Whanganui Jazz Club season finale this Sunday December 1

Joel Williams will feature as a guest soloist at the jazz club's season finale this Sunday.

The Whanganui Jazz Club meets on the first Sunday of every month from March through December, making this Sunday’s performance the final one for 2024.

To celebrate another successful year of the club we have invited back the Whanganui Jazz Orchestra to play us out of 2024 and into 2025.

You can expect a stunning performance from some 20 musicians who have been going from strength to strength under the direction of musical director Riwai Hina.

For the season finale, Riwai has invited the remarkable Joel Williams to feature as a guest soloist. Joel is a talented multi-instrumentalist and vocalist from New South Wales, Australia.

He has lived in New Zealand for some time and is a soloist in the New Zealand Army Band, with whom he has appeared multiple times internationally alongside renowned jazz musicians like James Morrison and Allen Vizzutti.

Notably, he performed for Queen Elizabeth II. He has toured Europe at prestigious events like the Montreux Jazz Festival and served as a soloist for the Christoph Walter Jazz Orchestra in Switzerland.

Additionally, he is a former member of the National Brass Band of New Zealand.

Whether singing or playing trumpet or trombone, this virtuoso artist connects with his audience as well as with his bandmates.

And our local orchestra has some great players who mix it up with Joel. There is the stunning virtuosity of trumpeter Clyde Dixon, the fabulous lyricism of guitarist Fred Loveridge and the sparkling vocals of Bridget Cook to name just three.

This will be an inspiring evening of music filled with so many things. Come and celebrate the greatness of the jazz music tradition.

■ Sunday, December 1, 6.30pm at St John’s Club, 158 Glasgow St. Members and guests of the St John’s and Whanganui Jazz Clubs $15.