Jazz On Sunday

With numerous awards won and countless accolades received over the course of his career, it’s clear to see why Jamie Oehlers is recognised as one of Australia’s leading jazz musicians.

“I’ve always been a really hard worker, I’ve always practised a lot and sought out to play with people who are better than myself and also to play with people with a really unique conception in regards to performing jazz,” Jamie says.

Some of Jamie’s renowned work has been in Brisbane, where he’ll be performing at Brisbane Festival’s Jazz On Sunday this month. “I always loved playing in Brisbane and I’m really looking forward to coming back,” he says. “I’ve been coming to Brisbane on and off for the last ten years or so and I’ve had quite a bit to do with the music courses up there just in as far as doing some workshops. “I know there’s a great bunch of students and a lot of musicians who are friends of mine so I’m looking forward to seeing them and playing.”

For the Jazz On Sundays performance, Jamie will be joined by regular collaborator and jazz innovator Paul Grabowsky. “Paul and I will be performing pieces from our latest album ‘On A Clear Day’. We will be performing some standard jazz compositions as well as a couple of original tunes,” he says. “Paul and I play a lot together, we will actually be playing in Melbourne just before the gig in Brisbane and we perform with each other in various settings throughout the year so it’s always exciting for me to play with Paul.”

Jamie believes festivals like Brisbane Festival are an important part of showcasing Australian talent to local and international audiences. “I think they’re incredibly important,” he says. “Outside of Australia, and I guess within Australia to a certain degree, Australia is not really seen as having a massive cultural diversity, people see us a sports and beach loving nation, which of course we are but there is also a really great depth and wealth of talent in Australia. “I think it’s incredibly important to showcase that talent and to make the general public and the international community aware of what we have to offer here in Australia.”

Jamie performs with Paul Grabowsky at Jazz On Sunday, at the Spiegeltent as part of Brisbane Festival, Sunday Sept 11.