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

Modern jazz guitar master James Sherlock is one of the best straight ahead jazz guitar players in Australia. Whether playing in classic guitar trio or with vocalist, he’s right at home with the swinging jazz standards repertoire from the 50’s and 60’s right through to present day, and it is always a delight to be at James's performances.


A significant figure on the Australian jazz scene for a number of years, member of the famous “BOPSTRETCH” band that has held a Wednesday residency at Uptown for over 10 years.

Having recently been recorded live by ABC FM radio's "JazzTrack," this trio is the quintessential guitar led jazz sound.


James has performed, toured, recorded and collaborated with a variety of Australian and International musicians; however, the Guitar/Bass/Drums trio has been the backbone of James' performance output for over 20 years. This incarnation of the trio features outstanding young bassist Ben Hanlon and Danny Fischer on drums. 


"This could be exhibit A in the case that some of the world's most exciting jazz is being made in Australia.” John Shand - Sydney Morning Herald (“Watermark” review)
“Sherlock is a wonderful guitarist, and a craftsman of songs possessing beauty and depth. “Solo” should make a few Top 10s of the year and help propel Sherlock onto the bigger stage he surely deserves. Definitely a name to watch out for.” Ian Patterson, All About Jazz.




$30/25 concession - 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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Ghost Songs” is a suite of music derived from an unlikely source of inspiration; the slightly creepy, faceless music produced and owned by Spotify that increasingly populates their “jazz” playlists. The suite literally steals melodic and harmonic material from these “artists”, much like they have stolen an entire aesthetic from African American jazz innovators like Hank Jones, Red Garland and Ahmad Jamal. Hoyne takes fragments of this spiritless, lifeless music through a process of re-invigoration into exciting vehicles for improvisation for the quintet. The rest of the gig will be made up of new “Human Songs” written by Hoyne, that are inspired by friends, places, life and anything other than the aforementioned horrid music.

This performance will feature the inimitable talents of:

Niran Dasika – trumpet
Flora Carbo – saxophone
Matt Hoyne – guitar
Anton Schultz – bass
Lewis Pierre – drums

 

$30/25 concession.  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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One of Australia’s finest jazz musicians, internationally acclaimed jazz pianist Mark Fitzgibbon returns to Uptown.

Having lived in London in the 1980’s performing at Ronnie Scotts and throughout Europe, Mark has accompanied many international jazz stars such as Lee Konitz, John Stubblefield, Curtis Lundy, Claire Martin, Mark Murphy and George Coleman jr.

Winner of the National jazz awards at the Wangarratta jazz festival, he has worked and recorded with with many of Australias finest jazz performers including Dale Barlow, Bernie Mcgann, Vince Jones, Christine Mcnulty, Jamie Oehlers, Scott Tinkler, Ian Chaplin and Wilbur Wilde, as well as his own trios and quartets.

The quintessential bebop jazz pianist, his swinging touch and virtuosity is the reason why he’s one of the most in demand players in Australia.


“Mark Fitzgibbon is one of the most under rated talents in the country. Always musically tasteful , a consistently sympathetic accompanist , a repository of a vast repertoire and an impeccable touch, he can produce blistering solos and lift the music to another level” -Adrian Jackson the AGE

$35/30 concession - cash 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 beautiful trumpet player Paul Williamson leads an all-star group, playing swinging standards and beautiful ballads with a distinct, mellow trumpet sound.
Paul has established a reputation for producing distinctive recordings of outstanding ensemble performances. Williamson is the leading artist on ten commercially released CD releases.

Williamson has performed with international jazz artists at festivals and venues in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He was active in the European jazz scene whilst based in Dublin and performed with Bill Carothers, Dave Liebman, Reggie Washington, Paul Wertico, Ronan Guilfoyle, Lindsay Horner, Michael Buckley ad Métier before returning to Melbourne in 2009. His recent performances include collaborations with Eddie Palmieri, Tomasz StaÅ„ko, Charlie Haden, Kenny Werner, John Abercrombie, the Australian Art Orchestra, Hermeto Pascoal, Aaron Goldberg, Django Bates, Mike Nock, Tony Gould, Nasheet Waits, Mark Helias, and the Monash Art Ensemble. In 2014 Williamson was invited by Dave Douglas to perform at the Festival for New Trumpet Music (FONT) in New York City where he premiered a program of new compositions.

In addition to having a successful recording and performance career, Williamson is a faculty member and the Jazz and Honours coordinator at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University.


Segue-ing between steaming, swinging standards and lyrical ballads, the quartet stretch the limit of interplay with a fresh modern take on some classic tunes....


Paul Williamson - trumpet
Mark Fitzgibbon - piano
Nick Haywood - double bass
Sam Bates - drums



Tix $35/30 concession -  cash entry - cards fine at the bar




doors open 7.30, music from 8pm. Seats still available. 

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



 

Trumpeter Mat Jodrell is one of the most exciting voices in Jazz today. He has recently returned to Australia after having lived in New York City for the past eight years, performing around the city and teaching at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music.
During his time in the States, Mat was a regular member of many ensembles, all of whom he has recorded with. They include Miguel Zenon’s ‘Identities’ Ensemble, Ryan Truesdell’s Gil Evans Project (both Grammy nominated in 2016), Lucas Pino’s No Net Nonet, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Miho Hazama’s M-Unit, Kenny Werner’s ‘No Beginning, No End’, Pedro Giraudo’s Expansions Ensemble, Jon Batiste Band, the Birdland Big Band, the Bill Mobley big band, the Dan Jamieson big band and many others.

Since re-locating to the US Mat has had the opportunity to perform with the likes of Benny Golson, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, Buster Williams, Hubert Laws, Maria Schneider Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, James Spaulding, Carl Allen, Terri-Lyn Carrington, Bill Watrous, Gary Bartz, Terence Blanchard, Darcy James Argue, Josh Roseman to name but a few. Between 2008 and 2012 Mat has performed regularly on Broadway with the shows ‘Hair’ and ‘After Midnight’ and continues to work with legendary singer Paul Anka with whom he has toured throughout Europe, Russia, Asia, South America and the Middle East.

He has performed in many of the world’s most famous jazz clubs in New York City including the Vanguard, Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Birdland, Smoke, Smalls, Zinc and the Iridium, as well as touring to many of the largest festivals including the Newport Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Detroit Jazz Festival and many others.

 

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

Barney McAll moved to New York City from Australia in 1997 to join saxophonist Gary Bartz‘s band. As well as remaining to be a member of the Gary Bartz quartet, he also plays with the Josh RosemanUnit, Fred Wesley and the JB’s, Groove Collective, and Kurt Rosenwinkel‘s “Heartcore”. He completed a Bachelor of Music at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, studying with pianists Paul Grabowsky, Tony Gould and Mike Nock and with guitarist Doug Devries.

His ensembles include “M.O.D.A.S”, “Sylent Running”, “GRAFT” and his most recent ensemble ASIO (Australian Symbiotic Improvisers Orbit). He was awarded the Australia Council Fellowship in 2007 and worked as musical director for Australian vocalist Sia Furler from 2011-2012.
Barney McAll is also the 2015 recipient of the Peggy Glanville-Hicks composer residency in Sydney, Australia.
He has recorded or performed internationally with many other musicians including Dewey Redman, Roy Ayers, Kenny Garrett, Maceo Parker, Jimmy Cobb, Eddie Henderson, Aloe Blacc, Peter Apfelbaum, Billy Harper, Daniel Merriweather and Vernel Fournier. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2015 McAll won Best Jazz Album for Mooroolbark.[1]
 
"Barney is a special piano player with that certain heart and touch, so he has great possibilities.
He’s a genuine musician, not just a skilled artist. There’s a certain touch that I’m talking about.
It’s hard to explain, but he has that."
-Billy Harper

McAll is partial to unleashing surprises himself, whether they be radical dynamic shifts –
such as suddenly reducing a solo to the merest trickle of notes against thrumming bass
and whispered cymbal chatter – or just finding bewitchingly unexpected turns to take in
developing a melody. Masterful.
-SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
 

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bookings - email uptownjazzcafe@email.com