The Melbourne Jazz Co-Op
The Melbourne Jazz Co-operative is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and promoting original live jazz performance by established and emerging artists in Melbourne.
Since 1983 our objectives have been to increase the exposure of contemporary jazz performance by making it accessible to audiences, and to provide award waged performance opportunities for emerging and established artists. Read more about how we are funded.
UPCOMING GIGS
Please note venues will have Covid-safe requirements. When booking tickets please make sure you understand the measures in place.
Mary Coughlan (Ireland)
The Jazzlab 27 Leslie Street (off Brunswick Street), Brunswick, Victoria(MJC series interrupted for this visiting international artist)
Aaron Choulai Quintet – Premiere
The Jazzlab 27 Leslie Street (off Brunswick Street), Brunswick, VictoriaIn this performance, Aaron Choulai brings together a quintet of long time collaborators to play original compositions that are a lateral extension of some of his best known projects such as Vada, Raw Denshi and We Don’t Dance for No Reason.
Mark Lockett Quartet feat. Roger Manins (New Zealand/Melb.)
The Jazzlab 27 Leslie Street (off Brunswick Street), Brunswick, VictoriaIrrepressible and dynamic New Zealand drummer Mark Lockett is touring Australia to launch his seventh album, ‘Swings and Roundabouts’.
Gooey Deliria (Adelaide/Melb.)
The Jazzlab 27 Leslie Street (off Brunswick Street), Brunswick, VictoriaGooey Deliria debuted for the MJC last July, and is a collaboration of some of Adelaide and Melbourne’s leading “next generation” artists, with Dylan Paul (double bass), Kyrie Anderson (drums) and Flora Carbo (saxophone), together with the more experienced Dave McEvoy (piano).
Ashes – debut/CD Launch
The Jazzlab 27 Leslie Street (off Brunswick Street), Brunswick, VictoriaAshes is a dynamic band that has cultivated a distinct and analogous language over the past years. Together the band coalesce acoustic sounds with electronics to create thick soundscapes full of texture, colour and mood.
MJC’s 40th anniversary concert at MRC
The Primrose Potter Salon - Melbourne Recital Centre 31 Sturt Street, Southbank, VictoriaThe MJC’s 40th Anniversary Concert (co-presented by the Melbourne Recital Centre) brings together 24 jazz artists from Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. The highlight will be the premiere of the 4-part […]
The 3PBS-FM Recording Project has been financially supported by Vorticity Music

Supporting artists in these interesting times
As concert performances slowly return, you can also support Australian artists by purchasing any of the steady stream of recently released albums. Bandcamp is recommended by many musicians because of its reasonable fee structure, and generous Bandcamp Fridays when they waive their revenue share.
And don’t neglect the rich array of past releases, or important classic albums, such as the late Mark Simmonds’ 1995 ARIA winner, Fire.
Keep up to date with news on the Melbourne and national jazz scenes via our Facebook, Twitter, or our regular eNewsletter.
News
Editorial 15 December 2015
When I was teaching classroom Music at Kew High School, one of the benefits in recent years was the opportunity to sit...
Editorial 2 November 2019
While the Wangaratta Festival is in recession this year, two interstate festival events which were timed to coincide with it – the Perth International Jazz Festival and the Sydney Women’s International Jazz Festival – are both offering strong programs, with several international and interstate artists.
Editorial 18 October
It seems very strange to be coming up to the Melbourne Cup weekend, and not preparing to go to Wangaratta for the Festival. In the absence of the Festival, some industry people have taken the initiative and organised a mini-jazz festival over the Cup weekend at Memo Hall in the historic St. Kilda RSL.
SUPPORT THE MJC
The MJC is funded not only through state and federal programs, but also by contributions garnered through membership.
In addition, we use our membership numbers to demonstrate to funding and governing bodies that live, original jazz performance is an important and valued artform.