- Stephen Martin
- Oct 9
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 15
October Nesletter from the Port Fairy Jazz Festival October 2025 Western Victoria Jazz Productions Inc, PO Box 325, Port Fairy 3284 Incorporation No. A0094541G, ABN 75471454678 A ‘not for profit’ organisation run entirely by volunteers portfairyjazzfestival@gmail.com __________________________________________________________________ SAVE THE DATE The 2026 Port Fairy Jazz Festival is being held on the weekend of 13th – 15th February 2026 Online tickets sales will open on 1st August 2025 (early-bird prices will be available until the 15th December 2025) – www.portfairyjazz.com.au 2026 TICKET PRICES: Early Bird Weekend ($20 discount to 15th December) $130 Saturday after 6.00pm $60 Weekend $150 Sunday $60 Friday Night Only $60 Partners Ticket $60 Saturday all day $100 Band Nominations and Musician Registrations for the 2026 Festival Band leaders please note the following: Band nominations for the 2026 festival close on 30th September. Band Nominations and Musician Registrations are once again to be completed via the online registration process. Please see the Musicians Tab at www.portfairyjazz.com.au For programming purposes, musicians are limited to nominating for THREE bands only. During the festival musicians may play in as many bands as they wish, but programming will not factor in clashes for these unscheduled performances. Band leaders should remind their musicians that it is imperative that they complete the online registration which allows them to be included in the musician disbursement process. All registrations, if completed successfully, will result in an automated email confirmation. If this is not received, you may need to repeat the registration process. Timeline 2025 15th December – Early Bird Ticket sales close. Full price tickets still available on the Website. 21st December – Final program published on the Website. 2026 6th January – John Huf Award Entries close. 12th February – Online ticket sales close. Tickets still available for purchase from the Jazz Office. Partner Registrations close. 12th February – Jazz Office opens for musicians and patrons including ticket sales. 13th to 15th February – JAZZ FESTIVAL Thank you Denis Thank you Denis Bell from the Port Fairy Jazz Festival committee Denis has been involved with the Port Fairy Jazz Festival since 2016, when a group of jazz enthusiasts who had been associated with the Halls Gap Grampians festival over a number of years, decided that they had experienced some trying conditions during the second weekend of February and it was time to transfer it closer to the coast to catch the tempering sea breeze. John Huf, the instigator of the move and original festival coordinator asked his good friend Denis Bell to help out by being treasurer of the new committee. He accepted the appointment and somehow fitted in a busy treasurer’s duties between shifts driving milk tankers, never missing a meeting of either the executive or the full committee. In addition to the functions of treasurer, producing profit and loss and financial balance sheets, Denis also spent a lot of time assisting with the scheduling of the many bands that nominated each year into a program spread across 10 venues scattered around the town. The volunteer committee is profoundly grateful to Denis for the many hours that he committed to his tasks to ensure the smooth running of our annual festival. He achieved all of this during a time when there were stresses in his personal life that caused him to drive long distances to attend to family matters in Stawell. On behalf of the committee of the Port Fairy Jazz Festival, I thank Denis for his contribution to the running of the gig over the first eight annual events. Gavin Franklin and the Port Fairy Jazz Festival Committee Join the Port Fairy Jazz Festival Committee – Help Shape the Music! 🎶 Are you passionate about music, community, and creativity? Do you want to be part of something exciting and vibrant? We’re calling for new members to join the Port Fairy Jazz Festival Committee as we prepare for next year’s festival. Whether you’re a jazz enthusiast, event planner, marketer, social media proficient, programming expert, fundraiser, or simply love being involved in community events – we’d love to hear from you! Also, membership is not confined to living locally as anyone willing to assist can do so via the capabilities of the internet. No prior experience is needed – just enthusiasm and a collaborative spirit. Interested? Please messsage our President Jenni on 0400 065 422 or email her on jenpf@outlook.com to express your interest or find out more. Four types of sponsorship packages are available!!! Messsage our President Jenni on 0400 065 422 or email her on jenpf@outlook.com to find out more about our Sponsorship Opportunities 2026 John Huf Award The John Huf Award for young jazz performers will again be part of the 2026 festival. This is open to players of any instrument and vocalists. Entrants should be under 26 on the Saturday of the festival. To enter, a performer should record or video him/herself playing the head and an improvised solo on two tunes and send them to the secretary of the Port Fairy Jazz committee. Details of the award are available under the Musicians tab on the website and prospective entrants are encouraged to read the conditions explained there. SPONSORSHIP & ADVERTISING PACKAGES Volunteer News IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN – WE’RE SEEKING HELP TO RUN OUR FESTIVAL PLEASE As you well know, volunteers are integral to the success of our Festival. We are looking for help in the following areas: Bumping In: Thursday, Friday Bumping Out: Monday Office: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday Venues: Friday 4.45pm – 11.00pm Saturday 10.45am – 11.00pm Sunday 11.45am – 6.00pm If you think you may be able to assist please email (jenpf@outlook.com) or call/text (0400065422) Jenni, with your name, email address and mobile. Further information will be emailed in November. Thank you very much – we are so appreciative; our festival only succeeds with the support of volunteers. Volunteer Hours: The Jazz Festival Committee offers a free weekend ticket for the Festival to anyone who volunteers for more than 10 hours over the weekend. We look forward to hearing from you. Jenni Hider-Smith, Olga Lemke & Imelda Dowdle On behalf of the Port Fairy Jazz Festival Committee Australian Jazz Convention The Australian Jazz Convention is an annual gathering for musicians and jazz lovers to celebrate their music. While the focus in on traditional or “Dixieland” jazz, the convention is also open to groups playing swing, mainstream, bebop, modern, funk, and other jazz genres. Since 1946 the convention has been hosted by different cities and towns across Australia. In 2025 the 79th AJC will be held in Mildura, Victoria, from 26th to 31st December. https://australianjazzconvention.org.au/ The AJC has a great list of Australian Jazz Clubs: https://australianjazzconvention.org.au/clubsfestivals/ Audio Assistance The success of our festival hinges on the quality of the sound produced by bands in our venues. The people who are critical to the sound quality are our audio assistants who assist bands with their sound checks in each venue. They enable musicians to hear themselves and other band members through the fold back speakers that are provided. We want our bands to have a quality experience in every venue in which they play. In order to make the experience better for our assistants, it is vital that we recruit experienced operators to attend each venue and to have more than one for each venue to enable the audio people to have relief from their task occasionally during the weekend. To this end, we are looking for people with an interest in sound production to volunteer to help out in this capacity. If you can do this, we would like to hear from you and will provide you with a lanyard that will admit you to all of our venues and you will be entitled to receive a musician’s disbursement from the festival, if you have not already received one as a performer. Please contact us via our email address to indicate your availability and interest. Preserving Australian Jazz for the future generation of jazz lovers. The Museum is opened TUESDAYS only from 10.00 to 3.00pm.Keep checking their website for more details - https://www.ajm.org.au/ Their location is “Koomba Park”, 15 Mountain Highway, Wantirna, Vic 3152. ROUND THE JAZZ SCENE Southern Jazz Club (Adelaide) 21st October 2025 – The Ex-Pats Friendship Club 28th October 2025 – The Fan Club 6th November 2025 – Dave Goodwin & Friends 11th November 2025 – Jessie Gordon & Mark Turner Come and celebrate Halloween with Dingo’s double-bill featuring Fiona Burnett Band, and Dutch saxophonist and festival director Alexander Beets, with an all-star cast from the Netherlands. Friday October 31 Doors 7:30pm Fringe Common Rooms at Trades Hall. Alexander’s Big Sounds project delivers a mix of hard-bop, soul jazz and original compositions. Deeply rooted in the swing tradition, the band combines old-school grooves with a modern edge, creating a sound full of energy, interplay and expressive storytelling. Jazz Radio - Robin has a new Jazz Program on 3bbr fm entitled “Jazz Just For You” which runs from 7pm to 8pm every Thursday. Google 3BBR FM and click on the LISTEN LIVE button and you will hear a great show put together by Robin with interesting data on the musos that he has selected for everyone’s enjoyment.ed will post info here when it becomes available |
