Earshift Music Label Showcases x Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Earshift Music Label Showcase x Melbourne International Jazz Festival
21–22 October 2025 | Melbourne
This October, Earshift Music brings two nights of visionary performances to the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, shining a spotlight on the bold creativity, cultural depth and fearless innovation that define the label’s sound. Across two evenings, the Earshift Music Label Showcase presents some of Australia’s most forward-thinking artists in an unforgettable program of jazz and beyond.
Tuesday 21 October - Dynamic Triple Bill
https://www.melbournejazz.com/events/james-bowers-quartet-visions-of-nar-hilary-geddes/
The first night launches with a cutting-edge triple bill that highlights the diversity and vitality of contemporary Australian jazz.
🎹 James Bowers - My Quartet Album
Prolific pianist-composer James Bowers unleashes his My Quartet Album with a stellar ensemble: Shun Ishiwaka (drums), Marty Holoubek (bass), and Ben Harrison (trumpet). Their fearless interplay moves through warped grooves, jagged swing, and raw lyricism — pushing the boundaries of improvisation with playful intensity and striking originality.
🌿 Visions of Nar
A mystical meeting of worlds, Visions of Nar blends jazz, Armenian folk and global contemporary sounds. Featuring pianist Zela Margossian, saxophonist-composer Jeremy Rose, and tabla virtuoso Bobby Singh, the trio crafts timeless yet forward-looking sonic landscapes defined by intricate rhythms and free-flowing improvisation.
🍂 Hilary Geddes – Redleaf
Award-winning guitarist Hilary Geddes presents Redleaf, a deeply expressive new work that merges jazz, indie, and experimental influences. With Novak Manojlovic (piano), Maximillian Alduca (double bass) and Alexander Inman-Hislop (drums), Geddes delivers music that is bold, resonant, and rich with heart, weaving subtle textures with improvisation-driven fire.
Together, these three ensembles form a powerful portrait of Australia’s new jazz vanguard.
Wednesday 22 October - Ancient and Futuristic Dialogues
https://www.melbournejazz.com/events/raki-infinity/
The second night of the showcase brings two expansive projects that blur cultural, sonic and temporal boundaries.
🌌 Raki
An ancient–contemporary collaboration, Raki unites Yolŋu songman Daniel Wilfred, pianist Paul Grabowsky, and trumpeter/electronic artist Peter Knight. Through voice, bilma, piano, trumpet, and live electronics, the trio conjures a profound fusion of sacred manikay songlines and contemporary improvisation — a deeply moving dialogue of cultural exchange and renewal.
♾️ Jeremy Rose – Infinity II
ARIA Award-winning saxophonist-composer Jeremy Rose unveils Infinity II, an immersive exploration of time, motion and impermanence. With Novak Manojlovic (keys/synths), Ben Carey (modular synthesizer), and Alexander Flood (drums), the group journeys through fractured beats, lush synth layers and atmospheric saxophone, crafting hypnotic grooves and expansive textures that blur the line between acoustic and electronic sound worlds.
These performances offer a glimpse into the future of improvised music — fearless, exploratory, and profoundly connected.
Event Details
📅 Tuesday 21 – Wednesday 22 October 2025
🎶 Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Presented by Earshift Music
Across two nights, the Earshift Music Label Showcase affirms its mission to champion boundary-pushing Australian artists, presenting music that is adventurous, genre-defying, and deeply resonant. This is the sound of a new era in Australian jazz — one that embraces diversity, storytelling, and bold artistic vision.