"Sarah McKenzie is a musical marvel. She sings with the kind of phrasing that only a true jazz singer can come up with while her groove of the piano is the stuff that makes people want to play jazz. Don't miss a chance to hear this lady perform live!" - James Morrison

Sarah's 2012 has been extraordinary... "Close Your Eyes", her second album, received the ARIA award for Best Jazz Album 2012, and a visit to the Umbria Jazz Festival resulted in an invitation to attend the universally acclaimed Berklee College of Music in the US. Taking advantage of the winter break in her studies, Sarah is returning to Melbourne to visit family and perform two exclusive performances for us at Bennetts Lane! Don't miss her - she's a musical marvel and this is a rare opportunity to see her live on her home stage...

Since its formation in 2001, The Bennetts Lane Big Band have amassed some sixty works composed primarily by members of the ensemble.  The band recorded its debut CD Snip in the same year, which was released by ABC Jazz.  This stellar collection of Melbourne's most established artists perform all-original repertoire written for the ensemble, including two extended works from the groups most prolific contributors; Affectations by Andrea Keller and The Fool Poet's Portion by Eugene Ball (Affectations was supported by the Australia Council Fellowship and The Fool Poet's Portion won the Bell Award for composition in 2008).  The BLBB are Tim Wilson, Julien Wilson, Ian Whitehurst, Phil Noy (saxophones), Damien Maughan, Eugene Ball (trumpet), James McCauley, Andrew Hammon (trombones), Andrea Keller (piano), Nick Haywood (bass) and Tony Floyd (drums).