The Jacob Neale Jazz Awards Concert

The Jacob Neale Jazz Awards are coming to the Harold Lobb Concert Hall at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music on Saturday 1 August, starting at 7pm. It's a night put on by the Conservatorium and NIMA Inc., and it's built around a competition for young jazz musicians.

This year's focus is the saxophone category, where five finalists aged 26 and under go head-to-head. Each one plays three pieces backed by a piano trio, and the prizes are A$5,000 for first, A$2,000 for second, and a A$500 Regional Prize. The night is staged with NIMA, Adamstown Arts, and the Newcastle and Hunter Jazz Club.

Knowing the name behind the awards helps put the whole thing in context. The Jacob Neale Jazz Awards were created by the Newcastle music community to honour Jacob Neale's contribution to jazz and improvised music. Jacob was a local through and through: he came first in NSW in HSC Music 2 and Music Extension, won the jazz competition at Adamstown Arts' The Dungeon, and completed a Bachelor of Music and a Masters of Education at the University of Newcastle, where he later taught. He was a constant volunteer and performer with the Newcastle Improvised Music Association (NIMA) and served as Music Director for the Sydney-based Talent Development Program and the NSW Premier's Gala Concert, working with many A-list Australian artists. He died in December 2023 after a long battle with brain cancer.

His musical family now presents these awards to help the next generation of jazz artists thrive, so the night is as much about the future of the scene as it is about remembering him. It's at the Harold Lobb Concert Hall, inside the Conservatorium on Auckland Street, Newcastle 2300, on Saturday 1 August from 7pm.