Chris Cody

Born: December 21, 1964

Chris Cody is one of Australia’s foremost jazz pianists and has performed and recorded around the world. He began his musical career as a classical pianist in Australia, after being a finalist in the Roger Woodward Piano Scholarship at the age of 14. He performed at venues including the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Town Hall. He gained a Bachelor’s Degree in music from the University of Sydney, and the Licentiate of Trinity College, London, with high distinction, for classical piano performance.

His musical versatility found expression in a wide variety of work situations, including playing with some of Australia’s leading jazz musicians such as James Morrison and Don Burrows. He formed his own jazz quartet playing in local clubs, festivals and for Australian television and radio. He played and composed for numerous musical productions in Sydney, and he also wrote and directed the popular jazz cabaret 31 Celestial Flavors, that enjoyed repeat sell-out seasons in Sydney.

Richard Ashby

Adam Ponting

Born: July 26, 1971

Adam Ponting is a jazz pianist, acoustic bassist, drum programmer, arranger and composer.

Adam grew up on a farm in country NSW, Australia, and started doing jazz gigs at age 12. His first jazz influences were Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Erroll Garner and Martial Solal. In the late 80s he attended the jazz program at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, then led by Don Burrows.

1990s: Adam played with the Ghosts of Saturn, a fully improvised jazz-rock quartet featuring Carl Dewhurst. He led a trio with Simon Barker and Ashley Turner. He played and recorded with Neilsen Gough, often with Craig Scott and Alan Turnbull, one of Australia's finest ever rhythm sections. He played with a lot of the great players of the Australian jazz scene - Bernie McGann, Dale Barlow, Alan Turnbull, Craig Scott, Ed Gaston, Jason Morphett, Tim Hopkins, etc.

'The Trials And Tribulations Of Miss French Part Two' Out Now On Vinyl, CD And All Streaming Services

June 4, 2024

Of European descent, Julie Foai (aka Miss French), was born in New Zealand to a musical family who fortunately decided to quit the rat race and move to Laingholm, a place with beaches, bush and lots of space in the Waitakere ranges. Here she would immerse herself in the magical world of native New Zealand bush, ...

Rising Star Vocalist Alex Siegers Releases 'From Here'

May 23, 2024

From rising star vocalist Alex Siegers, an album of truly Australian jazz standards, featuring classic tracks from across six decades, several recorded here for the first time. Introduced to Australian and New Zealand jazz by her teacher, the late Kerrie Biddell, Siegers was excited when Tim Nikolsky released the first iteration of the Australian Jazz Real ...

Charlie Chech

Born: March, 2004

Sydney-based vocalist and musician Charlie Chech is a lover of jazz and crooning, honouring the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald, combined with the modern-day crooners in Michael Bublé, Harry Connick Jnr, Diana Krall and much more.

Charlie has held several sold-out shows at a variety of prestigious venues, including Sydney Jazz Club Foundry 616 and iconic Darlinghurst venue Claire’s Kitchen.

Charlie staged his third major headline show and concert at Hornsby RSL Club in May 2023 – as one of the youngest performers the club has featured in their own headline show ever, an extraordinary feat! He was joined on stage by the Clive Lendich Quintet, featuring some of Australia's top musicians.

Keyna Wilkins

Keyna Wilkins is a pioneering Australian/British composer-musician. She was one of three finalists for the Australian Art Music Awards for Individual Excellence in 2021 and 2018 (APRA/AMCOS).

As an innovative soloist her solo show explores stream-ofconsciousness improvisations alongside her composed pieces, often using loop pedal and visual projections and inspired by contemporary human rights issues, astronomical phenomena and philosophy.

She has collaborated with six detained refugees from their prison cells via zoom, victims of Australia's brutal mandatory refugee detention laws for nine years, on music, poetry and art collaborations.

Matthew Ottignon

Born: 1977

2022: The Year in Jazz

by Ken Franckling
December 29, 2022

Current events impacted the jazz world in significant ways throughout 2022. In its third year, the coronavirus pandemic continued to lurk in some settings, while others recovered in robust fashion. Russia's war on Ukraine was felt by musicians and triggered an outpouring of support for its victims. Initiatives to ensure greater equity in jazz advanced. The ...

Jeremy Rose

by Lawrence Peryer
December 10, 2022

Saxophonist-composer Jeremy Rose leads a multi-dimensional career spanning a dozen releases of original music with collaborative and solo projects across the world, including The Earshift Orchestra, Jeremy Rose Quartet, and The Vampires. Rose is also the founder and director of the Earshift Music record label and festival and has performed at festivals, venues, and concert halls ...