The Melbourne Jazz Co-operative, better known as the Melbourne Jazz Co-op runs two

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

concerts a week in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, and is the most active jazz presenter organisation in Australia. The organisation was founded by Martin Jackson, pianist Jamie Fielding, bassist Barry Buckley and others in late 1982 with the intention of presenting as wide a range of jazz styles as on offer in

at the time. A broad range of jazz styles were encouraged including

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

-influenced,

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

to fusion.Greg Burchall,
A quarter century of jazz greats
',

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

, 26 January 2008. Accessed 16 November 2008 The initial series of concerts were held on Sunday afternoons at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University's Glasshouse Theatre starting January 1983, with the organisation being funded by the

Australia Council Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...

for $3,000. Arts Victoria also providing funding from 1987. The organisation was a vital catalyst for the development of Melbourne's contemporary jazz scene providing opportunities for local, interstate and international performers.Jazz Australia,
Melbourne Jazz Cooperative
', Directory listing and Description. Accessed 16 November 2008 Before the 1980s coordination of jazz concerts was particularly lacking. The New South Wales Jazz Co-ordination program helped the establishment of the Sydney Improvised Music Association in Sydney quickly followed by the establishment of the Melbourne Jazz Co-operative in 1982. Both sought and gained Federal Government

Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

funding soon after establishment. Similar Jazz co-ordination programs were established in other states with Arts Council and State Government Funding. In January 1993 the Melbourne Jazz Co-op began the weekly Sunday night 'A-Live' Jazz series at the Bennetts Lane Jazz Club. A second weekly series, the 'Transitions' on Tuesday nights started in late 1997. In 2007 a third weekly series, the "Ezz-thetics" on Thursday nights was started at the Paris Cat Jazz Club. In the late 1980s and 1990s numerous weekend jazz festivals were organised. In 1991 it contributed a contemporary segment to the Montsalvat International Festival of Jazz. The Melbourne Women's Jazz Festival was founded in 1997 and run by the organisation until 2003, when it was handed over to independent Festival Management, while still contributing some events. In 2008 the 25th anniversary of the organisation was celebrated with a benefit concert which included many performers, including the Bennetts Lane Big Band performing the award-winning jazz composition by Eugene Ball, ''Fool Poet's Portion'' suite.Andra Jackson,
Performer with sax appeal named top jazz artist
',

, 30 April 2008. Accessed 13 November 2008 Other performers included Guitarists Ren Walters and Steve Magnusson, Saxophonist Jamie Oehlers and pianist Marc Hannaford as a duo, Mark Fitzgibbon solo piano set, performances from trios led by Allan Browne and Rob Burke, and the eight piece

Mike Nock Michael Anthony Nock (born 27 September 1940) is a New Zealand jazz pianist, who lives and works in Australia. Biography Nock was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, but spent his childhood in Ngāruawāhia. Nock began studying piano at 11. H ...

project. Since presenting the Browne-Costello-Grabowsky Trio at its inaugural concert in January 1983, the Melbourne Jazz Co-op has presented hundreds of performances featuring many of Australia's most respected musicians, from Melbourne and interstate, as well as a number of international artists who otherwise may not have performed in Melbourne. In 2009, the Melbourne Jazz Co-op presented 152 performances featuring over 130 ensembles.

References

{{jazzfooter Organisations based in Melbourne Australian jazz Music in Melbourne