The Melbourne International Jazz Festival is a world-class jazz festival held annually in Melbourne Australia since 1998.

With more than 260 days spent in lockdown it goes without saying that it has been an extraordinarily difficult 18 months for everyone in Melbourne, but in particular, for our live performance communities.

So, I am thrilled that after last year’s online event and this year’s postponement, our 24th festival will, finally, be going ahead with a full program of live events. The great Louis Armstrong famously said, “music is life itself” and I am so excited for Melbourne to come alive once more – the fact that the Melbourne International Jazz Festival will play a part in that makes me extraordinarily proud.