Gypsy/Jazz scene in Melbourne, Australia?

Captain Swing

Just looking for any info on the gypsy/jazz scene in Melbourne, as I'm likely to be emigrating in the next 12 months or so, and will be looking for musicians to play with/form a band.
I've been playing this style on guitar for 22 years, and I'm considered to be a particularly good rhythm player.
Just fishing at the moment to see what's out there in Melbourne.
Anyone interested, check out my current band, based in Nottingham, UK. (I'm on rhythm guitar)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Swingolo ... 8204989441

Btw, I'm in Melbourne at the moment, and will be here for another 6 weeks.

wim

There is a big scene! You'll want to get on the aus facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ozmanouche/

If you're going to be still around in the end of November then check out our festival Ozmanouche, Lollo is headlining this year (touch spruce).
http://www.ozmanouche.com

So you're there in melb already? Search for gigs from The Furbelows, Ultrafox, La Mauvaise Reputation, Duck Musique ... all good bands in the style. There are heaps of players but the most active guys I can think of to meet are Jon Delaney (who will probably reply here too), Sam O'Halloran, Caley Groves, Peter Baylor, Jules Brunton ..

There's pretty regularly jazz manouche gigs at Paris Cat jazz club in the city, and lots of other nice music there too. More gigs are in bars and cafes though.. some places to check out, Grumpy's green in Fitzroy, Tre Espresso in Brunswick, Some Velvet Morning in Clifton Hill, the Lomond in Brunswick(?), Lentil as Anything in Abbotsford, Open Studio in Northcote. There's also a regular Sunday afternoon djam at CERES in Brunswick, but the level there can be kinda amateurish sometimes.

And most importantly, in melbourne it's a Bb in swing 39 not a G-

Captain Swing

Thanks for all that, Wim!
I've joined that FB group and will check-out the other info you mentioned.
Yes, I'm in Melb at the moment with my partner who's an Aussie, but we go back to the UK at the end of October. I'm really here to meet her family and get a feel for the place as it's my first time in Aus. But we are looking to move here for good in the next year or so, so I thought try to find out a bit about the GJ scene here in advance.
Thanks again for the info. 8)

Jon

Hey,

Yeah, there's lots going on in Melbourne every week. Um, here're some upcoming public gigs (from tomorrow):

Friday 20th: Me and Peter Baylor at Bistro Vue in the city 5:30-8
Saturday 21st: La Mauvaise Reputation at Tre Espresso in Brunswick 12:30-3:30
Saturday 21st: Furbelows at Monkey Bar st Georges road, Fitzroy Nth 5-7
Sunday 22nd - Kelsey James and the Kamikazi Bees at Grumpy's on Smith st, Fitzroy 3-5
Monday 23rd: Catfish at Lentil as Anything at the Abbottsford convent from 6:30ish
Tuesday 24th: Ultrafox at Claypots Evening Star at the South Melbourne Market from 7:30
Wednesday + Thursday - Not sure, but there's probably something on...
Friday 27th- The Furbelows at the Paris Cat jazz club in the city (9:30)
Saturday 28th - La Mauvaise Reputation at Tre Espresso in Brunswick 12:30-3:30
Sunday 29th - Kelsey James and the Kamikazi Bees at Grumpy's on Smith st, Fitzroy 3-5

Send me a private message and I'll give you my number. You're welcome to bring your guitar to the Mauvaise gig on Saturdays if you want to play a few tunes. Most of these are acoustic gigs. Look forward to seeing you around,

Jon

Captain Swing

Thanks Jon.
We've got a lot of family stuff going on for our first couple of weeks here, but once we get into October I'll have more of a free reign to come out and catch a few gigs, so I'll PM you later.
Having said that, we went out for a meal for our anniversary last night, and purely by chance happened to catch 3 guitarists playing outside the restaurant we dined at on Hardware Street.
Thanks for the info. I'll look out for stuff in October and if I don't catch you at a gig in the meantime, I'll drop you a line.
Thanks. 8)
ps: I didn't bring my guitar, but although I don't mind jamming a bit of lead, I'm more of a rhythm player anyway.

E-sharp

hi,
i live in melbourne and am really keen to learn this style i have been trying by myself for a while, but being a guitarist of ten years or so in other styles (blues, funk etc.) i am finding it quite difficult to adapt to the significant changes in technique. Also it seems to me that this is very much a style that is built around playing with other people.

Anyway, to get to the point i was wondering if anyone new of someone in melbourne that would be willing to teach me.

Jon

E-sharp wrote:

hi,
i live in melbourne and am really keen to learn this style i have been trying by myself for a while, but being a guitarist of ten years or so in other styles (blues, funk etc.) i am finding it quite difficult to adapt to the significant changes in technique. Also it seems to me that this is very much a style that is built around playing with other people.

Anyway, to get to the point i was wondering if anyone new of someone in melbourne that would be willing to teach me.

I teach quite a bit, if you're interested. I'll PM you my number (if I can work out how to do that...)

Jon

simplygordon

Just in case anyone is interested, a violinist friend of mine has just arrived from Paris and is keen to meet up with likeminded musicians. His name is Gérard Vandenbroucque. You can check out about him at https://soundcloud.com/gerard-vandenbroucque/sets/gerard-vandenbroucque-le or http://www.bleuwest-quartet.com. You can reply to me for his details.

Jon

Gérard came and sat in with my band last week. Lovely player!

Jon

Captain Swing

Sorry for bumping an ancient thread here, but although it's taken a LOT longer than planned, I've finally got my visa and am relocating to Aus at the end of October this year.
Gonna be living in Croydon, near Melbourne. So will hope to finally be able to catch up with some of you guys in a few months time.