Jazz Ramble
Australian jazz, and other ramblings
About Jazz Ramble
Jazz Ramble is a community-driven blog covering Australian jazz news, gig listings, and education resources. With a focus on the Melbourne and Victoria scene, the site brings together gig guides, club directories, festival coverage, and workshop information for jazz enthusiasts and musicians alike.
From the Melbourne International Jazz Festival to local club nights in Geelong, Ballarat, and beyond, Jazz Ramble has been a home for Australian jazz conversation — featuring contributions from across the jazz community.
Read MoreArticles
| Title | Date | Excerpt |
|---|---|---|
| Obituary: trombonist and historian Frank Mitchell (1931–2024) | Frank Mitchell died in 2024, ending a career that joined musicianship, scholarship and public service to Australian jazz. The Melbourne trombonist was known as… | |
| The day the Australian Jazz Convention came to Broken Hill | Some towns are remembered for what they produced, while others for what passed through them. For Broken Hill, the usual shorthand is silver: the mine, the… | |
| Inside the private collection of a jazz record collector in Brisbane | The front room of a quiet Brisbane house can hold a remarkable map of Australian jazz. Behind an ordinary timber door, shelves rise from floor to ceiling,… | |
| Jazz and didgeridoo: an unlikely Australian pairing | At a late set in a Melbourne jazz club, a didgeridoo can cut through piano comping and snare brushes without becoming a novelty act. Its low drone, breathy… | |
| Review: The live album from Wangaratta’s 2024 main stage | The Live Album from the 2024 Wangaratta Festival Main Stage preserves the communal charge of one of Australia’s largest jazz gatherings. It is a concert… | |
| When Australian jazz women demanded equal pay | The Australian jazz community fought for equal pay for women musicians in clubs, union offices, radio studios and household diaries. Women sang in hotel… | |
| The story of The Happy Wanderer and Australia’s 1950s jazz radio | Before Australian jazz developed a strong festival circuit, national media profile and digital archive, it survived in dance halls, suburban venues, record… | |
| Jazz podcasts keeping traditional jazz alive | Traditional jazz is not a single museum style. It includes hot jazz, Dixieland revival bands, swing, ragtime, jump blues and the blues-based repertories that… | |
| The jazz connection across the Tasman | Australian jazz has always been shaped by movement: musicians crossing suburbs for late-night jam sessions, touring bands taking the long road between capital… | |
| Why the 1941 “Melbourne Jam Session” Record Is a National Treasure | The 1941 “Melbourne Jam Session” record captures Australian jazz at a turning point. It belongs to a period when local musicians were developing a distinctive… |
Victorian Jazz Clubs
A directory of jazz clubs across Victoria
Jazz Albury Wodonga
156 Lawrence Street, Wodonga VIC 3690
Musical Director: Graeme Cook — 0438 623 462
Venue: The Jazz Basement, Shop 5, 48–52 Lincoln Causeway, Wodonga. Music from 8pm. Bar open 7.30pm. $20, Concession $15.
Ballarat Jazz Club
President & Bookings: Mollie — contact via the club.
Echuca-Moama Jazz Club
Contact: Harry Daniels — harrydaniels@jazzramble.com
Geelong Jazz Club
Contact: Sandy Leaman
Venue: Vines Road Community Centre, 41 Vines Road, Hamlyn Heights.
Phillip Island Jazz Club
Home of the Phillip Island Jazz Festival.
Get In Touch
We'd love to hear from the Australian jazz community.