Following the success of last year’s event, MLive’s Jazz Greats Weekend returns to Monash University’s Robert Blackwood Hall this weekend.
This year’s ultimate weekend of jazz kicks off with ARIA award winners Vince Jones and Megan Washington joining a 17-piece orchestra to revisit Come In Spinner – one of Australia’s most successful jazz album. Together they revisit the sounds of the 1940s as rebooted in the 1990 television series Come In Spinner.
The album of the series, featuring classics like Man I Love, Mood Indigo, Sophisticated Lady, You Go to My Head and I’ve Got You Under My Skin, broke sales records around the country. This time around, MLIVE has commissioned composer and arranger Steve Newcomb to create all new arrangements in a night that promises to blast fresh and surprising energy into beloved jazz classics.
Jazz icon, Vince Jones is an inspiration to generations of jazz singers. Not only known for his superb voice, Vince is a renowned songwriter and trumpeter who has been the recipient of two ARIA awards. Inspired at a young age by listening to his father’s collection of great jazz albums, Vince adopted a taste for the style and melodies of jazz, which have influenced his individual and well recognised sound.
With her roots in jazz, Megan Washington is a highly regarded new generation Australian artist. She has won the Best Female Artist and Breakthrough Artist awards at the 2010 ARIA Music Awards and received a platinum certificate for the shipment of 70,000 copies of her debut album, I Believe You Liar.
Megan has an eclectic style which has evolved over time to indie pop and alternative rock. She is now excited to come back to her jazz roots to perform with Vince Jones and bring together the perfect balance of old and new world jazz.
The Jazz Greats Weekend culminates with The Edge of Reality – The Elvis Presley Songbook where the talented Joe Camilleri and Vika Bull will unite with six-time ARIA winner Paul Grabowsky to bring a radical new perspective to the music of the King. Filled with not-to-be-missed Elvis classics, the evening begins with a mesmerising performance by the soulful singer-songwriter, Mojo Juju.
The critically acclaimed Vika Bull has been wowing crowds with her powerhouse voice for decades. Stepping into the spotlight recently to deliver the unforgettable show, At Last – the Etta James Story, Vika has performed with her sister Linda and the likes of musical legends such as Joe Camilleri and Paul Kelly. With a voice that resonates throughout theatres, Vika puts her heart and soul into every performance.
Joe Camilleri and his encyclopedic knowledge of musical culture is a well-known driving force of Australian music. With a back catalogue of household classics that span across generations, Camilleri has dedicated over 45 years to producing great music, producing 30 records and is best known for leading two of Australia’s most successful bands, The Black Sorrows and Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons – which saw him inducted into the Australian Recording Industry (ARIA Hall of Fame) in 2007.
MLIVE’s Jazz Greats Weekend takes place at Robert Blackwood Hall on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 April 2018. For more information, visit: www.monash.edu for details.
Image: Megan Washington (supplied)