The Melbourne International Jazz Festival (MIJF) has announced a packed lineup for its return this October, with more than 400 artists set to perform over 10 days.
From October 18th to October 27th, the festival will host 109 events at 34 venues, featuring first-time guests from the UK and Japan’s experimental jazz scenes, as well as a lively New Orleans street parade through the CBD.
Headlining this year’s Jazz at the Bowl, MIJF’s signature celebration of jazz, funk, and soul, is the legendary Herbie Hancock (USA), performing under the stars, alongside bass virtuoso Marcus Miller (USA) and local soul talent Bumpy (Australia).
Other notable highlights on the line-up include a festival-only performance by five-time GRAMMY-winning bassist, vocalist, and composer Esperanza Spalding (USA), who will collaborate with two contemporary dancers. UK jazz star Nubya Garcia (UK) will also deliver a standout show at 170 Russell, blending orchestral arrangements with R&B, jazz, broken beat, and dub.
Jazz luminary Antonio Sánchez (Mexico) will return to Australia to perform his critically-acclaimed improvised solo drum score live alongside the Oscar-winning film Birdman. Multi-award-winning vocalist Jazzmeia Horn (USA) will make her Melbourne debut at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
For orchestral jazz enthusiasts, Orchestra Victoria will celebrate 100 years of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with a special performance featuring piano virtuoso Makoto Ozone (Japan) and Melbourne’s Panorama Brasil.
Award-winning composer and vocalist Bumpy, a proud Noongar woman, will premiere her new work Tooni at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Fairfax Studio. This piece is commissioned by MIJF and the Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) as part of their First Nations Artist Residency Program.
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“MIJF 2024 will be one of our most ambitious festivals to date, with a prolific line-up of gifted musicians set to join us this October in Melbourne. Whether it’s in a parade, at the Bowl, in the city or out west, we’re so excited for audiences to join us again, celebrating all there is to love about this music,” says Melbourne International Jazz Festival Artistic Director Michael Tortoni.
You can check out the rest of the lineup for the 2024 MIJF and get tickets via the official website.
