The Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival was formed in 2005 to celebrate Melbourne’s burgeoning creative jazz scene. Now established as a leading event in the Melbourne cultural calendar, the 2009 festival will again make the ears prick up, the heart soar, and let the mind be gloriously surprised. It will feature some of Australia’s most celebrated improvisers in an inspiring ten days and nights of creative and groundbreaking music making.
The 2009 Jazz Fringe Festival kicks off in Iwaki Auditorium at ABC Southbank on May 8th at 7.30pm with the **APRA Commission Concert featuring a new work by celebrated Melbourne composer and guitarist Ren Walters. “Surrounded by C” is for voice artist, 3 brass instruments, 3 clarinets, small percussive objects, and real-time manipulation and amplification with focus on placements of sounds in the space using a 5.1 surround sound system. The key performers are voice artist Carolyn Connors and percussionist Dur-e Dara. The concert also features a performance by singer Gian Slater with the Silo String Quartet. Gian recorded her latest album ‘Creatures at the Crossroads’ with the virtuosic pianist, Will Poskitt, who tragically passed away late last year. Gian has re-arranged selections from the album for the Silo String Quartet. The concert will be recorded by ABC Classic FM for broadcast on Jazz Up Late.
The innovative “New Standards” night on Saturday May 9th atUptown Jazz Café will feature three ensembles: Ashley Cross & Rob Vincs, Adam Simmons solo and Carl Pannuzzo & Penny Larkins with Jesse Mac, reinterpreting the music of their favourite Australian composers including Paul Simmonds, Bell Award Hall of Fame nominee Brian Brown, John Martyn and Paul Kelly. Tickets for this ‘one-off’ event are strictly limited and bookings are advised. A new event this year is the “Frisell” night at Uptown Jazz Café on Wednesday May 13th and will highlight music inspired or written by Bill Frisell. The night will feature three stellar groups: Frank Di Sario and Luke Howard, Fall 10x and Jacqueline Gawler with Fran Swinn and Tamara Murphy.
The 2009 program also includes performances at Bennetts Lane, 303, La Mama, Bar Open, The Abbotsford Convent and 3RRR performance studio. These are all venues committed to nurturing Melbourne’s creative jazz scene. Come and hear the musicians that are responsible for Melbourne’s reputation as the cultural capital of creative music in the Southern Hemisphere: Andrea Keller and Geoff Hughes, the launch of extempore Issue 2 with Allan Browne’s “free ensemble”, Anemone, 12 Tone Diamonds, Noriko Tadano and Gerry Hale, the Zoë Frater Quintet, the launch of Downstream Music records and many more.
In 2009 The Festival will feature both BIG ARSE and SHORT ARSE_ Sundays. From 3 -11pm on Sunday May 10th at The Fitzroy Bowls Club, Big Arse Sunday listeners will kick back to artists including Aunty Richard (Syd), The Vanguards, Form X, Kewti, Ball-Magnusson-Talia and many more.. Tickets are limited. Book now for an afternoon and evening of wonderful strangeness, deep groove, dissonance, melody, cacophony and the beauty of song. On Sunday May 17th 1-4pm, the Melbourne Jazz Fringe winds up with the best party in townShort Arse Sunday …featuring the dynamic Alcohotlicks (Syd) at Café 303.
The 2008 Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival is possible with the support of the
following sponsors: Victoria University, Arts Victoria – Vic Rocks, APRA and ABC Classic FM
Supporting Sponsors: 3RRR, Atlantis Sound, extempore, Future Music
For more info, email: info@melbournejazzfringe.com orwww.melbournejazzfringe.com
