PBS 106.7FM, in conjunction with the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, will once again recognize a significant mid-career jazz musician with the prestigious PBS Young Elder of Jazz Award. Now in its eighth year the PBS Young Elder of Jazz initiative provides $10,000 to commission a brand new work of contemporary composition to be presented at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
PBS is delighted to announce that saxophonist and composer Josh Kelly has been selected as the recipient of the PBS Young Elder of Jazz Award for 2019.
Josh works across the broad spectrum of jazz, and has regularly performed locally and internationally with groups and artists as diverse as 30/70 Collective, Allysha Joy and his own jazz trio. At the 2019 Melbourne International Jazz Festival Josh will present the premiere performance of Displacement, a work that will feature some of Melbourne’s finest musicians.
"I am honoured to be selected as the 2019 PBS Young Elder of Jazz. I have been working hard on my craft consistently for the past eight years since moving to Melbourne, and to receive this kind of support and recognition is just incredible for me. Displacement will investigate the migrant experience and draw upon concepts from French Impressionist music, applied to improvisation. I cannot wait to share the results with the world at the festival in 2019!"
Previous winners of the PBS Young Elder of Jazz have included Tamara Murphy, Tim Willis, Tilman Robinson, Gian Slater, Joe O’Connor, Hue Blanes and Brenton Foster. The award continues to reflect the diversity and quality of contemporary jazz music in Melbourne, and PBS is delighted that Josh Kelly will now join this list of exceptional artists.
The PBS Young Elder of Jazz is supported through the generosity of Mark Newman.
