The Josh Meader trio are an instrumental cross-genre powerhouse from Sydney, Australia, featuring National Jazz Award winners Alex Hirlian (drums), Matt Thomson (keys) and this years 2nd place finalist Josh Meader (guitar).

Drawing upon a wide range of styles, the JMT successfully blends a multitude of genres including contemporary music, modern jazz, funk, hip-hop and rock to present an undeniably unique listening experience. The JMT delivers compositions infused with musical elements such as odd- time signatures, improvisation, sampling and textural explorations, derived from a melting pot of artists such as Tigran Hamasyan, Robert Glasper, Hiatus Kaiyote and Pat Metheny to name a few.

Having studied, performed and toured internationally, all members of the JMT are at the height of the Australian music scene, hosting the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival jam sessions this year in Switzerland. The band has recorded their first full album in December this year, encouraged by the overwhelming support and requests from fans both nationally and internationally.

With an incredible list of accolades under his belt at the age of 28, Alex Hirlian’s talent raises no questions. Winner of the prestigious National Jazz Awards in 2018, Hirlian has spent much of the last several years embedded in the Australian music scene as a go-to drummer.

Having worked with the likes of James Muller, Sean Wayland, Mike Nock, Barney McAll, Ben Winkelman and Jeremy Rose, Hirlian was also invited to perform at the newly established Blue Note Jazz Club in Shanghai in 2019, accompanying the renowned pianist Dan Tepfer. Studying under the expertise of Simon Barker and Andrew Dickeson, Hirlian completed his Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2016.

In the last year, Alex has been part of the band Brekky Boy who have toured Europe through 2022 as well as showcasing at Jazzahead 2022. They are set to tour Canada and other parts of Europe later in the year. Alex is also involved in this year’s showcasing band ‘Josh Meader Trio’ who are releasing their first album this year. Alex along with fellow National Jazz award winner Matthew Thomson, are also releasing a new album with their own Modern Jazz quintet ‘Tourismo’ through ABC Jazz.

Claire Cross is an award-winning electric bassist and composer who has established herself as an exciting and versatile performer, as well as a dynamic leader within the Melbourne music community. Her compositional work focuses on creating immersive and evocative worlds, drawing on influences across folk, minimalism and jazz, to create deeply textured and transfixing landscapes.

Her latest album Into Light was released in 2022. Into Light was nominated for a Music Victoria Award in the ‘Best Jazz Work’ category, was made feature album of the week on ABC Jazz in June 2022 and received a 4-star review from Eric Meyer in The Australian.

In 2019 Claire was awarded as the inaugural recipient of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival’s Take Note program She also received the 2018 Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival Recording Prize for her project ‘Moving Targets’.

Daniel Gassin is an Australian pianist and composer of Franco-American descent based in Paris.

Before relocating to France in 2013, Daniel garnered both local and international acclaim in his hometown of Melbourne, releasing three albums. He was a finalist in the Jazz Solo Piano Competition at the iconic Montreux Jazz Festival in 2007 and the Australian National Jazz Awards in 2013, and was nominated for the prestigious Freedman Fellowship in 2016.

Since his move to France, Daniel has added an international dimension to his career, as well as becoming an integral part of the Paris jazz scene. He became the first pianist to perform at Quincy Jones’ new club in Dubaï, and has toured widely, in particular across Europe and Africa.

Daniel’s new Crossover Band has performed at festivals in France, Ukraine and Romania, and in 2021 released its debut album ‘Change of Heart.’

In addition to playing and touring extensively with many of Australia’s – and now France’s – finest jazz musicians, Daniel has also performed and recorded with U.S. greats Dave Liebman, George Garzone, Leroy Jones, Rick Margitza, John Riley and Bob Sheppard.

Hadley Agrez is the CEO & Program Director at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival and has been working with the festival since 2018. Hadley brings over a decade of experience in large-scale festival delivery in roles spanning curation, programming, operations and general management. He has a particular interest in artist development in a festival context and has participated as an industry panelist at a number of domestic and international events including Jazzahead 2021 and the World Fringe Congress (Edinburgh, 2018).

Hamed Sadeghi is an Iranian-born tar player and composer based on Gadigal land (Sydney). Trained as a Persian classical musician in Tehran, Hamed’s haunting compositions give you a taste of his cherished culture. With deep a respect for tradition and a love for Jazz, Sadeghi brings a musical fusion allying eastern and western sounds that defies neat labels.

He has released several albums to the critical acclaim and has performed at the most notable music festivals and in prestigious concert halls in Australia and overseas.

He has toured nationally and internationally with his band Eishan Ensemble, the improvisation trio Vazesh and with Persian maestro Shahram Nazeri amongst others.

He has been composing music for theatre productions including Belvoir, Sydney Dance Company and William Zappa’s The Iliad.

Sadeghi has earned recognition through two nominations for ARIA Awards and he has been a finalist at APRA Art Music Awards along with a nomination at Sydney Theatre Awards.

Saxophonist-composer Jeremy Rose leads a multi-dimensional career spanning a dozen releases of original music with collaborative and solo projects across the world, including The Earshift Orchestra, Jeremy Rose Quartet, and The Vampires. Rose is founder and director of the Earshift Music record label and festival. Rose has performed at festivals, venues and concert halls throughout Australia, Europe and the UK, including recently touring Europe with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and collaborating with Benin born Blue Note guitarist Lionel Loueke.

Rose has been described as “one to watch on the Australian jazz scene” (Jazzwise, UK), “one of the most creative and restless musicians in the Australian jazz scene” (Australianjazz.net), “a brilliant jazz composer and instrumentalist, a young man with a social purpose” (The Australian), and “a bold, emerging Aussie voice” (Limelight Magazine).

Rose has received recognition through nominations for the ARIA Awards, three AIR Awards, Australian Music Prize short-listing, two Jazz Bell Awards, the APRA Professional Development Award for Jazz, and a four-time finalist for the AMC Art Music Award for Excellence in Jazz.

Justine Eltakchi (AKA Zemi Gold) is the song-writer behind 2 of Top 4 winner singles for The Voice Australia 2022 and Eurovision Aust. 2020 song “Proud” by Casey Donovan. A commercial writer with credits including an ARIA nomination and #1 charting songs (Jasmine Rae), debut singles by Abby Christo, Zelie (rolling stones Video of the week), Alanna Vullo and a regular collaborator with many local international acts and writers including Australia’s most successful production duo DNA Music, Chi. and Joseph De La Hoyde.

As well as bringing her powerhouse soul vocals and melodies to the writing process and on stage, Justine has also dipped her toes in curation, founding the RESOUND Song Camp in 2022 that partnered with international publishing houses to provide opportunities to local Sydney artists, producers and writers. Justine was also appointed a juror for the 2022 Eurovision Melodifestivalen – the Swedish televised finals. Justine has attended multiple song camps herself including SongExpo Norway 2019, SUISA Song Camp 2022 and works across pop, RnB, K-pop, house and country genres. Justine is an APRA AMCOS ambassador

Marketing video content producer.

Representing the Brisbane International Jazz Festival, Dutch saxophonist and composer Marike van Dijk has been calling Brisbane home since her move in September 2019 (for a PhD at UQ).

Originally from the Netherlands, being based in New York for several years led to collaborations with artists from different disciplines and genres, one of which is her large (12-p) chamber jazz ensemble The Stereography Project.

Project Manager at Oh! Jazz

Martel Ollerenshaw is vice president of Europe Jazz Network, a board member of the Australian Music Centre and hcmf// (UK), and through her own creative production company Arts & Parts (UK) works with clients including Punkt Festival (NO), NICA artist development / Stadtgarten, Köln (DE), MILESTONES with Jazztopad (PL) and Pro Helvetia’s High Priority Jazz Programme (CH).

Matthew Thomson is an award winning pianist, composer and educator based in Sydney, Australia. Having won the prestigious National Jazz Awards in 2021, Matthew continues to build a profile as one of Australia’s prominent Jazz pianists. In 2016, Matthew completed his Bachelors degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with 1st Class Honours. He was then granted scholarship to complete his Masters of Music at the New England Conservatory in Boston, studying under Jason Moran, Donny McCaslin, Frank Carlberg and Ken Schaphorst. During his time in America, Matthew performed alongside musical luminaries including Dave Holland, Miguel Zenon, Freddy Cole, Dave Douglas, Ben Folds and Taylor Dane. Upon returning to Sydney, he was awarded the 2020 ASCAP Herb Alpert Jazz Composers Award for his big band composition entitled “The Pursuit”. Recently, Matthew has taken online lessons with Gerald Clayton and has performed his own set as the “Matt Thomson Trio” at the 2022 Wangaratta Jazz Festival. This year, Matthew is looking to release albums with the ‘Josh Meader Trio’ and ‘Tourismo’, his own project co-led with Alex Hirlian and to be produced under the ABC Jazz label.

Emerging contemporary jazz singer and composer Natalie Dietz has made a striking impression on the Australian and international jazz scene, impressing both audiences and critics alike with her ethereal vocal tone and personal approach as a jazz composer and artist.

Accepted into the renowned jazz program at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Natalie honed her performing skills under the tutelage of Australian jazz luminaries. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Music (Jazz Voice Performance) and a Master of Jazz Voice at New England Conservatory (USA) on Merit Scholarship Natalie has toured Australia and New Zealand performing at renowned jazz venues including Sydney’s Foundry 616, Melbourne’s Paris Cat, the Ellington in Perth, Turnaround Jazz Club in Brisbane and New Zealand’s Creative Jazz Club. She has also performed at New York’s Rockwood Music Hall, Club Bonafide, among other US east coast jazz venues.

Her original compositions have attracted wide attention among her contemporaries. In 2016 she won the ASCAP National Young Jazz Composer’s Award presented at New York’s Lincoln Center. Natalie recently recorded her debut full length album at ABC jazz studios ‘Casualty’.

Olivia is the current Festival Director of Sydney Festival.

Olivia is a highly accomplished arts professional with over two decades’ experience as a curator, producer, director, choreographer and performing artist. She comes to the role after two and a half years as Head of Contemporary Performance at Sydney Opera House.

Voted one of Vivid Sydney’s Top 100 Creative Catalysts, Ansell possesses a vast breadth of art experience, including roles as co-Executive Producer and creative force behind the hugely-popular immersive experience Hidden Sydney; Artistic Director of Sydney Comedy Festival at Sydney Town Hall; Curator of Kings Bloody Cross for Vivid Ideas; producer of Richard Walley OAM and Nigel Jamieson’s large-scale concert spectacular, HOME for Perth International Arts Festival; Consultant Executive Producer for OzAsia Festival Adelaide; and inaugural Executive Producer of Shaun Parker & Company. She is also a lecturer in Movement for the Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s Con Opera School.

Rafael Karlen is an award-winning composer, saxophonist, and arranger based in Sydney, Australia. His music has been performed by small jazz groups, rock and pop ensembles, big bands through to chamber orchestras and string quartets.

His latest quintet album Equally True was released and toured nationally in 2022. In 2023, he will release an album of his music for choir, string orchestra and saxophone featuring The Australian Voices and Camerata-Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra.

Awards and recognition include an ARIA Nomination, a Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship, Composer-in-Residence in the Peggy Glanville-Hicks House, an ABC Jazz Commission, an APRA Professional Development Award in Jazz, finalist in the Australian Jazz Bell Awards, nominations for the Freedman Fellowship from the Music Council of Australia, and an Australian Art Music Award for Excellence in Jazz with the Berardi/Foran/Karlen Trio.

Reuben White is a passionate arts industry worker and advocate.

Reuben has gained valuable experience in the commercial music industry in artist management at Chugg Music from 2018-2020.

Reuben has facilitated international tours to Europe, USA and ASIA, produced music videos, and marketed ARIA-award winning album releases.

Passionate about jazz and highly skilled in logistics, digital marketing, and project management, Reuben now works as General Manager/Producer of SIMA.

Reuben strives to increase awareness and appreciation of Australian jazz nationally and internationally.

Sally Greenaway is a multi-award-winning composer and conductor from Canberra, Australia.

Her music has been performed by leading orchestras and bands across the globe, including the US Navy Big Band (USA), Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra (USA), Renato Strukelj Big Band (ITA), Dave Pearson Big Band (GBR) and many more.

She won the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra National Big Band Composition Competition in 2008, was a finalist in the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra’ Big Band Composition Award in 2012, and received the APRA Art Music State Award for Instrumental Work of the Year in 2017, amongst receiving many other industry awards.

Sally is a passionate advocate for music education and has lectured at the Sydney Conservatorium Jazz Department, given masterclasses and guest lectures at the Music Departments of Monash University (Melbourne, AUS), the Australian National University (Canberra, AUS) and the Royal College of Music (London, UK).

At JazzAhead 2023, Sally looks forward to sharing her big band compositions and arrangements, and connecting with industry professionals who share her commitment to collaboration and artistic growth.