Faculty | JMI - Jazz Music Institute

The faculty at Jazz Music Institute (JMI) is made up of inspiring and highly professional jazz musicians and teachers with a vast array of industry experience and expertise specific to the Jazz performance industry to share with students at JMI.

Dan Quigley

MMusSt(QCGU), BMus(QCGU), AdvDipMus(JMI), DipMus(QCGU), CertIV TAA (TAU)

Head of School

Dan has completed Bachelor of Music and Masters of Music Studies (Qld Conservatorium) and The Jazzworx Advanced Diploma of Music. He has performed alongside Dale Barlow, James Morrison, Grace Knight and Anthony Warlow to name a few, as well as performances in New York and Japan and in major festivals and venues such as the Queensland Music Festival, Noosa Jazz Festival, Valley Jazz Festival, Brisbane Festival, Brisbane Powerhouse, Judith Wright Centre, Brisbane Jazz club, Speilgeltent, Paris Cat (Melb), Sydney Opera House and many corporate functions. He performs regularly in his hometown of Brisbane, with his own group which has developed a reputation for performing classic jazz.

Paula Girvan

MMusSt(QCGU) BMus(QCGU), AdvDipMus(JMI), AssDipMus(QCGU), CertIV TAA (TAU)

Registrar/Course coordinator

Paula has been a passionate and active music educator since 1992, and is a recognised Pianist for sessions and performances. Her versatility as a performer has seen her perform and record in big bands, alongside rock stars, corporate bands and in her much loved set up, Jazz Duo. At Jazz Music Institute, Paula teaches and coordinates the subject areas of: Jazz Materials, Aural and Analysis, Ensembles, Piano skills (second study), and Concert Performance Practice.

Josh Hatcher

BMus(QUT)

Saxophones

Josh Hatcher is an exciting young jazz musician and educator. Having completed his Bachelor of Music at QUT, Josh has spent the last 8 years performing regularly in the Brisbane jazz scene. Josh is quickly becoming a renowned composer and arranger, regularly composing for big bands, short film scores and session arranging. A very accomplished saxophonist, Josh has been performing with Miguel, Kafka, West End Composers Collective and EMO Big Band among others. Josh also leads his own group, the Josh Hatcher Trio/Quartet/Quintet.

Helen Russell

BMusJP (JMI) DipCreativeArts(Mus), GradCertHighEd

Double Bass

Helen Russell has an extensive career as Double bass player on the Brisbane jazz scene. She has performed alongside stars such as Shirley Bassey, Chuck Findley, James Carter, George Cables, Marion Montgomery, Don Burrows, James Morrison, Bob Barnard, Andrew Firth and Ian Date, Dale Barlow, Jan Rutherford, Tom Baker, Mark Isaacs, Vince Genova, George Golla, Kerry Biddell, Johnny Nicol, Sandy Evans, Dave Ades, Scott Tinkler, Paul Grabowsky, Steve Newcomb, Leah Cottrell, Deborah Conway and Chrissy Amphlet to name a few.

Helen has also had extensive work as Musical Director for various shows including, Women in Voice from 1996 – 2008, Starbuck, Boadicea and Chicago. She brings an invaluable depth of knowledge for contemporary music, the music industry and Jazz performance.

Jamie Clark

BA(Music)(QCGU), AssDipJazzSt(QCGU)

Guitar

Diverse performances with many notable Queensland and Australian jazz and new music groups including Good Bait Quartet, Jim Kelly, Katie Noonan, James Morrison, GraceKnight, Scott Tinkler, John Hoffman, Vince Genova, Ken Edie, Tony Hobbs, Steve Newcomb, Louise Denson, The Brand New Sweeties, Tyrone Noonan, James Muller, James Sherlock, Kristen Beradi, Matt McMahon, Loops, Jonathan Dimond, Megan Washington, Steve Russell, Sharny Russell, Misinterpretato, Graeme Norris, Frank Bennett, Doug Parkinson, Monica Trapaga, David Ades, Kate Miller-Heidke, John Rodgers, Elly Hoyt, Zac Hurren, Jacam Manricks, Topology, Warren Vache (US), Andrew Firth, The View From Madeleine’s Couch, Ingrid James, Sue Bond, Lauren Lucille, Ewan Mackenzie (manouche) and Raf Karlen.

Major festival performances including Manly Jazz and Blues Festival (Sydney), The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, Pinnacles (Brisbane), The Brisbane Festival, The Queensland Music Festival, The Valley Jazz Festival, The Woodford Folk Festival, The Tamworth Country Music Festival, and The Adelaide Festival.

Featured album releases include The Good Bait Quartet 1998, Loops Recursion 1999, Loops Ek! 2001, Katie Noonan Elixir 2003, Topology Airwaves 2004, The View From Madeleine’s Couch

Ben Hauptmann

BMus(Hons)(ANU)

Guitar

Ben Hauptmann is nationally recognized jazz guitarist. Winner of the 2010 Freedman Jazz Fellowship and 2nd place winner in the National Jazz Awards at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz 2007. Ben studied music at the A.N.U. Canberra School of Music (1998 – 2002) from which he received a B.Mus. with 1st class honors in Jazz performance and the University Medal. Ben has since shared the stage with a diverse range of artists including Mavis Staples, Joss Stone, Katie Noonan, Lior, Bluejuice, Micheline Van Hautem, Paul Dempsy, Emmanuel Jal, James Morrison and Tal Wilkenfeld. Internationally he has performed in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Istanbul, New York, Austin, Yogyakarta, Pekenbaru, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wanaka, Rotorua as well as many major Australian music festivals including The Big Day Out, Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, Pyramid Rock Festival, Homebake, Woodford Folk Festival, Splendor In The Grass, Port Fairy Folk Festival and Apollo Bay Music Festival. Ben writes the ‘Lead Work’ column for The Australian Guitar Magazine and teaches guitar at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. Ben has contributed to over twenty recordings including the 2009 ARIA winning ‘secrects and lies’ by Bertie Blackman, he recently released his first self-titled release on vinyl and download stickers and co-produced The Alcohotlicks new offering – ‘Danaides‘.

Sharny Russell

BMus(JP)(JMI), DipMus(QCGU)

Voice

Sharny is a nationally recognised jazz and gospel vocalist, pianist and composer, with a number of awards to her credit, including the APRA Jazz Award (Australasian Performing Rights Association). Sharny is an ABC recording artist and has recorded numerous albums in both fields and on other labels, and with internationally recognised guitarist, George Golla.

Sharny is recognised within the Australian jazz community as one of our finest performers, writers and scat singers. She has taught in many universities across Australia, in jazz vocals, keyboard skills, improvisation, composition, and arranging. She has worked in diverse areas of music and education, including being a State Education Director for Yamaha, producer for other artists’ recordings, and musical director for children’s TV programs. She has written and published a large body of original works – mainly for solo and ensemble vocal performance, and has produced two vocal exercises CD/booklets for general and jazz technique. She is currently writing her own vocal improvisation handbook.

Steve Russell

BMus(JP)(JMI)

Piano

Pianist, bassist, composer, conductor and educator Steve Russell was born and raised in Toowoomba, Australia. He is the son of journalist and musician Noel Russell and extraordinary jazz and classical pianist Peg Russell, and has been playing the piano since he was four.

In addition to leading his own quintet, Steve is presently a member of the Jack Thorncraft Trio, Jim Kelly’s Thrillseekers, Sambamenco, and the Sharny Russell Band. He has performed with a huge list of Australian jazz artists, as well as Chrissie Amphlett, Richie Cole, Georgie Fame, Chuck Findlay, Gerry Mulligan and Nancy Wilson.

Steve was a member of the Brisbane based group Bebopera for four years in the late ’8Os, and is accompanist of choice for several noted vocalists, including Grace Knight, Leigh Carriage and Elizabeth Lord.

Steve lives in Byron Bay at the eastern tip of Australia, where he is Head of Keyboard in Contemporary Music at the School of Arts at Southern Cross University.

Dave Sanders

BA(ConMus)(SCU)

Drums

David has been involved in virtually every aspect of the music industry and has gained the reputation as one of the most versatile and in-demand drummers in Australia. Performance credits include Pete Murray, Grace Knight (pop/jazz), Margaret Urlich (pop), Leonardo’s Bride (pop), Bob Barnard (jazz), Jim Kelly (contemporary jazz), Don Burrows and George Golla (jazz), Mickey Rooney (USA cabaret). Dave has also made a mark on the youth scene with his rock outfit ACRE that has received high rotation on Triple J.

Dave maintains a very busy performance schedule and has performed in many and varied situations both across Australia and internationally. David’s ability to cross the boundaries of genre and style has made him an asset to many acts within the music industry both as live performer and experienced studio musician. Sensitive to the music and musicians around him, Dave is just as happy to sit back and play swinging brushes as he is to smash through a high volume, high energy show.

Sean Foran

BCom(UQ), BMus(QCGU), Marts(JazzPerf), GradCertArtsAdmin(QUT)

Business Studies/Piano

Sean graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium with a Major in Jazz Piano. He also holds a graduate certificate in Arts Administration from Queensland University of Technology and a Masters of Arts in Jazz Performance from the Leeds College of Music UK. In 2009 he was the APRA Professional Development award winner Jazz and is also a multiple winner of Queensland’s QSong Jazz Award in 2008 & 2006.

He has been the recipient of the prestigious Brisbane City Councils Lord Mayor’s Artist Fellowship in 2007 which together with funding from the Ian Potter Cultural Trust enabled him to complete his MA studying with artists such as John Taylor, Lars Jansson, Tord Gustavsen and Matthew Bourne around Britain and Europe.

He writes and performs in a variety of diverse situations and has performed at: Kutchan Jazz Festival (Japan), MIDEM Music Conference France, Calgary International Jazz Festival (Canada), The Queensland Music Festival and Biennial, The Vortex London, Pizza Express Jazz Club London, Birmingham Jazz Festival, The Castlemaine Festival, Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, Bennett’s Lane, Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Out of the Box (Children’s Festival), Brisbane Jazz Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, Valley Jazz Festival and many more.

Brad Esbensen

BMusEd(UQ)

Jazz Arranging and Composition

Brad Esbensen is a Brisbane based trumpet player, arranger, composer, copyist and educator. He has worked in backing bands for artists including Kenny Rogers, James Morrison, Grace Knight, Max Miller and many others. He is currently working as Musical Director with Herb Armstrong and the Royal Street Krewe, performing a show paying tribute to the music of New Orleans, as well as being Musical Director of the Brisbane Big Band which has been the resident big band for the Brisbane Jazz Club since 1974. He also works regularly with local bands including Decahedron (a 10-piece jazz group), Jeff Usher Band, Swing Chronicles, Brisbane Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, Glenn Miller Tribute Band and the Queensland Pops Orchestra.

His arrangements and compositions have featured regularly as test pieces. Many of his compositions and arrangements have been performed with a variety of groups including the Australian All Star Youth Big Band, Queensland Youth Orchestra Big Band, Brisbane All Star Youth Big Band and the Queensland Pops Orchestra. He has been engaged as a copyist by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and various local and touring shows. He was the recipient of first place in the 1994 Perth Jazz Orchestra Composition Awards with an original arrangement of “There Will Never Be Another You”.

Brad also holds an Associate in Composition from the Australian Society of Musicology and Composition and a Diploma of Music Technology from the University of Newcastle.

Andrew Garton

BMath(Hons)

Jazz in Context

Andrew Garton is a Brisbane based saxophone player, composer and arranger. Andrew studied the saxophone and composition under the guidance of Tony Hobbs from 1999 to 2003.

Andrew has composed extensively for his own group, the Abbreviations Orchestra, and they have performed concerts at venues such as the Turnaround Jazz Club, the Zoo, Metro Arts and the Brisbane Powerhouse. Andrew received a commission from Jazz Queensland to compose an extended work for the Abbreviations Orchestra which was premiered as part of the Q150 celebrations and the 2009 Valley Jazz Festival.

Andrew Garton has also composed and arranged music for jazz big bands including the Enthusiastic Musicians Orchestra, the Mace Francis Orchestra (as part of the Chinese Whispers III project) and the Brisbane Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. In 2009 Andrew was commissioned by the Enthusiastic Musicians Orchestra to compose a suite for jazz orchestra.

Andrew Garton currently performs with his Abbreviations Orchestra, with Andrew Shaw’s Roadplant band and is the musical director and conductor of the Enthusiastic Musicians Orchestra.

Melissa Western

MPhil(UQ), BA(Hons)(UQ)

Presentation Skills

Melissa performs internationally, acting, singing and dancing in musical theatre shows and cabarets, writing and producing new works and singing jazz with a variety of ensembles. Her passion is taking to the stage in front of a live audience, seamlessly weaving song, dance and story into an experience they will want to share and cherish.

Venue and festival highlights include: The Vault – Edinburgh Fringe Festival, L’église – Avaux (France), Powerhouse Theatre – Brisbane Cabaret Festival, Brisbane Jazz Club, Speigeltent – Qld Music Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, QPAC, The Basement – Gold Coast Arts Centre, Valley Jazz Festival, Mackay Entertainment Centre, The Tivoli, Gold Coast Jazz and Blues Club, Maggie Black Jazz Club, The Milkbar, Brisbane City Hall, Sirromet Winery, King George Square, Tweed Valley Jazz Club, La Boite Theatre, Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre.

Melissa was Valedictorian of her graduating Bachelor of Arts at UQ, holds a University Medal from the University of Queensland, first class Honours degree and was awarded her Masters of Philosophy in the field of Drama. She has trained intensively in musical theatre at RADA (London) and NIDA, physical theatre with Zen Zen Zo, and has trained in dance for over fifteen years including: classes with Luis Pinto (Megajam), Jasmine Meakin (Hip-hop, Sexy Cool), Simone Pope (flamenco) and with teachers at the Broadway Dance Centre (New York).

Jazz is a great love for Melissa, she has performed over 200 public and corporate gigs in the past two years ranging from simple piano accompaniment to 20 piece jazz orchestras.