Slip on your dancing shoes and swing into Manly for a jazzy long weekend of smooth tunes and exciting bebop on 22 to 24 September.
Manly will be jumping with live jazz in September as the 46th annual jazz festival swings into town with great music from a range of legendary artists. Over three days, the beachfront, surrounding streets and laneways will come alive with music and activations.
Manly Jazz is Australia’s longest running jazz festival and is renowned for its beautiful location, its stellar line up of musicians and its laidback beach vibes.
Caroline Speight, the festival’s artistic director, says this year is all about celebrating the traditions of jazz, right back to the beginnings of jazz in America.
“(The festival) was established by Dad (piano player John Speight) to give young up and coming players the opportunity to play next to professional musicians,” says Caroline. “Jazz is all about mentoring. That’s how people learn jazz.”
This year’s program will feature some of Australia’s greatest exponents of early forms of jazz including blues, funk, swing, Latin and bebop, with a sprinkling of more contemporary styles.
Music lovers can catch performances on the festival’s four stages: Manly Beach, Sydney Road, Manly Town Hall forecourt and St Matthew’s Church. Roving performers will keep the music going as you move from stage to stage by playing jazz along The Corso, laneways and Manly Wharf.
On Saturday, the House of Bop will feature some of Australia’s best jazz improvisers in a high energy jam session. The band will pay tribute to the late saxophonist, and Caroline’s brother, Andrew Speight, who co-directed Manly Jazz with Caroline and is widely considered one the greatest jazz improvisers of recent times. The rhythm section will comprise of musicians who played with Andrew when he visited Sydney from his home in San Franscisco.
This will be followed by the return of one of the festival’s most popular acts, The Big Ol’ Bus Band, with their unique blend of blues, funk and soul.
Sunday will feature a jazz parade down The Corso to the beachfront, led by the lively Hot Potato Band. Visitors can join the parade and then catch their act on the stage. Sunday will be finished off with the very popular Manly Jazz Jam which is open to the community to come along.
School and community bands will also have performances dotted throughout the weekend and Caroline says some of them are incredible.
Other acts worth checking out over the weekend are Blues guitarist, JC Stylles, Blaine Whittaker who is visiting from Hong Kong, Clayton Doley Blue Bayou, John Morrison and Andrew Gander.
The festival will also feature a special tribute to the late Don Burrows with special guest Johnny Nicol.
Caroline says the 2023 festival is significant and she is honouring her late father and brother.
“This is a special year for me,” she says. “It’s a celebration of the traditions. And you know, it’s an incredible art form.”
So save the date and get ready for an awesome weekend of live music. For more information, head to the council website northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au or follow @manlyjazz on social media.