REVIEW Melbourne International Jazz Festival, 17 – 26 October 2025 The night after this year’s MIJF I went to a concert. A jazz gig. There was an international vocalist, albeit an expat, visiting from Switzerland. The other musicians had been on stage during the festival. It was a sublime experience. It showed how well the improvised music Melbourne had been blessed with over the 10 … Continue reading Music is the best weapon
Indigenous Artist in Residence, Noongar woman Bumpy. Image: RM REVIEW Melbourne International Jazz Festival, 18 – 27 October 2024 Each concert has stories. Each listener finds their own. Each player shares some of what brought them to the stage – some of that journey. Do festivals have stories? Yes, but only in the way patrons (and reviewers) collate cues and clues along the way. After … Continue reading No Herbie, but plenty of telling stories
PREVIEWMelbourne International Jazz Festival 202320-29 October 2023 Jazz pops its head up again next month, this year in the wake of a referendum on whether to enshrine an Indigenous voice to parliament in the Australian constitution. Whether jazz finding its voice can dispel the pervasive gloom that surely will follow a divisive No campaign full of negativity and fearmongering remains to be seen, but the … Continue reading Jazz finds its voice
