The Jazzlab

For her only Melbourne show this year, sublime vocalist and pianist Frances Madden will perform songs from her recent album Beautiful World. As well as her original tunes, the show will also include Frances’ unique take on some timeless classics.

With horns and backing vocals to compliment the rhythm section, Frances’ band for MIJF features some of Australia’s leading musicians, including Sydney-based Carl Dewhurst, one of the country’s most highly regarded jazz and improvising guitarists, along with Harriett Allcroft providing the harmonies that help define Frances’ unique sound.

Be ready to enjoy a journey based on melody, harmony and storied lyrics through a landscape of swing, ballads and blues.

One of Australia’s most distinctive jazz composers, Johannes Luebbers explores deep orchestral colours to uncover the connective tissue between various musical styles, pushing genre boundaries and discovering new relationships between them.

Celebrating ten years since first coming together, his multi-award-winning dectet debuts their complete 10x10x10 project – Other Worlds and Divide and Conquer. Featuring ten compositions inspired by each band member, including Angela Davis, Andrea Keller and Hiroki Hoshino, the results vary from wild, free improvisations to finely constructed tapestries.

John Scurry has been a stalwart of the Australian swing and trad jazz scene, both as a performer and a recording artist for five decades. His stellar lineup of musicians will be playing a selection of original tunes from recent release, Early Risers, a fresh and contemporary compilation of music generously overflowing with reflections and ruminations on friends, places and inspirations.

See out the Festival in the best possible way as internationally sought after bassist/improviser Sam Anning launches his highly anticipated album, ‘Oaatchapai’.

Following on from Anning’s award-winning 2018 release ‘across a field as vast as one’, ‘Oaatchapai’ features an extraordinary ensemble and is intricately constructed, wild in interpretation, firmly rooted in tradition but constantly striving towards future modes of expression.

Melbourne’s own Jazzlab Orchestra presses re-set on the big band tradition: creating visionary, original, genre-bending jazz music with a focus on diversity and inclusivity. Led by composer/arrangers Cheryl Durongpisitkul and Madison James Smith, the orchestra celebrates Melbourne’s next generation of instrumentalists. 

With a background in Music Theatre, Caity has always been drawn to old school jazz, admiring artists like Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey and Liza Minnelli. Ticking off a bucket list goal, Caity performs with Jack Earle's Seven Piece Big Band thanks to Ron and Marg Dobell.

This is a newly formed quintet led by tenor saxophonist Anton Delecca featuring  long term collaborators Danny Fischer (drums), Darrin Archer (piano) and Tom Lee (bass), along with rising star alto saxophonist Flora Carbo.

The music is passionate and draws from a diverse range of influences including folk, gospel, spiritual jazz, 70s acid fusion and music from the current NYC jazz scene.