Jazz in Martinborough 2025 Sells Out
“Couldn’t be much happier, really,” says Jazz in Martinborough Festival Music Director Lee Quayle. “Both our ticketed events were over-subscribed. We sold all our tickets, paid all our bills and have a few dollars left over for our music scholarships. All round, a great event.”
Highlights of the festival were the Friday and Saturday concerts at the Town Hall featuring sextet April’s Fools and the Royal New Zealand Air Force Jazz Orchestra.
“The Airforce jazz orchestra was a welcome return of the big band sound,” says Lee. “It’s tricky having 18 musicians on the stage, including drums and a grand piano. And, you have to have the sound equipment and technical skills to make a big band sound good, and to create opportunities to showcase individual skills and brilliance. It’s quite a military exercise it turns out! The audience loved it.”
It’s the first time a full-sized jazz big band has played at the festival since 2014.
April Phillips and her “Fools” were equally well received by the town hall audience. “These musicians are seasoned professionals, with world-class and world-wide experience and backgrounds,” says Lee. “And it showed in the quality of the improvisation across the stage and delightful interplay amongst the band and with the audience.”
The severe winds that weekend delayed pianist Miles Crayford from playing the first hour of the show, but his arrival filled out the band’s sound, which was obviously welcomed by the band, and the appreciative audience.
Feedback from audiences was joyous, happy and excited.
“We love bringing this event to the town each year because we get to share our love of jazz music with a supportive audience of locals who leave each of the shows with huge smiles on their faces,” adds Lee.
The weekend also included a fundraising “Concert for Rotary” on the Thursday evening. This show also attracted a large audience to hear Ol’ King Cole (feat. Wallace) roll back the years with some smooth sounding jazz standards by Nat King Cole and others from yesteryear.
Proceeds from the festival go towards scholarships for aspiring young jazz musicians from Wairarapa schools to attend the New Zealand Jazz Foundation Summer Jazz School.
