Conversation on Identity

It is difficult to describe Paul's career easily. He has directed of some of Australia's most prominent festivals, composed nearly thirty feature film scores, and several works of music theatre, founded and lead for nineteen years of the Australian Art Orchestra, was an executive at the ABC, and currently heads up Monash University Performing Arts Centres. Whether as composer, teacher, television personality or advocate for the role of artistic expression as a defining attribute of contemporary life, this is all informed by his work as a pianist, and composer, particularly in the field of jazz, where, according to him, 'the piano never lies'. He has, and continues to collaborate with musicians from many countries, not least with the First Nations peoples of Australia. His many awards include eight ARIA Awards, the Melbourne Prize for Music and more. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2014.

Martin Jackson co-founded the Melbourne Jazz Co-operative in late 1982 with pianist Jamie Fielding, bassist Barry Buckley and others.

The Co-op has been supporting jazz and improvised music continuously for more than 25 years, and has presented hundreds of performances featuring many of Australia’s most respected musicians, from Melbourne and interstate, as well as a number of international artists who otherwise may not have performed in Melbourne.

Charles Lloyd’s influence dates back to the 1960s, when his groundbreaking early recordings established him as one of the first jazz musicians to sell more than one million records.

The Memphis-born saxophonist and flautist formed his first quartet in 1965 with the now legendary pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Their stunning crossover recording Forest Flower made Lloyd an international star.

Allan Browne is one of Australia’s most acclaimed jazz drummers and band leaders, having collaborated with many of the great names in jazz. In the 1960s he established the Red Onion Jazz Band internationally.

In the 1990’s Allan performed with the Paul Grabowsky Trio, Onaje, The Paul Rettke Quartet, Shelley Scown and Margie Lou Dyer, while leading The New Orleans Rascals and co-leading four trios which alternated regularly at his residency on Mondays at Bennett’s Lane Jazz Club. In November 2000 he received the prestigious Don Banks Award for his contribution to Australian music.

Grammy nominated, genre-bending vocalist and composer Theo Bleckmann has been a steady force in the music scene in New York for over 15 years.

Since his move from Germany to Manhattan in the late 1980s, Bleckmann has forged his own sound in jazz and contemporary music today, drawing from jazz, ambient and electronic music, often integrating extended vocal techniques as well as live electronic processing and looping. He has performed worldwide on some of the great stages and has worked with such artists as Laurie Anderson, Anthony Braxton, Steve Coleman, Dave Douglas, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk and John Zorn.