The Perth International Jazz Festival (PIJF) is an annual

jazz festival This is a list of notable jazz festivals around the world. Historic jazz festivals Jazz festivals by country The following is an incomplete list of notable jazz festivals, including both current and defunct festivals of note. Africa Angol ...

event held over three days in early November. This jazz festival incorporates both ticketed and free community events. Its location over the festival weekend spans across the CBD of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, the cultural precinct area of Northbridge, through to

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

in the

City of Vincent The City of Vincent is a local government area of Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately in metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and lies about 3 km from the Perth CBD. The City of Vincent maintains 139&nbs ...

History

The Perth International Jazz Festival was founded by associate professor and jazz pianist Graham Wood. Wood served as Festival Director until his death in 2017 and was replaced by

Mace Francis Mace Francis (born 1978) is an Australian composer and academic. Career Francis moved to Perth, Western Australia from Victoria in 2000 to study jazz composition and arranging. He graduated from WA Academy of Performing Arts in 2004 and compl ...

. The first festival in 2013 was ranked 4th in ''Time Out'''s "Top 7 Australian Jazz Festivals" (August 2013) and featured in the West Australian's Art's "Best in the West" (2013). The lineup featured international acts such as

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

Katie Noonan Katie Anne Noonan (born 2 May 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the band George and remains the singer in the band Elixir; perf ...

and

Vince Jones Vincent Hugh Jones (born 24 March 1954) is an Australian jazz singer, songwriter, and trumpet, flugelhorn and flumpet player. His music includes both original material and new contemporary versions of jazz standards. His themes are often love ...

, local jazz performers like

Jamie Oehlers Jamie Oehlers is an Australian jazz saxophonist. Winner of the World Saxophone competition in 2005, Jamie is recognised as one of Australia's leading jazz artists, performing at festivals and clubs around the globe. He was nominated for ARIA Aw ...

and Libby Hammer, and jazz-based organisations such as WAYJO,

WAAPA The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition. WAAPA (commonly pronounced "whopp-a") operates as a part of ECU, located at the ECU campus in ...

and JazzWA.

Past festival highlights

2014

Vocalist

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the soul, jazz, and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her song " Pash" received a gold ...

headlined PIJF 2014, accompanied by the PIJF All-Star Big Band. In addition, the festival featured multiple international acts including contemporary jazz musician

Greg Osby Greg Osby (born August 3, 1960) is an American saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, then at the Berklee College of Music. He moved to New York City in 1982, where he played with Jaki ...

(USA), esteemed jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein (USA), multi-award-winning vocalist Kristin Berardi (Brisbane) and

Thirsty Merc Thirsty Merc are an Australian pop rock band formed in 2002 by Rai Thistlethwayte, Phil Stack (bass guitar), Karl Robertson (drums), and Matthew Baker (guitar). In 2004, Baker was replaced by Sean Carey, who was, in turn, replaced by Matt Smith ...

front-man,

Rai Thistlethwayte Rai Thistlethwayte (born 21 April 1980) is an Australian rock, pop and jazz musician and songwriter. Thistlethwayte is an accomplished pianist, guitarist, and vocalist. He is the lead singer and primary songwriter in the Australian pop rock band ...

(Sydney). The 2014 Festival also featured popular local acts such as saxophonist Carl Mackey, pianist Harry Mitchell, trumpeter Matt Jodrell and drummer Daniel Susnjar.

2015

In 2015, the Festival launched with a performance by local jazz singer Libby Hammer. Attendees included founder Graham Wood and former

Lord Mayor of Perth __TOC__ The history of the City of Perth, a local government area of Western Australia is defined over three distinct periods: *From 1829 to 1838 — controlled by the Governor of Western Australia *From 1838 to 1858 — controlled by the ''Pe ...

Lisa Scaffidi Lisa-Michelle Scaffidi (; born 12 February 1960) is a former Lord Mayor of Perth, Western Australia. The first female Lord Mayor of Perth, Scaffidi became mayor following the October 2007 council elections, after the retirement of her predeces ...

. PIJF launched a new collaboration with Celebrate WA for the WA Day Long Weekend, sharing stages at the

Perth Cultural Centre The Perth Cultural Centre is an area of central Perth, Western Australia, near the James Street Mall. It is home to a number of cultural institutions including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, State Library of ...

. ‘Jazz at the Cultural Centre’ featured the Festival's headline artists including US jazz bassist

Richard Bona Richard Bona (born 28 October 1967) is a Cameroon-born American multi-instrumentalist and singer. Early life Bona Penda Nya Yuma Elolo was born in Minta, Cameroon, into a family of musicians, which enabled him to start learning music from a y ...

(NYC) and pianist/composer

Barney McAll Barney McAll (born Melbourne, Australia, 1966) is a jazz pianist and composer who lives in Melbourne, Australia. McAll joined Gary Bartz's band in 1997, and has also played with the Josh Roseman Unit, Fred Wesley and the JB's, Groove Collective, ...

, as well as a range of local musicians. In addition, major venue Brookfield Place was transformed into the ‘Jazz Quarter’, based on

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

’ famous

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Squ ...

. Featuring three outdoor stages among Perth bars, acts performing in the Jazz Quarter included Perth band the Zydecats, the Howie Morgan Band, as well as Brazil’s

Juliana Areias Juliana Areias (often referred to as The Bossa Nova Baby) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter based in Australia. She is best known for her Bossa nova-style and her album Bossa Nova Baby, released in 2015. She has toured internationally and also re ...

2016

For the first time, PIJF 2016 hosted several free performances in St George’s Cathedral and Cathedral Square, including shows from

Alexandre da Costa Alexandre Da Costa is a Canadian concert violinist and conductor from Montreal, Quebec. He is the artistic director of the ''Orchestre Symphonique De Longueuil''. Education Da Costa has a bachelor's degree in performance (piano) from the Facul ...

& the Graham Wood Trio, as well as Chris McNulty’s performance of her orchestral album Eternal. PIJF 2016 featured US-based headline acts

Hiatus Kaiyote Hiatus Kaiyote () is an Australian jazz/funk band formed in Melbourne in 2011, made up of singer/guitarist Nai Palm, bassist Paul Bender, keyboardist Simon Mavin, and drummer Perrin Moss. History 2011–2013: Formation and ''Tawk Tomahawk'' In ...

and

Yellowjackets A yellowjacket is a black-and-yellow vespid wasp. Yellowjacket(s) or Yellow Jacket(s) may also refer to: Places * Yellow Jacket, Colorado, an unincorporated town * Yellow Jacket, Florida, an unincorporated area in Dixie County, Florida Arts, e ...

. Yellowjackets' performance saw the return of Perth-based bassist Dane Alderson to his hometown.

2017

2017 saw the introduction of PIJF venues in the

Shire of York The Shire of York is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, covering an area of just beyond the eastern fringe of Perth's metropolitan area. The Shire's seat of government is the town of York. History The Shir ...

, as well as a partnership with Brookfield Place which hosted a number of free performances. International acts included Will Vinson (NYC); vocalist Vivan Sessoms (NYC) and bassist and composer Rafael Jerjen (Switzerland). In addition, acclaimed Japanese pianist

Satoko Fujii is a Japanese avant-garde jazz pianist, accordionist and composer. Early life Fujii was born in Tokyo on 9 October 1958.Huey, Stev"Satoko Fujii" AllMusic. Retrieved 9 February 2016. She started playing the piano at age 4, receiving classical tr ...

and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura joined to perform Fujii's new work ''Fukushima,'' a suite "composed in the memory of those affected by the 2011 earthquake." PIJF 2017 also hosted New York-based jazz musician, composer and arranger

Kavita Shah Kavita Shah is a vocalist and composer from New York, NY. She has been hailed by NPR for possessing an “amazing dexterity with musical languages”. Early years Shah's family is of Gujarati origin, and her parents are originally from Mumb ...

, performing with bassist

Sam Anning Sam Anning is an Australian jazz bassist. He was nominated for ARIA Awards for Best Jazz Album with Dale Barlow, George Coleman Jr, Mark Fitzgibbon & Sam Anning - ''Treat Me Gently'' in 2009 and with Allan Browne, Marc Hannaford, Sam Anning - ' ...

, a fellow

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

student. National performers included vocalist and

ARIA Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

nominee Emma Pask, as well as Perth-born, New York-based pianist Tal Cohen.

2018

2018 saw the return of

to Perth, teaming up with local saxophonist Carl Mackey to pay tribute to the 1961 soul-jazz album ‘ Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley’. Other international acts included Sara McDonald (NYC) leading a 22-piece progressive jazz orchestra, as well as Trio Elf (DEU). Local performers included jazz vocalist Libby Hammer, leading community event the "Jazz Club Choir".

2019

In 2019, PIJF's programme of free events expanded to include performances at Perth Cultural Centre's Wetlands Stage (supported by

Lotterywest Lotterywest was established in 1932 as the Lotteries Commission of Western Australia, to run the lottery in Western Australia. It is referred to in the legislation as the Lotteries Commission. It distributes profits to a number of community bene ...

City of Perth A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Aust ...

), The Rechabite, and Birdwood Square (supported by

and

). The 2019 Festival featured several well-reputed international artists, including US jazz singer

Veronica Swift Veronica Swift (born May 14, 1994) is an American jazz and bebop singer. Early life Swift was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia, as part of a family of musicians. Her parents are late jazz pianist Hod O'Brien and singer Stephanie Nakasian. ...

, trumpeter

Roscoe James Irwin Roscoe James Irwin (born 21 February 1982) is a singer-songwriter, trumpetist and arranger/composer from Melbourne, Australia. He attended Blackburn High School known for its music. Biography Born to a classical soprano mother, and a folk lov ...

The Cat Empire The Cat Empire are an Australian jazz/funk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1999. For most of the band's duration, the core members were Felix Riebl (lead vocals, percussion), Harry James Angus (trumpet, vocals), Will Hull-Brown (drums), ...

and The Bamboos, and Japanese pianist Fumio Itabashi. Local artists included pianist Tim Voutas, performing compositions from debut album ''Introducing TVQ''; as well as Perth-born bassist

returning home after time spent in New York and Melbourne.

2020

Despite the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, PIJF was able to go ahead in 2020. The 2020 programme featured new free events aimed at families and the community, including: * a Jazz Parade and a Jazz Picnic in the Park at

* performances from

ex-pats An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

Linda May Han Oh Linda May Han Oh (born 25 August 1984) is an Australian jazz bassist and composer. Biography Oh was raised in Western Australia. When she was 11, she started to play the clarinet and at the age of 13 bassoon. She went to Churchlands Senior ...

and Tal Cohen * a

1920s File:1920s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, whic ...

-style Cotton Club Dance Party * a Jazz Dinner event at the Alex Hotel. Traditional Festival venues continued to support PIJF, including a free opening night in the State Theatre Courtyard in collaboration with RTRFM 92.1, and free daytime concerts at Northbridge Piazza. Other events included artist-in-conversations at the Alex Hotel, and PIJF Jam Sessions at The Ellington Jazz Club. Local drummer and WAAPA lecturer Dr Daniel Susnjar released an Afro-Peruvian jazz album titled ''The Recipe'' featuring students from the WAAPA Jazz Performance course, and music from the album was performed at a free concert as part of PIJF 2020.

PIJF venues

Across the life of the festival, musicians have performed at venues across the Perth Metropolitan area.

City of Vincent

The City of Vincent has been a supporter of the Perth International Jazz Festival since its inception. Support from the City of Vincent has provided PIJF with performances spaces such as: * Weld Square * Birdwood Square Community Stage *

East Perth Power Station The East Perth Power Station is a disused power station in East Perth, Western Australia. For most of its life it was coal-fired, but ran on oil for six years. The site consists of a complex of industrial buildings occupying more than , bounded ...

. In addition, a range of bars, restaurants and other businesses in the City of Perth became a part of PIJF.

City of Perth

The City of Perth has also been a major supporting partner of PIJF since the very first festival, providing performance venues such as: * The Spiegel Tent * Bishop's See Gardens *

* The Wetlands Stage * State Theatre Centre * The Heath Ledger Theatre *

Forrest Chase Forrest Chase is a major shopping centre in Perth, Western Australia located in Forrest Place. A Myer store serves as its main anchor and largest tenant. The centre also contains a Woolworths supermarket and other shops. The western portion of ...

* Perth Concert Hall * St George's Cathedral & Cathedral Square * Downstairs At The Maj ( His Majesty's Theatre).

Shire of York

In 2017, PIJF expanded its reach to form a partnership with the Shire of York, allowing regional fans to attend PIJF performances more easily. This allowed performances to be held at more regional venues in York, including: * Castle Hotel * Settler's House * The Flourmill Cafe.

References

{{reflist Music festivals in Western Australia Festivals in Perth, Western Australia Jazz festivals in Australia