2004 TAC WANGARATTA FESTIVAL OF JAZZ
AUSTRALIA'S PREMIER JAZZ FESTIVAL
CELEBRATES 15TH YEAR
Australia's premier jazz event, the TAC Wangaratta Festival Of Jazz, will be staged for the 15th year in 2004, over the pre-Melbourne Cup Day weekend of Friday 29 October - Monday 1 November.
As usual, the Festival will feature a huge program of performances from leading international and Australian jazz and blues artists. This year's international stars will include New York saxophonist Dave Liebman (who has worked alongside jazz legends like Miles Davis and Elvin Jones) ; the Guilfoyle-Nielsen Trio from Dublin ; rising stars from Norway, the Tord Gustavsen Trio ; and renowned Scottish jazz-blues singer Tam White with pianist Brian Kellock.
Australia's most popular jazz artist, multi-instrumentalist James Morrison, will finally get to perform at Wangaratta. His 'On The Edge' band will feature German keyboardist Simon Stockhausen and several outstanding young talents from Perth. Pianist Paul Grabowsky will present two programs : his Quintet will play music from his current CD, Tales Of Time And Space, while Before Time Could Change Us is a cycle of songs using words by Dorothy Porter, sung by Katie Noonan (from pop band, George).
Other jazz artists at Wangaratta will include pianist Mike Nock, drummers Allan Browne and Ted Vining ; bands led by trumpeters Phil Slater (winner of last year's National Jazz Awards) and Eugene Ball ; guitarists Guy Strazzullo and Doug De Vries ; saxophonists Sandy Evans and Tim Wilson ; and singers Dan Barnett, Kristen Cornwell and Gian Slater.
The festival's artistic director, Adrian Jackson, said, "I think the international guests all bring something very strong to the program. And the Australian artists will also provide plenty of memorable highlights. To mention just a few : Tony Gould playing on the pipe organ in Holy Trinity Cathedral ; Adam Simmons' Toy Band creating a riot of sound and movement ; Jamie Oehlers making a brief visit home from his current base in Europe ; Michael McQuaid's band playing the music of Ade Monsbourgh ; and trumpeter Stephen Grant making a rare appearance as a bandleader.
"The program will range in style from the New Orleans jazz of The Louisiana Shakers, through the melodic conversations of the Tim Stevens Trio and the exuberance of Gypsy Swing, to the intense free-jazz blowing of the Kris Wanders Unit. There will be plenty to satisfy the appetites of any jazz fan."
The blues program will be headlined by Melbourne guitarist and singer Fiona Boyes, whose band the Fortune Tellers will feature ex-Muddy Waters guitarist 'Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin, plus Chris Wilson on harp and vocals. Australia's favourite blues band, The Backsliders, will be there, as will Jim Conway's Big Wheel, Mia Dyson, Lil' Fi, Dutch Tilders and Arnhem Land blues band, Yugul.
An annual event since 1990, the TAC Wangaratta Festival Of Jazz has been acclaimed by fans, musicians and critics as Australia's premier jazz festival. It enjoys Tourism Victoria's Hallmark Event status, having won the Victorian Tourism Award for Regional events three times, and the Australian Tourism Award in 1999 for Regional Festivals & Events.
The festival's main program features a schedule of over 90 events at 16 venues, ranging from a Cathedral to the Town Hall, pubs and wineries in nearby Milawa, Oxley and Taminick. Most of these events are covered by the Festival Pass, which offers great value for three days of music, priced at $130, or just $115 for 'early bird' orders before 30 September.
In addition to a great lineup of jazz and blues performers, the TAC Wangaratta Festival of Jazz offers visitors the chance to enjoy the quality wines and gourmet foods for which the surrounding region is renowned, whether at street stalls in town over the weekend, or meals at venues like Brown Brothers Epicurean Centre or the Wangaratta Gateway.
The TAC became the major sponsor of The Festival in 1996 in a bid to raise the profile of drink driving as a community issue in the Wangaratta region. The partnership has been so successful in gathering local, police, patron and publican support, that it was last year recognised in the highly prestigious Australian Business Arts Foundation Awards as the national regional winner. Importantly only one driver attending the fesitval has been booked for drink driving in this time.
It all adds up to the 2004 TAC Wangaratta Festival Of Jazz being an event that no music lover can afford to miss!
Tickets to the Festival are on sale from 10 August. For tickets: call 1800 803 944 (freecall);
check the Festival's web site;
www.wangaratta-jazz.org.au or write: Wangaratta Festival Of Jazz, PO Box 860, Wangaratta 3676
For accommodation information (including Homestay and Schoolstay), call: (03) 5721 5711
AAT Kings offer a Day Trip from Melbourne on Saturday 30 October, priced at $99 ; bookings on 1800 803 944 (freecall).
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