In May 2023 the Perth International Jazz Festival descended on the beautiful towns of Katanning, Mount Barker, Albany and Denmark. What ensued was a wonderful weekend of music, family outings and food!
We kicked off in Katanning with the incredible Lauren Henderson Quartet. Held at the world-class Premier Inn, audiences enjoyed a 2 course meal accompanied by wines from Plantagenet Wines. Lauren’s vocal prowess speaks for itself but her onstage persona charmed all within her gaze.
Next we headed to Albany where we were joined by Australian guitarist Sorcha Albuquerque and her trio. Hearing her you were transported to the New York Jazz Clubs of the 1950s where the lyrical sounds of guitarists such as Wes Montgomery and Ed Bickert ring out. Again treated to Lauren Henderson’s amazing vocals and incredible sidemen – Alex Reid, Karl Florisson, Harry Mitchell and Ricki Malet.
We then kicked off the weekend in style! Jazz Day Out came to the city of Albany and boy oh boy did we have some fun! We headed into the Albany Markets, the Gallery in the Town Hall, Earl of Spencer, White Star Hotel, EVE Night Club and the Garden Inn Hilton. AND we headed to Mount Barker to our old friends and wine partner Plantagenet Wines for Saturday Jazz on the Green. While the weather was not on our side, we all enjoyed a wine or two and some world-class jazz!
JazzTrix at the Earl of Spencer.
Photo credit – Nic Duncan
Lauren Henderson & Zac Grafton at the Albany Town Hall Gallery. Photo credit – Josh Wells
This was all preparing us for the incredible stylings of the Perth Cabaret Collective with Lucy Iffla. A premier performance, held at the iconic Albany Town Hall, this was a performance to remember! Raucous jazz played by some of the best, young musicians in the country – this was a real treat.
We all needed a recovery day and how better to do so than by visiting the scrumptious delights of Denmark! We headed to Singlefile Wines where the location alone is enough to make you want to dance about in the vines, then to Rockcliffe for their outstanding hospitality and then lastly The Dam.
PIJF then retreated back to the region of Perth to dream about their fulfilled desires to visit the Great Southern Region and plot their swift return!
Big thanks to our partners – Hilton Garden Inn Albany, CBH Group, Plantagenet Wines, Cullen MacLeod – all the venues who participated and all the wonderful people from those communities who came to our events!
Last updated: Monday, July 24th 2023