The always great Libby Hammer’s back at it, celebrating WA’s first lady of jazz Helen Matthews.

LOCAL talent mixes with global greats at this year’s Perth International Jazz Festival, with foreign acts phoning it in remotely since the pandemic’s still harshing travel plans.

Dutch trio Tin Men can’t make it here physically, but on Yagan Square and Northbridge Piazza screens they’ll beam in via live stream from Amsterdam, performing their ‘Global Relocation of Evolved Apes Towards Exoplanet Suitable for Terraformation’ show with audience participation via smartphone app.

Plenty of local jazz giants are in the mix with sets from the beloved Dr Richard Walley’s Six Seasons with Junkadelic Orchestra, 1920s sounds from the OZ Big Band, and WAAPA’s Afro Peruvian ensemble. 

Festival director Mace Francis says despite all the hurdles involved with organising an international festival during a pandemic, they’d put on some jazz-packed shows across two weekends in Perth and Busselton.

“There’s so much music to enjoy across the Perth weekend and then at the Busselton Amphitheatre on the Foreshore the following Saturday. Come play! Take a risk with us and see as much music as you can,” Dr Francis says. 

It’s in Perth November 5-7 and Busselton on November 13, times and tickets via perthjazzfest.com