The New Generation of Jazz

The Growing Jazz in Qld initiative is a project whereby the BJC will work in collaboration with community bands, jazz music teachers and educational institutions to develop the musical talent of secondary and tertiary students through a holistic inter-generational professional interaction to increase jazz appreciation and employment.

This initiative has the support of the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

The BJC and its collaborators will form a practical and workable institutional alliance whereby:

• Artists develop their musical talent and have career structures that are long-term and sustainable, supported by vocational pathways.
• Creative talent is nurtured through fair remuneration, industry standards and safe and inclusive work cultures.

The Brisbane Jazz Club notes the importance the Queensland Government places on the value of the arts in developing stronger cultural links and growing the economy in harmony with the tourism and hospitality sectors ahead of Brisbane staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032.

The state’s Creative Together 2020-2030 policy is a 10-year vision that will see Queensland renewed and transformed through arts, culture and creativity, with a focus on growing a strong and sustainable sector that can adapt to meet audience demand, embrace innovative delivery models, attract investors and build financial sustainability. The Brisbane Jazz Club’s Growing Jazz in Queensland initiative, the subject of this grant application, sits within that framework.

The policy recognizes that live music venues are a critical part of Queensland’s music ecosystem and make an important economic, social, and cultural contribution across the state. Venues incubate new talent, develop artists, provide employment, and facilitate a direct connection between artists, audiences, and communities.

The Growing Jazz in Queensland project has as its convergence the revitalization of the club and its activities, having regard to its own KPIs and broader government policy in support of the arts, including music expression. Our KPIs include fostering innovation and diversity in the development of the jazz genre and culture, introduction of jazz to a younger audience through inter-generational interaction that the club provides, and a honing of marketing skills and promotion to make people more aware of the jazz scene.

Through its venue and facilities, the club provides a support base for professional, paid musicians. Backing from institutions such as the Queensland Conservatorium and the Jazz Music Institute is important to meeting our objectives.

The Brisbane Jazz Club and its collaborators will form a practical and workable institutional alliance where:

• Artists and arts workers – young and old – can develop their musical talent and have career structures that are long-term and sustainable, supported by vocational pathways.
• Upcoming and talented students have the support and opportunity to receive an education that includes creative development in their chosen field and, importantly,
• Creative talent is nurtured through fair remuneration, industry standards, safe and inclusive work cultures and emerging jazz musicians have the skills to create new jazz scores and recordings.

The club wishes to revitalize our schedule of events focused around a ‘Growing Jazz’ theme, which supports live performance by secondary and tertiary students through gigs and an annual festival that showcase jazz music to a wider Brisbane audience beyond the club. This is done in association with professional jazz musicians that are the mainstay of club performances.

The club will sponsor introductory jazz teaching at the secondary school level through a program called Talkin’ Jazz. The next step is to run festivals for big bands (secondary school and community) and vocal jazz. The third step is to have regular paid gigs at the jazz club for tertiary student small combos to provide experience playing before live audiences: the New Generation of Jazz.

Trainee sound engineers will also be given experience. This holistic initiative will develop students into professional jazz musicians, develop new music and bring jazz appreciation to a wider audience.

This program is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.