Episode 4: What is it about Jazz with Mace Francis
Here Goes Nothing Podcast
I first met Mace Francis when I joined the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra Board in 2017. I had some key moments over my career going to jazz music concerts but this was when I started to engage further. WAYJO is a nice entree into jazz music. The big band, accessible concerts made it extremely engaging and enjoyable.
In 2018, Mace brought my company (GM Consulting) on board to produce the Perth International Jazz Festival. At that time, the festival was being delivered on the smell of an oily rag and my little team, alongside the tenacious Mace, presented a small but ambitious program. This was when I got to meet artists from all around the world, mostly during airport pick ups and experiencing some of the most diverse and complex jazz performances. A highlight for me was Japanese pianist Fumio Itabashi in 2019 in the Courtyard at the State Theatre Centre. It was so beyond anything I’d seen or heard. I loved it.
Since those festivals where we struggled, the Jazz Festival has flourished to being an explosion of music all across the city, providing local artists with the opportunity to play alongside some of the best in the world. I’m pretty proud of how we managed to keep it together, knowing we laid the groundwork for what we see today.
Mace was an obvious choice to chat to about Jazz. He’s so deeply embedded in it here in Perth and continues to write and perform all over Perth and recently undertook a Churchill Fellowship to research jazz orchestras and jazz festivals all over Europe.
I hope you enjoy this chat with Mace as we explore his creative upbringing and what Jazz means to him and what he can enable for artists in WA.
The music for this episode is from ‘No Postcode’ by the Mace Francis Orchestra
Links to what was discussed:
Mace’s parents, Geo and Jan Francis at Moongate Studios
Some more great moments in 90s music festivals
Foundation in jazz theory
The National Hotel, Geelong
What’s happening to the live music scene these days
New orleans parade music - slow durge / songs in blocks
White people can’t play jazz
Sydney Dance company - Rafael Bonachela
Difficult Listening on RTR
Role of the programmer
Sarah Hanahan from New York
Trombone play from New York - Mariel Bildsten
Ray Walker from Perth
Bob Brookemyer Big band music from the 1980s
Gallup House music residency
Why paying an artist a real wage is important