Mace Francis could only have dreamt of securing just one of the acts headlining this year’s Perth International Jazz Festival when he programmed his first one as festival director in 2018.
Now he has a smorgasbord of international jazz greats and local talent on his curated program of free and ticketed events that grows with every festival.
“Each year our expectations are getting grander and grander, and we really hope that the audiences enjoy the ride,” 48-year-old Francis says.
“To experience jazz live is the best way to experience it. We involve hundreds of local artists, but it also lets us give jazz audiences the opportunity to see the world’s best jazz musicians in their own home town, rather than having to travel to New York or London.
“As much fun as that is, not everyone can do it. All the great cultural cities have a jazz festival, so that was always the dream, to have a really great international jazz festival in Perth, which WA audiences deserve.”
The festival was founded in 2012 by Graham Wood, and Francis took the helm after Wood died in 2017.
He initially did so in a volunteer capacity to oversee a three-day festival that he juggled with his career primarily as a composer, along with playing guitar and trombone.
It developed into a full-time gig, which this month sees the festival’s evolution to 11 days and nights of jazz, including three-time Grammy award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater, jazz supergroup AZIZA, Grammy-winning New Orleans institution Rebirth Brass Band and virtuoso bassist and powerhouse vocalist Nik West, who performed with Prince.
Japan’s Masayuki Hirano, better known as songwriter and virtuoso keyboard player BIGYUKI, will showcase his signature blend of jazz, soul, hip-hop and electronica, while UK-based Australian pianist Belle Chen, who combines classical music and soundscapes from nature, will perform tunes from her album Ravel In The Forest.
Talents from closer to home include Melbourne saxophonist Jon Hunt with WA Academy of Performing Arts’ New Orleans Ensemble and the Ray Walker Nonet, showcasing original compositions by celebrated guitarist and composer Ray Walker.
“Last year we had some really significant headliners, but then the rest of the program wasn’t as good, but this year just feels really consistent,” Francis shares.
“It doesn’t feel like there’s big gaps between the headliners and the mid-tier artists. It just feels really strong across the whole program, which is super exciting. We’ve worked our butts off to get it together, and it’s about to happen.”
Francis says any first-time festival-goers need not hesitate when navigating the program.
“Because this festival is curated, everything is of excellent quality, so it’s more a matter of what night do you have free?” he explains.
“Come along because it’s going to be the best version of that style of jazz you’ll ever get to see.
“The best part of my job is being at the performances and just seeing audiences come out afterwards and go, ‘Oh my God, that was the best thing I’ve ever seen’, or ‘I can’t believe how good that was’ . . . you can really feel the excitement, buzz and energy in the foyer.
“You can get bogged down in the behind-the-scenes, looking at budgets and ticket sales, and there’s stress and anxiety in the month leading up to the festival. But when the artists are in town and the show happens and the audience loves it, that’s the pay-off, and that enthusiasm usually lasts me another 11 months until reality strikes again.”
Perth International Jazz Festival is at various venues, October 22 to November 1. Program and tickets at perthjazzfest.com.
Highlights of PIJF 2026
Rebirth Brass Band
Metro City, October 22
Rebirth Brass Band have defined modern brass music for more than 35 years, famous for their explosive fusion of jazz, funk, soul and New Orleans street rhythms. Local favourites Junkadelic Brass Band and Steve Hensby Band will open the night.
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Astor Theatre, October 27
The jazz icon will be accompanied by acclaimed pianist Helen Sung for an evening spent putting her spin on standards and re-envisioning jazz classics, continuing her multifaceted career spanning four decades of fearless reinvention.
Nik West
Metro City, October 31
Having performed with everyone from Prince and Quincy Jones to Santana and John Mayer, this force of nature on stage will be joined in the line-up by local acts Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics plus Pareidolia with local rapper Zero Emcee.
AZIZA
His Majesty’s Theatre, November 1
Celebrating 10 years since their acclaimed debut, bassist Dave Holland, saxophonist Chris Potter, guitarist Lionel Loueke and drummer Eric Harland unite to form one formidable quartet.