Melbourne International Jazz Festival 2016
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Date Reviewed: 03/06/2016
by Irena Begelfor
Jazz lovers gather round for the long awaited Melbourne International Jazz Festival (MIJF) that comes around this time of year.
This festival is nicely placed in June, at the time of year where one just yearns to hear some warming jazz. The weather is screaming out, bring on the jazz! Winter's here! What's better than to be with like-minded souls in a venue that is buzzing and shaking with good tunes and vibes?
The festival program is an eclectic collection of hand picked artists and bands - both local and international. It is a carefully crafted program catering to a variety of jazz lovers. The hard work has been done; some of the best jazz musicians from all ends of the world will be here in Melbourne next week to do their magic. So, don't sit at home, boys and girls. If you love great jazz then here is your opportunity. Rug up, get curious and see some shows.
I am personally a huge fan of the following local musicians whom I have seen numerous times in concert (and never tire of) - Stephen Magnusson (guitar), Julien Wilson (saxophone), and Tal Cohan (piano). The Mark Fitzgibbon Trio is a must, as is Nichaud Fitzgibbon Quartet. The more I look at the program, the more I want to see it all. There are some names I have never heard of.
Kudos to whoever setup the MIJF website. It really is well designed. So, you can click on the festival program and read about each act and then have a listen to the band on the individual band pages. Have a look around the site. There are some very cool international acts � I would love to hear Eddie Palmieri and Esperanza Spalding at the very least