Generations in Jazz

The Hon. B.R. HOOD (15:40): Today, I rise to speak on a really big tent in a paddock in the Limestone Coast, a really big tent that this weekend is going to be full of jazz, all that jazz, at the Generations in Jazz festival, something that has been going on since 1987 right in Mount Gambier. It is going to be amazing, as it always is amazing.

I have been involved with Generations in Jazz since 2010, when I used to help out with live event filming and with a website and with the amazing volunteers who put this show on where you see over 4,000 kids from around Australia, indeed around the world. People actually fly to Australia to take part in this festival.

These kids get the experience of a lifetime. Not only are they performing amazing jazz set pieces put together by some of the best jazz musicians in the world but they are learning to be better jazz musicians from people like James Morrison; Ross Irwin; James Muller; Wycliffe Gordon; Graeme Lyall; Gordon Goodwin; Jeff Clayton, who is an amazing saxophonist; Jimmy Cobb, a legendary drummer from Miles Davis' Kind of Blue album; and Liam Burrows—it just does not stop. It is amazing jazz that we see coming out of Mount Gambier and, as I said, it is on this weekend and I cannot wait for it.

What Generations in Jazz does is unlike any other festival for kids around the world. It gives a platform for secondary school big bands and vocal ensembles; encourages participation from public and private catholic independent schools; offers an opportunity for students to perform, learn and be adjudicated by the very best; fosters a growth in jazz music; and inspires young people to achieve.

I have spoken with parents across South Australia when they learn I am from Mount Gambier and they say, 'Oh, my kid is heading to Generations in Jazz.' If it is their first time I say to them, 'Your kid is not going to come back the same kid. They are going to be just so filled with opportunity and with ambition to be a better musician.' As a musician myself, I sit there watching these kids and I am humbled at how good they are. You are talking about 12, 13 and 14-year-old kids who can just wail on drums, sax, xylophones, whatever you want. These kids do such an amazing job and it just warms my heart to know it is happening in the Limestone Coast, that it is happening in regional South Australia.

As I said, it started in 1987 and it has just grown. I remember that when I was first involved we were in a little tent. You might have got 2,000 people there. Now you crest over the hill heading towards The Barn Palais and there is literally a circus tent, the largest modular tent in the world, sitting there in a paddock in Mount Gambier. As I said, we fit over 4,000 kids. They come to Mount Gambier in buses. There are buses lined up for days.

The people of Mount Gambier get together and rent out their homes. The accommodation offering in Mount Gambier is completely booked out and it is not only Mount Gambier but Penola, Millicent, Naracoorte and everywhere through the South-East that people are staying. It is an absolute amazing thing to behold, and I encourage anyone if you have never seen Generations in Jazz to make sure you make the trip to Mount Gambier. Make sure you book early because you are not going to be able to get any accommodation.

It has been going for years. There was a slight hiccup with COVID, but the Generations in Jazz team still got together and put together a virtual Generations in Jazz, one that was online. We are now back in the tent, we are ready to go and put on an amazing show for the people of Mount Gambier, and the people of Australia as well.

There will be people competing. Kids will be competing for the James Morrison Jazz Scholarship: $10,000 awarded to a solo instrumentalist. There will be a Generations in Jazz vocal scholarship. Again, as someone who likes to sing—not particularly great—watching these people sing is absolutely mind-blowing for the talent that we have right here in South Australia.

Congratulations to every single volunteer who helps put on Generations in Jazz. Thank you to everyone who has been involved previously putting on this event. Long may it continue in Mount Gambier. Long may it continue in the Limestone Coast. It is bringing all that jazz to the regions and I cannot wait to be there on Friday, on Saturday and on Sunday for Generations in Jazz.