The Kalamunda Jazz Club arose from a conversation I had with the Manager of the Kalamunda Hotel in December 2019. I said to him that what the hotel needed was a Jazz Club. To my astonishment he agreed and suggested I run a survey in the New Year to determine interest. Things looked good with almost 200 interested. Then along came Covid 19 so I volunteered as a presenter on our local Community Radio, KCR102.5fm.
I present a program “Jazz Café “ with the sole purpose of promoting the gigs and music of local musicians. I do regular interviews with upcoming performers, some of whom perform at the Jazz Club. My program Jazz Café at the beginning played only the music of Perth local Jazz and Blues bands to promote their music and gigs so when restrictions are lifted they would be known.
The hotel management offered us their ballroom once a week and so the Kalamunda Jazz Club was born. We meet at the Kalamunda Hotel on the second Thursday of the month at 7.30-10pm. The Club’s vision is to provide paid work in an exciting and vibrant way for Perth’s top jazz musicians currently struggling under Covid19 restrictions. All who take part are paid an equal share of the door takings. The Club expenses are funded by a raffle. When the raffle account grows, we hire more musicians. We have new guests each month chosen from Perth’s very best who perform unrehearsed standards, ballads, blues and the occasional pop song and in their own style backed by the house band to provide a unique experience for our rapidly growing, appreciative audience, many of whom have never been exposed to jazz before and are now avid converts.
We also support and encourage up and coming future performers with a guest spot at the Club. The Club is proving to be very popular looking likely to be sold out after restrictions are lifted. We carry out regular surveys to ensure we give our audience what they want and an interesting discovery was that they do not want a polished performance. The intense concentration, interaction between the performers and the jam session at the end of each evening is the highlight of the night.
So far we have presented Joyce Mathers, Libby Hammer. Catherine Summers, Mama Red, Victoria Newton, Paul Millard, Kerry B Ryan, Tania Sims and Tim Parish , Simone Craddock Brenda Lee Jazz and Lucy Iffla. We are now opening another venue at the Stirling Arms James St Guildford on alternate Wed nights. This will give us alternate weeks. So if you are visiting Perth do drop in to hear some of our local jazz at Ellington’s Jazz Club, Jazz Fremantle , The Jazz Club of W.A. Kalamunda Jazz Club and The Guildford Jazz Club.
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