BIOS

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ANDREW ROBERTSON - SAX

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HANNAH JAMES - DOUBLE BASS

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ERIC DUNAN - TRUMPET

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DAVID THEAK AND THE SYDNEY CONSERVATORIUM JAZZ ORCHESTRA

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Since its inception in the early 70s, the Sydney Conservatorium Jazz Orchestra has formed an alumni that features many of the leading lights in Australian Jazz. Comprising 5 saxophones, 4 trombones, 4 trumpets, guitar, piano, bass and drums, the CJO features many of Sydney’s finest young improvisers.

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Over the past 5 years, the standard of Jazz Orchestral studies has developed rapidly with an emphasis on collaborating with, and performing the music of leading international composers such as Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider, Bert Joris, Florian Ross, Jim McNeely, Darcy James Argue, Julian Arguelles and Dick Oatts to expose the students to the leading music and contemporary techniques required to perform jazz orchestral music at its highest level. These amazing young players have risen to the challenge on every level, and we aim to continue impressing audiences whenever we perform, with a level of sophistication normally reserved for professional jazz.

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THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY BAND SYDNEY - WEBSITE

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The Australian Army Band Sydney, located at historic Victoria Barracks in Paddington, is the oldest professional musical organisation in Australia and the second longest serving regular Army Unit. With its history dating back to the Garrison Artillery Band formed in 1874, the band has been serving the Sydney region, NSW and the Nation for nearly 150 years.

Over the decades its members have entertained troops in theatres of conflict through two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Most recently in 2019, the band served onboard HMAS Canberra as part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour 19 (IPE19), the longest deployment for an Australian Army Band since the Vietnam War. The three-and-a-half-month exercise took 10 members of the band to 6 countries throughout Asia and the Subcontinent. During the same period, the remainder of the band toured the drought effected Western Hunter Region of NSW in support of Rural Aid and the Gift of Music.

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The Australian Army Band Sydney is made up of 19 full-time and 21 reserve musicians, whose primary role is to provide ceremonial support for Vice-Regal events, support ADF Units within and outside of the Sydney metropolitan area, and enhance the image of the Australian Army through community engagement.

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JACKI COOPER - https://www.morrisonmusic.com.au/

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Jacki Cooper is an exciting performer who has been living and working all over the world, and now calls Sydney home. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz voice in 1993 at Adelaide’s prestigious Elder Conservatorium and has since released 6 independant CDs.

 

In 1994, Jacki was invited to teach jazz voice for the world-renowned Stanford Jazz Workshop at Stanford University in California and while there studied with several of the jazz greats of the area.

 

Always ready to hit the road to sing, Jacki has toured Europe, Russia and Scandinavia with an 8 piece swing band, and sung with jazz luminaries in the USA, Vietnam and China, as well as Australia of course. A highlight was performing in New York City in March 2009 with her husband, drummer and big band leader, John Morrison.

 

Both dedicated jazz educators, Jacki has been lecturer in jazz voice at Central Queensland University since 2014. Jacki and John travel around Australia teaching and performing in schools and lecturing and the annual Jazz Camp. They founded Big Band Blast together with a passionate team of Port Macquarie teachers and musicians in 2013.

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JOHN MORRISON - https://www.morrisonmusic.com.au/

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John Morrison has delighted audiences for more than 25 years with his humour and dedication to sounds that swing. Equally at home in a small group or big band setting, his musical facility runs the entire spectrum from traditional jazz, swing, Bebop, R&B, Soul and commercial jazz rock.

 

The eldest of the Morrison family, John has spent much of his musical life playing and recording with his younger brother James Morrison. At age 8, John began playing cornet in the school brass band and by the age of 10 had built his first drum set from pots and pans. In these early few years he played many different instruments and styles but jazz drumming was to be his calling.

 

After living in New York in the late eighties, John and James returned home to form Australia's premier jazz big band "The Morrison Bros Big Bad Band". John widened his exposure and experience also playing with a variety of other well-known international artists.

 

As the driving force behind Swing City, John, who was voted Australia's best big band drummer, loves the big band sound and started his own big band festival, Big Band Blast.

  

For the past few years, John has worked for the Queensland Music Festival starting band programs in the 3 indigenous primary schools in the Cape York Peninsula region. John is passionate about music education, and travels the country presenting workshops in schools, teaching at jazz camps, and helping teachers develop their skills.  

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