Tom Avgenicos
Based on Gadigal land (Sydney), Tom Avgenicos is a jazz and improvising trumpeter and composer whose work is exploratory, bold and deeply emotive. Working in an array of creative contexts, often across media, his sonic palette creates spaces for conversation and connection to form the centrepiece of performance.
With his unique approach to improvisation, Tom has emerged as a vital presence on the Australian jazz scene. He has released four critically acclaimed albums as leader or co-leader with Delay 45, Avgenicos Brothers and Tuckerbox and can often be heard in performance with jazz elders Mike Nock, Ten Part Invention, Barney McAll and Matt McMahon. Tom graduated with honours atthe Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2018 and has been mentored by distinguished national and international jazz trumpeters including Warwick Alder, Phil Slater, Scott Tinkler and Ralph Alessi.
His awards and achievements include the 2022 Freedman Jazz Fellow, Margaret Henderson Scholarship and Global Mobility Scholarship (University of Sydney), the Regional Touring Grant (SIMA) and Sonic Futures Artist (SIMA), and recognition as finalist at the National Jazz Awards and Generations in Jazz competitions.
Jessica Carlton
Jessica Carlton is a trumpet player, composer and educator. She has been nominated for prestigious awards including the Music Trust’s Freedman Jazz Fellowship in 2021 and 2023; the Bell Award’s Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year in 2015; and West Australian Music’s Best Brass/Woodwind/Strings Player in 2022. Earlier this year Jessica composed an original big band composition as Composer in Residence for the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra.
Originally from Melbourne, Jessica is currently living and working in Perth. Her music education included the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School before undertaking a Bachelor of Music Performance in jazz trumpet from Monash University in 2015. She is currently a postgraduate research candidate on scholarship at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts under the supervision of saxophonist Dr Jamie Oehlers, which she is due to complete in 2024.
In 2014, aged 22, Jessica released her first album of original compositions entitled Not Alone. Last year, she recorded original compositions on a collaborative quartet album entitled Undeniable, which was nominated for Best Jazz Act by WAM. She has recorded on albums by fellow Australian jazz artists including Holly Moore (saxophone) and Georgie Aué (vocals/piano) and will be releasing a new album of original music later this year entitled For Olivia.
Jessica has led bands at the Melbourne International Women’s Jazz Festival, the Wangaratta Jazz Festival, and the Perth International Jazz Festival, and has performed extensively in venues and festivals across Australia.
Jessica’s experience as a music educator includes teaching in primary schools, high schools, jazz programs, and at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts where she is currently a jazz trumpet and jazz ensemble tutor.
Jessica is interested in composing music in a project-based manner, inspired by personal experiences, art and artists of other mediums, and social and political movements. As an autistic woman and mother, she is very passionate about advocating for diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion within the music industry and music education.