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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-06-22 Daily Xml
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GENERATIONS IN JAZZ

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (17:03): Every year in May hundreds of young musicians make their way to Mount Gambier for the annual Generations in Jazz. It is a pilgrimage I look forward to each year to support one of the great schools in Florey, Modbury High. Through their participation, my involvement with Generations in Jazz now spans some ten years. I have seen many students join the school's music program over that time, and some are still happily involved with music at a professional level. A previous musical director at Modbury High, Reg Chapman, first alerted me to this great opportunity provided to young musicians—a tradition now carried on by Mr John Duncan and Ms Joan Baker.

I have seen great changes over the years with Generations in Jazz. We once all fitted into the Barn Palais (admittedly very snugly) and used different venues around the town. Now we all pack into a giant marquee on an adjoining property and use four on-site venues for competition. The board, organisers and volunteers who make this event possible—under the energetic Karyn Roberts—are to be congratulated for their fantastic work and continuing improvements. It is an enormous logistical exercise and gets better every year. The number of meals they serve is quite mind boggling.

This year, 53 bands and more than 1,000 musicians from South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland travelled to Mount Gambier. We also welcomed for the first time a band from the Northern Territory, students from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College. Bands compete over four divisions and learn much from the experiences they are exposed to over the three days. Generations in Jazz enjoys enormous support from arguably Australia's finest all round musician, master of many instruments (his favourite appears to be trumpet followed closely by trombone), the inimitable Mr James Morrison.

His joy of music is infectious, and he is a world famous musician and jazz legend and still not yet 50 years of age. With his encouragement, elite musicians and vocalists come to Mount Gambier and share their great knowledge and inspire the musicians of tomorrow. James adjudicates division 1 and heads a wealth of jazz greats who adjudicate the other divisions. Some of us will remember Graeme Lyall as a household name in Australian music through his work, first, on the Don Lane Show and then on the first incarnation of Hey Hey It's Saturday, whose host Daryl Somers is, in fact, Generations in Jazz patron.

Ed Wilson is also involved. He was from Australia's great Daly/Wilson Big Band of the 1980s. Ross Irwin is involved, as is my own constituent Mr Bill Broughton, a recent arrival and now Australian citizen. Bill has worked with all the greats of music, including many of my favourites—Aretha Franklin, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra. He began as a studio musician, working on TV shows such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Hawaii 5-0 and many more. His movie credits include: The Godfather II, Jaws II and Miracle on 34th Street, to name only a few. His impressive and extensive CV leads me to believe he may have almost done it all in music. It was great to meet Bill and speak with him and his wife Jan, who were most generous with their time.

There are many awards and sponsors also to be commended for their support of Generations in Jazz: the City of Mount Gambier, District Council of Grant, James Morrison, the Evans family, and Generations in Jazz through their support of scholarships, Yamaha, Future Music, Maurie LeDoueff (the Perpetual Music award was named in his honour), Pat Corrigan's Musicians Scholarship Trust, Warrnambool Cheese & Butter, The Barn, O.G. Roberts, Stuckey Electrical and Michael Cleves Productions.

Along with the competition during the day—a set piece, a ballad and a choice of item from each school—we were treated to a fabulous evening concert showcasing acts associated with James via his musical travels, and previous winners of the major prizes each year. This year we were treated to the voice of Emma Pask and The Idea of North returned. This talented group features two chanteuses who began their careers at Marryatville High School, an education department school here in Adelaide.

The Generations in Jazz All Star Band is under the musical direction of drummer extraordinaire John Morrison, and we also marvelled at the talent of the six vocal and six instrumental finalists. I must mention Mr Chris Neale, a drummer who won the Florey Music Award some years ago, who competed in that section; and Harry Sullivan, who won the award, a young man I first saw play the piano eight years ago. The vocalist section was won by Kate Kelsey-Sugg in a very tough competition.

Modbury High School competed in division 2. Their performance in a year that saw many young musicians make their first trip to Mount Gambier was admirable and will see them well placed for future years. Unity College in Murray Bridge also travelled to Generations in Jazz. My attention was drawn to them through my sister, Mrs Westermann, a dedicated educator whom I admire greatly in both her capacities. They competed for the first time in division 3 and will be back, I am sure, next year.

I commend to all members Generations in Jazz. Many of your schools will be participating in it. I know it is a well-kept secret about the South-East. The people down there always welcome us. It is a very cold spot but the music is fabulous, and I have nothing but praise for the organisers and the way they handle this great event.

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