Brisbane’s cultural development since Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s political demise nearly 20 years ago has been marked. South-East Queensland is one of the country’s fastest growing areas and with this expansion has come a dynamism that has affected all forms of activity, including jazz. Indeed, the capital can boast that it is the only Australian city to host the great American pianist Cecil Taylor who played at the Brisbane Biennial under the adventurous artistic directorship of the Anthony Steel.
Earlier this year, Mark Isaacs curated a successful series of concerts under the banner of Hot Nights Cool Jazz at the Brisbane Powerhouse, a reprise of a similar festival in 2005. And the growing number of weekly and one-off gigs in the city suggests a healthy scene.
Jim Budd has been the marketing and development officer for Jazz Queensland for nine months and says he is optimistic about the state of the music on his patch, although, as he explains, promoting jazz is not without its difficulties.
Jazz Australia: How has the Brisbane scene changed since you have been in the job?
Jim Budd: When I began, the Valley Jazz Festival 2006 was in pre-production and eagerly awaited by musicians, audiences and venues. But it was announced that the Festival could no longer continue due to “diminished cultural support” from the Brisbane City Council. The scene has been revitalised by our recent sell-out fundraiser concert co-presented by the Judith Wright Centre for Contemporary Art. This event attracted additional interest from Arts Queensland and across the corporate sector, including winemakers, venues and suppliers. The positive vibe of the concert definitely reflected the audience support for the seven-day multi-venue Festival. People were ecstatic and in awe of the standard of the acts showcased.
The recently launched Jazz Queensland gig guide has been a large part of my development work and is now the only comprehensive jazz gig guide in the state. The guide is well used by audiences with over 400 site visitors a week and more than 350 subscribers to the weekly newsletter. Queensland artists and venues are both users of this self-publish system with over 200 gigs listed monthly. The eagerness of people to have the gigs listed suggests that the guide is working – bringing new audiences to gigs. Even though the figures are positive, I feel that there are still many gigs unlisted and that we may only be scratching the surface of a vast jazz sub-culture in Brisbane.
JA: So how healthy is the Brisbane scene at the moment?
JB: Reports from artists and venues suggest an upturn in both attendances and the number of jazz acts booked. New, larger performance venues are also arriving on the scene, such as the new jazz bar in Park Road, Milton, due to open in June. Also, the music institute is awaiting approval of their liquor licence after which they will open as a regular jazz venue.
JA: How do you structure your programme? How many gigs are you planning to present in 2006?
Major events:
– Gala Jazz Concert (April)
– Brisbane Festival Spiegeltent Sunday Jazz Program (three weeks in July co-presented by Jazz Queensland and the Brisbane Jazz Club)
– Dutch improvisers ICP Orchestra and Available Jelly (November 9, co-presented by Jazz Queensland and the Brisbane Jazz Club)
Regular events:
– Jazz Singers Jam Night (monthly at Belishis)
– Jazz QLD nights: a weekly event at the new jazz bar Maggie Black’s (Park Rd, Milton) is opening 16th June, and will host Jazz Qld nights every Wednesday from 21st June.
Events in development for 2006
– JazzWorx (weekly event at the music institute)
JA: How would you describe the level of support you get from the local media, particularly The Courier-Mail and the local ABC?
JB: The recent gala fundraiser concert at the Judith Wright Centre was supported by various media, including The Courier-Mail. The paper’s arts writer, Rosemary Sorenson wrote about it and Peter Gooch from ABC612 was our featured guest MC for the event.
JA: The Hot Nights Cool Jazz series earlier in the year seemed a great success. Is that your impression and are there flow-on effects for the scene as a result?
Only mildly as there was no real follow-on by the Powerhouse to present jazz-related acts. So it was a bit like here-today-gone-tomorrow. The programs also lacked that low cost ticketing approach that opens up accessibility to all audiences, and the cheaper and free acts in the foyer were postponed due to noise overflow into the main performance space. Jazz Queensland vigorously promoted both these events via our gig guide and news networks, and they attracted interest from our members and subscribers. I also feel it would have been more appropriate for the event to have been curated by a key Queensland jazz representative, so as to be more intuitive about the local scene and aware of the event’s flow-on effects.
JA: How has jazz been represented – if at all – by arts festivals recently? Do you get the opportunity to suggest ideas?
JB: Various members of the Jazz Queensland committee are consulted by festivals such as the Samford Valley Jazz Festival, Noosa Jazz Festival, Brisbane Festival and Queensland Music Festival. Our new website also offers an artists page of multimedia press kits for free reference by the organizers of smaller events.
JA: Is there any jazz-related music in the upcoming Brisbane Festival in July?
JB: Yes, the Brisbane Festival Spiegeltent Sunday Jazz Program, co-presented by Jazz Queensland and the Brisbane Jazz Club
Sun 16 July 2006
– Caxton Street Jazz Band
– Damian Sim Quartet
– Cameron Ford Quartet
Sun 23 July 2006
– The Stellas
– James Sherlock Trio
– Rohan Somasekaran Quintet
Sun 30 July 2006
– Isaac Hurren Quartet
– Toby Wren Trio
– Brisbane Contemporary Jazz Orchestra
JA: What about the Queensland Music Festival in 2007?
JB: Dialogue is being established with new director Paul Grabowsky to ensure presentation opportunities as in previous years.
JA: Is the Valley Festival part of the Queensland Music Festival? If so, how does it link in?
JB: No, the VJF is a Jazz Queensland event and the only festival in Brisbane critically focused on jazz as an art form. Although inclusive of all styles, the festival focuses on artists with original and innovative material, giving it a more experimental edge.
www.valleyjazzfestival.com
JA: Who are the particularly talented players on the scene at the moment?
JB: James Sherlock, Louise Denson, Toby Wren, Trevor Hart, Damian Sim, Sean Foran, Rohan Somasekaran, John Stefulj, Joe Marchisella, Pat Marchisella, Andrew Shaw, John Parker, Isaac Hurren, Chris Poulson, Gemma Turvey, John Reeves, Shannon Marshall, Cameron Ford, James McGuire, Megan Washington, Megan Shorey, Jeff Usher, Kym Ambrose, David Kempe, Grant Collins, Ingrid James, Vince Genova, Micheal Knopf, Stacey Broughton, Helen Russell, Clare Hanson, Bela Piri.
JA: Any other comments?
Since I’ve been in this role I have been awakened to a vast field of local talent fueled by a vibrant jazz culture, with major artistic potential that seems poised to make a significant impact in popular culture especially in our inner-city scene. This potential is ONLY hindered by lack of administrative resources and kept alive by a small group of dedicated volunteers who share a love of jazz and a commitment to live improvised music in Queensland.
Photo: James Sherlock
