2016 Jazz Quest

A total of 11 talented performers presented judges with the difficult job of selecting just 4 winners, and two audience members each anonymously donated $300 as prize money for 5th and 6th place. The winners were Martin Pang (piano, 1st prize), Patrick Kelly (piano/violin, 2nd), Oscar Peterson (double bass, 3rd), Damon Poppleton (alto sax, 4th), Chloe Kim (drums, 5th) and Lucy Ridge (vocalist, 6th).

2015 Jazz Quest

Winners: Jono Savery (Alto Sax, 3rd), Ross Anderson (Electric Bass, 4th), Jazz Quest organiser Paul Dion,  Patrick Kelly (Piano and violin, 1st) and Tim Geldons (Drums, 2nd)

With the substantial cash prizes donated by the Lakeview Hotel the quest has attracted the best of the best and become a main feature of the Merimbula Jazz Festival.
Fostering new talent and ensuring the future of the jazz performance art is a major aim of the Merimbula Jazz Festival.

Kade Brown, of Candelo, took out the first prize in the 2013 Merimbula Jazz Festival Jazz Quest, on Saturday, June 8 in a tightly contested event.
The Jazz Quest is now in its third year and is an open event for musicians aged 25 years and under.

There were sparkling performances from pianists, vocalists, trumpeters, drummers and guitarists, some of whom were just 16. The judges, all from outside the local area, were given a very difficult task as they awarded marks out of 10 in seven different categories of musicianship. The high standard of the entrants had the capacity crowd at the Lakeview Hotel cheering for each performer.
It was Kade Brown though that had the highest number of points for his piano pieces.

Jazz Quest organiser, Paul Dion said that he was delighted with the high quality of the entrants.
Young big bands are an important feature of the festival. This year there were 20, and considering each of these contains 16 to 25 young musicians it represents a vital ingredient for the future life of the festival. Past students are now returning as teachers with their student musicians.

The Jazz Quest recognises that, as in other fields of endeavour, creative minds are at their peak in their early 20s. Jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker arguably did their best work in their early 20s and so it was decided that an opportunity would be given to the under 25s to compete at the Merimbula Jazz Festival for cash prizes , $1500 courtesy of the Lakeview Hotel, and the result was a display of virtuosity to a packed house, Mr Dion said.

Jazz Quest judge, Bruce Johnson, of the Blue Mountains commented: What an intimidating pool of talent.

Many of the entrants stayed on and participated in the Bebop and Beyond jam session at the Lakeview Hotel till 2am allowing their creativity to stretch out as they performed alongside more experienced older musicians.

Mr Dion said that the result was some truly wonderful musical moments. It has been said that a society’s sophistication is reflected in its artistic endeavours and in that respect Merimbula would have to rate highly indeed during the June long weekend, he added.

He also thanked the many volunteers and volunteer groups that help to make the festival a success by giving up so many hours of their time.

Story courtesy of Merimbula News Weekly