Niran Dasika (trumpet), Flora Carbo (saxophone), Callum Mintzis (trombone), Andrea Keller (piano), Theo Carbo (guitar) & Helen Svoboda (double bass) Andrea’s Composers’ Circle brings together leading Melbourne-based jazz improvisers & composers. The sextet performs regularly at the Jazzlab, presenting world premieres & re-imaginings of its member’s compositions. The inaugural iteration of the group and a...
“Still sounding like no one else” – SYDNEY MORNING HERALD Formed by bassist and composer Lloyd Swanton in 1991, The catholics are a distinct and much-loved ensemble which has built up a body of beautifully crafted work taking in various African, Caribbean, Latin and Eastern influences, with their performances blending exuberance and joy with tough...
“Still sounding like no one else” – SYDNEY MORNING HERALD Formed by bassist and composer Lloyd Swanton in 1991, The catholics are a distinct and much-loved ensemble which has built up a body of beautifully crafted work taking in various African, Caribbean, Latin and Eastern influences, with their performances blending exuberance and joy with tough...
Vibrant guitarist Kathleen Halloran has put together an eclectic trio driven by a fun - yet fierce - approach to improvised music. Featuring the melodically rich guitar stylings of Kathleen Halloran, complemented by the highly experienced team of the exceptionally versatile and groove master Darryn Farrugia on drums, and bassist Kim May’s supportive and interactive work...
Barney McAll's music is the rainbow in the oil slick of political and global chaos. He came up through the downtown 90s New York scene playing the piano with some of the great spiritual jazz heavyweights like Gary Bartz, Roy Ayers, Dewey Redman, and Billy Harper. He also submerged himself in a river of unadulterated...
Explores the origins of the blues, its relevance in Jazz and from a world music perspective. Andrew Swann has presented his history of the blues show since 2018 to sold out audiences celebrating this universal music genre. Having shared the stage with such legendary blues artists as Carey Bell, Coco Robexeau, Big Jay McNeely, Henry Butler,...
Melbourne based vocalist and composer Chantal Mitvalsky has been making waves as a solo and backing vocalist for the past 12 years. Best known for her work with groups as diverse as Jackson Jackson, The Meltdown and Cannonball, her latest project Skycha, explores a rich mix of soul, contemporary r&b and hip hop with traditional...
Niran Dasika (trumpet), Andrea Keller (piano) & Helen Svoboda (double bass) Multi award-winning trumpeter Niran Dasika’s new trio is a collaboration with acclaimed pianist Andrea Keller and emerging bass virtuoso Helen Svoboda. Dasika is known for his etherial, expressive trumpet playing and deeply evocative compositions, described as “ravishing” (The Sydney Morning Herald) and “exquisite” (Australian...
The Rookies were born in the spring of 2014 on the forgotten end of Brunswick Street in a room full of sweat, beer and dim lights at The Rooks Return. What started as a quiet set of background jazz for punters while they imbibed their cocktails quickly devolved into an uninhibited, drunken dance party reminiscent...
Once upon a time in a land not far away, there was a musically adventurous and curious couple who made beautiful sounds together during lockdowns in Melbourne. They started to wander Beyond The Lake and became immersed in the detail, mystery and natural beauty they found there. Cellist Anita Quayle’s and guitarist Nick Delaney’s travels...
Barney McAll's music is the rainbow in the oil slick of political and global chaos. He came up through the downtown 90s New York scene playing the piano with some of the great spiritual jazz heavyweights like Gary Bartz, Roy Ayers, Dewey Redman, and Billy Harper. He also submerged himself in a river of unadulterated...
Trumpeter and vocalist Audrey Powne is a name synonymous in both jazz and R&B circles with ingenuity and inventiveness. A stalwart of Melbourne’s burgeoning jazz/soul scene she is known for fronting alt. RnB outfit ‘Leisure Centre’ (F.K.A. The Do Yo Thangs) and genre defying synth-pop duo ‘Au Dré.’ Described as "..the very brilliant Audrey Powne"...
Yvette Johansson is one of Melbourne’s most respected and endearing vocalists. Her vocal abilities are renowned and her stage presence leaves audiences in raptures. Having carved a well-worn niche for herself, in the jazz landscape, with her sell-out tributes to Ella Fitzgerald, residencies at Melbourne’s leading jazz clubs for over a decade and as featured...
Xani Kolac (violin & voice), Audrey Powne (trumpet & voice), Anita Quayle (cello) & Andrea Keller (piano) The CELEBRATING VOICE series began in January 2020 with the mission to showcase and connect Australian jazz vocalists with instrumentalists in intimate ensembles outside of their usual working groups. With two singers (per concert) performing with the ‘house...
Wirecutters is an ensemble led by bassist Oscar Neyland (The Rookies) devoted to the music of Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy and Mal Waldron. The group plays their repertoire with their own methods and clearly defined internal concepts, paying homage to the music by being as adventurous and aggressively creative as the composers intended. The music...
It's difficult to remember yesterday let alone the songs that you wrote 20 years ago. Having lived in the Netherlands for the last 4 years, there has been reflective time to delve into the catalogue and reinterpret songs from the past using the energy of today. Tonight, The Hue Blanes Quartet play songs from past...
Barney McAll's music is the rainbow in the oil slick of political and global chaos. He came up through the downtown 90s New York scene playing the piano with some of the great spiritual jazz heavyweights like Gary Bartz, Roy Ayers, Dewey Redman, and Billy Harper. He also submerged himself in a river of unadulterated...
South African born & bred vocalist and violinist, Fem Belling is a rising star on the international jazz scene and has become one of Australia's most formidable and in demand performers. Her African Jazz and theatre roots augment her unique musicality, choices and interpretations. “A breathtaking storyteller through music.”
The versatile and virtuosic Monique diMattina returns to Jazzlab with her New Orleans gangsta jazz band Monique & The Dopamine,laying down beats from Jelly Roll Morton, Lil Hardin and Fats Waller alongside new works. Tonight's gig features tunes and tales of George Gershwin culminating in the epic, iconic Rhapsody in Blue for solo piano. "Monique's witty...
Alister Spence (Sydney), Kat Wiktorski & Andrea Keller – 3 sets of solo piano + Q&A The PIANO CLUB concert series is designed to bring together pianists of all ages and musical persuasions in an evening of solo piano performances and on-stage conversations (Q&A). Since its inception in 2019, the series has featured emerging, mid-career,...
Melbourne’s own Jazzlab Orchestra presses re-set on the big band tradition: creating visionary, original, genre-bending jazz music with a focus on diversity and inclusivity. Led by composer/arrangers Cheryl Durongpisitkul and Madison James Smith, the orchestra celebrates Melbourne’s next generation of instrumentalists. The Orchestra continues the tradition of the Bennetts Lane Big Band with a monthly...
It's difficult to remember yesterday let alone the songs that you wrote 20 years ago. Having lived in the Netherlands for the last 4 years, there has been reflective time to delve into the catalogue and reinterpret songs from the past using the energy of today. Tonight, The Hue Blanes Quartet play songs from past...
Nadav Rayman, Melbourne-based pianist and composer, renowned for missing common social cues, presents the launch of his debut album, Second Sight, an exploration in contemporary soul jazz. The album features the work of trio members, Nadav Rayman (Piano), Matthew Coleman (Bass) and Michael Evans-Barker (Drums), who have developed a non-verbal language to ensure each band...
A unique Melbourne musical institution with an enormous repertoire of original charts and ties through out Melbourne's musical universe.
The Pearly Shells mix their own arrangements of 40's and 50's big band music with Jump Blues, Swing Jazz, RnB, Boogie Woogie and Latin styles and play it all with the drive and enthusiasm the music demands and deserves.
Back by popular demand after her sell out show at The Jazz Lab in Nov 2021, Rebecca Barnard returns to perform the "Songs of Joni Mitchell" with the exceptional talents of Peter Farnan. Covering Joni from all eras, this promises to be a must for every Joni fan. Rebecca became obsessed with Joni at the...
Inspired by Allan Browne’s musical philosophy and collaborative spirit, Transients are a series of evolving trios devised by Andrea in 2016. The project has released multiple albums, including Transients Volume 1 & 2 (winning the Music Victoria Award for Best Jazz Album in 2019), and Andrea Keller Curates Monday Nights Live at the Jazzlab Volume...
Australian Music Prize-nominated composer Luke Howard has been described as “absolutely heavenly” (Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC Radio 6) and his music as “an ambient masterclass” (Musos’ Guide), but no words can fully capture the potency of Howard’s enthralling compositions. A pianist since childhood, Howard has scored films and performed with artists as diverse as Lior and Jeff Mills, capturing audiences with contemporary classical arrangements that curl and twist around the boundaries of...
An intimate show featuring the vocal stylings of Melbourne R&B singer thando and special guest Michaela Jayde. Accompanied by James Bowers. The Australian music scene is no stranger to thando. The widely loved Zimbabwean-born ‘First Lady of Soul and R&B’ has commanded massive crowds at festivals such as Bluesfest, WOMAdelaide and Groovin The Moo. Her...
