A new performing arts centre was in place for the twentieth Wangaratta Festival of Jazz. Read reviews and blog posts from the anniversary event to find out what went on inside the venue.
John McBeath – The Australian
Unlike previous Wangaratta festivals, the twentieth anniversary edition had no overseas big names, throwing a welcome increased emphasis on the abundant and extraordinary Australian talent. Artistic director Adrian Jackson explained that reduced seating in the newly completed Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre, combined with difficulties in post-festival scheduling of any possible big names in capital cities had influenced his programming decision.
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Jessica Nicholas – The Age
New York singer Kendra Shank arrived on stage on Melbourne Cup eve – the closing night of the Wangaratta Jazz Festival – with an answer to the question: ”What is jazz?”
For her, she explained as she greeted us warmly, it’s the thrill of travelling to the other side of the world and forming a connection with musicians she has only just met. In this case, the musicians were the Melbourne-based Tim Stevens Trio, and Shank’s face radiated pleasure as she revelled in their empathetic accompaniment.
Read the full review
Miriam Zolin’s Jazz Blogger at Large blog
The last gig. Paul Grabowsky Sextet in the WPAC Theatre. Starting late, and for the first time I stood in the media queue and had a chat before heading into the concert.
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Roger Mitchell’s Ausjazz blog
Ari Hoenig is a fantastic drummer. His skill and obvious delight in displaying his party trick of varying the pitch on his drums provided my first festival highlight during the quartet’s performance of Bobby Timmons’s Moanin’ (made famous by Art Blakey, Hoenig reminded us).
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Peter Wockner – Jazz and Beyond
The 20th anniversary of the Wangaratta Jazz Festival will go down as a year of exploration and discovery. Concerns were held about the overall depth and diversity of the program but also the adequacy of the new home of the festival, the brand new Performing Arts Centre.
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Eric Pozza’s Canberra Jazz blog
There are vibes around a few players at every festival. Linda Oh gained vibes during the festival, but Ari Hoenig and his offsider, Gilad Hekselman, arrived with them and didn’t disappoint.
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Photo: Ambrose Akinmusire (Linda Oh Trio) courtesy of Jane March.
