By Gretel Sneath
An exciting new jazz partnership between Mount Gambier’s James Morrison Academy (JMA) and New York’s prestigious Juilliard School is music to the ears of honours students in the regional South Australian town.
As part of the international musical collaboration, JMA students will have the opportunity to travel to the bustling Big Apple next year for one month.
“We’re not really calling it an exchange program, as the students won’t swap countries at the same time,” says JMA founder, James Morrison (pictured in main headline image with academy students).
“The JMA and Juilliard students will all work together here in Australia forming an ensemble, writing, recording and performing, and then everyone will head back over to the US for a similar experience,” he adds.
James Morrison Academy’s first group of 2015 students
While the regional tour will be an eye-opener for the American guests, James says Juilliard’s directors believe the visit ‘Down Under’ will be highly beneficial for their elite musicians.
“The thing with New York is it’s considered the centre of the universe in so many aspects, so the people who live there tend not to be very outward looking,” James says.
“There is a tendency for students to graduate there and just play in New York, so they don’t necessarily develop the same collaborative skills we might.”
James says “Australia is an island in the Pacific, let alone coming to Mount Gambier”.
“So, if they can come to this small place in regional South Australia and have an experience like this, it will open their eyes to the fact they can go anywhere, and view the world as a musical playground.”
In any case, the international guests will feel at home in Mount Gambier’s new Morrison’s Jazz Club.
James and wife Judi’s eldest son, 23-year-old Sam, has moved from Sydney to manage the public nightspot located just 100 metres from JMA in the heart of Mount Gambier’s Commercial Street.
International guests will feel at home Mount Gambier’s new Morrison’s Jazz Club
“This is going to be a real jazz club complete with jazz-themed cocktails, burgers named after jazz greats, and endless servings of live jazz,” James says.
“Jazz is all about spontaneity and that’s what creates the atmosphere. We’ve got 60 jazz musicians in town who will be able to drop in any time and bring their instruments, but we will also have a lot of national and international guest artists performing here.
“It’s going to be a window into the jazz world for Mount Gambier – and you might as well be in New York!”
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