Doug McGuffog
Each August for the last three decades Noosa’s own festival of jazz, the Noosa Jazz Party, has been proud to present the finest traditional jazz trumpet and cornet players Australia has to offer.
Noosa fans have tapped and beat to the music of hot musicians like Frank Johnston, Bob Barnard, Geoff Bull, Brett Iggulden, Geoff Power, Simon Stribling and Peter Gaudion and their bands.
This year, by way of celebrating its 30th anniversary, organisers have invited star New York trumpet player Jon-Erik Kellso, featured soloist with Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, one of the best-known bands in New York and Grammy award winners for the movie soundtrack in Boardwalk Empire.
Jon-Erik leads his own band at the historic Ear Inn in New York City’s Soho district and appears at all the great New York City venues, including Dizzy’s, Birdland, Mezzrow, and Small’s, and has made educational videos for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz Academy.
Jazz critics describe him as a masterful player who deftly elevates the trumpet’s traditional vocabulary into something contemporary and personal with his mastery of the Puje, (pronounced pudgy) trumpet, a hybrid horn built from stock trumpet and cornet parts.
What makes the Noosa Jazz Party unique is that only individual musicians are invited. They form themselves into bands and ensembles and, although it is challenging for the players, organisers say it is the reason why the musicians love coming to Noosa.
Local and Sunshine Coast musicians who will play with Kellso are Paul Williams (clarinet and saxophone) Richard Stevens (sousaphone), Dave Burrows (guitar), Rod Andrew (drums) and Chris Schank (double bass).
Many of the Brisbane and interstate musicians will of course get to play with Kellso. I know that they are all excitedly looking forward to this experience because it will be a simply wonderful opportunity to be playing alongside and learning from such a great exponent of traditional jazz.
His first appearance will be at the historic Majestic Theatre, Pomona on Sunday 28 August, then at restaurant venues and the Noosa Jazz Party’s centrepiece event, Jazz at The J, from Wednesday 31 August to Saturday 3 September. For information about the Jazz Party program and for bookings go to noosajazzclub.com, email info@noosajazzclub.com or phone 0478 256 245.
