Umbria Melbourne POSTPONED!!!!!

[johnk]

This just came in from a mate!


.....
‘Umbria Jazz Melbourne 2005 exceeded all our
expectations,’ Albert Dadon told a media conference in
Italy today. Speaking in Perugia, at a media conference
for the Umbria Jazz 05 festival, he said the Melbourne
....Umbria Jazz Melbourne, in its inaugural year, had
already cemented its place in the cultural attractions of
Victoria and Australia, he said.
‘Next year, however, Carlo Pagnotta and I have decided
to postpone the festival...


‘Next year Melbourne hosts one of the world’s biggest
sports events: the Commonwealth Games. For
Australians the Commonwealth Games are second
only in importance to the Olympics. Far more
important, to Australians than football or rugby’s World
Cups. The Commonwealth Games has 4,500 athletes
from 71 countries competing over 11 days in May.
‘The Games will be attended by hundreds of thousands
of people from around Australia and around the world.
Melbourne is well on track to have its 1956 Olympic
stadium reconstructed to seat 100,000. Hundreds of
millions will watch the Games on television: television
rights to screen the Games to an audience of half a billion
people in Asia were signed only last week.

[peterk]

you are fucking joking aren't you....?

[belindablahblah]

i need some assistance understanding umbrian logic.

[vickihb2]

Very interesting. It's often said that festivals die if they aren't held every year, so is this the death of Melbourne Jazz Festival? Didn't the Minister say on the opening night that there was a three year commitment of funding? So what happened?

The Fringe was such a brilliant alternative, so now is the time for all good musicians and punters to come to the aid of the party. It's party time: a huge opportunity in the form of a gaping hole is there for those that might want to seize the day.

I love a challenge, personally speaking.

Meanwhile when do we find out about Wang line up Adrian - I know you are too busy to ready OJF at the moment, but do tell us anyway, please?

[Boo]

everyone is talking bout it already. think it must be true

[aj]

hey Vicki........all details should be on the website by July 28.

Hopefully, should be media coverage around the 27th-29th.

I'm sure there'll be one or 2 bands you'd want to see.............

[punter]

those stupid fucking cunts, first they wrest control of what was developing into a very strong melbourne jazz festival then name it after a fucking italian city, fly out a whole swag of lame italian musicians at our expense, and then the following year cancel the festival. these guys are fucking cultural vandals. hate to say i told you so to all those on this forum who didn't see umbria jazz in melbourne for the souless, heartless piece of shit that it was. fuck alfuckingbare and tortoni and that wine guzzling moron of an artistic (what a joke) director... long live the fringe!!!

[boss]

well isnt this a good thing! we wont have 2nd rate weirdo museum piece bands playing satin doll and stopmpin at the Savoy with one kid (with great technique but playing way too many notes) dominating bennetts lane for three weeks.

[punter]

yeah i see what you mean but they have sucked in all the funding etc and basically destroyed the MELBOURNE jazz festival - it's a fucking debacle. who do they think they are deciding to postphone for a year? it's not their festival - it belongs to music lovers of melbourne and melbourne musicians, or at least it used to until that french moron came along. now because somehow it suits their corporate interests they cancel for a year, who the fuck do they think they are? rob burke, do you have have anything to say? you frequent this forum and you were on their board.

[robburke]

Well - I heard of this 2 days ago. FYI the board is now an advisary board and Albare is the only board member (chairman) because he financially supported the fest. As board members, we were accountable for the losses - . So now Albare is the only financially accountable person.
Albare basically makes the decisions - this is all new news to me- I will check it out and get back to you. The reasoning (possibly) would be that sponsorship would be at a minimum as with goverment funding and public dollars.

I am all for supporting a fringe fest and donating my time and contacts - have already been discussing this with Steve Magnusson. Whatever happens we have to turn this into a proactive situation - that means that we have to get organising.

[punter]

yeah rob, never was including you in my tirade. my impression is that you get involved in things for all the right reasons. but what a fucking shite situation where a guy like albare gets to call the shots, man someone should make a doco about this like four corners or someone how the fuck did he get into a situation where he alone can make these kinds of decisions. and i keep seeing tortoni smugly staring at me from the front page of the age a2, "melbourne's jazz tsar", where's the fucking tsar now and what's he got to say? the fringe is great but the reasons it needs to happen are fucked musicians shouldn't have to put on their own festival and if festivals are run by people like aj who know what the fuck they are doing and who actually give a FUCK about music then musicians can concentrate on what they should be doing which is practicing and writing. i'll say it again FUCK YOU ALBARE YOU FUCKIN MORON

[anonona]

oh my god. you are so fucking right. SO fucking right. i am seething too

[fuck]

wasn't enough swearing here so i thought i'd add some more:
fuck
shit
and fuck

[vickihb2]

I have never been impressed by the accountability of what is the MIJF. They don't seem to have any.

Tortoni isn't 'always staring at us from A2'. I think his photo has been in the Age twice in the years since I moved back to Melbourne.

To describe Tortoni as a Jazz powermonger is correct. He does have an enormous amount of power in the Jazz scene in Melbourne. But surely he has invested more heavily personally in it than anyone else? There is no way that Bennetts was making a profit for at least the first five years of it's existence. Even nowadays add up the staff wages, insurance, rates, advertising, website etc and tell me how much money is this guy making? Jazz lovers dont spend big on booze. For a bar to make profit you need a decent amount of punters who spend a minimum of thirty dollars each per night, I don’t think that happens at BL! Tortoni is not going to buy a private jet on the profits from BL. And would any of us prefer a town with no Bennetts Lane? I don’t think so.

[johnyf]

Shithouse definately, but all is not lost. Canberra is hosting an annual jazz festival starting this year showcasing local and interstate talent, running for 3 or 4 days in early november. No Italians allowed, except in paintings.