The Australian Jazz Convention is the longest running annual jazz event in the world.[1]
The idea for the event originated when Abe Monsbourgh was serving in the RAAF in 1944 and wrote to a friend with an idea to run a “jazz convention” once the war had ended. The first Australian Jazz Convention was then held in Melbourne in December 1946, and was attended by musicians across Australia.[2][3] It was preceded by a one-off Sydney Jazz Week in 1919 as one of the earliest jazz events in the world.[4]
The jazz convention has since been held in different cities and states across Australia each year,[1] with the 76th edition held in Newcastle in 2022.[5]
The archives of the Australian Jazz Convention are held by the Australian Jazz Museum in Victoria.[6] Volunteers at the museum have been digitising audio and video recordings of past events.[7] The National Film and Sound Archive have also released recordings, including of 1949's convention,[8] and have a video recording of the 1970 convention featuring Graeme Bell.[9]
^ abThe Dictionary of Performing Arts in Australia: Opera, dance, music, Volume 2. Allen & Unwin. 1996. p. 20. ISBN9781863738989.