Uptown Jazz Cafe - Melbourne's newest jazz and improvised music venue

Saxophone colossus Carl Mackey and Quartet return to the Uptown stage this Wednesday night to deliver a night of hard swinging jazz.

Melbourne based saxophonist, Carl Mackey has been a stalwart on the Australian jazz landscape for more than three decades. Renowned for his versatile and emotionally charged playing style, he has shared the stage with a diverse array of artists, including Lionel Hampton, Kurt Elling, Sammy Figueroa, Ben Wendel, James Morrison, Kate Ceberano, Boy and Bear, Blur, Noel Gallagher,
and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

He has supported international stars such as James Brown, Harry Connick Jnr, The Yellowjackets, Ray Charles and Dianne Reeves.
Co-leader of award-winning group Speedball, he is a member of the Sam Anning Sextet, Australian National Jazz Orchestra, lead alto in the Vanessa Perica Orchestra and can be heard in groups as diverse as Andrea Keller’s Composer’s Circle through to latin orchestra, La Influencia.
A two time James Morrison Scholarship finalist, and a Freedman Fellowship finalist in 2006, Mackey has toured extensively with appearances in the United States, UK, Italy, India, and is a regular fixture on the national jazz festival scene with regular performances at the Melbourne, Perth, Wangaratta, Brisbane and Sydney International Jazz Festivals.




 

$25 full/ $10 students - cash on entry/cards fine at the bar - doors open 7.30, music from 8pm. Seats still available.

bookings please email us - uptownjazzcafe@email.com

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The Big Idiot Club Jazz Band is the new project from Flap! frontman & trumpeter Eamon McNelis. Featuring new songs in a vintage style, some virtuosic musicianship and some good old, old-fashioned floor-stomping swing.
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Eamon McNelis began playing the trumpet and playing jazz at the age of eight. At the age of 12, he was accepted into the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School. He has supported Branford Marsalis at the Melbourne Concert Hall and recorded with the likes of Amanda Palmer, Tripod, Jen Cloher, and Julie O’Hara, as well as many more.



Tix $25/20 concession -  cash entry - cards fine at the bar. Seats still available.

bookings please email us - uptownjazzcafe@email.com

 

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The incredible New York ex-pat guitarist Hugh Stuckey holds sway this Friday, playing his mix of swinging jazz standards in the classic guitar trio format

Originally from Adelaide, Hugh has become an in-demand player on the Melbourne scene and has earned the respect and luv of his peers and audiences alike. Finalist in the National Jazz Awards at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival, he also supported the John Scofield Quartet at the Adelaide guitar Festival last year to rave reviews.

One of the tastiest guitar players in Australia today. Highly recommended.


with -

Sam Anning - double bass
Danny Fischer - drums
 

$30/25 concession.  cash on entry/cards fine at the bar. Seats still available.

Doors open 7.30, music from 8pm.

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bookings - email uptownjazzcafe@email.com and just pay for tickets on arrival

New York pianist Brett Williams up this Saturday playing modern standards and ballads to blow your mind. Although well known as the keyboard player in the Marcus Miller Band, his love and proficiency in straight ahead jazz is outstanding and a joy to experience. Expect tunes by Thelonious Monk, Fats Waller, Charlie Parker and more....

Brett has performed with artists & musicians including Stevie Wonder, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Marcus Miller, Mumford & Sons, Billy Joel, Chris Thile, Mino Cinelu, Kevin Garrett, Snarky Puppy, Robert Glasper, Jose James, Sean Jones, Keyon Harrold, & Charles Haynes. He has also performed regularly with Jon Batiste on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Williams has already accomplished a significant level of experience on the bandstand & more recently in the studio as well. It is Williams’ openness to a wide range & myriad of musical styles & genres, his “old soul”, & his musical honesty that have helped him create & mold a dynamic sound & voice as a pianist & composer. He released his debut EP S3asons in 2019.


 

Tix $35/30 concession -  cash entry - cards fine at the bar. Seats still available.


Doors open 7.30, music from 8pm.

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bookings - email uptownjazzcafe@email.com and just pay for tickets on arrival



 

Lachlan McLean is an Australian saxophonist, composer, musical director and genre-crossing chameleon. His lyrical, distinct sound and phrasing is reminiscent of the depth of gospel singers and slide blues guitar. As co-founder of The Meltdown, he has toured extensively overseas and across Australia. Their 2017 self-titled debut album has garnered millions of streams on Spotify.
https://lachlanmclean.bandcamp.com/.../lachlan-mclean...

Fran Swinn has carved out her own sound in the Australian musical landscape. She has two albums under her own name; ‘Every Dog’ (2011) and ‘Old Idea/New Idea’ released last year on Lionshare Records. “This beautiful album is so easy to love.” (E. Myers, The Australian 2022).
https://franswinn.bandcamp.com/album/old-idea-new-idea-2
 

Bookings highly recommended - uptownjazzcafe@email.com



 

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bookings - email uptownjazzcafe@email.com and just pay for tickets on arrival
 

One of the leading tenor saxophonists in Australia today, the incredible Jamie Oehlers returns to Uptown for an evening of intense swinging, hard driving jazz standards. 

Strongly inspired by the likes of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, Jamie has carved a name for himself as one of the strongest modern jazz improvisers on the national scene.

Winner of the 2003 White Foundation World Saxophone Competition, was named Australian Jazz Musician of the Year at the 2007 Bell Awards, as well as winning the Best Jazz Release category and is now coordinator of Jazz Studies at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.He has performed with leading international jazz artists in the United States, Asia, India, UK, Europe, New Zealand and throughout Australia and frequently performs at jazz clubs and festivals throughout the world.

Don't miss this rare chance to see Jamie in full flight with his quartet.

 

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bookings - email uptownjazzcafe@email.com




 all entry fees are ex gst