Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

Image: Lee Paterson (Go go Between), Martel Ollerenshaw (AMC/EJN), Paul Mason (Australia Council for the Arts)  

The AMC's board member Martel Ollerenshaw has become the new vice president of the Europe Jazz Network, a 140-member organisation of promoters, festivals, venues and national organisations. The AMC has been a member of the Network since 2017, further strengthening Australia's connections with the international jazz and improvised music scene.

The EJN General Assembly and its influential Europe Jazz Conference were held in Lisbon, Portugal, between 13 - 16 September. Paul Mason, Director of Music at the Australia Council for the Arts, was invited to be a panellist on a session about global perspectives, where he spoke about the scene in Australia, alongside festival directors from Norway (Jan Bang from Punkt) and the USA (Adam Schatz from NYC Winter JazzFest), with the new EJN president Jan Ole Otnaes (Nasjonal Jazzscene - Victoria, Oslo) as chair.

Each Europe Jazz Conference explores current issues in jazz and the music industry such as gender balance, social inclusion, the environment, music strategies for cities, advances in technology, academic research and audience development. This year's conference, held at Lisbon's Centro Cultural de Belém, was the biggest one yet, with over 350 professionals attending, including Lee Paterson from Go go between - the Australian agent representing The Necks in Europe. The full program for the EJC is published on the EJN's website.

Next year's conference will be held in Novara, near Milan, Italy, on 12 - 15 September 2019. It is open to all those working in jazz and improvised music worldwide, and the AMC would encourage those seeking to expand their networks in Europe to attend.

Other current opportunities in Europe include Jazzahead, the most important meeting place for the international jazz and improvised music scene. This event takes place in Bremen, Germany, and was attended by over 3000 delegates in 2018. SOUNDS AUSTRALIA will again host a stand at Jazzahead on 25-28 April 2019 - further details about registering as part of the Australian delegation will be announced shortly.

Bands can also apply to showcase at Jazzahead - the deadlines for submitting information for showcases are available on the Jazzahead website. Australian showcases at Jazzahead in recent years include the Australian Art Orchestra's 'Crossing Roper Bar', The Vampires and Stu Hunter's project The Migration.

> Europe Jazz Network http://www.europejazz.net

> Jazzahead - https://jazzahead.de/en