4 Inverloch Jazz Festival Inverloch, VIC
December 26-31 Australian Jazz Convention Mildura, VIC
www.inverlochjazzfestival.com
www.australianjazzconvention.org.au
SoundOutFestivalandEvents
February TBC MONA FOMA Hobart/Launceston, TAS www.mofo.net.au
February/March (dates TBC) Clarence Jazz Festival Clarence, TAS www.clarenceartsandevents.net/clarencejazz-festival-2024/
February 9-11 Port Fairy Jazz Festival Port Fairy, VIC www.portfairyjazz.com.au
February (dates TBC) Eltham Jazz, Food and Wine Festival, Eltham, VIC www.elthamjazz.com.au
March (dates TBC) Kiama Jazz and Blues Festival Kiama, NSW www.kiamajazzandbluesfestival.com.au
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GIGS Tony Gorman’s Monday Club The brilliant and mercurial Tony Gorman makes a longawaited and welcome return to live performance on Thursday April 18, at Johnston St Jazz, Annandale. The Monday Club grew from a chance meeting between the clarinettist/saxophonist Gorman and French horn player Stephen Morley and has become something more with Boyd (contrabass clarinet), Mary Rapp (cello, bass) and Steve Elphick (bass). Sound Sorcery Sound Sorcery is a new jam series in Sydney that began in January this year for trans, non-binary and female artists. The final two April shows in this eight event series presented by The New Normal collective are, Guitar Lords with Hilary Geddes and Stella Anning (April 18) and Bold and Brassy: Big Band Party featuring Harri Harding (April 26), held at The Bearded Tit, Redfern. Pat Jaffe returns to JMI Melbourne-based pianist Pat Jaffe will be returning to Brisbane to reunite with some of his MADE NOW MUSIC labelmates, Jess Spina, Tristan Rogers, Connor Perkins and Charlie Hill. They will be performing a mix of Jaffe’s originals and Australian standards at JMI Live, Bowen Hills on Friday April 26. And it’s even his birthday.
LIVE
Jazz and Improvisation Large Ensemble Fest A “night of eclectic sounds” is promised by University of Melbourne’s Jazz and Improvisation department in this showcase of talents by their emerging contemporary improvisers and staff, as they perform in a dozen large ensembles, including Big Band Mini directed by Vanessa Perica, Aviana vocal ensemble directed by Gian Slater, Tonos guitar ensemble directed by Stephen Magnusson, Hylife directed by Jordan Murray, Yambu percussion ensemble directed by Alex Pertout, and Diamond Hands noise ensemble directed by Barney McAll. Thursday May 9 at Lionel’s Lounge, Southbank. The Syncopators – 40th Birthday Long-time Australian jazz favourites, The Syncopators are still going strong after 40 years. Since 1984 they have released almost 20 albums and toured internationally. Having recently performed at The Arts Centre in Melbourne, don’t miss this special anniversary celebration as part of Geelong Arts Centre’s Delightful Days and Matinees series on July 31 at 11am (9:30am for complimentary morning tea).
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Additional Content Contributors
Ivan Gellie – piano, leader of IG Big Swing Band
Adelaide Jazz Festival Adelaide Music Collective APRA AMCOS Australian Jazz Convention Mace Francis Melbourne Jazz Co-Op Music Australia Creative Original Music Adelaide Sound Sorcery Sounds Australia Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues Wellington Jazz Collective
David Hathaway – member of Victorian Jazz Club
Additional Photographic Contributors
Dingo wishes to acknowledge the passing of the following valued members and contributors of the Australian jazz community and extend our condolences to their beloved friends and family: Scott Dunbabin – double bass
Stephan Markovitch – founder of Music with Frontiers (Hobart), music aficionado Nick Mulder – trombone Doug Wignall – drums
SUPPORT ACT CRISIS REL IEF & WELLBEING HOT L I N E Support Act is Australia’s only charity to deliver crisis relief services specifically to artists, crew and music workers as a result of ill health, injury, a mental health problem, or some other crisis that impacts on their ability to work in music. This support extends to all genres, including jazz in all its varied forms. Wellbeing Helpline – free & confidential 24/7 support: 1800 959 500 General Enquiries | Crisis Relief: 1300 731 303 www.supportact.org.au
Pawel Czerwinski Daria Durand Milad Fakurian Allec Gomes Steve Johnson Crawford Jolly Masaaki Komori Jr Korpa Norbert Kowalczyk Jd Mason Nima Mot Luca Nicoletti Adrien Olichon Gilberto Olimpio April Pethybridge Artem Podrez Possessed Photography Anna Pou Jonathan Tesmaye Salvador Evie Shaffer Annie Spratt Viktor Talashuk Jon Tyson Finn Whelen
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M US IC REVI EWS E DUCATION G IGS
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