Jazz Music Institute (JMI) is a higher education provider based in Brisbane, Australia delivering accredited courses in music specialising in jazz performance. JMI also runs a jazz club on campus open to the public every Thursday and Friday night called JMI Live. The sessions have been streaming live from Facebook and YouTube, reaching a broader audience – and creating an amazing archive of performances.
The club may be closed, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the gigs are still going ahead online, every Thursday.
This week JMI Live featured vocalist Kristin Berardi and pianistSteve Newcomb.
Kristin Berardi is a creative musician, composer and educator and is passionate about sharing music. Kristin is one of the first calls in Australia when it comes to Jazz vocals, however she works consistently in the contemporary music field outside jazz and into the experimental field.
She has worked with musicians such as Kenny Werner, Ingrid Jensen, Thomas Morgan, Chris Walker, Jerome Jennings, Dan Weiss, Florian Ross, Dan Tepfer, Jim Pugh, Matthew Halpin, Sam Anning, Andrea Keller, James Muller, James Sherlock, Katie Noonan, Mike Nock, Miro Sprague, Wendy Matthews, Kate Miller-Heidke, Orlando Fleming, Phil Slater, Barney McAll, Julien Wilson, Jamie Oehlers, Hannah Macklin, Carl Morgan, Zac Hurren, Katie Whighton, Emma Dean and many other amazing artists.
Berardi has amassed impressive accolades throughout her career, including:
Performing in the Closing Ceremony of The Commonwealth Games 2018, National Tour of JONI:Both Sides Now, including The Sydney Opera House and Hamer Hall 2018, winning the Montreux Jazz Festivals International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2006, supporting Al Jarreau and George Benson at Montreux Jazz Festival 2007, winning the National Freedman Fellowship, winner of National Jazz Award, Voice, 2012, winner of National Bell Award for The Best Jazz Vocal album, 2010, 2013, 2016 and was nominated for an ARIA in 2013.
Steve Newcomb is an Australian pianist and composer equally in demand for his unique touch on the piano, detailed writing, and comprehensive style of arranging that explores the realm shared by jazz and new music. Hemaintains an active solo career and shares the stage with a multitude of artists, performing in various styles and making music in a knotty zone where Thelonious Monk meets classical music (Sydney Morning Herald).
Steve has written for a wide array of musical artists, from Ben Folds, Augie March, and The Panics in the pop world, to the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras in theclassical world. As an arranger, Steve has worked with countless artists including Katie Noonan, Chris McNulty, Queensland Music Festival, Metropole Orkest, among others.
Based in Brisbane, Steve is Senior Lecturer, and Head of Jazz at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. Steve completed both his Master of Music andDoctorate of Musical Arts degrees at the Manhattan School of Music.
Individually, Berardi and Newcomb are accomplished and masterful jazz musicians. As a musical duo, they make a truly magical and encapsulating pair.
Enjoy!
[And donate]
