The @guardian have just featured US drummer extraordinaire @makayamccraven in their “30 bands and artists to see live before you die…or they split up” list. Luckily, you don’t have to wait any longer. Grab a ticket to see his sensational live show at MIJF 2023 via the link in our bio.

Music as a universal language has the power to unite, to transform and to heal. In an increasingly uncertain social and economic environment, it provides solace—and a source of connection to others and ourselves. EOFY is now upon us—and today is the final day to get behind MIJF’s Generate Jazz appeal and show your love for all things jazz! If music is an important part of your world; if you have capacity, and if MIJF is a festival that brings you joy, please consider making a small tax-deductible donation to help us bring this year’s incredible Jazz Fest to life. MIJF 2023 is set to be one of our most bold and ambitious festivals yet—and it’s the support of passionate people and partners that makes it all happen. The next $5,000 in donations to MIJF are being matched dollar-for-dollar—so your impact is immediately doubled!—and every single donation makes a difference. To join MIJF’s community of passionate supporters and make a tax-deductible gift before EOFY (tonight!), please visit: https://bit.ly/SupportMIJF 📸 Photo by Will Hamilton-Coates; Fat Freddy's Drop @ Big Saturday, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, MIJF 2022.

New MIJF ‘Jazz Talk’ podcast alert! Hear from acclaimed Melbourne bassist Christopher Hale and Korean percussionist Minyoung Woo as they discuss their myriad of influences and approach to cross-cultural collaboration. Filmed as part of the MIJF Close Encounters series at the 2022 festival. Facilitated by PBS 106.7FM’s Program Manager, Owen McKern. Translated/interpreted by Chloe Kim. Available on Spotify and Apple Music, or via our website.

Another heartfelt thanks to all of the passionate jazz lovers who have donated in support of MIJF over this last month. Your generosity is actively helping strengthen and sustain MIJF in 2023—and we are incredibly grateful for your support. It’s the last few days of our Generate Jazz appeal, and right now we’re 80% of the way to our $50,000 goal—all donations until 30 June are being matched dollar-for-dollar (up to $24,000 ceiling) thanks to a small group of dedicated MIJF supporters. So now is the best time to show your support and immediately double your impact! As a not for profit, it’s the support of our community of passionate people and partners that help MIJF bring the Melbourne International Jazz Festival to life each year—people for whom music is essential; and who appreciate the joy that jazz and improvised music brings into their worlds. You can be a part of the future of MIJF by making a tax-deductible donation today. Love Melbourne Jazz? Donate before EOFY and double your impact: https://bit.ly/SupportMIJF

Our friends at the MSO have given us 5 x Premium Reserve double-passes to give away to their winter performance with jazz legend, Wynton Marsalis. The show, ‘All Rise: Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis and the MSO’, is a jazz symphony of a scale not seen before in this country. It’s a 100-minute work that crosses musical terrain from African chant and New Orleans parade music to symphonic modernism. For more info on the show, head to the @melbournesymphonyorchestra website and social. To be in the running to win, simply email [email protected] and tell us your #1 artist/ensemble that you would like to see perform at a future Melb Int’l Jazz Festival. The 5 winners will be notified by email on Monday 3 July. We can’t wait to hear from you! Good luck!

MIJF, together with the @australianartorchestra are extremely excited to announce that we have selected multi-award-winning artist @bumpymusic_ for the MIJF 2023 First Nations Artist Residency Program. Bumpy’s deeply affecting music pulls from the strength found in tenderness—scars and all. The award-winning Noongar woman and Naarm-based artist’s stirring voice is transportive, arresting listeners with complex, intimate and multi-faceted truths of loss, joy and connection. As part of her residency, Bumpy will develop an ambitious new work, in language, over the next 18 months. Through the program, MIJF and the AAO will support Bumpy to develop this commissioned outcome, to be premiered at the 2024 Melbourne International Jazz Festival. For more information, visit our website via the link in our bio.

Some exciting news! A small circle of our amazing donors have just pledged to match all donations to MIJF’s Generate Jazz appeal, up to a total of $24,000. That means that every donation you make, large or small, will be matched: dollar for dollar. So now is the very best time to show your support for jazz—and double your impact!   Every donation will strengthen MIJF in 2023—helping us deliver a world-class 10-day festival this October, and generate more opportunities for connection, expression and inspiration through jazz and improvised music. And we are so grateful to everyone who has donated so generously to MIJF in these last few weeks—a huge thanks for your support.    Join MIJF’s community of passionate jazz lovers with a tax-deductible donation before 30 June—and see the impact of your support doubled. Link in bio & bit.ly/SupportMIJF

Dive into a fascinating discussion from MIJF 2022’s Beyond Words panel series, exploring the connection between Eastern, Southern and American Jazz. Recorded live at MIJF 2022 and facilitated by artist, curator and Multicultural Arts Victoria Co-CEO Zii Nzira, hear from panelists NIASHA, Craig Calhoun and Danny Atlaw. Listen on Spotify, iTunes or via our website.

Double-pass giveaway! Our friends at the @melbjazzcoop (MJC) are celebrating 40 years of continuous annual programs with a concert that brings together 24 multi-award winning figures of the Australian jazz scene from three states in a not-to-be-missed event at the Melbourne Recital Centre—this Friday night! The stellar line-up features a host of MIJF alumni, including Mike Nock, Andrea Keller, Julien Wilson and Paul Grabowsky, to name a few—and tickets are selling fast! Thanks to the MJC, we have one double-pass to give away to one lucky MIJF Jazz Club member. Sign up to our Jazz Club at melbournejazz.com/memberships by 5pm Thursday to go into the draw to win. (And if you're already a 2023 member, you are already in the running!) Winner will be drawn on Thursday at 5pm 🥁

Love Melbourne Jazz? You can help us generate more opportunities for connection, expression and inspiration through incredible live music this year. Melbourne International Jazz Festival is a not-for-profit organisation, presenting the highest calibre of jazz and improvised music in Australia—and championing Australia’s place in the global jazz ecology, while fostering the next generation of talent. We rely on the support of passionate people and partners to bring the festival to life each year. Today, we’ve launched our Generate Jazz appeal, and right now, we’re raising funds to help MIJF deliver an incredible 10-day festival this October—and enhance our year-round artist and sector development initiatives and community programs in 2023. As a lover of live music and all things jazz, you can be a part of the future of MIJF by making a tax-deductible donation today. Link in bio.

MIJF is thrilled to announce that celebrated US drummer, composer and self-proclaimed “beat scientist” @makayamccraven will be appearing at this year’s festival, presented in partnership with Melbourne’s newest music festival, @theeightysix_ With a gift for destroying borders and blending past, present, and future into poly-textural arrangements of post-genre, jazz-rooted music, McCraven is truly at the vanguard of modern jazz—fusing improv with the rhythmic swagger of hip-hop to push the genre into thrillingly uncharted territory. To quote the @nytimes, McCraven has “quietly become one of the best arguments for jazz’s vitality.” Don’t miss this chance to witness one of the most exciting and visionary jazz performers at the very top of his game. Tickets on sale now. Link in bio.

We continue our Jazz Talk podcast series this week with a Close Encounters talk from the brilliant @DanTepfer. One of his generation’s extraordinary talents, Tepfer has earned an international reputation as a pianist-composer of wide-ranging ambition, individuality, and drive, one “who refuses to set himself limits” (France’s Télérama). In conversation with Tamara Murphy, Tepfer discusses his process, influences, and fascinating technical innovations at the intersection between science and art. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or via the link in our bio. 📸1: @duncographic 📸2: @maxroux__