Every Wangaratta Jazz Festival is a truly memorable experience. 1994 was the first time I attended. I played with David Tolley’s THAT and, as John Shand puts it, “scooped” the award. I’d recently returned from attending the New Orleans Jazz Festival and celebrating my 22nd birthday in New York. I had such an amazing time that weekend, and formed so many lasting friendships, that the actual events are a bit blurred. There was hardly time to sleep. I shared the stage with David Tolley, Craig Scott, Cameron Undy, Alan Turnball, Cathy Harley, Dure Dara and Simon Barker. 
I spent Monday relaxing on the lawn at Brown Brothers watching my old mates (Eugene and Chris) play with Brownie’s quintet. The day before I’d heard NUDE play a blistering early morning set. I was surprised to see people in the audience that I thought would be more comfortable listening to Brownie’s band, grey beards swinging wildly.
That must be what I love most about Wang. The fact that all the camps come together for one beautiful long weekend. The traditionalist s, the conceptualists, the scientists and the heretics. The prophets and the preachers. The protagonistsa’s and the provocatuers. Musicians from all round the country get to share music, food, drinks and stories. This is where you can hear the best improvisers Australia has to offer, playing beyond their abilities…and then share a pizza with them! Wangaratta is to us what Christmas is to small kids. You spend the whole year looking forward to it and then don’t want it to end.
Apart from the great music there are the experiences I’ll never forget. The jams out at the Vine in the early days. Walking home at 3 in the morning and getting up at 8 to do it all again. Meeting John Sangster and Betty Carter! Playing with Barney for the first time. SNAG - the town hall gig was wild. Will Guthrie making the judges and band laugh during the drum finals, but still winning the award. My Dad encouraging strangers to tell him why I didn’t deserve to win. Seeing a platypus in the river. Laughing till my sides hurt. Spotting Liebman and Nock sitting backstage at the Town Hall just as I breathed in to play the first note! The sound in the Cathedral!!!
! Hearing just way too much music in one day than is possible to take in but having to force yourself to go back for more like too much good cake.
On a professional level, the opportunities the festival has provided me have been invaluable. Winning the Award at such a young age was an amazing boost for my career, one that I’ve often reflected I was not fully prepared for, but an experience that pushed me forward, and continues to inspire me. I’d like to publicly thank Bruck Textiles for their support of the National Jazz Awards, which has meant so much for me and so many other musicians.
I can’t wait for this year, and wish the festival continued success for at least another 20 years. If you haven’t experienced the Wangaratta jazz Festival yet, you don’t know what you’re missing.
Julien Wilson