The Wangaratta Jazz & Blues Festival is always held the weekend before the Melbourne cup, this year it is from 28th to 30th October and as usual there are some wonderful Australian jazz artists performing. This week on the program I’m going to you as many as I can fit into this short hour, but that’s not nearly as many as you will see and hear if you go to the festival. The festival was launched in 1990 and is considered Australia’s premier jazz festival. The National Jazz Awards are also held in conjunction with the festival, but I’ll tell you more about them during the program.

Wangaratta is a charming rural city just over the border into Victoria if you are travelling from Sydney and just before the in North East Victoria if you are travelling from Melbourne. It’s in the middle of the wine district too which is an added attraction.

First on the program is the Andrea Keller quartet with guests and they are Andrea playing piano, Ian Whitehurst tenor sax, Joe Talia drums, Eugene Ball trumpet, and Jamie Oehlers tenor sax as the guest in the track I will play. Both Eugene and Jamie will also be appearing at the festival with their own bands.

Other artists I will feature on the program who will be performing at the festival are Joe Chindamo, Hetty Kate, Mark Fitzgibbon, James Muller, Bernie McGann and Barney McAll.

For more information, visit the festival’s website.