WHILE delegates of the 69th annual Australian Jazz Convention were pleased with the way Swan Hill hosted them, a number voiced concerns about the festival’s future.
Their worries were encapsulated by Brisbane delegate Terry Hayes, who led the opening street parade last Saturday morning.
“The only problem with the convention is that there are no young people,” Mr Hayes said.
With the five-day event focusing on traditional jazz music from the early twentieth century, it has been difficult to garner interest from younger generations.
This concern has led the “jazz fraternity”, the tight-knit community of Australian jazz aficionados who come together each year for the convention, to throw their support behind a woman trying to change this.
Marina Pollard has been putting together the Victorian Jazz Workshops at the Australian Jazz Museum in Melbourne since 2002, and this year brought 11 students to Swan Hill for the convention.
“They’ve performed so well,” a proud Ms Pollard remarked.
“When they’re playing, I just stand back, beaming, and everyone comes up to me telling me how good they are.”
According to workshop captain Jennifer McCluskey, the students were there to “represent the jazz community and show that it’s alive and well in the younger generation”.
Older musicians, such as celebrated jazz vocalist Pippa Wilson, have taken an interest in the students, using some of them in their bands.
This collaboration with more experienced performers has helped the students better themselves, according to Benjamin Metha.
“It was a lot of fun and even just being able to watch some of the bands was good to learn some ideas,” he said.
It was the second time Ms Pollard had taken students to a convention, but the first time for this particular workshop.
She will be looking to take her students again next year when the convention hits Ballarat.
