News - JMI

Jazz and Dance in Brisbane – a resurgence in Brisbane’s jazz history

The connection between dance and music has always been inseparable. The history of jazz music is no different with early jazz infused with infectious rhythms and melodies designed for people to dance to. Some may argue that this connection between music and dance in jazz was at its peak during...

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Essentially Ellington Down Under Regional Festival

August this year, JMI and Jazz at Lincoln Center brought Essentially Ellington to Australia to deliver the first nationwide Essentially Ellington Down Under Regional Festival (EE Down Under). With Jazz at Lincoln Center clinicians Vince Gardner and Reggie Thomas, EE Down Under featured a high school big band festival in...

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Breaking down the building blocks of Jazz Improvisation – Saxophonists

By Josh Hatcher – Saxophonist and lecturer at Jazz Music Institute Saxophonists have a habit of putting great players on a pedestal. Sometimes this means imagining that our idols have access to a secret stash of hip lines unavailable to the average player. Upon closer inspection, however, these masters of...

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Why Jazz Lessons are a rock musician’s best friend! – Part 2 of 2 (Drums)

By Gary Eldershaw Part 2 of our blog on the benefits of learning jazz as a rock musician will focus on how learning jazz will improve your rock drumming. Studying jazz makes your drumming life easier. Write better, listen better and finally understand what your guitarist is playing. Have an...

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Why Jazz Lessons are a rock musician’s best friend! – Part 1 of 2 (Guitar)

The benefits of learning jazz for guitarists of all styles is often apparent to us at JMI music school in Brisbane. People can be a little hesitant to study jazz as they often don’t understand a lot about it and/or don’t really listen to much of it. Some of the...

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Vincent Gardner & Reggie Thomas from Jazz at Lincoln Center at JMI

What a weekend! JMI had the privilege of hosting Vincent Gardner and Reggie Thomas from Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. Vince and Reggie spent 4 days in Brisbane taking various workshops with JMI students, performances at JMI Live and the Brisbane Jazz Club, as well as facilitating the...

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JMI students playing for Royalty!

A quartet of JMI students had the honour of performing for the royal couple, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as they visited the great city of Brisbane. It was a great experience for the students and the couple clearly enjoyed the music, Prince William even gave the fellas a big...

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Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at the Lincoln Centre endorses JMI!

Over the Christmas break Dan Quigley, JMI’s head of school, had a meeting with Wynton Marsalis, the world-renowned jazz musician and educator and Managing Director of Jazz at the Lincoln Centre in New York. Here’s what Wynton had to say about JMI after the meeting: “This is one of the...