Wangaratta, in the state’s north-east, is home to one of the country’s most loved and enduring jazz and blues festivals.
The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues is back for its 35th outing from October 31 to November 3.
Events are spread across 11 venues in the rural city, and the program includes everything from slick traditionalists to adventurous innovators. The variety on offer is a reminder that jazz cannot be neatly reduced to a particular style of composition, a particular harmonic framework, grouping of instruments, or formation of musicians. Jazz is many things.
Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues
- When: Friday 31 October to Sunday 2 November
- Where: 11 venues across Wangaratta
- Tickets: Available now
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Take the work of Australian vocalist Emma Pask, for instance. Pask is performing at Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre on the festival’s second night, joined by Kevin Hunt, Gorden Rytmeister and Ben Robertson. The quartet’s performance will include swing standards, Latin rhythms, slow-moving ballads and meatier blues numbers.
Then there’s the Black Jesus Experience, a world-renowned Ethio-jazz outfit based in Melbourne/Naarm (where they hold down a weekly residency at Ethiopian restaurant The Horn.) The ten-piece band, who have previously collaborated with Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, will be joined at The Railyard Wangaratta by pianist Bob Sedergreen. Come ready to dance.
There are several international names on the lineup. London guitar prodigy, the lyrical Tom Ollendorff, will be leading an eponymous trio, backed by drummer JK Kim and bassist Conor Chaplin. Dutch-born saxophonist Alexander “The Hurricane” Beets is making his Australian debut at Wangaratta. Beets’ sound is indebted to tenor sax legends Stanley Turrentine, Hank Mobley and Houston Person.
Italian musician Luca Ciarla is a conservatory-trained violinist, but his style is the furthest thing from orthodox. Ciarla will present solOrkestra at Wangaratta, using a loop pedal and other electronic gadgets to perform an entire score by himself. He’ll tussle with his violin until it sounds like a guitar, cello or percussion, while also singing, whistling, and improvising on a whim.
Beets and Ciarla’s performances are part of the festival’s Tiny Jazz Series. The series also includes Sydney-based, Japanese trumpeter and vocalist Nana Koizumi, who’ll perform selections from her recent release, By Your Side, and the groove-heavy, krautrock-infused AXIS quartet, featuring Melbourne/Naarm-based musicians T. Xuan Nguyen (drums), Clio Grieg (bass), Stella Anning (guitar), and Xani Kolac (electric violin).
Since its launch in 1990, Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues has hosted the National Jazz Awards. Several previous winners have gone on to enjoy successful careers in music, including pianist Barney McAll, vocalist Elena Stone, bassist Sam Anning, and the 2024 winner, saxophonist Stephen Byth, who’s currently based in New York City.
Brass is the focus of the 2025 National Jazz Awards, and the finals, featuring six contestants, will be held at the Wangaratta TAFE Campus on November 1.
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The Community stage and Festival Hub will also be returning in 2025, running for two days in Wangaratta’s Cathedral District. There’ll be a free lineup of performers on the Community stage, including high-energy, rock-influenced instrumental band Gusto Gusto and a Blues Brothers tribute.
Clayton Doley & the Flashy Dashbacks will headline the festival’s opening party at The Railyard Wangaratta on October 31, supported by The Mark Fitzgibbon Trio. Doley, a Hammond organist who’s worked with Jimmy Barnes, The Whitlams, Ngaiire and Jade MacRae, will play songbook standards and some of his own hits. The opening party is part gig, part social mixer, with cocktails and finger food getting the festival off to a convivial start.
Part of the appeal of the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues is the opportunity to escape to a laidback country setting and fully immerse oneself in music and community. Milawa Monday showcases the culinary heart of the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues. The Paul Williamson Hammond Combo delivers soul-jazz at Henley’s, Cope Street Parade brings gypsy swing to Milawa Cheese Company, while Lancemore hosts free lounging sessions among the vines.
Speaking to The Age a couple of years ago, saxophonist Julien Wilson, a former national jazz award winner, described Wangaratta as like “Christmas for jazz musicians.” It’s a rare opportunity to “relax in a country venue or restaurant with world-famous musicians,” said Wilson.
The festival survived a near-death experience two years ago, with its scaled-back 2023 instalment dubbed The Last Hurrah. But after a successful reboot in 2024, this year’s event looks certain to reaffirm Wangaratta as one of the country’s most essential jazz and blues festivals.
Find out more here.
This article was made in partnership with Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues.
