Jazz in the Park will return in 2024 on Saturday 7 December from 1:00pm-6:00pm as Balmain comes alive with the sounds of Jazz! A must-see event sure to please jazz lovers and lovers of fine music. Enjoy a picnic and bring the family to experience an afternoon in the park with the best of Inner West Jazz. Featuring an outstanding line-up of award-winning musicians, be prepared to be moved and inspired by the breadth of local talent. Please make sure to check out our wonderful stallholders and workshops throughout the day including Together2 and Rock Paper Scissors.
We will be going ahead rain or shine, so bring your party spirit down to Gladstone Park and support these outstanding local artists!
1:00pm Welcome To Country and Sydney Secondary College
Join Aunty Deborah Lennis for Welcome To Country followed by three performances from Sydney Secondary College Instrumental Music Program (IMP).
Sydney Secondary College Facebook
2:05pm Jiem
Jiem are a Sydney based contemporary jazz quintet co-led by trumpeter Miles Rooney and saxophonist Tessie Overmyer, and featuring Mathew Harris (Piano), Harry Birch (Double Bass), and Ryu Kodama (Drums). Jiem develop a sound throughout each performance that oscillates from restrained and delicate interplay—grounded in their close musical connection—to high energy and complex virtuosity. The unique personalities and stylistic qualities of each member form a synergetic ensemble that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Through their varied and inventive approach, Jiem are marking their presence in an exciting new chapter of Australian Jazz.
3:00pm Spectra Jazz Orchestra
Spectra Jazz Orchestra is an initiative for young women and gender diverse musicians which builds a bridge between music education on the secondary and tertiary levels, into the professional music world. As the wider jazz community consists predominantly of male musicians, Spectra also empowers and creates a supportive space for its members to grow as musicians. They play a fun and diverse range of jazz and jazz-adjacent works, with an emphasis on adventurous Australian music.
Spectra Jazz Orchestra Instagram
Spectra Jazz Orchestra Facebook
4:00pm Steve Hunter Band
Steve Hunter has been active as an electric bassist composer, bandleader & sideman/collaborator in Australia (and internationally) for 30 years now. A prolific composer, Steve has released nine albums of original music, in formats ranging from solo bass to 9-piece ensemble. His most recent release is Cosmos.
5:10pm Microfiche
Microfiche are one of the most creative and boundary-pushing improvising acts to emerge from the Sydney scene in recent years. Since forming in 2015, Microfiche’s six individual members have become some of Australia’s most cutting-edge and esteemed improvisers, and collectively as an ensemble they have developed their own recognisable aesthetic and a strong shared musical telepathy.