Darling Harbour Jazz and Blues Festival
Photo © Darling Harbour Jazz Festival
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| Country and Region | Australia — New South Wales |
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| Type of Festival | Music |
| Location of Festival | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Festival Address Information | Darling Harbour Jazz and Blues Festival |
| Festival Description | Top Australian and US jazz, blues, hip hop and swing artists are lining up for the opportunity to take centre stage at Darling Harbour from June 7 to 9. Darling Harbour Jazz Festival will celebrate its 18th year featuring the best in jazz—delta blues and bebop, hip hop and fusion, New Orleans and Dixieland and everything in between. Each year, this popular event is visited by more than 250,000 people from Sydney, interstate and around the globe as they see their favourite artists perform and discover new favourites right on Sydney’s waterfront. Whether you are new to jazz in all its forms or a long time aficionado, into big bands or more intimate blues sounds, Darling Harbour Jazz & Blues Festival with its four stages and more than 30 performances is the place to be. Whether you are new to jazz or a long time aficionado, into big band or more intimate blues sounds, Darling Harbour Jazz Festival with its three stages and more than 30 performances is the place to be. The annual Festival will showcase a star-studded line-up of Australian and international jazz artists and has previously featured James Morrison, Frank Bennett, The Cat Empire, Renee Geyer, Vince Jones and Idea of North. The Darling Harbour Jazz Festival transforms Sydney’s most versatile and internationally acclaimed events hub into a musical extravaganza with the sassy, suave, and scintillating sounds of blues, hip pop, groove, big band swing, soul and New Orleans gospel jazz—and it’s all free! |
| Festival Dates | June 7 - 9, 2008 |
| Festival Links |
Festival Events:
Featured performers 2008:
- James Morrison and Deni Hines
World-renowned Australian jazz trumpeter, James Morrison, and leading soul/R&B singer, Deni Hines, will collaborate to perform tracks from their latest album, The Other Woman. Visitors will hear original compositions as well as classics from Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Holiday, Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin. In a dynamic and original performance, Morrison will showcase his passion, achievements and stature as one of Australia’s finest jazz musicians together with Deni Hines, as the pair embrace another growth curve in their already stellar careers. The combination of both styles is a blend that brings a new dimension to jazz internationally. - CW Stoneking
He wears a ragged black suit and a preachin’ hat, makes tunes about singing dodo birds, hollers like a 1920s tent show blues shouter, plays guitar like a demon, and mutters to himself onstage. The legendary king of hokum blues, C.W. Stoneking, is an entertainer who relies on musicianship, stagecraft, and humour to invoke the spirit of 1920s Southern blues in his original hokum style. - Katie Noonan
Katie Noonan has topped both the pop and jazz charts and blown away opera fanatics with her extraordinary jazz-operatic voice. Watch Katie weave her magic at the Jazz & Blues Festival with her band, Elixir, as she performs her own jazz arrangements and a selection of compilations from the band’s self-titled album, Elixir. - The Bamboos
This six-piece Australian funk outfit, “the best new Deep Funk band in the world today” (Freestyle Records UK), formed in 2001 and have recently returned from tour in Europe. See them live as they perform non-stop, mix tape-style throw downs that draw the links between Hip-Hop, Funk and old-school Breaks. - Backsliders
Multi–media celebrity, Doug Mulray, describes this three-piece as ‘the best acoustic blues band in the country’. Comprising of guitarist/vocalist Dom Turner, Rob Hirst of Midnight Oil on drums and alternately, Brod Smith and Ian Collard on harmonica, this group with more than 20 years experience will play everything from ‘amped up’ original blues to all–acoustic unplugged ‘way down south’ delta blues.
Additional performers 2008:
- The 2008 Festival also includes performances by
- The Brewster Brothers
- Nicky Bomba’s Bustamento
- Australian Idol’s Carl Riseley
- Genevieve Davis with the Australian Navy Big Band
- Doc Span
- Gerard Masters Trio
- The Catholics
- The Hands
- Zac Hurren Trio
New talents 2008:
- The Festival will introduce exciting new talents
- The Hiptones
- Zyke
- Adam Pringle
- Jack Evans
- Leanne Paris
- Ray Mann 3
- Crusty Suitcase Band
Old favourites:
- Old Spice Boys
- Ray Beadle
- Craig Scott Quintet
- Bob Henderson
- Dale Barlow
Workshops 2008:
- Visitors can get hands-on at daily Jazz Workshops, led by some of Sydney’s master musicians. They will discuss their music, offer insights into career development and demonstrate many of their techniques and talents.
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