Sydney’s favourite Jazz Club, Foundry 616, hosts the 2024 Sydney Conservatorium Big Bands in what is being touted as a ‘Big Band Binge’.
During the month of October, Jazz audiences will be treated to a powerhouse Wednesday night series, featuring performances by all of the Sydney Conservatorium’s Jazz Orchestras (aka Big bands) in full concert mode. Each night will contain two sets of incredible, cutting edge Jazz Orchestral music.
The Sydney Conservatorium Jazz Studies course, the oldest and most prestigious in Australia, runs four full Big Bands (each with 5 saxophones, 4 trombones, 5 trumpets, guitar, piano, bass, and drums) making it the largest Jazz Orcherstral program in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest in the world! The alumni of the Sydney Conservatorium Big Band program include a who’s who of Australian jazz luminaries and National Jazz Prize winners.
Current artistic directors David Theak (CJO 1), Simon Sweeney (CJO 2), Andrew Robertson (CJO 3), and Steve Williams (CJO 4) have curated and meticulously rehearsed the hippest available repertoire including cutting edge originals by the world’s leading composers, time-honoured classics and vocal led classics reworked in a contemporary way.
The series culminates on October 30th with our flagship ensemble, The Sydney Conservatorium Jazz Orchestra 1 performing both sets.