Melbourne International Jazz Festival
| Melbourne International Jazz Festival | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Jazz |
| Dates | 2 – 11 June 2017 |
| Location(s) |
 Melbourne
|
| Years active | 1998 – present |
| Website | |
| http://www.melbournejazz.com | |
The Melbourne International Jazz Festival is an annual jazz music festival first held in Melbourne, Australia in 1998. The 2017 festival is being held from 2 – 11 June. The Festival takes place in concert halls, arts venues, jazz clubs and throughout the streets of Melbourne.
The Festival’s vision is to be one of the leading centres of jazz presentation in the world by providing a platform for performance, collaboration, education and engagement. Its diverse programming includes modern masters of jazz, late night art parties, free events, Australian/international collaborations and pathways for emerging artists.
The Melbourne International Jazz Festival was first held in 1998. Adrian Jackson was artistic director from 1998 until 2004 ; this run was interrupted in 2002, when the withdrawal of funding by Arts Victoria and the City of Melbourne (advised in November 2001) meant that the program planned for January 2002 had to be cancelled.
However much of the planned festival still went ahead, the City of Melbourne contacted Bennetts Lane Jazz Club Founder Michael Tortoni to ask him if he was interested in taking control of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Tortoni agreed and effectively rescued the festival using his club's infrastructure. Mr Tortoni was appointed chairman in late 2001 and promptly restructured the board. 'The Age Saturday 22 December 2001'-"Jazz Club Owner Rescues Festival" He has remained on the board serving in various roles. Tortoni has been Artistic Director since 2009 and overseen strong audience and revenue growth. The festival now has an enviable reputation globally, featuring the highest calibre musicians in the world. Tortoni currently remains Artistic Director celebrating the festival's 20th anniversary.
Albert Dadon assumed the position of Chairman in 2004. He arranged for the long-running director of the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, Carlo Pagnotta, to be brought in as guest Artistic Director in 2005. The Festival went into recess in 2006, due to venue and scheduling issues arising from the Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne that year.
Dadon then took over as Artistic Director in 2007, and again for the 2008 festival. Dadon is founding chairman of the Australian Jazz Bell Awards.
Michael Tortoni has been the artistic director since 2009, with program direction by Sophie Brous from 2010 - 2011 and Melanie Pose from 2012 - ongoing.
In 2010-11, the festival included a one-day mini festival called Overground, which put together rare collaborations and explored the more extreme areas of improvisation/Jazz.
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