Thousands head to Mount Gambier for annual jazz event this weekend

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The annual generations in Jazz event, one of the largest school music gatherings in Australia has started in Mount Gambier. Around 5,000 students will come from across the country for three days of performances, competition and workshop.

Transcript

00:00It's a bit calm before the storm here at Generations in Jazz at Mount Gambier.

00:06Soon there'll be about 4,500 students here from across Australia for three days of jazz

00:12performance, learning and competition. And right now I'm here with two of the big names in

00:18Australian jazz, Darren Percival and Michelle Nickel. They're with me here. And Darren,

00:23I'll start with you. You were here once as a James Morrison scholarship finalist. What does it mean

00:28to be back here and working with all these young people now? Yeah, I'm really excited,

00:34thrilled to be back. I was here in 89 and I think it must have been 91 as a scholarship finalist.

00:42And then this experience propelled me then to work with James all through my 20s. I was in his band

00:48for 10 years and recently we've actually just started working together again. So yeah, I have

00:53really fond memories of this experience and I'm really happy to be back. It's great just to be

00:58around the energy of the students and the music and this amazing genre that is jazz that has been a

01:07part of our lives for pretty much all of it really. So yeah, it's just great. It's very positive and

01:13great to be back in Mount Gambier. Michelle, you've been here before as well. What does it mean to you to

01:18see so many young people here all for one thing, which is jazz music? Well, it's quite amazing actually.

01:23You can't ever imagine that there's kids, so many kids in Australia know about jazz, let alone

01:29screaming for it. So in this tent, like it is kind of like the Hunger Games for jazz, but in a really

01:36great way. So it always makes me really excited and to be a part of the bubble and for them to actually

01:43also experience Australian jazz too, like for them to see some of their own, you know, uh, people

01:51getting up there on the stage, it's going to be really great this year. Yeah. What's one thing that

01:56you hope all the students who are here this weekend, whether it's their first time or they've been here

02:00a few times, whether they're scholarship finalists trying to take that next step, what's one thing you

02:04hope they will take away from it? I hope that they take that jazz is a, is a, is part of, about being a part of a community

02:11community and that they love, you know, they love the music enough that they'll, even if they never

02:15go on and play once they leave school, because they might have other things they're interested in,

02:20but I hope that they realize that there's a jazz community out there that they're always welcome

02:25to be a part of as a listener and an audience, you know, because it's not just about playing,

02:30it's actually just about making the music, you know, survive and, and actually prosper. So I hope that

02:37they, they get that, they get a love for it, you know, that will be with them forever.

02:41The students coming from across Australia, Darren, why do you think it's important that the,

02:46the generations in jazz is in a place here like Mount Gambier and perhaps not just

02:50in Melbourne or Sydney, where people might think it might be a bit more convenient?

02:54One of the great things about this experience for the students is that they,

02:58a lot of them stay with folks from the town, you know, and they get the experience of what it's

03:03like to be in this rural setting. This is one of the most beautiful places in the whole country,

03:09so I think it makes perfect sense. You know, there's lots of space and also being out here

03:13at the barn, you know, in this incredible tent as well, it's pretty grand. So I don't know where

03:17you'd be able to do that in the city, you know, so it's, it's a great experience for them. They

03:20really look forward to it. This is a big weekend for everyone involved, all the people here on the

03:25ground, the town, and then, you know, all the students. And also we've got this amazing band coming

03:29up from LA who were here too, and they've been here before, and they're also really looking

03:33forward to the experience, you know, so it's just all positive. That's what's really great about it.

03:37Thanks. Well, that's Darren Percival and Michelle Nickel here in the James Morrison Pavilion

03:42at Mount Gambier's Generations in Jazz, which holds about 6,000 people. And tonight,

03:46it will be packed for the event's opening concert and will be packed throughout the weekend for some

03:53great jazz music.

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