00:00It's a bit calm before the storm here at Generations in Jazz at Mount Gambier.
00:06Soon there'll be about 4,500 students here from across Australia for three days of jazz
00:12performance, learning and competition. And right now I'm here with two of the big names in
00:18Australian jazz, Darren Percival and Michelle Nickel. They're with me here. And Darren,
00:23I'll start with you. You were here once as a James Morrison scholarship finalist. What does it mean
00:28to be back here and working with all these young people now? Yeah, I'm really excited,
00:34thrilled to be back. I was here in 89 and I think it must have been 91 as a scholarship finalist.
00:42And then this experience propelled me then to work with James all through my 20s. I was in his band
00:48for 10 years and recently we've actually just started working together again. So yeah, I have
00:53really fond memories of this experience and I'm really happy to be back. It's great just to be
00:58around the energy of the students and the music and this amazing genre that is jazz that has been a
01:07part of our lives for pretty much all of it really. So yeah, it's just great. It's very positive and
01:13great to be back in Mount Gambier. Michelle, you've been here before as well. What does it mean to you to
01:18see so many young people here all for one thing, which is jazz music? Well, it's quite amazing actually.
01:23You can't ever imagine that there's kids, so many kids in Australia know about jazz, let alone
01:29screaming for it. So in this tent, like it is kind of like the Hunger Games for jazz, but in a really
01:36great way. So it always makes me really excited and to be a part of the bubble and for them to actually
01:43also experience Australian jazz too, like for them to see some of their own, you know, uh, people
01:51getting up there on the stage, it's going to be really great this year. Yeah. What's one thing that
01:56you hope all the students who are here this weekend, whether it's their first time or they've been here
02:00a few times, whether they're scholarship finalists trying to take that next step, what's one thing you
02:04hope they will take away from it? I hope that they take that jazz is a, is a, is part of, about being a part of a community
02:11community and that they love, you know, they love the music enough that they'll, even if they never
02:15go on and play once they leave school, because they might have other things they're interested in,
02:20but I hope that they realize that there's a jazz community out there that they're always welcome
02:25to be a part of as a listener and an audience, you know, because it's not just about playing,
02:30it's actually just about making the music, you know, survive and, and actually prosper. So I hope that
02:37they, they get that, they get a love for it, you know, that will be with them forever.
02:41The students coming from across Australia, Darren, why do you think it's important that the,
02:46the generations in jazz is in a place here like Mount Gambier and perhaps not just
02:50in Melbourne or Sydney, where people might think it might be a bit more convenient?
02:54One of the great things about this experience for the students is that they,
02:58a lot of them stay with folks from the town, you know, and they get the experience of what it's
03:03like to be in this rural setting. This is one of the most beautiful places in the whole country,
03:09so I think it makes perfect sense. You know, there's lots of space and also being out here
03:13at the barn, you know, in this incredible tent as well, it's pretty grand. So I don't know where
03:17you'd be able to do that in the city, you know, so it's, it's a great experience for them. They
03:20really look forward to it. This is a big weekend for everyone involved, all the people here on the
03:25ground, the town, and then, you know, all the students. And also we've got this amazing band coming
03:29up from LA who were here too, and they've been here before, and they're also really looking
03:33forward to the experience, you know, so it's just all positive. That's what's really great about it.
03:37Thanks. Well, that's Darren Percival and Michelle Nickel here in the James Morrison Pavilion
03:42at Mount Gambier's Generations in Jazz, which holds about 6,000 people. And tonight,
03:46it will be packed for the event's opening concert and will be packed throughout the weekend for some
03:53great jazz music.
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