Talented young jazz singers from around Australia will be competing for the chance to shine at this year’s TAC Wangaratta Festival Of Jazz. Australia’s most prestigious jazz instrumental competition, the National Jazz Awards, will feature vocalists for the first time since 1998.
Since 1990, the National Jazz Awards have been staged as part of Australia’s premier jazz festival, the TAC Wangaratta Festival Of Jazz (Friday 28 – Monday 31 October). The National Jazz Awards are a central feature of the festival, and provide a valuable forum in which rising young talents can be showcased and encouraged. (Entrants must be no older than 35, as at 1 November 2005).
The Awards have helped boost the careers of many outstanding talents in Australian jazz. Previous winners have included pianists Barney McAll, Mark Fitzgibbon and Matt McMahon, guitarists James Muller and Steve Magnusson, trumpeters Scott Tinkler and Phil Slater. The winner in 1998 was a young singer, Michelle Nicolle, who has gone on to develop a national profile as an exceptionally gifted and imaginative jazz singer.
The festival’s artistic director, Adrian Jackson, says, “We have seen in recent years that jazz is most accessible to the general public when it is presented by a singer, and the Jazz Awards in 1998 definitely attracted an extra level of interest for that reason. I am sure that will be the case again this year, and I know that there are plenty of very talented young jazz singers out there, right around Australia. I am looking forward to seeing who makes it through to the finals.”
The National Jazz Awards have been proudly sponsored by Bruck Textiles, one of the major employers in Wangaratta’s local economy, since 1997. Bruck Textiles reconfirmed their commitment last year, and 2004 is the second year of a 5-year agreement. CEO, Mr Alan Williamson, said, “We are delighted that Bruck Textiles can demonstrate our commitment to the local community by ensuring that the National Jazz Awards continue to be staged as a unique feature of Wangaratta’s internationally-renowned jazz festival.”
Thanks to the support of Bruck Textiles, the following prizes are offered for the National Jazz Awards :
- The winner will receive $6000 ; plus a studio recording session for ABC Classic FM’s ‘Jazztrack with Mal Stanley’.
- The runner-up will receive $3000.
- There will be a third prize of $1500.
Initial entries will be via a recording, to be assessed by a judging panel comprising Mike Nock, Michelle Nicolle and Anita Wardell. Mike Nock is an internationally acclaimed pianist and composer. Michelle is recognised as one of Australia’s premier jazz singers, while Anita (who began her career in Adelaide) is now established as one of Britain’s finest jazz vocalists.
Ten entrants will then be invited to perform at Wangaratta on the weekend of 28 – 31 October, where they will perform with the outstanding trio of Mark Fitzgibbon (piano), Phil Stack (bass) and Craig Simon (drums).
The closing date for entries is 30 May.
Entry forms can be requested from 03-5722 1666 or 03-9898 6276 or can be downloaded from
www.wangaratta– jazz.org.au
For further information, contact
Adrian Jackson – Artistic Director Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
tel: 03 9898 6276
or
Michelle Buxton – Publicist Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
tel: 0419 134 278
e: michelle@buxtonwalker.com
