The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) has announced the lineup for the 2024 Sydney Con Jazz Festival.

On 2 June, over 130 artists will perform in 26 concerts in the festival’s sixth instalment at the Sydney Conservatorium campus, among them New York-based saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf, Katie Noonan and Sydney trio Brekky Boy.

Remy Le Boeuf. Photo supplied

“All six concert halls and performances spaces of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music will be on show, as audiences immerse themselves in a myriad of contemporary and traditional jazz styles. Come join us in celebrating jazz, one of humanity’s most vibrant and creative art forms,” said Artistic Director David Theak, a saxophonist, composer, bandleader and Senior Lecturer at the Con.

“The festival is designed to be affordable and to showcase the best of jazz from Australia, Sydney and the world.”

American saxophonist and composer Remy Le Boeuf will make his debut Australian performance at the festival in quartet formation, joined by drummer Ben Vanderwal, double bassist Sam Anning and pianist Steve Barry. Opened by a solo set from piano legend Mike Nock, Le Boeuf performs at the festival’s evening Gala concert in Verbruggen Hall.

He’ll also make an appearance with the ANJO Youth Big Band, made up of brightest young stars in Australian jazz, such as recent ABC Jazz commission recipient Tessie Overmyer.

Also performing on the Verbruggen stage is Katie Noonan’s trio Elixir  – with saxophonist Zac Hurren and guitarist Ben Hauptmann – and Perth-based collective Quiet Country, with a set of contemporary music given a jazz slant.

Mountreux Jazz Award-nominated trio Brekky Boy, who “occasionally play in 4/4”, will be performing at the Music Workshop.

Ten Part Invention is a legendary Australian ensemble that premiered at the 1986 Adelaide Festival. The performance at this festival honours the legacy of the group’s creator, drummer and bandleader John Pochée, who passed away in 2022. It will perform favourite works from its back catalogue, as well as a new work from Andrew Robson.

In the of first of Theak’s picks for a festival highlight, saxophonist Jamie Oehlers, guitarist Stephen Magnusson and drummer Vanderwal will launch their latest album as trio Paper Tiger on the same stage.

The second is a performance by singer, guitarist and composer Laneous, backed by a band of Australian musical titans – pianist Barney McAll, bassist Jonathan Zwartz, and Hamish Stuart.

Microfiche. Photo supplied

Microfiche is an emerging improvisational outfit that has developed into something of an all-star ensemble in recent years. The 2024 Freedman winner Phillippa Murphy-Haste, Sam Gill, Nick Calligeros, Novak Manojlovic, Max Alduca and Holly Conner are all weighty names in the field in their own right. Microfiche brings its idiosyncratic stylings to Recital Hall East in the afternoon.

For his work Empty Voices, tar player Hamed Sadeghi builds an ensemble out of highly accomplished names, both young and veteran. Sandy Evans, Paul Cutlan, Lloyd Swanton, siblings Michael and Tom Avgenicos, and Adem Yilmaz feature.

Freyja Garbett‘s Music from the Waves is an electroacoustic, ambient-flavoured project that combines two of her “great loves”, music and surfing. She performs the work with Sandy Evans, Max Alduca and Miles Thomas.

NoMansLand is a project celebrating the diverse musical approach of pianist/composer Novak Manojlovic. Performing with Murphy-Haste, Billy Ward and Jacques Emery, the set weaves through Manojlovic’s history in electroacoustic, jazz, improvised and contemporary music in what he calls a “gleaming Luna Park of the mind”.

Brekky Boy. Photo © Jess Reiss

At the Music Café, the program includes the 1920s-inspired Greasy Chicken Orchestra led by Phillip Johnston, the Zac Hurren Trio and Cookbook, a band that borrows its name from the George Benson album.

The festival will feature the talent of both staff and students in the CONverge series. The series will feature the Alex Grace Quartet, the Sabine Tapia Trio, the Sydney Conservatorium Jazz Orchestra 1 with the CONchords Jazz Choir, 10-piece ensemble Mosaic and pianist Kevin Hunt, bassist Craig Scott and drummer Andrew Dickeson as a Jazz Staff Trio. There will also be a screening of documentaries on Australian jazz, hosted in the ‘El Roco’ room.

The full program for the 2024 Sydney Con Jazz Festival is out now.