Discover the only jazz manouche festival in Australia
Rub shoulders with international masters and world-standard Australian manouche bands that bring you authentic rhythms of Europe.
Get up close and personal with rhythm and lead guitars, violins and double basses.
Trade ideas, learn songs and get to know other jazz musicians through jam sessions on the river deck.
Emerging from traditional manouche style, younger players are adding new sounds and flavours every festival, with captivating results.
Walk away with new experiences, new exposures, new skills, and new friends.
Jazz that grew from campfires to concerts
It’s an exotic jazz style in a genre of its own. ‘Manouche’ is the beautiful French word meaning ‘gypsy’. Break down ‘OzManouche’, and you’ve got it—Australian Gypsy Jazz.
Django Reinhardt, its founder from way back in the 1930s, was from the Manouche clan of French travellers. Sitting around a fire with guitar, violins and maybe the odd accordion, they created a new jazz style that had no piano or drums, but ‘hot’ guitar with percussive rhythm.
Trending with today’s thriving European jazz manouche scene, OzManouche captures the hearts of young and old with its spontaneity and spark. Flavours of music from the cobbled streets of Paris and rural France fill Brisbane Jazz Club. The energy of manouche jazz pulses through fingers on guitars, violin bows and on to a knee-slapping audience.
Its popularity had grown since it started in 2005. Tickets have sold out in recent years.
The Program
In November each year, this four-day festival brings you riveting rhythm, melody and improvisation.
Top international guests and the best Australian musicians perform two sets each evening, with a third set jam session.
Instrument-specific workshops add spark to your skills.
Open jam sessions go all weekend on the club’s river deck. Hang out, learn, share, laugh, and meet like-minded musicians from all over Australia.
The spontaneity of this style means you never know exactly what you’re going to get.
But it’s always pure, honest music filled with zest and flair.
Why there’s a manouche jazz festival
The Australian patron of this festival, Ian Date, was the first to introduce this distinctly European form of jazz in Australia. His passion for it was caught by Ewan MacKenzie, a Brisbane-based guitarist on the blues scene in the early 2000s. Influence from both musicians fanned a flame that spearheaded OzManouche. The festival now attracts visitors nationwide.
The late Ewan MacKenzie passed the baton to Cameron Jones, a fervent manouche jazz performer. Cameron now honours MacKenzie’s memory through the ongoing expansion of the festival. His vision is to pass on the vibrancy and passion of manouche jazz to the next generation, and to provide a more prominent platform for female musicians in this genre.
Where To Stay
OzManouche recommends The Point at Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, for all your accommodation needs during the festival.
About The Point
From the moment you enter the elegant marble foyer and smell the perfume of the fresh flowers on display, you’ll feel completely at home at Brisbane's leading independent hotel. The Point is conveniently situated in the exclusive inner-city village of Kangaroo Point. Its 202 deluxe rooms and suites enjoy stunning views. Lamberts Restaurant has an excellent reputation for its modern Australian cuisine. The palm-fringed pool provides a cool, relaxing escape from the world and Wi-Fi and parking are complimentary for guests. A range of meeting rooms and the top floor Eagles Nest have spectacular, panoramic city and river views.
The Point is offering a discounted rate for patrons attending this year’s OzManouche Festival.
Enter the promo code "EVENT" when prompted on The Point's website when booking your accommodation. See the link below to The Point's website.
The Point Brisbane - 21 Lambert St Kangaroo Point
QLD 4169
(07) 3240 0888
The Point is a major sponsor of the OzManouche Festival