JAZZ YOU LIKE IT

With the Port of Tauranga National Jazz Festival celebrating its 60th birthday this year, UNO spoke to festival manager Marc Anderson to get a sneak peek at what to expect.

WORDS KARL PUSCHMANN

It’s hard to believe that the Port of Tauranga National Jazz Festival has kept crowds bipping, bopping and swinging for 60 years. Music fashions may come and go but jazz, it seems, is eternal.

Marc Anderson, the festival’s manager, has a theory for jazz’s long-lasting and generational appeal.

“It's such a broad genre that encompasses so many different styles,” he says. “Sixty years ago, jazz was the hip music that all the kids got into. Now, 60 years on, most genres of music can be somehow or another related to jazz. Whether you know the influence or not. It makes jazz still current and relevant.”

It’s a broad church, jazz, and everyone is welcome. With around 40 subgenres nestled under the umbrella term “ jazz ”, ranging from summery smooth cool all the way through to challenging modal explorations, its wide variety is one of the defining features of the genre. It’s also something taken seriously by the Jazz Fest.

“It's really important for us that we don't pigeonhole the festival into having one type of jazz because there's a lot of interesting music out there,” Marc says. “I love the lineup. It’s a really diverse array of music and I'm excited about the depth of music and talent that we've got this year.”

The Port of Tauranga National Jazz Festival is renowned for the quality of its lineups but for its 60th Birthday Bash, they’ve pulled out all the stops. They’re expecting 20,000 people for the Downtown Carnival, which boasts over 40 acts during its two days, not to mention the huge range of shows, concerts and events going on over its 10 days.

Local jazz institution Blue Train is reforming, Laughton Kora’s galactic-jazz ensemble Black Comet is landing and jazz duo Goldsmith Baynes will send chills down your spine with their contemporary fusion of jazz and Maori philosophies. Of course, that’s just a sliver of what’s on the programme.

“The Port of Tauranga National Jazz Festival is one of the flagship events in Tauranga and it feels like the community is really behind it,” Marc says. “Everyone's really positive for the festival, which shows because it's a great place to be. If you come along, I guarantee you'll find some magic every single day.”

Then, putting his money where his mouth is, he laughs and adds, “And if you don't, I might buy you a pint!”

The Port of Tauranga 60th National Jazz Festival is running from Saturday, April 1 through to Monday, April 10.

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